In partnership with eTail Asia 2022, E-Commerce Nation had the pleasure to interview Jack Wei, Head of Product Marketing at Sendbird. Together we discussed customer strategies and relationship.
Can you introduce yourself and your background?
Jack Wei, head of product marketing at Sendbird. I’ve held a diverse set of marketing roles spanning branding, produpct, customer, content, performance, and event marketing. I have experience at global enterprises as well as successful venture-backed startups. Early in my career, I was a management consultant focused on international market entry.
Can you introduce Sendbird and its activity?
Sendbird is the world’s most proven conversations platform for mobile apps. More than 1,000 companies build on top of Sendbird’s suite of chat, voice, and video APIs to connect with their users in a custom, branded UX/UI that drives user engagement and loyalty. Think eCommerce and online marketplace companies like Carousell, Rakuten, and Schibsted. Other reputable companies that build with Sendbird include Doordash, Reddit, and Paytm to name a few.
How important is a good customer relationship in the overall conversion of an eCommerce app or website?
A good customer relationship is everything when it comes to conversion. We believe that conversations are at the heart of building relationships (whether online or offline) and getting things done. As transactional as eCommerce can be, the end customers still gravitate towards brands that provide an excellent experience. And the overall experiences are shaped by the merchandise, design, and multiple conversational touch points along the buyer journey.
What is, for you, the advantage of live chat (written, audio, video) compared to email?
Live chat, voice, and video happens in real-time and in-app. Businesses are able to connect with an already-captive audience in a seamless, branded environment (the mobile app) towards conversion. Email acts as a reminder if somehow that initial conversion didn’t happen and businesses want to reel customers back in. But guess what, the act of conversion still has to occur in the app. Live chat allows businesses to strike while the iron is hot.
What is the relevance of holding the chat on live-streaming and what are some of the best practices to optimize participants engagement?
- Pause and ask the audience questions
- Leverage features like polls and announcements
- Rotate several items for eCommerce features
- Offer special promotions only offered during live-streaming to incentivize engagement
Can you tell us more about how some payment companies are utilizing your chat solution?
Payment companies are utilizing Sendbird Chat features to drive user engagement, conversion, and retention. Emojis and commenting in social payment apps like PayPay build stickiness and a sense of community. Read receipts and payment confirmation attachments in-app build trust and more payment conversions for Paytm, India’s largest fintech app.
Why is SEA an important market for eCommerce?
Consumer behavior in Southeast Asia generally adopts new eCommerce techniques faster, with more willingness than other markets around the world. People spend more time on their mobile devices and have a larger appetite to try new eCommerce approaches — from social shopping, influencer blogging, etc. Even the earlier 2010 trends of referral shopping and affiliate marketing that have now become commonplace saw most success in Southeast Asia.
What are the top 3 retail trends we need to look out for in Asia?
- More investment towards digital, mobile apps in particular
- The Buy Now Pay Later payment model will gain acceptance
- Seamless online x offline shopping experience
You are participating for the first time in eTail Asia, what do you expect from this edition?
It’s the first in-person event we are attending in Singapore since covid started so we are extremely excited about it. We hope to meet some of our clients and take this great opportunity to network with potential customers and industry players to see what partnerships there might be out there.
Why is eTail Asia a must not miss event and what can the audience look forward to?
With a jam-packed agenda, the line up of awesome speakers and the wealth of knowledge and insights that will be shared during the conference, the event pretty much speaks for itself!
