Vietnam: A vibrant, teleconnected economy
You may be familiar with the term xin chào, meaning “hello” in Vietnamese. But did you know that Vietnamese people say alo when picking up the phone? Developed in 2012, Zalo is a portmanteau (a made-up word coined from a combination of words) that blends this friendly phone greeting with Zing, a series of online services offered by VNG Corporations, including Zing MP3 and Zing Me. Within its first couple of years, Zalo quickly grew to become the leading direct messaging service in Vietnam.
Home to over 98 million people, Vietnam is a buzzing Southeast Asian nation that has successfully fended off the economic woes brought about by COVID-19. While other neighboring countries suffered economic dips, Vietnam stood strong and did not experience a single quarter of economic contraction in 2020.
Vietnam was one of the three Asian economies that grew in 2020, even outstripping China’s 2.3% growth with its own economic surge of 2.9%.
Image source: CNBC
With Vietnam’s fast-growing economy also comes deep smartphone penetration. With 61.3 million smartphone users, Vietnam ranks 10th in the world in terms of absolute numbers. What’s more, an astounding 80% of those 61.3 million users have Zalo downloaded on their smartphones, sending a flurry of 1.7 billion messages per day.
With its continuous flow of updates and growing reputation as a “super app,” Zalo has been breaking domestic records ever since its inception, and it is expected to further dominate the Vietnamese market in the upcoming decade.
In 2020, 75.8% of 16-64 year olds in Vietnam used Zalo, edging out Facebook Messenger’s 76.5%.
Why Vietnamese are always on Zalo
Over the years, Zalo has evolved from a mere texting platform to a comprehensive lifestyle app. From platform-exclusive games, payment features, and personal task planners, Zalo has successfully integrated itself into the daily lives of Vietnamese people by offering fun and convenience. Users can easily share gaming achievements or promotional deals with their contacts via Zalo Diary, which acts as a newsfeed similar to that of Facebook whereby posts can be commented on, liked, and shared across other social media platforms.
Apart from having a wide variety of features, Zalo is also highly localized for Vietnamese users. When users chat in Vietnamese, the app’s natural language processing engine automatically suggests stickers based on the keywords typed. This unique level of localization is something that other mobile messaging apps, such as Telegram, have yet to achieve.
Image source: Leevy. Suggested stickers for “mệt” (which means tired).
Zalo’s sticker packs are also constantly updated to keep up with current events, such as the sticker collection that was launched to encourage vigilance against COVID-19. Zalo’s localized content has resonated with people to such an extent that it is now the default messaging application within both personal and professional circles.
Image source: Tech in Asia. Part of Zalo’s sticker pack related to COVID-19.
The success of Zalo in Vietnam has been remarkable, with its app uptake almost outperforming Facebook at the end of 2021. In fact, Zalo was ranked the second-most widely used application in Vietnam by 88% of the population.
Relentless growth on the horizon
VNG Corporations shows no signs of putting the brakes on Zalo’s rapid advancement. Earlier this year, VNG invested $6 million in Vietnamese B2B digital gifting platform Got It, which makes it possible to expand gifting services and merchant networks for Zalo and ZaloPay (its mobile payment app). VNG’s diverse investment portfolio also includes e-commerce company Tiki, media company Thanh Son, and trucking startup Ecotruck, all of which point to Zalo becoming a one-stop platform that Vietnamese users can go to for all their lifestyle needs.
Post-pandemic, Vietnamese people spend 30 minutes more on the internet per day, providing social media platforms with more opportunities to capitalize.
Zalo faced little difficulty in acquiring partnerships in large part due to its massive user base. With a familiar interface and no additional registration required, the process of onboarding existing Zalo users onto ZaloPay is virtually attrition-free. Zalo and ZaloPay together have integrated themselves with large Vietnamese banks, including Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, and Sacombank, as well as Southeast Asia’s top ride-sharing app Grab, making it one of the most highly interconnected apps in Vietnam’s digital ecosystem. Plans to facilitate utility payments through ZaloPay are also in the works.
Toggle customer conversations across borders with 8×8
It’s obvious that Zalo is a great choice for engaging with your consumers in Vietnam. So, how does 8×8 come into play?
With 8×8’s Chat Apps API, you can add Zalo into your messaging workflows with zero fuss (and it comes with six other chat channels as well). Whether it’s a simple inquiry or a complex case issue, you can manage all two-way customer conversations entirely via the API or by using 8×8 Converse, a plug-and-play chat platform with a ticketing system that supports your customer service stream. There’s also the option to integrate with your existing customer support solutions, such as Zendesk, Salesforces, Freshdesk, and MS Dynamics, so your customer service agents don’t have to deviate from their current processes.
In addition to two-way conversations, your business can also send notifications to customers, such as an OTP, delivery update, or payment reminder, via Zalo. Not only can your marketing teams increase signups, but your sales team can also build relationships with local audiences. The best part—via 8×8 Connect, you can gain access to detailed reports that highlight the types of messages that most resonate with your customers. With all these valuable data insights just a mouse click away, you can constantly refine your communications strategies with greater ease.
Choose 8×8 a your Zalo Messenger provider to reach and engage your customers in Vietnam. Find out how you can do so with 8×8’s Chat Apps API.
