Messenger trade: facebook Turns Messenger Into customer service & Commerce Channel

these days at facebook’s developer convention F8 the corporate introduced, amongst different things, Messenger Platform, which opens up the app to 3rd birthday celebration publisher and developers. As one function of Messenger Platform, fb also presented what it’s calling “Messenger for trade.”

the target is to “reinvent the best way individuals be in contact and engage with businesses.” initial integrations embody e-commerce web sites Everlane and Zulily. customer service software supplier Zendesk can be aiding the platform.

fb isn’t limiting this system to e-commerce; it desires to make Messenger a customer support/live chat channel for all varieties of businesses. For now the focal point, then again, is on agencies. Small businesses have get right of entry to to similar messaging functionality via their present Pages.

There are different technical integrations and specs at the back of the scenes. however what Messenger for business is meant to do is change electronic mail and supply real-time industry-customer interplay and rich notifications (see pics above and beneath). the place Messenger is integrated and consumers are logged in to facebook, they’ll see an decide-in recommended on companion commerce web sites to receive transport notifications.

If users agree they’ll obtain Messenger updates tied to particular transport events (e.g., extend). customers will even be able to speak about anything with the endeavor or merchant, including the will to buy extra of something. facebook instructed me that each Everlane and Zulily reps could address the prospective gross sales alternatives.

I requested about automation vs. are living human beef up. facebook wired that it used to be up to the partner but the firm’s choice was once for human customer service and enhance vs. chat bots.

In an ideal situation Messenger for business gets rid of friction from the buyer service process (now largely phone based totally) and will end in incremental gross sales for retailers. there are many fascinating potentialities. as with all issues, alternatively, accomplice execution will mater to the consumer experience. facebook is being cautious to selectively roll out the feature to these partners the corporate believes will ship a super expertise.

you will think about over time all types of interesting possibilities and interactions facilitated by Messenger round appointment inventory, products, product options and specs and so forth. Say, for instance, I’m getting ready to buy an important appliance. I may hypothetically ask retailers like HomeDepot or Lowe’s whether they’ve the object in stock, what the associated fee is and what the quite a lot of product configurations are. (HomeDepot and Lowe’s usually are not introduced companions.)

I again and again facebook about all types of small-industry hypotheticals and scenarios and was once consistently redirected back to Pages. presently Messenger for trade isn’t to be had for traditional “offline” SMBs. Over time it may be.

If it turns into broadly adopted Messenger for business might rival or exceed Twitter’s vaunted customer service capabilities. indeed, for these companies that do a just right job with it, Messenger for trade potentially represents a massive improve over phone-based totally customer service, IVRs and the horrifying, however now usual recorded chorus: “as a result of better than anticipated call volumes wait instances will be longer than anticipated.”

about the creator

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a non-public blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world shopper conduct. he’s additionally VP of technique and Insights for the local Search affiliation. practice him on Twitter or in finding him at Google+.

(Some images used beneath license from Shutterstock.com.)