Messaging as a utility

First published as a LinkedIn post ...repeated here.

"I'll miss you when you're gone"
Sometimes we only get clarity on what we need when it's taken away.

The front-page reactions to yesterday's WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram outages demonstrate the new public reliance on digital messaging.

All Big-Tech companies explicitly state that the next big thing for these channels is Consumer-to-Business communication. The "WeChat" model is coming to the West - using messaging for services, not just social.

Customer service, purchases, tracking, payments, fulfilment, accounts, billing, invoicing....it's all coming to your favourite messaging channels soon.

(And, of course, we're preparing our clients for exactly that in Retail)

The impact of the outage is a useful reminder to our clients and prospects that we may possibly be on the right track with this :-)