Event recap: The Super App for All Your Business Needs in Bulgaria

September 26 was an important day for our team and partners as we gathered in Bulgaria to discuss the current trends taking shape within business messaging and the important role super apps play in customer communication.

Challenges and trends for businesses: The super app era

Our Chief Revenue Officer, Cristina Constandache, opened the event discussing the current communication challenges businesses and their customers face, and the trends we need to know today to stay relevant tomorrow.

Here are a few of the key trends highlighted during the event:

1. Consumers want privacy – but are looking for relevance: It’s time to move away from spray-and-pray messaging and lean into zero-party data that enables targeted and personalized two-way communication.
2. Mobile-first to mobile-only: As 5G and mobile commerce grow, brands will shift to mobile-only, focusing on seamless mobile engagement.
3. Consumers use fewer mobile apps as they settle on favorites: Brands need to embrace super apps, that will end up on users' home screens - the most expensive digital real estate.

When choosing digital channels, brands should also pay attention to security and privacy features, as choosing an untrustworthy channel poses several threats. In her presentation, Cristina shared how Rakuten Viber has been building its super app ecosystem over the years, while keeping security at it’s core, which has led to its top three ranking among messaging and calling apps for security.

Viber for Business: A powerful suite of solutions for brands 

Our Senior Director of Advertising solutions, Jean-Marc Alomassor, and Partnerships Account Director, Limor Bailey, shared the many ways businesses can use Viber for Business to grab customer attention, guide them on their journey with your brand, and keep them coming back for more – all in one place.

With 94% of smartphone users in Bulgaria already using Rakuten Viber, brands that are thinking of building their presence on the app can ensure they’ll reach their customers - old and new. 

And with our recent innovations and newly launched features, brands have a wider scope of use cases to experiment with to learn what resonates with their customers, including:

• Full screen ads that help your message grab customers’ undivided attention
• Click-to-message solution that make it easier for you to quickly convert potential leads into customers with a combination of Ads and a pre-defined Viber Chatbot
• Viber Gems which enable brands to build emotional connections with customers with the help of branded animations in user chats that are triggered by keywords during important seasons, such as holidays or international sporting events
• Verification messages that help brands send one-time passwords in a cost-efficient and secure manner
• Enhanced-protection messages that provide maximum safety and security with user verification before sharing sensitive information

What’s next for Rakuten Viber?

Although we are launching new solutions that brands can use to boost their marketing efforts, we aren’t stopping there.

Cristina Constandache highlighted Rakuten Viber’s plans to create a one-stop shop for customers and businesses of all sizes – providing a seamless, cost-efficient way to maintain online presence that makes it easy to find, reach, and do business with brands.

How brands use Rakuten Viber to reach their goals

Our Senior Director of Sales and Partnerships, Noa Bar Shay, and Director of Global Strategic Partnerships, Konstantin Kostadinov, showed how to use Viber for Business to enhance security, create 360-degree campaigns, and build a unique and personalized customer experience.

We even had the chance to hear the success stories from our customers and partners who have built brand presence on Rakuten Viber using our suite of business solutions. Among the presenters were:

• Angela Sinkovic, Head of Enterprise at our trusted partner NTH Group, who presented the success story of Klett. The company used personalized and targeted Viber Business Messages to enhance marketing campaign effectiveness, leading to higher delivery rates and doubled event registrations.
• Boryana Gigova, Marketing and Business Development at The Media Shop Bulgaria, who shared a success story of our client Mr. Bricolage about how Viber Ads and branded Viber Lenses leading to their new channel increased engagement and click-through rates.
• Radoslav Dimitrov, Senior Director, Card Business at Borica Bank Services, who showcased how they used a Viber Chatbot to simplify food voucher management and access to exclusive promotions and discounts from retailers for its employees.
• Maya Angelova, CEO of DSK Ventures, who explained how they used transactional Viber Business Messages with SMS fallback and rich promotional Viber Business Messages for marketing campaigns to reach more than half of their customers while reducing costs.

The Rakuten Viber team was delighted to meet with brands and partners in Bulgaria! Watch the video of the best moments and highlights of the evening below to relive it with us.

If you’re ready to tap into Viber for Business solutions to reach your business goals, talk to our team.