The Way In Which Apps Like WhatsApp, WeChat Helps Make Money Even while Offering Free Texting And Calling8527731
Ever thought about the way a messaging app could make money whilst offering free texting and calling? WhatsApp users in India might be surprised to discover that there's far more to messaging apps than communicating. Here's how: by providing services for example digital payments, online shopping and content.
China's WeChat is among the perfect example of the huge opportunity which messaging apps hold. With well over 900 million monthly active users, WeChat enables them to do everything from messaging, buying grocery, hailing cabs, ordering online food and also offline payments at restaurants - this all without needing to go to another app. These services not just provide the company outstanding customer stickiness, additionally they create a exceptional revenue model.
For now, WeChat's competitors outside China this includes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Viber and also Line are behind the curve on this front, although some have started on the path to becoming bigger platforms. "The reason chat apps are growing beyond communications is to develop a lasting monetisation strategy," said Neha Dharia, a senior analyst with a focus on messaging at London-based research firm Ovum. "Chat apps are shifting away from being merely a provider of communication tools chat, voice as well as video) to becoming a platform for the exchange of services, payment mechanisms and content consumption." WhatsApp, the largest messaging app on earth with 1.3 billion every month active users, introduced a business version in India very early this week. "Based on research, we know that people are using WhatsApp to speak to businesses. make business messaging far more convenient for individuals and more effective for businesses," a WhatsApp representative said in response to ET's questions. Whatsapp Business is a different app from Whatsapp Messenger, aimed mostly at giving a direct communication platform to small businesses, the majority of who might be using WhatsApp already.
Even while Whatsapp has maintained the service free, it might expand it to much larger businesses with added features such as analytics, by which it could charge a usage fee at a later stage, as a result developing a revenue model, segment watchers said. This actually also is aimed at raising subscriber connect which it can leverage for future monetization of their other services. The greater agenda - and a more critical one - for these firms is to get active users to invest more time on the app or services as well as make it viable for profit generation, according to specialists.
"Every single technology company is vying for consumer stickiness, interaction as well as time spent on the app, and in order to keep them around the app's ecosystem they're broadening themselves to become platforms. Just being messaging applications that provide cost-free services isn't going to be a good revenuegeneration model," said Jayanth Kolla, founding father of Bengaluru-based research firm Convergence Catalyst.
