The Kustomer is always right! This seems to be ringing true for Meta (FB) who have doubled down on the cliche and purchased the customer service software company for $1b. The deal wasn't without its troubles as antitrust scrutiny took nearly a year to complete on both sides of the Atlantic.
Kustomer builds software so that businesses can manage customer messages from multiple services on one central dashboard. Despite the ups and downs of the deal, Meta is hopeful that the acquisition can play a pivotal role in ramping up profits from both WhatsApp and its Messenger app. It hopes businesses will use WhatsApp, which has more than 2 billion monthly users, in lieu of other forms of customer communication.
Why it matters
Traditional customer service as we know it is evolving. Going beyond just chatbots, both brands and consumers will look to tap into the direct access that WhatsApp and Messenger offer. It also shines a light on Meta's continuing decision to pivot away from its crown jewel, Facebook, and begin to diversify its offerings.