Rakuten Viber Messaging Solutions for FMCG

Shoppers are getting more tech-savvy than ever, and they grow to appreciate brands that see them as more than just numbers. It's particularly noticeable when it comes to younger audiences – today, you can no longer rely on outdated marketing strategies. Besides, recent studies about the shift to digital shopping speak for themselves:

• Physical store sales have declined by over 60% (*1)
• 90% of pre-purchasing research happens online (*2)
• 53% of marketers already used mobile messaging as part of their marketing strategy in 2020 (*3)
• 75% of customers want to message a business(* 4)
• 72% of customers only engage with marketing messages customized to their specific interests(* 5)
• 71% Expect brands to communicate with them in real time(* 6)
• 85% Will read a message sent from a brand in a messaging app (*7)
• 20% Daily time spent per user on mobile (*8)

The average shopper today has high expectations and even higher purchasing power. As they are constantly bombarded with marketing materials, it gets increasingly difficult for brands to reach them with their message.

Old-fashioned marketing channels are becoming less effective, let alone they are pricey. Today, more FMCG brands turn to Rakuten Viber – a Superapp that has all the resources for businesses to build successful marketing campaigns and build effective communication with their audiences. With Rakuten Viber, you can send personalized messages, images, and video content directly to your consumers' phones without being intrusive. This way, you can reach people where they are and connect with them in a more unique, tailored way. Additionally, Rakuten Viber's user base is growing rapidly, which provides even more opportunities for your company to gain new clients. Our platform is an excellent instrument for businesses of all sizes, regardless of what the goals are. Whether you want to improve your customer service, marketing, or sales, Rakuten Viber is a faultless choice.

Rakuten Viber is a powerful marketing tool – make sure you're using it right.

As a business, you always want to be where your clients are. Rakuten Viber has over 1 billion Android downloads and is available in more than 190 countries and 44 languages – that's a lot of potential customers you could reach with your marketing messages. Besides, it provides a variety of features that can be beneficial for brands when it comes to commerce and outreach. The platform offers a high degree of marketing content customization, which means you can adapt your messages to specific target audiences.

FMCG businesses can use Rakuten Viber at all steps of the customer journey, including attracting, interacting, transacting, and staying in contact.

In this article, we’d like to focus on Rakuten Viber Business Messages and how FMCG companies can use them to reach audiences and hold their attention.

Types of Rakuten Viber Business Messages

There are three types of Rakuten Viber Business Messages, and each type can be used for different purposes.

Conversational: Exchange information and build relationships with your clients. Use Rakuten Viber to provide quick and easy real-time help to any consumer. Answer questions, resolve issues, and provide updates – all without the need for a phone call. With this approach, you will be able to create a strong bond with your audience, which can work wonders for your brand image. 

Transactional: They can be sent after a purchase, when a subscription is confirmed, or when a customer completes a task such as setting up a new account or password. Transactional messages are a great way to keep your clients updated on the status of their orders and subscriptions. The messages are typically sent automatically and include only relevant information to the recipient, without extra promo materials and multimedia content.

Promotional: Generate interest in your products or services and reach out to your clients with special offers via Rakuten Viber. Segment users by age, gender, location, and interests – this ensures that your marketing messages are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in your brand. 

Rakuten Viber Chatbots

The use of automated messaging practices is essential for FMCG today. They can provide 24/7 assistance to your client and significantly reduce support costs by automating simple tasks like FAQs and simple client service requests. With the recent advances in technology, chatbots are often indistinguishable from a live assistant support.

Rakuten Viber Chatbots can understand and respond to natural language input from humans. This allows businesses to interact with their customers more naturally, providing a quicker and more efficient customer experience. Shoppers don't have to wait for a human operator to be available to get their issues resolved. Chatbots follow pre-written prompts and scripts for the most popular questions and get to the root of their query in seconds. Additionally, Rakuten Viber Chatbots are highly cost-effective. 

In terms of FMCG in traditional retail as well as in e-commerce, Rakuten Viber is an ultimate tool to ensure connection between the brand and the customer. Whether you need a platform to send Back In Stock and Restock alerts, share important updates and announcements, or provide customer support, it is an excellent platform to do so.

Case Studies: FMCG and retail companies that have successfully used Rakuten Viber

Many FMCG companies are now using our platform to achieve their marketing and sales goals. Its diverse messaging features and rich media implementation opportunities allow businesses to share engaging multimedia content that can capture attention and drive conversions. Here are some of the most inspiring examples:

Primer Group of Companies 

This Philippines–based company is engaged in the retail sale and distribution of consumer brands and products. In light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting 2020 lockdown in the Philippines, they saw an opportunity to provide an alternative and safer avenue for customers to buy essentials.

Solution: The Primer Group of Companies combined their innovative thinking and Rakuten Viber Business Messages in order to boost online purchases by sending their clients discounts and promo codes.

Results:

• Code redemption – 53%
• Total sales target achieved – 401% 

QuadX 

The brand that specializes in providing digital logistics and payment processing for online stores and other businesses wanted to grow the usage of its UK delivery service, ShippingCart. Initially, more than 80% of transactions on the platform were from the USA.

Solution: After carefully segmenting the audience by interests, with relevant content per every group, the company sent targeted Rakuten Viber messages to all existing customers who hadn't yet tried the UK shipping service. 

Results:

• 25% of USA customers reached via Rakuten Viber purchased in the UK
• 33% contribution to total UK transactions in 3 months
• 187% KPI achievement for UK transactions
• 300% growth in UK transactions versus the same period last year

D Express

One of the first express courier services in Serbia to offer online tracking of shipments, this company has a strong focus on innovative technology and is always looking for ways to improve itself. In 2018, D Express started working with Rakuten Viber to upgrade its mobile marketing strategy and customer service. The main goal is for parcel recipients to stay up to speed with their deliveries.

Solution: As the largest messaging app in D Express’ home country Serbia with an 82% market share, Rakuten Viber was the perfect messenger marketing choice. Instead of using outdated call-center services, the brand turned to Rakuten Viber Business Messages in order to send their clients personalized and detailed messages about their orders.

Results:

• 300.000 Messages delivered every month
• 15% improvement in delivery rate with an overall index of 85%

Rakuten Viber is an effective marketing tool for FMCG brands

To sum it up, there is a multitude of reasons why you should be using Rakuten Viber for your marketing efforts:

• Better reach
• Personalized messages for every customer
• Quick response codes
• Versatile chatbots
• AR (Rakuten Viber Lenses) and Viral (Sticker Pack)
• Rich media tools, including audio, video, and GIFs, CTA buttons
• Detailed analytics
• Cost-effectiveness
• Customizable and engaging Rakuten Viber Ads

Regardless of the objective you set for your business, Rakuten Viber is a highly valuable tool in any company’s hands. It is secure, making it perfect for working with customers and their data. If you're not yet using Rakuten Viber Business Messages or Chatbots for client communication and outreach, now is the time to start. With our large user base, high engagement rates, and detailed in-app stats, Rakuten Viber’s platform is a key asset for every marketer in 2023.