Implement Viber Conversations in Your Chat Commerce Strategy – Here’s How

Our lives may return to their pre-pandemic ways soon, but how we communicate has changed forever. Chat has become the #1 channel of communication with friends, family, and brands – and that isn’t going away. Reportedly, 67% of people prefer to message a business more now than they did before the pandemic.

With Conversational Commerce growing exponentially during the pandemic, brands have realized how digital investments in chat have become crucial to notify, engage, and sell to customers. 

Chat platforms such as Viber have taken notice. With critical behind-the-scenes developments, Viber has achieved a record-breaking 500 billion messages exchanged in 2021 alone and positioned itself as a leading communication app for Conversational Commerce with Business Messages.

Viber is one of the pioneers in business messaging, and it has been hugely successful since its inception. Initially, the chat app was positioned as an SMS replacement for marketing and notification-based messaging. But as we know, the marketplace has evolved towards two-way, dialogue-based conversations, prompting Viber to switch from a primarily one-way, broadcast-like messaging channel to a conversational one.

While marketing and notification messages remain relevant for every customer journey stage, Viber has taken remarkable strides towards Chat Commerce by introducing Conversational Messaging, also known as Sessions. 

Now, not only can customers receive messages from brands, but start chats as well. 

Especially in customer service, where inbound communications rules, forcing consumers to reach out via voice calls or email is increasingly seen as unacceptable. After all, nobody wants to wait 20 minutes to speak to an agent – or worse, hop to different agents in the hope of solving an issue. This is where Conversational Viber Business Messages (Sessions) comes in.

As Conversational Commerce becomes mainstream, brands are on a mission to offer modern channels to engage customers, replacing (partly or fully) legacy channels such as web forms and voice-based contact centers with chat. 

Conversational Viber Business Messages with Sessions gives brands the inbound channel they’ve been looking for to streamline inbound interactions. With Sessions, customers can do all of this and more: 

• Ask questions about a product before purchasing.
• Ask for support whenever they face an issue.
• Give feedback.
• Share their experiences.

In short, Sessions is a conversation flow that allows customers to initiate conversations with brands. Also, each new conversation lasts a defined session time frame (up to 60 exchanged messages within 24 hours), offering a cost-effective way to keep in touch via chat.

How do customers find your Viber Business account, you ask? In the same way your company’s contact details are published on your website, social media, and even email signatures, you can add Viber calls to action to your communication channels.

You can choose how and where to add entry points for customers to get in touch with your brand, depending on what use cases your customer service team is prepared to handle on messaging.

A raft of benefits comes when using Conversational Viber Business Messages, as brands switch from a monologue-style to dialogue-based messaging:

True two-way communication

A dialogue is more than a brand starting a conversation and expecting a customer’s reply. Instead, let customers decide when they want to chat with your brand. Such an approach is essential to establishing a trusted connection and building loyalty over time. 

Asynchronous

Connecting via an asynchronous channel – instead of web chat, for instance, where a customer needs to be active on your website – gives both parties the flexibility to connect when it’s most convenient. 

Rich media

Supporting multimedia messages helps create an emotional connection between brand and consumer. While a brand can include up to 1,000 characters, images, videos, files, and even URLs with a call-to-action button, customers can send files, photos, and videos. Supported by rich media, customers can express their needs appropriately and get the proper response from the brand.

Automation

Chatbots account for 50% of Conversational Commerce spend, and consumers increasingly use virtual assistants when interacting with brands. With Viber, you can connect your chatbot with Business Messages to scale conversations, increasing response and resolution rates.  

Cost-effective

Instead of paying per each delivered message, a brand using Conversational Viber Business Messages pays per Session (up to 60 exchanged messages within 24 hours). This cost-effective model enables you to scale conversations without running beyond your assigned budget!

While companies that wish to power up two-way chats on Viber can integrate tyntec’s Conversations API, there’s a faster, no-code way to leverage Viber Business Messages–- especially if you’re planning to use Viber in your customer service.  

With tyntec’s Conversations Inbox, brands can manage inbound and outbound Viber conversations in one place – and without writing a single line of code!

Using the Conversations Inbox gives you a raft of features and benefits:

• Manage inbound + outbound Viber messages from your Viber Business Profile.
• Send rich business messages to opted-in consumers to aid marketing drives and personalized sales. 
• Receive and respond to customer-initiated messages (Sessions) in one interface. 
• Use smart features like agent routing, team collaboration, and more. 
• Engage customers throughout their journey from inquiry to delivery and beyond on nearly 10 messaging channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct Messages, SMS, and more. 
• Add your chatbot and sync with your CRM, digital commerce, or AI system. 
• Rest easy with a secure, GDPR compliant solution. 
• If you wish to automate tasks further, use the Conversations Inbox API to perform tasks programmatically, gaining speed and scalability in your customer interactions!

The best way to experience Conversational Viber Business Messages is to try it out! With tyntec, you can test the solution without long-term commitments or an automatic subscription – and learn all about Viber on your terms. 

And to save the best for last: Sessions are free until June 30, 2022!

Explore tyntec’s two trial options: