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Facebook’s recent announcements that they are enhanced Messenger and added a host of new features to tools for businesses that use Messenger to interact with customers is just the latest step in Facebook’s long battle to become truly indispensable at all stages of the customer relationship cycle.
If it can be reasonably asserted that Facebook has “won” the battle to become indispensable at the top and bottom of the funnel, it is now in the same niche as Google as a customer acquisition company. huge. For the first time recently, digital ad spend has surpassed offline spending and Google and Facebook are by far the biggest players (although Amazon is making a position).
But, as every Facebook user knows, the company is running out of real estate to place ads on News Feed, Instagram, and even Instagram Stories. Hence their introduction of new ad customization tools in Messenger and WhatsApp.
However, what’s more important is Mark Zuckerberg’s Statement that:
The future is private.
A callous person might suggest that this pivot to privacy, groups, and encrypted messaging is an overdue response to an ever-expanding series of myths about Facebook selling people’s data. We are in the best ways inappropriate and perhaps illegal.
And yes, it is a cynical view, that the company that dominates global media in ways previously thought unthinkable will simply shift focus due to regulation and scrutiny. duality of customers. However, it’s not really cynical enough.
You see, this was all part of the PLAN at Facebook, and it was done.
As I wrote in Facebook Messaging Nudge Is Not About Privacy – It’s About Control recently:
“Taking over the role of SMS and email has been the real master plan for Facebook since acquiring WhatsApp in 2014, and now that the news feed is waning, they are taking that strategy and wrapping it in a The convenience curtain is “we now love privacy. ” Nonsense. They love revenue and the ability to use messaging to learn more about users, thus giving them the ability to sell more targeted ads (read: more expensive). ”
And why do companies use messaging (whether email, SMS, or a messaging app)? Mainly to communicate with EXISTING customers, more than potential customers. You see, what Facebook is doing — and always envisioning — is becoming the conduit for how companies interact with consumers as they become customers. Because when you play that role, it’s harder to be replaced.
You can move ad dollars around from Facebook to Twitter to Google to show for anything. You can test campaigns. You can experiment. But you won’t A/B test your order confirmation system. You won’t have to worry about how to schedule an appointment for your business. Once that’s right, you’ll do whatever it takes to not mess with it. Conversion costs are too high.
TechCrunch describe Facebook’s new dating and messaging features like this :
“After a rough start with the chatbot program a few years ago, where bots were unable to find user open responses, (of Facebook) Chudnovsky said the platform is currently attracting the attention of 100,000 users. developer on board. One option that works especially well are lead generation forms, which teach the bot to ask people standardized questions for contact information or business purposes, so Messenger adds more templates. with prompts to complete and transfer seamlessly to the direct agent.
To enable users to engage with appointment-based businesses through a platform they’re already familiar with, Messenger has launched a beta program for barbers, dentists and more, which will be available soon. open to allow any business to handle appointment booking through the app. And with newly authenticated m.me links, a business can take logged in users to their website and direct them to Messenger while still knowing their order history and other information. It can be tempting to get more businesses involved in Messenger customer service. ”
What do you think? It is very attractive indeed.
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Want to know where Facebook is located? View WeChat
The only company that Facebook can’t touch (yet) in terms of up and down the customer journey is WeChat. In Asia, WeChat is EVERYTHING. It’s more intertwined with society than Facebook in the United States, or anywhere. This is partly because WeChat has always been at the forefront of the messaging platform, and as Facebook’s Head of Messaging Stan Chudnovsky said this week:
We believe you can build practically any gadget on top of messaging.
And build it, they will.
As of January 2019, WeChat claims one billion users DAILY . It’s hugely popular because it somehow combines news, entertainment, messaging, commerce, and games into a single mobile-only platform that’s not impossible to navigate.
Hug with one eye open
I’m not against Facebook Messenger. Or WhatsApp. Or even the new version they’re working on will combine the two with Instagram’s messaging feature. In fact, I consider these apps to be one of the least objectionable elements in the entire Facebook ecosystem, as they give consumers the most relevance, the most control. and the greatest level of privacy – in theory.
But it’s important before we all embrace Facebook’s shift from public News Feed to private groups and messaging, and their strategic shift from advertising to engagement and focus. Their move goes from attracting new customers to interacting with your existing ones, that we all understand what’s really going on here:
They are weaving your organization. They are making themselves useful in more contexts and across the customer lifecycle. And just like gum that sticks to your shoe, once you step on it, it gets harder and harder to scrape off.
