{"id":44234,"date":"2023-10-20T15:34:28","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-apples-new-imessage-could-be-a-tool-for-your-business-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:34:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:34:28","slug":"how-apples-new-imessage-could-be-a-tool-for-your-business-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-apples-new-imessage-could-be-a-tool-for-your-business-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How Apple\u2019s new iMessage could be a tool for your business – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Although its main use is sending messages to friends and family, Apple\u2019s iMessage could soon become an important tool for businesses and brands worldwide.<\/p>\n

At its unveiling of the new iPhone last Thursday, Apple touched on new features introduced in iOS 10, the operating system behind the wildly popular mobile phones.<\/p>\n

The largest update by far was the update to messaging service iMessage, and although the changes are largely cosmetic, one feature should have businesses at attention worldwide.<\/p>\n

Apple will introduce capability for third-party apps and services through an iMessage specific app store. A similar feature will come in iOS 10 to Apple\u2019s voice assistant Siri, allowing the user to interact with apps via voice using a newly released application programming interface (API).<\/p>\n

Siri\u2019s functionality will be initially limited, reports 9to5Mac, with apps Siri \u2018knows\u2019 about restricted to ride booking, messaging, Photo search, payments, VoIP calling, and exercise or workouts.<\/p>\n

What it means for brands<\/h3>\n

This third party capability will let businesses and brands integrate closer with consumers, with Apple\u2019s presentation showing payment service Square and delivery service DoorDash getting on board.<\/p>\n

Facebook introduced a similar capability into its Messenger service last year, and since that time a number of Australian businesses have started to use the features. iMessage and Siri\u2019s capabilities are not fully revealed, but if they follow in Messenger\u2019s wake, functions to order food and receive news are likely to be featured.<\/p>\n

One such Australian business that has been using Messenger\u2019s features since May this year is lunch delivery start-up HowAboutEat. Co-founder of the company, Giovannia Ravone, told SmartCompany<\/em> he is interested in the possibilities iMessage could bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are definitely hoping to explore the new third party features for iMessage, but at the moment it doesn\u2019t look as straightforward as Facebook\u2019s bot,\u201d Ravone says.<\/p>\n

For HowAboutEat, which sends messages to its users who are signed up to the daily lunch delivery service, Ravone says sending automated regular messages is something better done through Facebook\u2019s service.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all about how they let the bots behave. Facebook allows for proactive and reactive bots, and it\u2019s not clear how Apple will tackle that,\u201d Ravone says.<\/p>\n

Reactive services only respond when prompted by a customer, such as a customer support bot. Proactive bots send messages unprompted, which Ravone says is difficult to get Facebook\u2019s approval for.<\/p>\n

Both styles can have big benefits for businesses operations, with Ravone saying using a Facebook Messenger bot has \u201callowed us to instantly interact with tens of thousands of people\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe instant gratification for the user is very beneficial. It also allows you to send interactive functionalities like menus or polls,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifty percent of the advantage is the actual functionality opened up by these interactive messages.\u201d<\/p>\n

The main issue for small businesses Ravone can see is the need for coding knowledge, as implementing these services requires complex custom code.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re just a local restaurant, it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll have the skills, as these require some relatively techy know-how,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Facebook or Apple made the service more generally accessible, every small business would get on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Gamble from Marketing Angels agrees, saying businesses require both technical knowledge and volume for these services to be worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you need to have volume as a business for these things to work, smaller businesses wont have the customer base to make it worth it,\u201d Gamble says.<\/p>\n

However, Gamble believes businesses that are already integrating with Facebook could easily get on board, saying, \u201cit\u2019s not too much of a stretch\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at Facebook, businesses are using it as a listening service and it\u2019s very effective for customer feedback. It\u2019s not too much of a stretch to make it more one-on-one,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Apple is looking at introducing its own service, it must see a market.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was first published on SmartCompany.<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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