Which app do you use to communicate with your friends and family?
I bet; you’ll say—WhatsApp.
And you’re absolutely right.
Worldwide, WhatsApp has about 2 billion monthly active users. Thus, making it the most sought-after platform for business.
The best part right now is—there’s no spam filter on WhatsApp yet. So, unlike cold-emailing or cold calling, this channel is still open to bulk marketing communications. So, your messages can reach the audience without getting sunk into the junk forever.
But only if that was so easy.
Because WhatsApp marketing is a relatively new concept, you need to be extra cautious about using it to meet your sales goals.
In this article, we will share 10 tips on using WhatsApp marketing for sales.
Why should you consider WhatsApp marketing now?
Every day, about 60 billion messages are exchanged on WhatsApp. More than a million users open and check their messages daily. Chances are that your prospects are also frequent users of this platform.
Also, text messages have one of the highest open rates — up to 98%. Moreover, people trust companies that connect with them, as 53% of them say they will buy from a business that has some form of a direct message or chat option. Needless to say, WhatsApp is fast growing as brands’ favorite mobile marketing strategy.
Business-friendly features
WhatsApp has always been easy to use for personal communication. But after its growing popularity with businesses, the app has also launched some business-friendly features so you can easily manage sales from your account.
You can now set up a WhatsApp business account rather than a personal one which provides features like adding product photos, services, and more. You can handle business communications easily from the app’s business account.
Besides that, with tools like WhatsApp business API, it is easy to send, track, and receive messages.
You need not worry about spam
Sending cold emails requires a lot of effort to get the message delivered. This is because a person might choose to ignore your email. It may never get opened or may end up in a spam folder.
Even regular SMS services are not that effective in getting opened and read. WhatsApp can provide a great way out here with a high open rate, and you can be assured that the messages won’t end up in the spam folder as there is none.
Supports multiple message formats
You can send a message in different formats. For instance, you can send a text message for everyday communication, make announcements by sending videos, send PDFs of catalogs and menus, send images and screenshots, and more.
This makes communication easy, and you don’t always have to convert content from one format to another. You can also use voice notes to resolve customer queries.
Encrypted messages
WhatsApp has an end-to-end encryption feature that ensures conversations between customers and businesses are safe and secure, unlike most other apps that collect user data for ad targeting.
This no-ad feature, combined with secure conversations, builds customers’ trust in businesses that use WhatsApp for communication.
Getting started with WhatsApp marketing
In the previous section, we discussed the benefits of WhatsApp marketing. Let’s now look at the prerequisites.
1. Get a separate number
Get a separate number for your business account if you don’t mix your personal and professional accounts. However, you can also shift your personal number to a business account. This option is suitable for someone with a new business.
You can download the WhatsApp Business app and get an account on that. This option is more suitable for SMEs. Besides that, you can also get WhatsApp Business API. Find a WhatsApp business solution provider, and they will help you set up the API.
With WhatsApp Business API, you can track how prospects interact with your messages. You can see customer preferences, purchase trends, and more.
2. Use WhatsApp Web
WhatsApp also has a web version that you can use on your desktop or laptop. All you need to do is connect your phone with your desktop computer by scanning a QR code. Once you’re connected, you can check and follow up on messages while working on your computer.
It is easier to type messages and reply to queries accurately from a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone. By connecting to the WhatsApp web, you can keep a check on the communication from your phone while the manager or salesperson can handle the incoming messages from the computer.
3. Complete your business profile
Don’t get casual about marketing on WhatsApp. It’s not that easy. For people to trust you and be willing to communicate with you, ensure you have set up your account right.
- Bio. Your bio must explain in the best possible way what your business does. Avoid any sort of complexity or confusion. Add address, contact number, website, and work hours.
- Logo. Add the logo of your business. Avoid using random images as they can give off unprofessional vibes.
- Brand elements. Make sure to have the color themes, websites, social media, and other brand elements at hand. Add your services, website link, product images, social media usernames, business’s active hours, and other important information for the customers.
4. Add a catalog
WhatsApp Business profile allows you to showcase your products or services. You can add items to your catalog, link them to specific product pages on your website, or accept orders on WhatsApp itself. WhatsApp launched payments in November 2020, thus allowing you to receive payments through the app.
5. Spread the word and the link
Once you have set up everything, start sharing your WhatsApp link to your business media channels. You can use your personal or business number to share among groups, family, friends, and other contact lists.
Make sure to send the links to the website or the social media channels where people can know about your business and buy. You can also ask your contacts to share the link on their WhatsApp with their contacts or put it up on their status. Even if a few people do that, you can get great reach.
6. Build your messaging list
Other than your personal contacts, you might not have a lot of people’s phone numbers to share your business venture with. But you need to have a long list to make good sales.
You can build your WhatsApp marketing list in the following ways:
- Get a WhatsApp widget for your website
- Offer gated content like ebooks, product brochures, etc. to collect phone numbers of your prospects
- Run ads that click to WhatsApp
- Use your Facebook and Instagram profiles to give entry into WhatsApp through QR codes, short links, and action buttons
- Utilize the customer data from your CRM software
- Media buying is also an option for building a list of target customers
While collecting buyers’ info for your messaging list, do take their consent for marketing communications.
7. Use chatbots for quick response
About 42% of customers expect a reply within an hour of sending the message.
WhatsApp Business API gives you the option of using chatbots for automated response. You can set up chatbot answers for the FAQs, orders, reviews, feedback, etc.
Using chatbots brings efficiency into communication with customers. It saves time and effort that goes into replying to common questions all the time. It also helps improve customer retention as they receive a response within seconds.
However, remember to provide an option to chat with a human agent for instances where chatbots cannot resolve a query.
You can also use WhatsApp’s messaging tools such as Quick replies, Away messages, and Greeting messages to maintain customer relationships with short messages that are sent automatically based on the circumstances. This will save you time from repeatedly typing the same message.
8. Divide customers into groups and conquer
You might think that groups are for personal use or when employees come together to share important notices. This is far from the truth.
You can create different customer groups based on their level of relationship with you.
For example, you may make a group for new customers who have just completed their first purchase from you and another for your high-end customers who have been loyal for years and made several purchases within a year.
After making different groups, you can market your services to these categories of customers according to their level. For new customers, you want to keep them coming back, so consider giving them discounts, gift cards, and other related things to show them the value of your business. For loyal customers, you can send them special offers, memberships, loyalty discounts, and more.
9. Get reviews and ratings for your products
Since WhatsApp is a more intimate form of communication, you can ask your customers for reviews and ratings on your products. Ask them about their experience with you and give you feedback.
If they like your business offerings, send them links to your products or services and ask them to leave a rating or review. A high number of great ratings can increase the visibility of your business and attract more people.
10. Experiment with WhatsApp stories
Disappearing messages and stories are no longer limited to Snapchat. You can use it on almost all mainstream social media channels. WhatsApp has also introduced this feature of adding stories as status, which disappears after 24 hours.
You can use stories to display and announce offers related to your business. Put up weekly or monthly offers on status. You can also give a sneak peek into your business activities, such as how you carry out the packaging process.
By displaying the real and raw content about your business via your status, you will develop a human side to your corporate firm. People are more likely to associate with brands that they can relate to. And what better way to do that than take them behind the scenes and introduce them to your team!
Next steps
WhatsApp marketing is a very convenient option to reach out to customers. You can promote your business, take orders, accept payments, and more via WhatsApp. But remember, unlike e-commerce, communication is the key here. People tend to respond to your messages. For example, if you’ve sent a product update, they may ask for pricing. So, you need to have a team to respond to their queries.
To summarize,
- Set up your WhatsApp for Business account
- Create a professional profile with your address, work hours, website, product catalog
- Define a process, team and assign agents/sales reps for communication with customers.
- Set up quick automated messages for faster response
- Use automated chatbots for FAQs, orders, and feedback
Many B2C brands use CRM software to manage relationships with their prospects and customers. Software like LeadSquared provides out-of-box integration with WhatsApp so that you can set up automated communications workflows. You can also create and use messaging templates while communicating with customers.
If you want to use WhatsApp for mass marketing and sales communications, consider implementing it with a CRM. Book a quick demo to understand how WhatsApp for Business connector works with LeadSquared CRM.
