Zalo for business: The complete guide

To connect with the Vietnamese audience, you need to speak their language and use the right channel to reach them on. That means getting to know Zalo, the homegrown superstar app used by 73 million people in the country, including more than 155,000 companies.

Before we dive into business use cases, let’s go through the key facts about Zalo, and why it became so popular in Vietnam.

Launched in 2012, Zalo is a Vietnam-based social platform that became the nation’s favorite messaging app within a decade. Like other OTT messaging apps, it enables users to text, make voice and video calls, share files and engage in group chats.

With 87% of the country’s smartphone users active on Zalo, it is the most-used messaging app in Vietnam.

As of the end of August 2024, Zalo’s monthly active user base reached 77 million people, including more than 155,000 companies, with nearly 2 billion messages sent daily. These facts sound even more impressive considering that Vietnam is among the top 10 markets in app downloads globally.

Zalo is owned by VNG Corporations, a video gaming and social media startup that rose to the status of Vietnam’s first tech unicorn. The name “Zalo” is a combination of the words „alo“, the greeting Vietnamese people use when picking up the phone, and „Zing“, a suite of online services offered by VNG.

Today, Zalo is considered by many to be a “super app“, as VNG’s ecosystem offers services that range from social interactions to seamless payments, and convenient online shopping.

Like WeChat in China, KakaoTalk in South Korea, and LINE in Japan, Zalo was developed by a local company, in the local language. It offers a highly localized user experience that surpasses the ones offered by international messaging competitors. Powered by its natural language processing, it secures high engagement rates through lively stickers for conversations in Vietnamese.

Zalo implemented end-to-end encryption in May 2022, offering the same level of security similar to chat apps such as WhatsApp. On top of that, seamless integrations to services like ZaloPay, Zalo Shop, and Zalo Bank enable users to pay their bills, transfer money to friends and family, buy products online, and even get micro-loans — all in an already familiar setting.

This widespread adoption is why many organizations, such as government agencies and enterprises have also also started using the app to connect with users in Vietnam.

With Zalo Notification Services (ZNS), Zalo offers many ways for businesses to engage with users and customers. Here are the most common use cases:

You can authenticate users by sending verification codes (also known as 2FA). Users who register their account on your platform will receive a Zalo message to verify their phone number or account.

You can use Zalo notifications to confirm account creation, inform about password changes, and provide account info updates. Users can receive notifications about transaction status, balance changes, and payment requests.

Among different types of Zalo notifications via ZNS, such as after-sales, account information, and product and service updates, users prefer transaction update notifications. 79% of respondents have shown their willingness to receive more such notifications than other types of notifications.

You can use Zalo notifications to confirm orders and provide updates on booking status, registrations, and event attendance. You can also use ZNS to send reminders for events such as payments, deliveries, check-ups, or maintenance.

You can use Zalo messages to communicate service changes and account-related information. Also, gathering customer feedback through Zalo helps you improve the quality of your service.

Through Zalo, you can send notifications on suspicious activity and other risk warnings.

95% of respondents to the survey prefer to receive customer service notifications from businesses on the Zalo platform, and many users are eager to recommend the platform to their family and friends. Compared to other channels such as SMS, Email, and Business Applications, more users prefer Zalo for receiving customer service notifications.

Businesses use Zalo to maintain long-term customer relationships and provide various after-sales services. According to the report, 69% of users are interested in receiving after-sales messages through ZNS.

Here are some examples of after-sales messages you can send on Zalo:

You can use Zalo Notification Services to promote your Zalo Official Account (ZOA) and Zalo Mini App. By sending targeted notifications, you can attract more users.

Here are some of the reasons why users prefer to receive notifications via ZNS compared to other similar services:

There are two ways you can start using Zalo for your business, depending on whether you have a legal entity in Vietnam.

You can see examples of a generic sender (left) and a branded sender (right) for sending verification codes below:

Here is a video on sending Zalo messages with the Zalo Notifications Services (ZNS) via Infobip’s web platform:

And here is how to connect Zalo via API:

When using Zalo Notification Services, the feedback you get matters. If Zalo users report your messages as bad, it can affect your status.

Zalo grades Official Accounts (OA) into three categories: Good, Medium, and Low. Your grade depends on how many negative reports you get. The features you can use, like how many messages and what kind of content you can send, depend on your grade. If you’re doing well, you can send more messages. But if you get too many bad reports, Zalo might limit your messaging or even stop it for a while.

Your grade can change based on the quality of your messages over the past week. Zalo checks this every day. If your grade changes, you might have to wait a bit before you see any new features.

To illustrate all this, here are some examples: the below image shows a message template that users reported as bad. It is written in a very formal way, with the purpose of informing customers on due payments. This information can be both unpleasant to read in a Zalo message, and also unnecessary if a customer had already paid.

On the other hand, the image below shows a good example of a Zalo message. It is written in a warm tone, asking for a review of a customer order. This increases the chances of getting positive feedback, especially for orders customers are happy with.

Certain factors should be considered when delivering Zalo notifications via ZNS so that you receive better engagement. Here are some best practices for sending ZNS notifications.

Personalize after-sales notification content

Maintain quality and provide valuable content

Manage the notification frequency

Be reachable to your customers

Adopt the right strategy

Zalo is more than just a chat app. It has become a way of life for millions of Vietnamese people, which has already led to more than 155,000 companies using it. If you want to start using Zalo too, here are the key things you need to keep in mind: