The choice between Zalo OA and Email Marketing is a headache for many SME owners in Vietnam. In the context of ever-increasing advertising costs, owning an effective direct customer care and sales channel is a vital factor.

Are you wondering which channel to focus your budget on to optimize profits? Is the habit of Vietnamese users leaning towards checking mail or surfing Zalo every morning? The answer will directly determine your revenue in the next quarter.

Reality shows that, Zalo OA is emerging as an undeniable force with a huge user rate. However, Email Marketing still holds a unique position in some specific industries, especially B2B.

According to the latest statistics, the message opening rate on Zalo can reach 85%, a dream figure compared to the average rate of 15-20% for Email. But does a high open rate mean a high closing rate?

This article will deeply analyze the pros and cons of each channel based on practical experience. We will help you build the smartest multi-channel strategy.

1. Overview comparison: The power of Zalo OA and Email Marketing in Vietnam

To make an accurate decision, we need an objective look at the position of Zalo OA compared to traditional channels. In the Vietnamese market, user behavior has very distinct characteristics that international platforms sometimes fail to meet.

Reach rate and user habits

Zalo currently has more than 74 million regular users in Vietnam. This is a speaking number, proving the huge coverage of this application. Most Vietnamese people, from office workers to housewives, have Zalo installed on their phones.

Conversely, Email Marketing is often only popular with office workers, intellectuals, or the business world. The daily personal email checking habit of Vietnamese people is not yet as high as in Western countries.

This creates an absolute competitive advantage for Zalo OA in the B2C retail segment. The push notification capability right on the lock screen helps brands reach customers immediately.

Two-way interaction capability

Email Marketing is often one-way notification or sending long documents. Replying via Email often has a high latency and does not create a sense of direct “conversation”.

Meanwhile, Zalo OA allows 1:1 chat in real-time. Customers can ask for prices, view product photos and close orders right in the chat frame without switching platforms.

This convenience helps shorten the customer journey significantly. Buying emotions are maintained continuously, minimizing the common cart abandonment rate.

Detailed investment efficiency comparison table

Operating costs and technical barriers

Email Marketing requires businesses to have knowledge of HTML design, mail sending system setup, and domain filtering to avoid spam. This is a significant technical barrier for SMEs with few IT personnel.

In contrast, the administration interface of Zalo OA is quite intuitive and easy to use. However, Zalo's fee policy is becoming increasingly tight, requiring businesses to buy monthly packages and pay for active messages.

According to experts at DPS.MEDIA, balancing costs between these two channels needs to be based on LTV (Customer Lifetime Value). If the profit margin is low, spamming Zalo messages can erode profits quickly.

2. Why is Zalo OA the “ultimate weapon” for B2C businesses?

For retail, fashion, F&B, or beauty service businesses, Zalo OA is not only a care channel but also a key sales channel. The ability to reach customers right in a personal communication environment is the golden key.

Zalo Broadcast feature: Mass reach

Broadcast is a feature that allows sending messages simultaneously to all people interested in the OA. This is the fastest way to announce promotions and new product launches.

Unlike Facebook Fanpages which suffer from terrible reach reduction, Broadcast messages from Zalo OA will go straight to the customer's inbox. The message receiving rate is 100% if the customer does not block the OA.

Businesses can set up Call to Action (CTA) buttons right in the message. For example: “Buy now”, “View details”, “Call hotline” helps navigate customers extremely effectively.

Zalo ZNS: Automatic customer care notification

Zalo Notification Service (ZNS) is a solution for sending notification messages to customer phone numbers without them having to follow the OA beforehand. This is an absolute superior point compared to other platforms.

• Send OTP codes for quick verification.
• Notify order status (Ordered, delivering, successful).
• Remind service appointments (Spa, Dental, Car maintenance).
• Notify financial balance fluctuations.
• Send automatic birthday wishes with vouchers.

Successful implementation example

A fashion store chain in HCM City after applying Zalo OA to send ZNS for order confirmation reduced the return rate from 15% to 5%. Customers feel more secure when receiving official notifications.

A Spa in Hanoi using Broadcast to send golden hour deals filled 80% of the week's empty schedule just 2 hours after sending messages. This proves the power of instant response on the Zalo platform.

Integrate Zalo Shop and Mini App

Zalo's ecosystem is growing strongly with Mini Apps. Customers don't need to download the business's own app, they can shop and accumulate points right on Zalo.

This removes the “app download hesitation” barrier of users. Zalo OA acts as a connecting gateway, bringing customers into the Mini App to experience services smoothly.

3. When does Email Marketing still hold the throne?

Although Zalo OA is very powerful, but Email Marketing has never “died”. Even in B2B environments and high-value industries, Email is still the number one reputable channel.

Building trust in B2B transactions

Contracts worth hundreds of millions or billions of VND are rarely closed via quick chat messages. Email brings a sense of professionalism, formality, and higher legal archival value.

Business partners will look down on your professionalism if you send a quote via Zalo instead of a well-presented Email. Email allows attaching capacity profiles and detailed catalogues without quality loss.

Long-term lead nurturing

With products that need long consideration time like Real Estate, Cars, Insurance, Email Marketing works through Automation sequences. You can set up a sequence of 10-20 emails sent gradually over 6 months.

This helps the brand always stay in the customer's mind (Top of Mind) without causing annoyance like continuous Zalo messaging. Zalo OA if sent too much will be easily Blocked.

Deep content presentation capability

In-depth customer segmentation

Email Marketing allows extremely detailed customer file classification based on email opening and link clicking behavior. You can send content A to those who clicked link B, and content C to those who did not open the mail.

This sophistication in scenarios helps optimize the personal experience. Zalo OA currently also has tagging features, but behavioral automation capability is not yet as strong as professional Email tools.

4. Strategy to combine Zalo OA and Email: Formula from DPS.MEDIA

Instead of choosing one of the two, why not combine the power of both? According to experience implementing for more than 5,400 customers, DPS.MEDIA recommends the multi-channel “Surround Matrix” model.

Customer data flow

The first step is to collect both the customer's phone number and email. Use Zalo for quick reach and initial attention attraction.

After the customer is interested, guide them to leave their Email to receive in-depth documents or special discount codes. At this point, you own the two most important touchpoints.

Omnichannel coordination script

An effective campaign is a smooth toss-up between channels. Don't spam the same content on every front. Let each channel play its own role.

Below is the standard coordination process that DPS.MEDIA often advises for SMEs:

1. Step 1: Send a welcome Email as soon as the customer registers, with detailed business introduction information.
2. Step 2: If the customer does not open the Email after 24h, the system automatically sends a ZNS message via Zalo OA as a gentle reminder.
3. Step 3: When there is a Flash Sale program, prioritize sending Zalo Broadcast to stimulate immediate purchase.
4. Step 4: After purchase, send an electronic invoice via Email and a short thank-you message via Zalo.
5. Step 5: Send a weekly product usage knowledge care Email sequence.

Synchronize CRM data

To implement the above strategy, businesses need a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system as the center. Data from Zalo OA and Email must flow to one source.

This helps consultants know where customers have interacted. Avoid cases where customers have just complained on Zalo but staff send sales invitation Emails, causing offense.

Reality shows that the right combination can increase conversion rates by up to 40% compared to using only a single channel. Multi-point presence helps the brand become more reputable.

5. Optimize Zalo OA to meet SEO standards and grow followers

Many businesses set up Zalo OA then leave it there, or only use it for chatting. This is a huge waste of resources. OA also needs to be optimized (SEO) so that customers can easily find you on Zalo's search bar.

Optimize OA name and description

The OA name should contain the brand name + industry keywords. For example: “DPS.MEDIA – Marketing Solutions” instead of just “DPS.MEDIA”. This helps users easily identify your field of activity.

The short description part needs to contain main keywords related to the product. Write an attractive introduction, highlighting the business's USP (Unique Selling Point) right in the first 3 lines.

Set up Menu and welcome messages

The Menu bar under the chat frame is an excellent place to navigate customers. Set up buttons leading to the Website, Purchase link, or Hotline call. Don't let customers struggle to find a way to contact you.

The automatic welcome message needs to be personalized. Ask for the customer's name and provide immediate support options. This 0-second response speed will score absolute points.

Article content on Zalo OA

Content on Zalo needs to be concise and visual. Images must be beautiful and clear because users view on mobile. Article titles need to be a bit clickbaity to stimulate the click-through rate (CTR).

• Use standard size 320×180 px images for article cover photos.
• Title not exceeding 150 characters, focusing on customer benefits.
• The description part is the most important part for customers to decide to click and see more.
• Leverage short Videos to increase interaction; the vertical video trend is on the rise.
• Attach clear CTA buttons at the end of each article.

6. Fatal mistakes when implementing Zalo OA

In the process of strategic consulting multi-channel marketing strategy for thousands of businesses, DPS.MEDIA has noticed many common errors that make the Zalo OA channel become a “zombie” – active but ineffective.

Abusing Broadcast messages

This is the most common error. Wanting to increase sales quickly, many shop owners send promotional messages every day. The consequence is that customers feel annoyed and click “Unfollow” immediately.

The golden rule is to only send messages when they are truly valuable. The recommended frequency is 2-4 messages/month. Content must be truly attractive or bring practical benefits to the recipient.

Neglecting customer care

Many businesses spend money running Zalo Ads to pull customers to OA, but don't have staff on chat duty. If a customer messages to ask for a price and is only answered 3 hours later, 99% chance the customer is lost.

Set up a basic Chatbot to answer frequently asked questions immediately. At the same time, assign staff for peak hours for in-depth consultation.

Not classifying customers

Sending the same content to new customers and VIP customers is a mistake. Zalo OA provides tagging tools, leverage them thoroughly.

Example: VIP customers need to receive exclusive offers. Non-buyers need to receive information about brand reputation and feedback from old customers.

7. Zalo OA trends in 2024 and the future

The Zalo platform is changing rapidly with many new features to support businesses. Updating trends is mandatory if you don't want to be left behind by competitors.

Zalo Mini App on the rise

The “All-in-one” trend is dominating. Large businesses are racing to build Mini Apps on Zalo. This is an extremely effective customer retention solution.

According to a recent digital transformation report , businesses owning a Mini App have a customer return rate 3 times higher than using only a regular Website.

Integrate AI into Zalo Chatbot

Artificial intelligence (AI) is creeping into every corner. Chatbots on Zalo OA are now smarter, can understand natural language and consult like real people.

Applying AI helps reduce pressure on the telesale team, while ensuring customers are served 24/7 without interruption.

Tightening privacy regulations

Zalo is becoming increasingly strict in protecting users. Regulations on sending ZNS messages and moderating Broadcast content will become increasingly tight.

Businesses need to strictly comply with the data security principles to avoid permanent account lock. Building an “Organic” customer file is more important than ever.

Support services from DPS.MEDIA

To comprehensively optimize the Zalo OA channel is not an overnight job. It requires in-depth knowledge of techniques, content, and operation strategy.

At DPS.MEDIA, we provide package solutions from setting up SEO-standard OA, building Chatbot scripts, to operating effective Zalo Ads advertising campaigns.

Conclusion

The battle between Zalo OA and Email Marketing have no absolute winner or loser. Which channel brings orders depends on your business model and target audience.

With B2C businesses in Vietnam, Zalo OA is an indispensable spearhead for attack. With B2B and high-end services, Email Marketing is still a solid rear base to build trust.

The key to success lies in flexible combination. Turn Zalo into an active salesperson, and Email into a dedicated housekeeper caring for customers long-term.

5 Core points to remember:

• Leverage Zalo's high open rate for urgent notifications and promotions.
• Use Email for long, educational, and nurturing content.
• Classify customers carefully before sending messages to avoid being Blocked.
• Invest in Zalo Mini App to stay ahead of future trends.
• Contact DPS.MEDIA if you need a holistic Digital Marketing strategy.

Don't let your business fall behind in the digital transformation race. Start optimizing your Zalo OA channel today to catch the new revenue growth wave.