The basic tenets of marketing call for us to meet customers where they are–and these days, they're on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp users worldwide spend 16 hours and 32 minutes per month or 33.1 minutes per day on the app. Users have not only embraced the channel–they've evolved and expanded the ways they use it. Shoppers are using WhatsApp to talk with the brands–and not just hear from them.
WhatsApp conversational messaging has opened a two-way communication channel between businesses and customers. It gives users control over their experiences, letting them reach out to brands when they've questions, share more about what they're interested in hearing, and get real-time support.
Plus, it saves them the hassle of waiting on calls, refreshing their emails for replies, or making a trip to the store to get help.
Consumers say that they'd rather talk with a brand on WhatsApp than call them, talk to a sales representative, do laundry, or even exercise.
This new capability lets companies transform shoppers' experience on WhatsApp and gives them new ways to discover, browse, and buy products from their favorite brands.
When brands want a more casual and effective way to connect with their prospects and customers, they often turn to conversational messaging.
WhatsApp conversational messaging is a two-way conversation between your brand and the customer on WhatsApp. Any of the parties can initiate these conversations: parties, your customers.
For instance, you might send out an appointment reminder, and the customer can ask to change their appointment dates or ask questions about what they should bring. A customer might also directly message the brand regarding product inquiries, purchases, or refunds.
It's kind of like you're having a conversation, but you're actually filling up a form that will help the brand help you better with personalized offers and suggestions.
It's all about building a solid relationship with your customers.
And believe this is what your customers want. A recent Forrester report says that 50% of consumers rank texting or social media messaging as a preferred way to reach and speak to a brand. Another survey shows that 83% of consumers said that the option to message a brand gives them confidence.
Consumers rank a brand's ability to resolve their questions or issues quickly as the most important feature when interacting with a brand. Among consumers who prefer WhatsApp, the two most common reasons are that they find it more convenient and expect it to be faster.
Interestingly, consumers under 35 are twice as likely as other age groups to say
They prefer asynchronous chat because they want to pause and come back to the conversation later (30% vs. 15%, respectively).
When consumers can use the conversation channels they prefer, they're more likely to recommend the brand, buy from them, and likely switch from their competitors because of convenient communication.
Every region has its favorite chat app, but there's one that rose to prominence across the globe in the past few years. With 3 billion active users and a business API that's seeking wider adoption every month, it's no surprise that so many businesses are actively using WhatsApp as their prominent messaging platform.
WhatsApp is uniquely positioned to serve the modern consumer, making it a powerful tool for marketers, irrespective of industry. A study found that texting is quickly gaining favor with consumers. Currently, 93% of US shoppers are interested in or opted in to receive text from brands. Last year, that number was 81% (which is already a 26% jump from 2020).
The fact that consumer adoption of WhatsApp has continued to grow highlights that it clearly meets the expectation of convenience. When asked, their favorite message types to receive from brands (52%), shipping notifications (45%), sales and promotions, and birthday/anniversary/holiday greetings (30%) topped the list.
And shoppers aren't leaving brands on read. In fact, they're actively engaging with brands when they receive any message. Globally, 63% of consumers are engaging with the brand's text messaging programs at least twice a week. These numbers are a testament to their comfort and familiarity with WhatsApp.
WhatsApp conversational messages are an excellent first touch–it's urgent, to the point, and hyper-personalised. Customers usually expect exciting announcements and limited-time offers via WhatsApp first and are ready to click through and shop. With WhatsApp, you can lean into visuals (images and videos) and crisp messaging to educate shoppers about the product they're interested in or to build loyalty to the brand.
But the real surprise is that shoppers are just as likely to reach out to learn more about your offering:
Lastly, when reached at the right time, customers would spend more than what they had planned. Understanding your customers' mindsets and when they will be most likely to shop is important. The best times when the shoppers are most likely to make a purchase are while watching TV when they get a text about a sale, or while drinking their morning coffee.
Your WhatsApp campaigns should be timed well and precisely segmented to share the right product at the right time with the right people.
WhatsApp has an open rate of 98%, which is the highest compared to any other communication channel. When a brand uses WhatsApp, it can turn impressive open rates and rich media experiences into direct-reliable connections with customers.
Consumers expect brands to be fluent in meeting their needs. According to IDC, 73% of customers say that a personalized experience inspires loyalty. That's mostly a challenge for many businesses, but it's also a great opportunity for businesses to communicate on WhatsApp.
There are a number of reasons why businesses should invest in conversational messaging on WhatsApp. Here are some of the most popular benefits:
When asked 1900+ marketers which channels they're using or plan to use in 2024–messaging apps like WhatsApp rose to the top of the list, with almost half of them planning to use this dynamic channel to reach customers.
WhatsApp is a unique and dynamic channel that offers customers a unique way to engage with customers through interactive, eye-catching 1:1 messaging experiences. The platform operates on a 24-hour conversation model, which encourages two-way communication, allowing for continuous interaction without any additional per-message cost.
Compared to other marketing channels, WhatsApp drives 72% more sessions per year. This channel is also effective at driving purchases, with an 89% uplift in purchases per user compared to other channels.
It's worth noting that the rise in popularity is closely tied to WhatsApp's ability to facilitate more personalized and direct communication with customers. This feature is no longer a luxury but a necessity in today's marketplace.
With conversational messaging channels like WhatsApp, you can offer customers the convenience of reaching out for support, inquiries, or guidance right from the comfort of mobile phones or desktops. This empowers customers to engage with a brand at any time, regardless of their location or time zone.
Whether it's seeking post-purchase assistance, pre-purchase queries, or providing feedback, conversational messaging helps increase touch points between customers and brands, fostering a positive experience throughout the customer journey.
Suppose you're a bank that needs to send a customer a fraud alert message and get a "yes" or "no" response immediately. Your contact center can quickly send a message alerting the customer of suspicious activity on their account, ensuring security without harming the customer experience.
This type of proactive, seamless brand interaction makes the conversation less intrusive and more welcoming, taking some weight off the shoulders of the customer care team to focus on the most pressing and complex requests.
Since WhatsApp has advanced interaction skills, it can be used in many different industries to offer richer and more personalized customer experiences, from SaaS to retail and even finance.
WhatsApp allows you to send various types of multimedia content like images, videos, audio clips, documents, and stickers within a WhatsApp chat, allowing businesses to communicate with more visual and interactive elements beyond just text messages.
You can easily implement rich media sharing across your WhatsApp campaigns in a number of ways:
While automation feels robotic and impersonal, WhatsApp's automation capability actually enhances the customer experience when implemented thoughtfully. Unlike traditional marketing channels that are often one-directional and impersonal, WhatsApp encourages two-way communication that significantly improves customer satisfaction.
Sophisticated chatbots integrated with WhatsApp can seamlessly:
For instance, this chatbot from Lifeline Hospital automates the entire process of appointment booking. It understands context and helps the user take the decision, similar to a human agent.
AI transforms business messaging from a simple query-response model to an intelligent conversation partner that can handle complex customer interactions, make decisions, and execute tasks autonomously.
WhatsApp Business API offers sophisticated integration capabilities with existing CRMs, providing a unified view of all customer interactions in one place. This helps businesses execute highly personalized follow-ups based on customer behavior and preferences.
By following the tips above, you’re already on your way to setting up an engaging business WhatsApp channel. But, if you want to make the best of your WhatsApp conversational messaging platform, here are some of the best practices to adopt:
Businesses can’t just buy databases and start messaging people. Whatsapp is a private messaging platform, so it's important to get permission before initiating any conversation.
Here are some digital touchpoints where you can ask people to opt in for your message:
That being said, give your users the option to opt out of the chatbot experience if they wish to do so.
Personalization is another crucial factor in building an engaging Whatsapp chatbot. You can use customer’s information to tailor messages to their preferences. For example, you can send them product recommendations based on previous purchases or discounts depending on service usage.
WhatsApp has plenty of features like stickers, emojis, gifs, and options to send images, documents, locations, etc. To make sure your WhatsApp messages don’t lose context, leverage WhatsApp Business API providers like Gallabox to enable personalization at scale.
Gallabox allows users to be segmented into demographics, buying behavior, and communication frequency to resonate with different funnel content. You can tailor product updates with preset templates with WhatsApp's 60+ language repository.
If you’re considering adding a chat widget to your website, then why not consider WhatsApp? You can add a WhatsApp widget to your website to skip the hassle of email back-and-forths. A user can instantly start a conversation right on the website without having to switch platforms.
Depending on the WhatsApp business automation platform you choose to manage the chat widget, you can also get other benefits like:
Subhangi Basak, our Customer Success Manager, uses the Shared Team Inbox in Gallabox to oversee all customer tickets and assign them to her team based on predefined rules.
WhatsApp conversational messaging provides several key features that are tailored to improve business communication and customer engagement. Here are a few of them:
Conversational marketing on WhatsApp presents various challenges that businesses must navigate to effectively engage with customers. Here are the key obstacles:
By addressing these challenges, businesses can leverage WhatsApp as a powerful tool for conversational marketing, enhancing customer engagement and driving sales.
Now that we've covered the basics of WhatsApp conversational messaging, it's time to implement it in your next marketing campaign. The only requirement is that your business should have a WhatsApp Business API interaction.
Let's create your campaign now!
Sign up or log in to your Gallabox account.
Next, optimize your profile; add your logo and contact information (support email and phone numbers).
Start with importing your customer data.
This can be easily done via Google Sheets, customer relationship management (CRM) tool, or other third-party software using Gallabox connectors. Gallabox seamlessly integrates with popular apps like Shopify, Hubspot, Google Sheets, Razorpay, ZOHO CRM, Zoom, OpenAI, LeadSquared, WooCommerce, and more.
Here's how you can add contacts in Gallabox:
Now, let's drive traffic to your business. You can do this by:
Gallabox has an extensive range of WhatsApp templates for quick customer interactions like service reminders, delay notifications, and status updates. You can also check out our free AI-based WhatsApp template generator that helps you create high-quality templates using simple prompts in a few minutes.
You can personalize each template with customer-specific information using variables. This will make your messages more engaging and relevant to individual receipts, improving response rate and customer satisfaction.
Now that you've laid the groundwork, it's time to set up your marketing campaign.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads are a type of ad format that drives users directly from social media platforms like (Facebook, Instagram, or Google) to initiate conversations on WhatsApp.
To create your first WhatsApp ad campaign:
WhatsApp's broadcast feature lets you send bulk messages to your contacts. It is ideal for announcing new products, sharing company news, or sending time-sensitive offers.
Using Gallabox, you can easily categorize your audience and personalize your broadcast messages for maximum messages. You can easily track metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates on Gallabox's dashboard to refine your messaging strategy.
Gallabox's flow builder lets you quickly create WhatsApp forms using custom, industry-specific templates, and intuitive drag-and-drop elements. Furthermore, you can integrate these forms into your chatbots, bulk broadcasts, and drip marketing campaigns.
The advantages of conversational marketing with WhatsApp Business are quite apparent.
Even though conversational messaging can be implemented and executed using the free WhatsApp Business app, the API has so many additional features that it would be a shame not to try it.
If you're serious about starting conversational messaging on WhatsApp at scale, the first step is to create a WhatsApp Business API account.
Gallabox makes it possible to integrate WhatsApp API with your favorite tools, manage patients' contacts, and streamline bulk messaging, allowing health professionals to focus on their prime objective – patient care.
In addition to WhatsApp messaging, Gallabox also provides excellent WhatsApp workspace and no-code chatbot solutions. So don't wait; sign up now to get a free trial.
WhatsApp conversational messaging is a two-way conversation between your brand and the customer on WhatsApp. Any of the parties can initiate these conversations: you or your customers.
The WhatsApp 24-hour rule says that businesses can only reply to a user's message within 24 hours of it being sent. After the 24-hour window, businesses can only send pre-approved templates by WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is uniquely positioned to serve the modern consumer, making it a powerful tool for marketers, irrespective of industry. A study found that texting is quickly gaining favor with consumers. Currently, 93% of US shoppers are interested in or opted in to receive text from brands. Last year, that number was 81% (which is already a 26% jump from 2020).
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