WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app with over 2 billion users worldwide. With such a massive user base, it’s no surprise that many businesses are exploring how to leverage WhatsApp for marketing and customer engagement.
How can businesses use WhatsApp for marketing?
There are a few key ways businesses can utilize WhatsApp for marketing:
1. Send announcements and newsletters
WhatsApp enables businesses to easily send announcements, newsletters, alerts and other broadcast messages to customers who have opted in. This provides a way to directly reach and engage your audience.
2. Run promotions and campaigns
Businesses can run special deals, contests, voting polls and other promotions through WhatsApp to boost engagement. For example, you could offer a discount code or free gift exclusively through WhatsApp subscribers.
3. Provide customer support
Offering customer service and support via WhatsApp provides convenience for customers to get their questions answered quickly. Response times tend to be faster than email.
4. Chatbot automation
WhatsApp chatbots can be implemented to provide 24/7 automated customer service, deliver information, handle FAQs and more. This takes the burden off your human customer service staff.
5. Collect feedback and data
You can run polls, surveys and questionnaires through WhatsApp to gather valuable feedback, data and insights from your customers to help improve products and services.
6. Share multimedia content
Leverage WhatsApp to share videos, images, audio files, PDFs and other rich media content to engage your audience. This content tends to have higher open and click-through rates compared to plain text.
What are the benefits of WhatsApp marketing?
Here are some of the main benefits and advantages of using WhatsApp for marketing:
Higher open and response rates
Since WhatsApp messages appear in the main messaging thread, they have open rates above 90% compared to 20-30% for email. Response rates are also very high.
Real-time communication
WhatsApp allows for real-time messaging which means you can have conversations and interact directly with customers in an immediate way that email does not allow.
Build stronger customer relationships
The personal nature of WhatsApp communication helps businesses establish closer, more trusted relationships with their customers.
Low cost
WhatsApp messaging and broadcast lists are free for businesses to use, making it a very low-cost marketing channel compared to paid ads and other options.
Reach a large audience
Given WhatsApp’s incredibly large user base, it provides access to an enormous audience for customer acquisition and engagement.
Works across devices
WhatsApp works seamlessly across smartphones, desktop and the web, so you can reach customers easily across devices.
What are some examples of effective WhatsApp marketing campaigns?
Here are a few real-world examples of brands running successful WhatsApp marketing campaigns:
1. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
– Sent boarding passes and flight status updates directly to customers through WhatsApp.
– Provided customer service support for common questions to improve convenience.
– Experienced a 160% increase in customer satisfaction scores.
2. Burberry
– Ran an exclusive 48-hour flash sale event on WhatsApp during London Fashion Week.
– Sent personalized invite links and discount codes to drive registrations.
– Drove high levels of engagement and sales from VIP customers.
3. Sephora
– Launched a WhatsApp chatbot for booking beauty appointments and online shopping.
– Integrated the chatbot with their CRM system.
– Saw a 6% increase in appointments booked within the first 3 months.
4. Absolut Vodka
– Ran a WhatsApp campaign targeted at college students called “Drink Responsibly”.
– Sent drink recipes, event invites and safe ride reminders.
– Resulted in over 1 million WhatsApp subscribers in just 6 months.
What should you avoid when using WhatsApp for marketing?
While WhatsApp marketing can be highly effective, there are a few things brands should avoid:
Spam messaging customers
Only send useful, relevant content. Don’t bombard customers with too many messages as this will cause them to opt-out.
Sending messages without consent
Always get opt-in consent before sending any promotional or marketing messages.
Impersonal, mass blasting
Tailor and personalize your messages as much as possible. Sending the same blast to all customers comes across as spam.
Hard selling
Don’t be overly salesy. Focus on value, building relationships and nurturing leads.
Poorly timed messages
Pay attention to when you send messages. Make sure to avoid early mornings or late nights.
What tools can you use for WhatsApp marketing?
Here are some of the top tools for managing WhatsApp marketing:
| Tool | Key Features |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp Business App | Free official WhatsApp tool for businesses. Provides business profiles, messaging metrics, quick replies and more. |
| Chatomatic | Chatbot platform with automation, lead gen and hundreds of chatbot templates. |
| MailerLite | Email marketing platform with WhatsApp integration, automation workflows and list segmentation. |
| ManyChat | Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp growth tool to create chatbots, automations and broadcasting. |
| SendPulse | All-in-one marketing suite with email, SMS, voice, WhatsApp tools and analytics. |
Conclusion
WhatsApp opens up a new low-cost, high engagement marketing channel for reaching customers. Businesses should leverage WhatsApp for 1-to-1 conversations, valuable content sharing, promotions, data collection and building closer customer relationships. Just remember to always get opt-in consent, provide value and avoid spamming customers. With the right approach, integrating WhatsApp into your marketing mix can deliver fantastic results.