Social media, messaging apps enable firms to access potential customers: seminar
Many Vietnamese prefer using messaging apps for their daily activities, including shopping for essential goods, so this is an opportunity for businesses to interact with potential customers via social media platforms and messaging apps, an expert has said.
Vietnamese spend about 2 hours and 32 minutes on surfing social networks and messaging apps each day, and stay there one minute longer than the average of global users, Karla Banua, a sales and advertising specialist at Rakuten Viber, told a seminar in Ho Chi Minh City on October 16.
A 2023 survey on Viber showed that 69% of Viber users in Vietnam, mostly aged 25-50, were able to pay for the services supplied by this cross-platform messaging app, 73% of customers in the country messaged to interact with brands, and 36% shopped via chat.
Besides, 64% of online shoppers explored brands and products via social media and messaging apps, 68% preferred buying things from the brands they can conveniently communicate and directly interact with while seeking product and brand information, 78% wanted to access delivery updates, 73% wanted to switch to rivals of a brand after several negative experiences, and 82% hoped to receive businesses’ feedback on their opinions, the survey found.
Some businesses also said social networks and messaging apps are providing favourable conditions for many brands, especially startups and local small- and medium-sized enterprises, to access not only domestic but also international customers.
In reality, many Vietnamese firms have been benefiting from the solutions for interaction with potential customers via social media and messaging apps when customers are paying more attention to the interaction with local businesses and brands.
At the seminar, Rakuten Viber also introduced Viber for Business, which provides companies with various solutions for advertising, messaging, making calls, and one-time passwords (OTP).
