Quiq Acquires Snaps: Expanding Customer Messaging Capabilities

Quiq Acquires Snaps to Enhance Conversational Commerce Capabilities

Initially, Quiq and Snaps may appear as comparable startups, both specializing in facilitating customer interactions through text messaging and various messaging applications.

However, Snaps’ CEO, Christian Brucculeri, asserts that the operational scope of the two companies exhibits “almost no overlap,” characterizing them as “almost complete complements” to one another.

Strategic Acquisition and Team Integration

Consequently, Quiq, headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, is acquiring Snaps, which is based in New York.

The entire Snaps team will be integrated into Quiq, with Brucculeri assuming the role of senior vice president of sales and customer success within the newly combined organization.

Synergistic Alignment of Core Competencies

Quiq’s CEO, Mike Myer, mirrored Brucculeri’s assessment, drawing a parallel to perfectly fitting jigsaw puzzle pieces.

He explained that Quiq has traditionally concentrated on customer service messaging, providing a “do it yourself, toolset approach.”

Founded by technically-oriented co-founders, Quiq operates under the assumption that customers should be capable of utilizing APIs directly, as Myer playfully noted.

Conversely, Snaps has prioritized marketing-focused conversations and a fully managed service, handling all technical aspects on behalf of its clientele.

Expanding Platform Capabilities

Myer further highlighted Quiq’s strong emphasis on platform development, having established integrations with over a dozen messaging channels.

These include Apple Business Chat, Google’s Business Messages, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

However, he acknowledged that Quiq lacked the “deep natural language or conversational AI capability” possessed by Snaps.

Significant Growth and Evolving Market Dynamics

Demand for Quiq’s services has experienced substantial growth, with revenue increasing by 300% year-over-year during the latter half of 2020.

Myer also observed a blurring of lines between marketing and customer service functions.

Service teams are increasingly tasked with sales objectives, and, particularly within younger, commerce-driven organizations, the distinction between marketing and customer service is diminishing.

Collaboration and Future Platform Vision

The companies were already collaborating on a joint offering for direct messaging on Instagram, which initiated broader discussions regarding a full product integration.

The combined platform will be offered under the Quiq brand, serving a diverse customer base.

Quiq’s existing customers include Overstock.com, West Elm, Men’s Wearhouse, and Brinks Home Security, while Snaps’ clientele includes Bryant, Live Nation, General Assembly, Clairol, and Nioxin.

Brucculeri stated that this consolidation will provide businesses with a unified solution for managing conversations throughout “the full customer journey.”