When it comes to social media platforms, the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter probably already feature in your strategy. But here’s a curveball; take a minute to consider WhatsApp. The chat platform offers users a convenient way to communicate with friends and family. And with over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp can be used for business.
With brands like Netflix and Adidas beginning to use WhatsApp for marketing purposes, we’re going to look at why you should be doing the same.
Make your business more visible
Just like Facebook, WhatsApp has a feature that allows you to set up a business page within the app. This profile should provide important details about your business, like your location, what you offer, your website, and contact details.
As part of your business profile, you can set up product catalogs to showcase your products. You can add up to 500 items for your potential customers to browse through. The product listings are shareable, making them an invaluable resource for your business.
Increase engagement for your business
Out of the 2 billion worldwide users of WhatsApp, 30 million of these users reside in the UK. You really don’t want to ignore an audience of that size. The messaging platform enables you to proactively stay connected with your target audience.
Messaging apps offer a fantastic rate of engagement, with 98% of mobile messages being opened and read, and with 90% being responded to within three seconds of receipt. Organic reach is in decline. Take the wins when you can!
Strengthen the relationship you have with your customers
Using WhatsApp as part of your marketing strategy gives you the opportunity to take your customer relations to the next level. More than 55% of people feel more connected to businesses if they use messaging apps.
This strong connection with your customers helps you to build customer loyalty, retention and acquisition. You can get people involved in your business, asking for opinions on new products and services. This can help your audience feel invested in your business.
Make it personal
Using WhatsApp for your business provides you with opportunities to get personal with your audience. 91% of consumers say they are more likely to shop with brands that provide offers and recommendations that are relevant to them. Sending discounts, special offers, welcome messages, and recommendations to your customers on WhatsApp can help keep customers engaged with your brand.
These one to one interactions allow you to cater to your audience’s individual needs and in turn makes your offering more relevant and authentic.
Provide excellent customer support
Providing quality customer support is often a challenge for businesses, big and small. When you use WhatsApp Business you can answer any potential questions your customers may have quickly and efficiently.
You can use a chatbot to help you. Feed the bot with typical questions and the answers to them. If the question is more unique, you can use WhatsApp features like text, audio, video, and even phone calls to answer any queries.
Everyone knows that things don’t always go to plan. It’s how you handle these situations that matters. 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service. Use WhatsApp to your advantage and provide a high level of customer service to build loyalty between customers and your business.
Get reviews and feedback from customers
The beauty of WhatsApp is it’s already established as a go-to platform for communication. This can really help motivate your customers to provide you with accurate feedback. Not only can you learn from the feedback you receive, but if you find some very happy customers, you can use their reviews on your other social media channels.
A single business review can lift its conversions by 10%. WhatsApp provides you with a new way to get those reviews from your customers. This gives you an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and shout about your triumphs.
Drive sales and conversions
By simply adding a WhatsApp contact number to your website, you could see a 27% increase in sales leads. Not bad, right?
Roughly 60% of consumers believe they will use messengers more to make purchases in the future. If you become an early adopter, you’ll know exactly what you’re doing by the time buying products and services on WhatsApp becomes mainstream.
Low cost with great results
Global brand Hellmans decided to experiment with WhatsApp when they set up WhatsCook. The food brand invited users to ask their business profile for recipes based on what they had in their fridge.
The campaign ran in Brazil, where Hellmans used insights that young people were struggling with cooking meals at home. Hellman’s invested $900 in the campaign and engaged over four million people. Impressive stuff.
As with other aspects of your marketing strategy, it’s important you’re using each tool correctly. If you really want to take value from using WhatsApp as part of your strategy, you have to give value to your customers. It’s all about personalising the service. The biggest mistake here would be to spam potential customers with irrelevant content.
WhatsApp Business offers a way for your business to drive conversions and sales while building better relationships with your customers. If you’d like to find out more about how Bobble Digital can help your business build a strategy that’s engaging and effective, get in touch with us today.
