Location, location, location
Whether you’re building a messaging playbook from scratch or considering what to add next, you should first look at where your customers live:
North America
RECCOMENDATION
Add SMS/text and messaging through your website or mobile app, consider adding Facebook Messenger.
Customers in North America prefer to message with companies via SMS/text or directly through their website, though tickets over Facebook Messenger and Twitter direct messages spiked 172 percent here during the pandemic. Currently, half of the companies that offer messaging support rely on Facebook Messenger, while 41 percent use web messaging, and a third use SMS/text or mobile messaging.
CUSTOMERS PREFER
SMS/text, native messaging
M O S T T I C K E T S F I L E D
SMS/text, Facebook Messenger
COMPANIES MOST COMMONLY OFFER
Facebook Messenger, Web Messaging
LARGEST PANDEMIC BOOST
Facebook Messenger
Asia-Pacific
RECCOMENDATION
Add Facebook Messenger, consider adding WhatsApp, SMS/text, or regional favorites like WeChat (China), Kakao (Korea), or LINE (Japan).
More customers in Asia-Pacific are filing tickets over Facebook Messenger than any other region. Though far fewer tickets are filed via WhatsApp and SMS/text, both channels saw a pandemic boost, and customers say they prefer to use social messaging and text when they message with companies. Currently, more than half of companies that offer messaging support rely on Facebook Messenger and SMS/text, while 47 percent use WhatsApp.
CUSTOMERS PREFER
Social messaging, SMS/text
MOST TICKETS FILED
Facebook Messenger
COMPANIES MOST COMMONLY OFFER
Facebook Messenger, SMS/text, WhatsApp
LARGEST PANDEMIC BOOST
Facebook Messenger
Europe, Middle East, and Africa
RECCOMENDATION
Add Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, consider adding SMS/text, native messaging, or regional favorite Viber (Eastern Europe).
Most customers in this region are filing tickets using Facebook Messenger, though WhatsApp use jumped 190 percent last year. Customers here say that when they reach out to companies over messaging channels, they prefer to use social messaging apps, text, or messaging directly through a website or mobile app. Currently, 67 percent of companies that have adopted messaging rely on WhatsApp, but just under half also use SMS/text (45 percent) and Facebook Messenger (43 percent).
CUSTOMERS PREFER
Social messaging, SMS/text, native messaging
M O S T T I C K E T S F I L E D
Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp
COMPANIES MOST COMMONLY OFFER
WhatsApp, SMS/text, Facebook Messenger
LARGEST PANDEMIC BOOST
Latin America
RECCOMENDATION
Add WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, consider adding native messaging, SMS/text and Instagram direct messages.
Customers in Latin America are filing more tickets over WhatsApp than all other regions combined, and the channel saw volume increase 96 percent over the last year. When messaging with companies, customers prefer to use social messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, but also don’t mind directly messaging a company through its own website or mobile app. Currently, nearly all companies that offer messaging use WhatsApp (91 percent), but 74 percent also turn to Facebook Messenger. Other channels you’re more likely to see offered by companies in Latin America? Instagram direct messages (33 percent) and Telegram (28 percent).
CUSTOMERS PREFER
Social messaging, native messaging
M O S T T I C K E T S F I L E D
COMPANIES MOST COMMONLY OFFER
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger
LARGEST PANDEMIC BOOST
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger