WeChat Pay is already a part of everyday life in China, a popular payment gateway supported almost everywhere – taxis, supermarkets, hospitals and even as a way to facilitate communication between judges and litigants in court cases. Following the launch of the Chinese official website with UX/UI design for our client AJ Hackett in 2018, the international bungee jump business, we introduced WeChat Pay for their online ticket reservations in early May this year to streamline sales transactions for Chinese tourists.

Showcase

With abundant local knowledge about the app and the Chinese market, our team in Shanghai was invited to work closely with our Hong Kong team in this project, with the former responsible for setting up payment process and the latter for website interface and program design. Customers can now proceed to WeChat Pay from the booking page directly by simply scanning a QR code, achieving a seamless customer experience for Chinese tourists.

Why WeChat Pay?  

– Able to handle multiple payment methods including Quick Pay, QR code, In-App Web-Based or Native In-App payments

– Supports cross-border settlements in all major foreign currencies and is available in over 20 countries

– Allows foreign businesses to engage with customers in- and outside of China via their all-in-one services, reaching out to larger audiences

On-going development for AJ Jackett is underway to cater for the footprints from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. The website will be further revamped to include JETCO pay (credit card payment) and improve search engine optimization (SEO).

Outlook on WeChat Pay

Today, there are reportedly more than 900 million active WeChat Pay users on a monthly basis; by 2021, it is estimated that the number of Chinese users will increase up to 675 million while WeChat’s penetration rate of smartphone users and messaging app users will rise up to 82% and 89% respectively, according to eMarketer. It’s impossible to neglect the growing business opportunities on WeChat.

Speak to our specialists today to learn more about WeChat marketing and e-Commerce landscape.

MWC Barcelona, previously known as Mobile World Congress, takes place every February in Barcelona. It is the world’s largest mobile technology exhibition in the world. Themed ‘Intelligent Connectivity’, this year’s event focused on the high-speed 5G networks, as well as new smartphones, robots and other Internet-connected devices.

Welcoming more than 100,000 attendees on 25-28 Feb 2019, MWC Barcelona 2019 saw over 2,400 participating companies showcasing their latest technologies, some of which particularly caught the eye:

HoloLens 2

With corporate clients in mind, Microsoft unveiled its new augmented reality headset, HoloLens 2. An upgrade to its predecessor that came out three years ago, Hololens 2 has demonstrated improvements in terms of eye-and hand-tracking. Coming with a USD 3,500 price tag, the device is targeted at businesses with access to Dynamics 365 Remote Assist, helping professionals like medical researchers and mechanics work remotely.

Holoscreen 3D Screen Protector

This screen protector, when used with a special app, turns phone display into 3D and allows you to take 3D photos (provided you have two or more rear cameras). When the app is not in use, the screen protector works just like a normal screen protector. The best part? This amazing invention by Lucid and Holitech costs only USD 30!

Foldable Phones

Another feature of the event was foldable smartphones with the latest bendable displays, the emerging mobile trend:

Huawei Mate X: a 5G-compatible phone with an 8” screen and three cameras. The design even allows preview while taking a selfie.

Samsung Galaxy Fold: a two-screen phone which closes like a book with six cameras.

Robots

Taking advantage of the speedy 5G networks, Chinese player ZTE exhibited a robotic band, comprising a drummer and a pianist, which played music throughout the event. Meanwhile, CloudMinds Technology presented robots that served drinks at a bar.

Mercedes-Benz User Experience

Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) is a teachable, individualizable infotainment system to be used in the new A-Class. Its features include navigation— display with augmented reality technology and ’Ask Mercedes’ — a virtual assistant from the German carmaker.

If you’re kicking yourself for missing such an exciting event, don’t worry. Just make sure you mark this on your calendar — MWC19 Shanghai on 25-27 Jun 2019 and MWC19 Los Angeles on 22-24 Oct 2019.

WhatsApp for Business API is now available in Hong Kong. If you are wondering why should you use it? The answer is simple. Many of your customers are probably already using it. Just look at your family group chats on Whatsapp. Your younger cousins, siblings, parents, older aunts and uncles are all there sharing interesting news or arranging the next family gathering on it.

Messaging apps like WhatsApp have incredible engagement rates: 98 percent of mobile messages are opened and read, with 90 percent of them getting opened within three seconds of being received. Furthermore, people prefer to share news on private channels such as email or chat apps like WhatsApp, as opposite to more public networks like Facebook. Just look at your family group chats, there are always incoming texts.

More than 60 billion messages are sent worldwide through WhatsApp every single day. WhatsApp users and similar services are willing to engage with business. According to

 

Nielsen’s Facebook Messaging Survey, 67 percent of mobile messaging app users said they expect to use chat more for communicating with businesses over the next two years. What’s more, 53 percent of respondents say they’re more likely to shop with a business they can message directly.

What is the difference between WhatsApp for Business and WhatsApp for Business API?  WhatsApp for Business is only for small businesses, whereas WhatsApp for Business API is an enterprises solution for medium-sized and large companies. That being said, the service does not allow marketing promotions, and users need to opt-in. Brands will need to use pre-approved message templates for outbound notifications. Content can contain a maximum of 4,096 characters, much longer than SMS. Rich Text, images, documents, audio and videos are supported. It is a good way to provide fast and personal customer experience. Furthermore, if users change their sim card, they can still use the app.

Five Creative Ways To Use WhatsApp For Business API

1. Orders & Order Confirmation

2. Automatic Appointment Reminders

3. Alerts & Notifications

4. Surveys

5. Staff Communication

Which brand has deployed this service? KLM Royal Dutch Airline is the first airline to test this function and roll it out globally, offering customers around the world booking confirmation, check-in notification, boarding pass, flight status updates and asking questions in 10 different languages on WhatsApp via the official WhatsApp Business application.

Contact us at info@ndn.com.hk to learn more and how we can tailor to your needs.

 

When it comes to the automobile industry, it’s all about user experience — driving itself, and for marketers — the purchasing experience from start to finish. Marketers have done extensive research to better understand what goes through the consumers’ mind throughout the buying process from discovery, evaluation to purchase.

A recent survey in the US shown that women are more likely to use their mobile devices to discover new cars and brands, with 35% using mobile for those discoveries compared with 27% of men. Since women rely heavily on their social network to discover new vehicles, that influence also extends to networks on social platforms, with 34% of women discovering new automobiles through the Facebook family of apps.

When making their decision, mobile seems to be more popular among the 18-34 age group (31%), contrasting to a mere 16% among those aged 35 or above. The Facebook family of apps again plays an important role as well, helping 43% among the 18-34 age group decide which vehicle to buy. It is also worth noting that 45% among the 18-34 age group have purchased or intend to purchase their vehicle online.

The findings from the survey suggest that more auto consumers are feeling comfortable with making the purchase online. It also shows that the younger generation is now more used to processing research information on their mobile, especially women.

Marketing strategies should take into account age, gender and more in order to create a smooth and user-friendly shopping experience for customers.

The digital world is ever-booming in ways you never thought possible, but only to a certain extent — the following five trends are unstoppable and bound to happen in 2019!

1. Hyper-personalization

Anticipate more cross-industry collaborations that will prompt more personalised marketing. When companies partner up, they have access to more information about you, thus making it possible to market their products in ways that are particularly appropriate for and appealing to you in terms of ethnicity, age, gender and more.

2. Retail evolution

Brick and mortar retail stores may be struggling to keep their doors open, but that does not reflect on how much shoppers want to shop. For instance, Black Friday sales in 2018 saw a 24% year-on-year jump. While online sales are part of the reason, brands are reaching out to potential consumers in more ways than we ever imagined. Take startup Cargo as an example. Cargo provides rideshare drivers with boxes full of merchandises from snacks to phone chargers, which riders can purchase while they’re on-the-go.

3. Data debate rages on

Tension between the public, governments and tech firms will likely intensify in the coming year over how data collected should be used, protected, or made available to whom. While China is known to impose strict rules regarding data localisation, India also mandated in 2018 that all payment data be stored within the country. This is more than just a protectionism tactic. It also provides domestic companies with more leverage to compete with overseas companies.

4. China leading social network trends

China-based tech firms have been leading trends in social networking apps which impact the Western world considerably. For example, Facebook’s Lasso is seen as influenced by Shanghai-based Musical.ly. China is expected to continue taking a stronghold in the social network industry in 2019.

5. Digital gold mine

Digital goods, like in-game purchases, are seen to bring in massive dollars in 2019. Marketing tactics combined with the clout and personalisation that these digital goods bring have made them irresistible to buyers.

For the past decades, banking has long been an industry that has branded themselves on trust and stability, however with the rise of today’s demanding consumer taste, banks are facing a new paradigm centred around the need for convenience, customer experience and choice.

While physical banking will still hold a place for brand presence throughout the territory, consumers prefer to handle their banking online both on their computers and mobile devices.

In fact, Hong Kong has more than 5.53 million smartphone users in 2017 and a predicted 80.69% of Hong Kong’s population will be using a smartphone by 2021. Consumers today are demanding the exact same convenience they are enjoying in their daily lives and the banks that recognize and provide this will enjoy the fruits of today’s digital world.

With the rise of Hong Kong’s Banking Made Easy initiative, there is a commitment in the government to better facilitate virtual banking. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will be issuing virtual banking licenses to applicants in the first quarter of 2019, marking a new era of banking as well as a golden opportunity for established banks to capture.

Why Virtual Banking?

Simply put, virtual banks are financial institutions without any physical branches where all transactions are done online. With the majority of banking today done either through digital transfers or through the use of cards, virtual banking opens up a whole new avenue where more emphasis can be paid to the customer and their needs instead of capital investment into expensive branches and their manpower.

Customers Are Changing & Banking Needs To Be Evolving

When it comes to charting a course for virtual banking success, the first step is to always step into the shoes of the consumers. As consumer demand and taste become more adapted to the fast-paced lifestyle we are used to, much more is expected from our banks, especially the 6 main challenges that affect customer experience today:

1) Onboarding & Opening Of New Accounts – A process that could take hours or even days depending on the traffic in the physical branch.

2) Poor Digital Navigation Systems – While many banks have taken steps to go digital with a website, the interfaces are outdated, causing browsers to have a frustrating time navigating to the product or service they desire.

3) Inconvenient Physical Locations / ATM Networks – Perhaps the biggest frustration faced by consumers today is difficult to locate their desired bank branch in their current location, leading to additional time wasted to travel to one.

4) Unsatisfactory In-Branch Resolution Of Issues – From long wait times to poor customer service, customers are facing inconsistent experience when it comes to physical banking.

5) Poor Omnichannel Experience – While an increasing number of banks have multiple channels to reach their customers such as website, emails and mobile apps, most information and preferences of individual customers are lost the moment they leave the channel.

6) Lack Of Real-Time Messaging – Customers desire to be updated when it comes to their personal banking situations, however many banks today either send updates through physical mail or none at all, leaving many consumers in the dark.

The Key Is Personalising The Customer Experience

One of the key strategies virtual banks have to successfully execute is the customer journey mapping to visualise and understand the customer’s experience as they browse, research and utilise the financial products and services on offer.

In virtual banks, the steps could originate from a varied number of channels and personalising the right channel with the most impactful content will win the loyalty and business of the audience.

Take for example, a prospect that discovers your virtual bank brand over social media page. He will be given a different customer experience (one that is more light-hearted and socially engaging) compared to the subsequent landing page that lays down a more constructive argument to sign-up for the service before receiving an email reminder to activate their new service for use. This personalisation of content and user experience is a key differentiating factor as price and product are no longer the sole considerations for the consumer.

In addition, there will also be a need to provide consumers with a seamless transition and connectivity between the different channels of the virtual bank. For example, a customer that consistently checks his credit card statements and bank balance through his browser will have this remember and when he uses the bank’s app, those two functions will be at the forefront of the app, saving him time in navigating around.

The Need For Agile User Experience (UX)

When a consumer first lands on your website the first impression they get will be determined by the UX of the site. From the navigation menus to the layout of the site and the various call-to-actions and offers, having a UX team that constantly iterates and conducts A/B testing is key to optimizing the user experience and maximising those conversions.

Take for an example, a customer that lands on a savings account enquiry page will likely require a UX that highlights all the necessary information, benefits and scenarios. From interest rate calculators to different projection charts and a clearly laid out feature and benefit showcase, the UX here has to guide and flow the reader through all the way to the call to action. However, the final account application page would require a much simpler UX that guides them to sign-up as soon as possible with minimal confusing information.

To take it a step further, dynamic UX coupled with big data and artificial intelligence would be helpful to help understand the browsing patterns of customers as a whole and individual browsing patterns. These allow for dynamic and on the go UX changes that tackles both individual needs and the website experience as a whole.

Embracing New Technologies From Websites To Apps For Better Customer Engagement

Today, a myriad of touch points will be needed by virtual banks to not only capture the attention of the consumer but to also provide flexibility for them to conduct their banking online. The staple of these touchpoints would be a website where maximum depth of banking services and transactions can take place, from account opening to credit card payments and beyond. This can then be adapted into the mobile and tablet browsing experience, allowing additional touchpoints for the consumer of today.

Another popular and highly effective touchpoint is the mobile app. While websites are fine for computer users, they do pose some UX difficulty when it comes to interacting with them over a mobile browser even if they are optimised for mobile. Mobile apps, however, give virtual banks a flexible and immersive touchpoint for their consumers to interact with, allowing for a combination of both functionality as a transaction portal and a hub for offers and new updates.

At New Digital Noise, we believe in helping virtual banks reach out to customers through the correct utilisation of digital touchpoints. One such project we undertook was helping Prime Credit (a local financial company) develop WeWa Card mobile app for millennials to apply for their credit card by cutting down the application process to only 5 simple steps in comparison to the lengthy forms of a traditional application. Today, this app is called OMYCard Mobile App. It retains most of the functions and user experience we designed.

From chatbots to mobile Apps, virtual banks today will have to utilise the right digital tools to not only cut through the noise and competition but also to provide the best user experience possible to gain the loyalty of the customer.

Utilising Holistic Digital Marketing Campaigns For Brand Awareness & Customer Acquisition

While traditional banks long have a heritage of brand awareness and a clientele that has been passed down from generations, a virtual bank will have to utilise every digital channel possible due to the lack of a physical presence.

The first step is to create and consolidate all the various digital touchpoints a virtual bank has. Most commonly, these will include their website, social media pages such as Facebook and mobile apps. Depending on the goal and demographics of the customers being targeted, holistic digital marketing campaigns will have to be created to focus on lead generation – namely signing up new customers (whether it be to open a savings account or a credit card for daily use).

From search engine marketing to social campaigns, virtual banks will also need to utilise the correct mixture of marketing channels to create buzz and awareness of their brand whether their target audience is doing a search on Google or browsing through Facebook.

One such campaign we have successfully launch is for Blue, a digital insurer partnership by Aviva, Hillhouse Capital and Tencent. We utilised the various digital marketing channels to not only generate awareness but also drive sign-ups. Here are a few examples:

• Google Paid Search Ads – Allowing consumers with buying intent to discover Blue’s offerings and direct hot traffic to the website.
• Facebook Page & Paid Ads – To create social awareness, build and engage an audience over time with content marketing for eventual conversions.
• Cognitive Ad – To understand consumers needs and interests by deploying the latest AI-enabled interactive advertising on websites and WeChat.

Becoming A Leader In Virtual Banking Means Embracing Digital

While becoming a virtual bank brings with it incredible benefits such as the absence of any physical branches and thus a lower threshold of capital investment, the challenge lies in acquiring customers and maintaining their loyalty for the long-term.

By understanding the customers’ unique needs and enhancing their customer experience through the correct adoption of digital marketing and technology, financial institutions today can take advantage of Hong Kong’s push in becoming a virtual banking hub and capture a slice of this very lucrative pie!

User experience and user interface, typically referred to as UX and UI, are key to quality website and app design. UX refers to the procedure of elevating the overall user experience when they interact with the application or website, while UI focuses on the look and feel.

They ensure your audience understand how to utilise the meticulously curated features of the website and app (the product), and more importantly, enjoy the experience and stay loyal, hence generating sales leads in the long term.

At New Digital Noise, the UX/UI process is an ongoing cycle composed of three stages: to understand, explore and materialise. First and foremost, we empathise with the product’s target users through extensive research. We invite them to participate in interviews, questionnaires or focused groups.

Our research before developing a lifestyle blog for an insurance company found that target users mainly concerned about healthy eating, fitness, lifestyle and medical insight. These four personas later became the core pillars of the website, with tailor-made content for each pillar such that users can easily acquire access to the information they are seeking.

Another principal objective of the UX process is to eliminate barriers that disable users from experiencing the full benefits of the product. So the sacred duty of a UX designer is to identify pain points during the customer journey through repeated testing and fine-tune in order to achieve the optimal user experience.

In one of our projects, we assisted a financial agency to launch a credit card app for lifestyle and entertainment usage. With the younger generation as our target users, we created prototypes for testing in focused groups to find out their financial management experience. We then analysed the data collected and ideated ways to eliminate possible pain points.

The prototypes will be tested repeatedly and refined until a more elaborate version rolls out, which is ready for further interface development and programming before launch. New Digital Noise provides a research-based UX/ UI design that perfectly balances customer satisfaction and your business goals. Drop us a line to learn more.