Why E-Commerce businesses should use WhatsApp Business for marketing

In 2022, most e-commerce businesses are shifting towards the use of digital communications to make their customers more engaging. The growth of the digital communications domain has led to an increase in business communication platforms like WhatsApp Business. As one might know, WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users worldwide, allowing people to connect with each other easily. While you might have already used WhatsApp for personal conversations, its features for business communication have made it a very convenient tool for small and medium businesses to connect with their customers. 

WhatsApp Business enables businesses to engage with their customers effectively through personalized & efficient communications. Since the platform allows businesses to use rich text and media like images/videos, it helps them create a more engaging customer experience. The platform’s established user base and ease of use have nudged it to become the most preferred channel for both small and large online businesses. WhatsApp’s unique features like its shared inbox, broadcast lists & automation assistance have made it a great tool for businesses of all sizes. 

10 reasons why E-commerce businesses should use WhatsApp Business for marketing

While WhatsApp Business is undoubtedly one of the best business communication platforms, people forget that it provides excellent marketing & sales opportunities to businesses. That’s why we’d like to explore some of the reasons why WhatsApp Business is perfect for marketing.

• WhatsApp for Business is Affordable:

In today’s business landscape, the operational costs for a business have become crucial factors. Especially for small and medium businesses, getting a good platform that can take care of both their communication & marketing needs might prove tough. WhatsApp is the perfect fit as businesses can plan & execute their marketing strategies without expanding their team. The platform also operates on a conversation-based pricing model where businesses only pay for business-initiated conversations. This drastically reduces the business’s operational expenses.

• Send Bulk marketing Messages using WhatsApp Broadcast 

In today’s landscape, marketing is all about expanding the reach & constant engagement. WhatsApp Business lets businesses create Broadcast lists with 10000 customers & send bulk messages to them instantly. With the ability to notify your customers about the latest products & deals, businesses will be able to engage a large audience quickly and effectively. While WhatsApp Broadcasts might have some message/content limitations, its benefit far outweighs them. 

• Share products directly with WhatsApp Business Catalog

WhatsApp Business lets businesses create customized product catalogs that can be displayed on the business profile. The catalog lets customers browse through the business products/services and understand all the key points (including the price) that would help them make the decision to purchase. This feature is handy for small businesses that cannot run paid ads on Google or other social media platforms. This is because WhatsApp allows business owners to share their catalog links on their sites, social media and any other platform. Moreover, WhatsApp Business catalogs generate quality leads as it targets customers who are genuinely interested in your products.

• Forward Customer Queries to the Appropriate Team Members

In today’s competitive business environment, businesses should ensure that they provide quality customer experiences across several platforms. To ensure a quality omnichannel experience, communication & collaboration are a must. As a result, businesses should have an efficient way to communicate with their customers & team. WhatsApp Business’ shared team inbox allows business executives to seamlessly forward customer queries to the relevant teams and get them resolved immediately. This allows them to provide consistent customer experiences across all touchpoints.

• Reduce cart abandonment rates significantly.

One of the major goals of any e-commerce business is to increase its revenue. But cart abandonment rates can be a major roadblock. A recent study shows that the cart abandonment rates for an average e-commerce business can be around 50-70%. By hosting WhatsApp chatbots on your website, you’d be able to instantly resolve any doubts of customers who are on the verge of completing their purchases. This will help them finish their product purchase. WhatsApp broadcasts can also be used to send gentle reminders & automated follow-ups to customers who have abandoned their carts.

• Get a higher CTR compared to SMS or email campaigns.

WhatsApp has over 90% message open rates. This is significantly higher than any other marketing channel like e-mail or SMS. WhatsApp is also inherently more personal than other channels because businesses will be able to instantly connect with their customers and have one-to-one conversations. Both of these factors combine to give WhatsApp business marketers an advantage over their competition. WhatsApp Business enables businesses to connect with customers at scale & generate more CTR to drive sales in their respective niches.

• Use templates to send e-commerce notifications 

E-commerce businesses can use WhatsApp business templates to create personalized & engaging notifications that can be used to nudge customers towards a purchase. Since template messages are initiated from the business side, they require approval from WhatsApp. While this might seem like a limitation, template messages can be customized to fit several scenarios and even be integrated into automated conversation flows. This lets business owners set up a seamless customer experience through templates that can be sent at just the right moment to generate a higher CTR.

• Send videos, images and gifs to customers

One of the major advantages of WhatsApp is the ability to share photos & videos with your customers. While a business can send an ordinary text message to its customers, the sharing of media via WhatsApp is a much more personal, engaging and meaningful experience. This enables businesses to engage more deeply with their customers and offers a more personalized experience. WhatsApp also has a significant GIF library that can be used to create more dynamic & fun messaging experiences. These can be used as customer promotions to generate buzz.

• Automate messages with WhatsApp Business API 

In the current e-commerce industry, businesses are continuously looking for ways to provide quality customer experiences. For this, they need to generate seamless customer interactions through automation. WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to create customized conversation flows through automation. These automated conversations will help businesses guide customers through their decision-making process and ensure hassle-free support without the need for human intervention. Through WhatsApp automation, businesses can ensure quality customer experiences without expanding their workforces.

• Encourage customers to chat with you by adding a WhatsApp button to your website 

WhatsApp is one of the most popular communication apps in the world. It is extremely user-friendly and allows businesses to interact with their customers on a personal level. Therefore, there is an incentive in routing customer interaction through WhatsApp rather than through other channels. To encourage customers to chat with you on WhatsApp, you can add a WhatsApp button to your website. This lets customers easily chat with you through WhatsApp when they’re on your website.

Three examples of E-commerce brands nailing their marketing on WhatsApp

The points mentioned above show that WhatsApp Business can help businesses improve their marketing & sales efforts and generate more revenues. It is therefore critical to make sure that your brand is getting the most out of it. Here are three examples of brands that have been able to drive significant revenue through the use of WhatsApp.

1. Netflix

The OTT giant started using WhatsApp Business to send recommendations to their customers in 2017. Customers who had opted in for Netflix’s messages started receiving recommendations for new shows/movies that suit the customer’s viewing profile. The recommendation message also has a link that directly sends the customer to the app and starts streaming the show. Using this feature, Netflix was able to nudge some of its dormant customers to subscribe and watch the new show.

2. The Financial Times

Financial Times is a subscription-only news publication that started using WhatsApp Business in 2019. The company created a WhatsApp Business group and started sharing two free articles per day in the group. Customers who were part of the group started mentioning the articles on other social media platforms and helped the company generate much-needed buzz. In addition to increasing brand awareness, this marketing strategy also helped the company increase its engagement rates with existing customers and generate return subscribers.

3. BookMyShow

BookMyShow is a leading movie ticketing platform that helps customers book tickets for movies & events. The platform, which initially used SMS & e-mail to send ticket booking notifications, started to use WhatsApp. By sharing M-Tickets with QR codes, BookMyShow helped customers simplify the movie-going experience. This resonated with the customers and helped increase brand awareness. Furthermore, BookMyShow also used this customer data to cross-sell partner services by offering specialized discounts.

In conclusion, it’s clear that WhatsApp Business is not just a communication platform but a superior marketing and sales platform. We can also see that many of the top industry giants like Netflix have started to use the platform to market their services. While there are several opportunities for businesses, there is a need for clear guidance and help in setting up and using this powerful business tool. That’s why it is important for businesses to partner with a good WhatsApp Business Service Provider (BSP) to leverage the potential of WhatsApp marketing. 

If you’re planning to look for assistance, you can check out Gallabox, a company that specializes in providing customized WhatsApp communication & marketing solutions based on specific business needs.