At times, modern day marketing can feel a bit like screaming into the void (or throwing message bottles into the ocean). Thankfully, chat apps give marketing teams some much needed direction by enabling us to zero in on our customers. And we're not the only ones saying this:

Strikingly, 77% of customers won't bother engaging with businesses that do not have live chat functions on their homepage.

Don’t get me wrong—we're not asking you to ditch email altogether, but it is important to know that customers are less willing to send an email and hope for a reply. They want more convenient ways to reach out and receive an immediate response.

WeChat comes with a bunch of modern features that allow businesses to do just that. Here are some of the ways that WeChat is different from other messaging apps on the market.

How big is WeChat?

Most of us are probably aware that WeChat is China’s equivalent of popular global messaging apps, such as WhatsApp and Line. But, what does this mean for businesses that are seeking to reach out to customers via chat apps? With a population of 1.4 billion, or 18.47% of the world’s population, global and regional businesses definitely don’t want to miss out on taking a slice of the massive pie that is the Chinese consumer market.

With 1.24 billion active users per month, WeChat is the third most popular messaging app in the world (just 75 million users behind Facebook Messenger).

Adding to the already populous Chinese market are the swathes of mainland Chinese citizens who are located around the world. The Great Firewall of China has made it difficult for international competitors, such as Facebook Messenger, to be adopted by Chinese citizens. Thus, overseas Chinese citizens continue to use WeChat to keep up with the latest events back home. However, far from being an insular system, WeChat Pay has a presence across 64 regions and supports 17 different currencies. Due to its massive reach and staying power, businesses that tap into WeChat as a communications channel can potentially unlock new opportunities.

WeChat: The epicenter of Chinese consumer data

Originally built to be a chat app, WeChat has since evolved into a full-fledged lifestyle application—one that is integral to urban living in China’s most vibrant cities. From online shopping and social gaming to online transactions, there is always something to comment on, like, and share on WeChat.

Compatible with over 85,000 other applications, WeChat forms the social core of China’s digital ecosystem together with WeChat Pay and Weixin Mini Programs.

WeChat’s social environment is designed to accommodate consumers with all sorts of interests. For example, players of Tencent-owned mobile games, such as Honor of Kings (82.5 million daily active players as of September 2020) and Clash of Clans, can easily update their status and rankings, as well as check on how they are faring versus their friends.

Users can also share product-related promotional content, articles, or purchases on WeChat Moments, which works similarly to Instagram Story. This generates conversation about goods and services (of which there are many!). The average WeChat user can be on tens or hundreds of group chats, all of which make their WeChat Moments visible.

Ingeniously, WeChat also utilised promotions like "Lucky Money," "Red Envelope," and others to kickstart WeChat Pay through conversations between users. WeChat Moments are also shareable on Weishi, a Tencent short video app.

From gaming to retail, WeChat injects social aspects into various lifestyles and keeps users constantly plugged in, which is a great reason to incorporate the channel into your businesses communications. With millions of interactions and transactions occurring at every moment, WeChat is a data goldmine for your digital marketers. The sheer quantity of data allows you to parse demographics according to user preferences while still keeping these groups large enough for ads to remain profitable.

Through highly targeted ads, advertisers on WeChat have been able to minimise friction with their audiences while generating revenue. This is evident from the WeChat e-commerce market that is constantly growing at astounding rates. In 2020, WeChat’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) was worth $130 million with figures expected to more than double to $2.03 trillion by 2023.  With over 900 million users, WeChat Pay has even supplanted AliPay as the most popular payment platform in China.

More WeChat benefits for businesses

WeChat is constantly updating its features to remain contemporary and increase opportunities for users to interact with each other. At present, WeChat groups can accommodate up to 500 people, while voice calls can hold as many as nine people.

Other hyper-realistic social features allow users to get acquainted with one another on a deeper level than they would through mere text interactions. The shake feature, for example, allows users to find people nearby. Users can also throw anonymous text or audio messages into a "sea," and other randomised users can either keep the messages or reply and toss them back for others to find.

Apart from application features, WeChat’s software is also continuously revised in order to increase its reach. In April 2021, the iOS 8.0.4 update extended WeChat Moments to Apple users, allowing them to post and share 30-second Moment videos like Android users. Additionally, WeChat’s Mini Program feature essentially links WeChat to an ever-growing catalogue of third-party mobile apps for goods and services, all of which are paid through Tencent’s Wallet feature. From ride-hailing to online shopping to food delivery, Mini Programs supports practically every possible service under the sun.

The challenges of WeChat for non-Chinese businesses

Signing up for a WeChat account may be tricky, but doing so will give you access to a wide range of services, including WeChat Stores and WeChat Pay. Official WeChat business accounts can register up to 100 customer service representatives.

Here’s a quick overview of the documents required to register a WeChat business account:

  • Business license
  • Signed and stamped official application letter
  • Copies of your National ID
  • Mobile phone bill

An even easier way to use WeChat:  8x8 Connect

With 8x8 Connect, you can communicate with consumers from all over the globe on a range of chat apps like WeChat through a single aggregated application—without any needless toggling. Businesses can redirect customers to resources and solutions in double the time while providing top quality service for complex case issues with a whole suite of built-in and compatible external tools, including Zendesk and Salesforce.

8x8 is designed to assist your tech-powered customer service agents, arm your marketing teams with the ability to increase signups and obtain valuable data insights, and help your sales teams to reach wider audiences. One of the best parts: you can constantly refine your communications strategies with access to detailed reports that highlight the types of messages and media that resonate most with your consumers.

In short, 8x8 Connect offers all the elements that a modern day business needs to thrive. We would love to help you get ahead, contact us at hello-cpaas@8x8.com.