Since the 1980s tech boom, global communication has gone through an evolution that few could have anticipated. The primary mode of communication across continents went from weeks to instantaneous in 100 years. The past decade has held even more rapid communication evolution with the integration of smartphones into most developed countries' lives. Access to information & global communication opportunities gave the world the idea that communication could happen at any time and on demand. In the post-pandemic world, there was an even more drastic shift in the need for communication.
The COVID-19 pandemic simultaneously disconnected people from one another and drove a need for constant digital communication to combat the disconnect. People were unable to interact with one another for so long that many turned to digital communication as their main source of communication. While this was helpful regarding interpersonal connectivity, it brought up an interesting new hurdle for businesses. Without the ability to help people in-store, businesses, too, moved to online help. But with an increase in global customers (and even domestic customers with odd working hours), customers began seeking out a more consistent conversational relationship with the brands they bought from.
To combat this, many brands opted to migrate to social media and other globally holistic messaging apps. But then came a further problem - how would brands keep their messaging consistent across apps? The answer comes from omnichannel messaging companies like Mitto and their partnerships with significant communication companies like Viber.
Viber Business & Mitto
Mitto has recently partnered with several big commerce companies, like Shopify, to better provide customer communication across the globe. However, they've also turned to messaging brands like Viber to further enhance and connect global companies with their customers in a post-pandemic world. Mitto's goal in its partnership with Viber is to continually enhance two-way dialogue between brands and their customers by building relationships on mutual trust and customer care.
How do Mitto & Viber achieve this with their product offerings? By offering personalized content, like marketing campaigns tailored to specific demographics (and even individual customers), and enhancing the company's time to respond. As companies have navigated globalization, personalization and communication have been key in companies sticking out from their competition. Using chatbots and tools like Mitto conversations, modern companies can easily find their right conversational rhythm with customers.
About Mitto AG
Mitto AG was founded in 2013 by CEO Andrea Giacomini and COO Ilja Gorelik. Both Gorelik and Giacomini have a background in telecommunications, and their small team of telecom experts started Mitto to support business growth through omnichannel communication solutions. Since its birth, Mitto has gone from a small team to a considerable array of experts and technicians worldwide - with tech support available 24/7 from people experts located in 18 countries worldwide.
This goal hasn't wavered since 2013, when Mitto started; however, how Mitto addresses customer pain points has continuously shifted. Says Andrea Giacomini of Mitto and its goals, "As borders continue to blur, nearly every business is now global and thus must continue to engage with their increasingly global customers on a range of channels and in ways that continue to drive value and loyalty. "
About Viber
Whereas Mitto AG addresses the question of "How do we best engage with customers?" Viber tackles the physical needs of global communication. Viber is a communications platform, like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. However, it does differ in one substantial way: it is an encrypted messaging platform, which offers an extra layer of security apart from many other messaging platforms. Because of its encrypted messaging offerings, many users use Viber to send business files, personal pictures, and voice messages that they want to keep safe. In technology, security often equals consumer trust - and consumer trust is something Mitto strives to achieve in every interaction.
Viber has over 1 billion users worldwide and records about 70 million interactions every hour on its platform. With this type of reach, it's clear how the app could be useful to businesses. So, Mitto and Viber came together as Viber Business to address this potential area of growth. "With the addition of Viber Business, Mitto is enabling these brands to expand their global reach and empowering them to have meaningful interactions with their customers. By adding this additional channel, Mitto continues to offer the deepest and most complete omnichannel communications platform that helps brands meet their customers exactly where they are in today's digital world," said Andrea Giacomini.
A Look Inside the Partnership
Viber recently surveyed their customers, a majority of whom live in Eastern Europe & Greece but who also live and work in other large countries worldwide. Viber provides service to customers in 193 countries in total. The results of the survey showed 90% of its customers want to be able to use Viber to communicate with their regular brands. App data showcases how this is a useful tool to reach out to customers, aside from their excitement to use the app for business communication: as much as 96% of Viber messages read on mobile devices are opened and read within three minutes.
So, Viber expanded with the help of Mitto to Viber Business, which allows businesses to message customers about promotions, orders, and customer service from a single channel. Business Inbox, one offering from Viber Business, allows businesses to organize & store conversations, customer service chats, information about discounts, order confirmations, and more from one inbox. It also allows businesses to efficiently monitor their brand conversations with the use of push notifications and unread message icons. The Viber Commercial account allows brands to search all brand information and communication history from one place.
Perks of the app include:
Users can send up to 1,000 characters in messages at a time.
Messages can include expressive content, such as emojis and memes, which are popular among younger consumers.
Brands can add interactive buttons & links to their messages to facilitate better brand communication.
Order confirmation, updates, and delivery notices that can be personalized.
Enhanced customer care that includes 1:1 messaging and the opportunity for customers to provide feedback.
There are several reasons why Viber's messaging platform is an ideal addition to Mitto's suite of business integrations. William Jones, head of product marketing at Mitto, gave an impassioned response as to why Viber is a contender in a sea of more popular apps, "We understand the need for broad communication channels. That's why we strive to make every A2P channel available for our customers. SMS, WhatsApp, Google Business, Voice, Viber, RCS, Instagram, FB Messenger - the list goes on. In today's hyper-digital world, the ways to communicate are nearly limitless, so why limit your business?"
The goal of Mitto is to make communicating with customers less complicated and more rewarding for customers and brands alike. While adding another messaging app into the mix might seem like it would complicate things, with the help of an omnichannel messaging platform like Mitto, it isn't as hard for brands to utilize the vast swath of available messaging apps out there as it may seem.
