Chris Caesar

You talk to your friends with it. And your family. And sometimes, even your boss. So, why not your customers? As consumer patience continues to wane for waiting on hold, automated phone menus, and days-long email exchanges, business messaging — that is, sending text or chat messages to brands — is quickly emerging as the preferred channel for both businesses and shoppers alike.

In marketing, communication is everything — much like the proverbial tree in the forest, your customers won’t hear a peep from your marketing campaigns if they aren’t around to see or hear it. It’s why they’re called “touchpoints,” after all: interactivity is key.

Typically speaking, in nearly every context, keeping one’s head attached is seen as a smart move. And losing it? Well. That’s almost never good. However, new trends in ecommerce may well turn this sort of thinking on its — you guessed it — head.

There’s something unsettling about the idea of a busy supermarket whose aisles are bustling with customers and commerce, but full of abandoned shopping carts at the register. Where did all the customers go?

While no brilliant minds have yet invented a bot capable of passing the Turing test, that hasn’t stopped many brands from recognizing the helpful ways chatbots can radically improve the customer experience.

Marketing strategy often involves the search for a particular “sweet spot” – where the interests of both customer and merchant, supply and demand, want and fulfillment, perfectly align in a mutually beneficial arrangement. Increasingly, this proverbial sweet spot is inching closer and closer to business messaging channels.

In a world so often dominated by misinformation, it’s more important than ever to confirm you know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s why, when Meta commissioned an online study asking 300 marketing leaders about their views on business messaging solutions, we made sure to ask respondents about the biggest challenges they felt they’d face integrating such a platform.

Let’s face it: It’s always a little stressful when anyone asks you to put your “money where your mouth is.” Most marketing leaders know that tracking and justifying your marketing spend is something of a begrudging necessity — after all, no one wants to devote months of effort developing a marketing campaign just to throw your spend into a black hole.

Whether you’re in the market for a vintage clothing item, a deal on a refurbished gadget, or just something that catches your eye with a lower carbon footprint, you’re probably already familiar with the many benefits of recommerce.

Collect customer feedback? That’s a great start! We found 83% of businesses who describe themselves as “successful” measure customer satisfaction. In fact, research published in the Harvard Business Review shows just the act of asking customers for their feedback makes them happier—and can increase their likelihood of shopping with a brand again. But if you’re like many companies who listen to customers, it’s probably not enough.

Expert insights on how brands will continue to adapt into this “next normal” phase of the industry.