Viber launches 'Public Accounts' for brands seeking better business engagement

Rakuten-backed Viber has launched a new feature - Public Accounts, for businesses and brands who want to communicate with Viber’s 800 million users.

The 'Public Accounts' feature that seeks to compete against the likes of Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp is similar to a public group chat or a two-way communication system, and its features allow the businesses to interact with customers in a much more productive way, thus enhancing the customer experience and engagement.

Over 1,000 Public Accounts debuted at the launch, including accounts for The Huffington Post, Yandex and The Weather Channel, to send out updates and other information to users who choose to subscribe to them.

Enterprises can also build chat bots for users on Viber to explore their services, new offers, schemes etc.

Speaking to Economic Times, Viber’s COO, Michael Shmilov termed the new product as India-centered with user base of over 48 million and said that they consider the country very important for its product’s growth.

“Viber bets on the high growth trajectory of the Indian startup ecosystem and these businesses are constantly seeking newer platforms to connect with relevant audiences,“ said Shmilov.

“We are, of course, aware of what’s going on in our field, but we take pride in crafting the best possible solution based on what we believe is the most suitable experience for people using Viber,” he added.

Viber’s API also allows companies to connect with their existing customer relationship management (CRM) system, while they can also manually connect individually with customers through live chats with humans or with chatbots.