By the third quarter of 2016, Wechat amassed 840 million monthly active users. Wechat has become a necessary tool for businesses to engage with the market.
Detailed Comparison
The Wechat product designed for businesses is called the Official Public Account. There are 2 major ways business can set up Official Public Accounts: Service Account and Subscription Account (*a third kind is called Enterprise Account, it’s more used for businesses’ internal communications, hence less relevant in this discussion).
Wechat’s Official Account Admin Platform has some pretty detailed information, but for first-time market entrants, it still can be confusing. So, I’m summarizing in this article the key differences between Service Accounts and Subscription Accounts for your consideration:
Here’s a quick illustration of the visibility difference between Service and Subscription Accounts:
Further Considerations
Service accounts have the ability to create or embed mobile website within their menus, hence enabling complex functions such as user data collection, e-commerce, payment, etc. For example, the China Eastern Airlines’ service account allow users to check their membership points, flight status or to check in by linking directly to their mobile website.
China’s car sharing company, Didi, provides essentially the same service in its Wechat service account as in its App.
For a more visual explanation of the specific features. You can find it here.
Conclusion
Generally speaking, if your marketing strategy revolves around pushing interesting content to users, Subscription Account can be a good fit for you. With verification, you can customize your menus to link users to your website for more information.
If your aim is to allow users to speak to your customer service staff, or to do shopping through interactive menus, then Service Account can be just what you need.
