Meta is investing big in business messaging

Companies can boost sales by reaching more customers on Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Meta wants to help more companies in Southeast Asia unlock growth by reaching  more clients and elevating customer satisfaction through business messaging on its popular apps — Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Business messaging lets companies meet consumers “where they are most active and comfortable” — on native apps that they likely already know and love, Benjamin Joe, vice president for Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets at Meta, told Retail Asia.

Gone are the days when  the only way to chat with a business was to give it a call or show up at the door. Customers now demand communication options and speed as they shop from a couch.

“Businesses can do much more by tapping into this trend and engaging their target consumers at every touchpoint,” he said. This includes everything from answering questions to finalising purchases through automation.

Joe said seven of 10 large companies rated business messaging, which lets them market to existing customers, manage user-initiated service requests or accomplish a mundane task like resetting a password, as very or extremely important to their operations.

Additionally, more Meta advertisers are using click-to-message ads, which redirect people from Facebook or Instagram into one of Meta’s messaging products to chat with a business.

Consumers in the Asia-Pacific region have boosted their use of business messaging since the COVID-19 pandemic, with one in three interacting with companies weekly, according to a whitepaper by Meta and Boston Consulting Group. Tech-savvy Gen Z and millennials message businesses as often as twice a week.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam and Thailand are leading in business messaging, the VP said. In these countries, messaging has become essential in the customer journey, surpassing its traditional role in personal communications.

In Vietnam, 45% of consumers use messaging to buy things, and almost half use social media to browse products. In Thailand, 90% of consumers message retailers while shopping.

“Consumers increasingly prefer to engage with businesses through messaging apps for everything, from initial inquiries to final purchases,” Joe said.

‘Pushing the boundaries’

Meta recently worked with Shopee in Thailand to integrate shopping features into Messenger, providing a smooth browsing and shopping experience. Instant and personalised messages are key drivers of customer satisfaction, he added.

Meta has also launched a pilot of Meta Verified for businesses across Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines. Subscribers get a verified blue check on Facebook or Instagram, and are promised protection from impersonators and increased brand discovery, Joe said. 

He said the early feedback has been positive, with companies appreciating how verification enhances their credibility and customer trust.

“Scalability is key” to maximise the benefits of messaging integration, Joe said, noting that as companies grow, they need to manage high volumes of customer inquiries whilst ensuring consistent communications.

To address this, Meta offers artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools that automate routine tasks such providing FAQs (frequently asked questions) and processing orders.

“Meta’s AI agent powered by Llama 3 can handle a large volume of interactions simultaneously,” Joe said, ensuring that customers get prompt answers without overwhelming service teams. The company plans deeper AI integration and more sophisticated tools for context-aware responses and personalised recommendations.

Meta is also investing in live shopping features to improve livestreams, analytics, and product discovery. “We are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is possible in digital retail,” he added.