Maybe you’re thinking about using WhatsApp Business Platform, or you’re already using it and want to ensure you’re getting the most out of it. Whatever your situation might be, WhatsApp Business Platform can help you stand out from the crowd, especially as traditional marketing channels like direct mail, phone calls and even emails are becoming saturated.
Here are some features that will help you boost customer experience.
- Rich functionalities
- Two-way conversations
- Customisable message templates
- Branded profile
- Reporting
- Chatbots
1. Rich functionalities
WhatsApp Business Platform allows you to send rich messages, which can help you create more engaging, memorable experiences for customers. Here are a few of the rich features you can take advantage of:
- Media messages – attach video, images and documents to your messages
- Buttons – add call-to-action buttons
- Web links – send URLs with preview images
The above features not only help your messages look more visually appealing but also provides customers with more information in a more interactive way. For example, let’s say you’re a retailer sending an alert to a customer that their order is ready to be picked up in store. Rather than a message that says only that, you can also drop the store location as a pin.
This creates a much more engaging experience than a simple plain text message.
2. Two-way conversations
WhatsApp Business Platform helps you create high quality conversations, not one-way notifications. The ability is built into the platform – there’s no need for a virtual mobile number, unlike with SMS. This helps you build stronger relationships with customers – outside of providing order-related customer support.
Typically, customers only speak to businesses when they need help with their order (e.g. enquiring about order status, refund, placing an order, a pricing quote). So, two-way conversations are usually user-initiated. With WhatsApp Business Platform, you can have two-way conversations with business-initiated messages too.
This will help it feel less like you’re talking at customers and more like you’re talking with them (mimicking the conversations people have with friends), creating a better experience overall.
3. Customisable message templates
Message templates in WhatsApp Business Platform make it easier to send repeatable business-initiated messages. Before contacting your customers via WhatsApp Business Platform, you must obtain their permission first.
Here are some types of messages that would benefit from a template:
- Appointment reminders
- Marketing promotions
- Payment or shipping updates
- Order confirmations
Tip: Official template messages should be designed in a way that prompts the two-way chat or is a valuable transactional notification. In other words, they should not be spam.
4. Branded profile
WhatsApp verifies the authenticity of every account using WhatsApp Business Platform. Once verified, your business name will be visible even if you haven’t been added to your recipient’s address book.
This, in addition to the ability to upload your brand logo and slogan/description, will elevate trust and give your customers peace of mind that they’re speaking to a legitimate business account, not another user posing as one.
5. Reporting
Be confident that your messages, time-critical or otherwise, have reached their destination. With WhatsApp Business Platform, you gain access to reporting features such as:
- Read receipts
- CTA button clicks
- The time that the recipient views the rich content (e.g. a button)
- Landing page view counts
This will help you better understand your recipients’ preferences and strive to improve the performance of your future messages.
6. Chatbots
For frequently asked questions or commonly recurring issues, a chatbot can help. You can set up a bot that helps filter customers from those who can self-service to those who need human assistance. This can cut down the time it takes for cases to be resolved and give your customer service team more time to support the customers who require their attention.
A chatbot can also help customers who contact you out of hours. Even if their query may not be resolved, they get to interact with the business which benefits their overall customer experience.
Have better conversations with customers when you use WhatsApp Business Platform
WhatsApp Business Platform isn’t meant to radically change how businesses connect with their audiences – just provide another (richer) route to doing it. For example, if you currently send delivery updates via email and/or SMS, you can also send this information via WhatsApp. And you can take advantage of features like image, video and audio support to create richer customer experiences.
But above all, WhatsApp Business Platform encourages you to have conversations rather than sending a one-way notification. Customer service interactions can now take place in a familiar and comfortable environment, without the need to use a live-chat service hosted on a webpage. Dive deeper into WhatsApp Business Platform and how organisations like yours can use it to foster stronger customer relationships in our ultimate resource.
Want to try WhatsApp Business Platform out for yourself? Talk to our Esendex Experts.
Prachi Bametha
Marketing Coordinator, Esendex Australia