Firms rely on free chat apps to expand reach

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine firms are expanding their use of free chat apps like Viber and WhatsApp to reach their customers as they start to rely less on e-mail and short messaging services (SMS) in promoting products and services.

Infobip Philippines country manager Charist Montenegro yesterday said the Philippines would see an increase in the use of free text apps, especially in advertising to consumers.

“Traditional channels such as SMS and e-mail have remained a staple, [as] these channels will play a key role in future business-to-consumer communication strategies,” Montenegro said.

“Chat apps entered the spotlight as the more cost-effective alternative for business-to-consumer interactions. These channels enable brands to set up touch points across their entire customer journey in one place,” she said.

On an annual basis, Infobip recorded a usage rise of 91 percent for e-mail and 75 percent for text. On the other hand, the firm noted an 80 percent jump in interactions for WhatsApp, 13 percent for Viber, and two percent for other messaging apps.

In particular, Montenegro said the banking and finance, and retail and e-commerce industries are expected to shift most of their transactions to free chat apps like Viber and WhatsApp.

“Customers in countries where Viber is popular choose to chat with businesses since the app is the same channel they use to catch up with family and friends daily,” Montenegro said.

“With this, brands looking to expand to other regions or countries should consider adding Viber to their omnichannel strategy to ensure they don’t lose a potential audience,” she said.

Further, Infobip saw the number of WhatsApp interactions within banking and finance more than double this year. Larger than this, the use of Messenger within transportation and logistics rose by fivefold given the real-time messaging provided by the app.

“We are experiencing conversational interactions that have led to industry-wide transformations, such as chat banking, conversational commerce, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. All in all, these advancements are setting the foundation for a conversational future,” Montenegro said.

In spite of this, Infobip Philippines—the local unit of the cloud giant based in Croatia—believes that traditional channels, especially SMS, will remain relevant in spite of the rising popularity of free text apps.

Montenegro said banks use SMS to send out one time passwords to confirm transactions done online, while the government blasts text advisories to prepare Filipinos for calamity.