MESSAGING & ENGAGEMENT OTT starts to pay its way

OTT messaging may not have the reach of SMS – yet – but it is starting to attract users. Paul Skeldon takes a look at how it works in practice and finds out how Tata AIA Life Insurance has put it to use

OTT messaging is becoming increasingly important to users and getting the balance right between messaging types on offer is a key driver for the telemedia industry. While much is predicated on SMS, services and payments also need to work with OTT messaging.

Juniper Research predicts that operators are set to lose as much as $3bn from their SMS revenues to OTT in the next five years as SMS quality is eroded by AIT and pumping.

While there are a wealth of messaging channels out there, the one that could eat into SMS’s dominance is WhatsApp. While it may have 3 billion active users globally, it lies way behind the usage levels of SMS – which is pretty much ubiquitous worldwide thanks to anyone having a mobile being able to use it.

What is for sure, however, is that WhatsApp is having a moment. WhatsApp Business Messaging is starting to garner some real traction and many businesses are starting to reach out to messaging providers to start using it.

Infobip, for example, has recently started enabling businesses to design and implement end-to-end customer purchase journeys within WhatsApp. Using the latest features in the WhatsApp Business Platform, businesses can build pathways for customers to complete tasks and make purchases without leaving the app, improving the experience, and increasing conversions.

Before, businesses using WhatsApp had to redirect customers outside the app to external websites, support services or payment gateways to find information, contact agents, and make purchases. Fragmented customer journeys add friction, create inconsistent experiences, and increase cart abandonment.

With WhatsApp Flows and Payments, businesses can

How it works in practice

Atul Malhotra, Vice President of Digital Servicing and Service to Sales at Tata AIA Life Insurance, explains how the WhatsApp Business Messaging tool works for him.

“With time now being measured in a jiffy, and convenience being the most important parameter across all digital platforms, Payments on WhatsApp, with minimal processing steps, and upfront confirmation of policy payments, was much needed to boost consumer confidence and satisfaction.

“Prior to the Payment on WhatsApp service, consumers would need to go through several steps including, log in to a mobile app, authentication process, and payment gateway processing, while with payments on What- create flexible, customised, and streamlined end-to-end purchase journeys where customers can make bookings or complete purchases all within a WhatsApp chat thread. By doing so, brands improve customer satisfaction and experience, while increasing retention, and conversions. Use cases include lead generation, recommending products, booking appointments, managing orders, and in-thread payments. sApp, these steps are eliminated. In the first three months of the launch of this service, approximately 3000 customers successfully paid around Rs40 million for renewal.

“Our tech partner Infobip provided incredible support in integrating payments on WhatsApp Pay into the TATA AIA Life Insurance payment system. It’s been a resounding success, and our consumers couldn’t be any happier. Team dedication and expertise made this integration a breeze.

“The impact on our operations and customer satisfaction has been remarkable – the convenience and security of payments on WhatsApp have won over our customers, leading to increased sales and loyalty.”

This is part of OTT’s wider strategy, enabling businesses to seamlessly build end-to-end conversational customer journeys with the full support of our professional services, which include building data flows, developing and creating custom use cases and monitoring.

It follows Infobip’s launch of click-to-chat advanced analytics last month, which combines ads from Facebook or Instagram with WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram direct messaging to increase conversions and return on ad spend.

Ben Lewis, Vice President of Marketing & Growth at Infobip, says: “Customers want richer, more conversational experiences with a business or brand on the channels they use with their family and friends. By removing the need to jump between different apps and websites, one-to-one purchase journeys in the WhatsApp Business Platform help create value for businesses and their customers.” www.infobip.com info@infobip.com