Thailand leading business messaging growth in SEA

In an increasingly mobile-first digital landscape, businesses have had to rapidly adapt their communication strategies to address constantly evolving customer expectations. But within this global shift lies an incredible opportunity for growth which we here at Meta are excited to share with you.

In a recent study, consumers revealed that they prefer interacting with businesses through their favourite social media platforms and messenger apps, with 50% of customers stating that the experience they have communicating with a business is more important to them now compared to a year ago and 70% feeling closer to businesses they can message. We identified this trend early and introduced Business Messaging from Meta, a suite of tools and solutions that leverage AI technologies, strategic ad integration, and reporting mechanisms to bring businesses and people closer together.

At our recent 'Business Messaging Summit Thailand 2023' event, we shared the latest trends, strategies, and recommendations on how Meta is creating better commerce solutions by enabling one-on-one personalized connections and helping businesses drive improved business performance and customer sentiment by getting the most out of valuable conversations. Here are some of the key takeaways.

Business Messaging is Going Strong in APAC and Thailand

More than one billion people around the world are connecting with businesses on our messaging services every week and over 600 million conversations between people and businesses are occurring every day. In addition, 71% of people now find it easier to message a business directly than to deal with a website and 69% are more likely to purchase from or do business with a company that they can contact via messaging.

For context, our data also reveals that in Thailand:

​78% of online adults message businesses at least once a week.
​81% of people feel more connected with a business when they can message them.

62% of people inquire about a business, products, or services through meta-messaging apps before making a purchase.

58% of people purchase products and services through Meta messaging apps.

It's in this global climate that Business Messaging has emerged as critical to consumers across Asia-Pacific, which has seen a nearly 70% adoption rate in Thailand alone.

"Thailand is leading the world in building this new channel of transaction. The phenomenon of businesses and consumers talking to each other and striking a connection first started in Thailand and is now scaling across the world. 44% of Thai consumers chat with a business at least once a week. Now, one billion people around the globe message businesses on our platforms weekly." shared Dhruv Vohra, Meta's Managing Director, Meta Business Group (Mid-Market) for Asia Pacific.

Meta's Business Messaging solutions are not only well-positioned to leverage our popular messaging services and high-performing ad infrastructure, but they also utilize our latest advancements in AI and automation technologies to create personalized communications at scale that can more easily convert conversations to transactions. Thailand is now leading the charge in the Asia-Pacific region and many Thai businesses have already seen considerable improvements to their business performance.

Leveraging Business Messaging to Increase Your Operational Efficiency and Drive Better Results

Unfortunately, not all businesses are well equipped to meet rising and ever-changing consumer demands. In recent years, businesses have been put under greater pressure to balance better customer experiences with the need for efficiency and measurable return on investments. More than one-third of businesses say that it is important to know how each dollar they spend turns into profit as they face continuing shifts in the market and increased industry headwinds thanks to changes in data policies and regulations, the latest of which have eliminated the use of third-party cookies.

Meta Business Messaging is a solution that enables customers to engage with businesses how they want when they want. A study conducted in December 2022 showed a 61% better impact for businesses that used Business Messaging compared to other communication channels and a 22.1% higher order value from customers, highlighting how effective communication between sellers and buyers creates a customer journey that can improve business growth.

Thai Business Success Stories through Business Messaging Solutions

AI is an integral part of Meta Business Messaging in helping marketers and businesses augment their ongoing strategies. Businesses no longer need to invest considerable time and resources into creating FAQ documents and pathways that customers are unlikely to engage with as AI technology is now capable of delivering relevant chat responses with automated question-and-answer flows that feel natural and that can significantly enhance the customer experience.

Additionally, we are continuously improving our ad formats through AI modelling, such as with Lead Ads and ads that Click to Message, which has improved efficiencies and reduced costs. 40 per cent of our advertisers globally are already using Click to Message ads format, with strong uptake in Asia-Pacific. These successes were particularly evident with Asta Oil, a Thai-based seller of skincare products, who ran a brand awareness and consideration campaign that leveraged Click to Message Ads through our platforms, resulting in a 100% increase in brand awareness and customer purchase intent.

In addition to this, Lead Generation campaign solutions are also available through Business Messaging. Muang Thai Life Assurance, a Thai life insurance company, utilized our destination optimization feature on Facebook Feeds and Instagram Reels in conjunction with Meta's instant forms to capture leads for their health insurance products, resulting in 17% lower cost-per-lead, 20% more leads captured, and 15% lower cost-per-result.

Frictionless Experiences with Payments on Messenger

We are particularly proud to highlight our new suite of payment tools exclusive to Thailand designed to streamline the transaction experience when people chat with businesses. The result of a collaborative partnership we undertook with leading Thai financial institution Kasikorn Bank, Payments on Messenger offers a frictionless shopping experience with product enquiries, verifications, and secure payments all conducted over Meta's messaging apps. This centralized process has resulted in significantly increased sales thanks to reduced conversion drop-off, more secure transactions, and improved ad performance thanks to Meta's payment optimization tracking features.

How Businesses Can Take Their Messaging Strategies to the Next Level

Here are four key messaging solutions offered by Meta Business Messaging that are also driving growth for Thai businesses:

Purchase optimization: Enhances sales for Click to Messenger ads by utilizing performance goals focused on direct purchase optimization.

Conversions API: A Meta Business Tool that establishes a direct link between your marketing data and Meta for improved ad targeting, cost reduction, and comprehensive insights while prioritizing user privacy.

Lead Center for audience creation: Empowers advertisers to create custom audiences based directly on high-intent leads, using a lightweight CRM with features like lead list creation and inbox lead marketing, etc.

Messaging campaign report: A tool designed to provide valuable insights into campaign performance and user engagement, enabling advertisements to identify drop-off points and optimize chatbot messages for better results.

At Meta, we believe Business Messaging goes beyond simple conversations. We are not only committed to enabling businesses of all sizes to achieve accelerated reach with our technologies but are also creating more personalized brand engagement experiences for businesses and consumers everywhere.

We are constantly seeking to work with marketers, industries, and agencies to help them find the optimal communication solutions that drive better business performance and growth. To learn more about how you can build a messaging experience at scale and automate customer service, messaging experience at scale lead generation, and transactions over chat for business, please visit https://www.facebook.com/business/business-messaging