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Almost 99 percent of the time, “ready, fire, aim” is a horrible action plan. But business messaging in 2018 does require that spirit of urgency. No matter where you start, making a start in business messaging means you’ll likely be ahead of the curve in customer engagement.
But given the current landscape, where and how should you start? What do you need to know to position your business to best execute and engage in messaging?
Business Messaging Landscape in 2018
It's understandable that business messaging is somewhat of a quagmire. There are a few leaders in big tech racing to secure the lead:
Google adopted RCS Business Messaging and offers it on Android. Google aims to leverage Android's expansive user base to adopt the service as a universal messaging upgrade from SMS.
In the last year, WhatsApp has been hinting at a new business messaging application in policy terms. It then rolled out WhatsApp for Business to allow businesses to actively message consumers.
Facebook Messenger already has a strong hold, with businesses actively using it for chatbots, business messaging, and e-commerce.
Apple rounded out the pack with Apple’s Business Chat, enabling businesses to message iPhone and iMessage users.
So how does your business make sense of this in your marketing and engagement strategy?
Disconnected Messaging Spaces, APIs
There is no universal crossroad in the messaging space. The standard now is that there is no standard. Adding to the frustration is complexity—there’s no universal API that easily supports transmission, data security, and universal features.
It now falls on businesses to navigate rapid partnerships between platforms, providers, and big tech to determine the best entry point—or attempt to support all, which is operationally difficult.
Beyond the backend, businesses must address consumer-facing friction points such as authentication, context creation, and flexible features to support multiple use cases.
1. How Do We Scale in the Current Disconnected Messaging Environment?
Do you need to be in all messaging spaces to succeed? Some experts suggest yes—but the best way to scale is first improving data and marketing audits.
- Do we have a central hub for all market-driven data? Centralized access improves scalability.
- Do our marketing KPIs clearly prove ROI? Focus on top business goals such as revenue and profit.
- Are marketing workflows structured so efforts can be replicated?
With these foundations in place, opportunities in messaging channels become clearer.
2. How Do We Vet CX Platforms for Business Messaging?
This is the core question. Businesses must assess how platforms scale, adapt to messaging trends, and focus on humanizing customer experience.
Recent data shows that 59 percent of consumers feel businesses have lost the human touch. Platforms should help reintroduce it.
Chatbots deployed within messaging channels can actually humanize interactions. Brands with strong omnichannel strategies retain up to 89 percent of customers.
3. What’s Really the Current Trending Channel Scope?
Messenger and WhatsApp each have over 1.3 billion monthly users, while Android has over 2 billion active users. The key question isn’t which platform to choose—but whether your business is participating at all.
Android Messages is rapidly becoming a competitive business messaging channel as a replacement for SMS.
Google’s Rich Communication Services (RCS), branded as “Chat,” adds features like read receipts, media sharing, and group chat.
RCS Business Messaging could be adopted by Apple in the future, making it attractive to carriers due to Android’s global dominance.
4. How Can Our Business Leverage Current Messaging Spaces?
One effective solution is deploying conversational AI across messaging channels. Enterprises require platforms that integrate seamlessly with their marketing stack.
Businesses should also consider paid advertising within messaging and how rich messaging formats can drive engagement.
Messaging with chatbots enables omnichannel presence, automates customer service, and consolidates analytics.
Messaging remains underutilized by most businesses. Addressing friction points and clearly communicating value will define best practices moving forward.