WhatsApp Business: Rapid communication and one-to-one marketing for SMEs
In 2018, around 1.5 billion people use WhatsApp direct chats: 67% of users hypothesize the possibility of contacting business realities directly through the application and 53% would prefer to rely on activities available using instant messaging systems. WhatsApp Business is the corporate chat that revolutionizes SME marketing.
The research carried out by Morning Consult and the statistics analyzed by Hootsuite clearly describe the constantly growing trends of the WhatsApp app: users no longer limit their messaging activity to the private sphere; they perceive, in fact, the need to establish a direct contact also with business realities. WhatsApp Business is the first instant messaging app that can establish direct communication between the company and the customer by developing an optimized experience for both parties.
What is WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp Business is an application designed in 2018 specifically for SMEs: the app constitutes a direct channel of communication between commercial realities and customers and is aimed at optimizing the brand and corporate web reputation and constantly improving the consumer experience.
WhatsApp business cost: the common idea could be that such an effective App must have a high cost. It is not so! WhatsApp Business is a free app currently available for download on the Android Google Play Store. The application can also be used in the Web version on any type of device, but there are short-term projects to make the business service available also on iOS mobile devices.
The new business chat maintains the standard WhatsApp setting, essentially remaining an instant messaging app, but introducing some significant innovations. Users of WhatsApp Business can create a profile of their business, enter details such as company page, geographical location, and contact information for the business. WhatsApp Business is therefore a system designed and conceived solely for business users in order to automate and organize one-to-one business communication methods.
WhatsApp Business: How does it work?
The WhatsApp Business application allows companies to process targeted messages that can be directly shared with their users: it is important to emphasize that business contents are different from traditional advertisements; in fact, consumers can decide whether or not to receive information from company accounts.
The new WhatsApp chat offers two types of different business profiles …
1) Verified business: verified accounts are profiles directly supervised and approved by the WhatsApp team itself. This type of account is characterized by the presence of a specific emoticon in correspondence with the name of the activity itself.
2) Unverified business: unverified accounts are company profiles that have not received prior approval from the application itself. All business features of an unverified profile are active; it is simply advised for the user to pay more attention to shared business content.
WhatsApp Business provides its members with several innovative features not present in the messenger version of the application …
Creating a company profile
Even WhatsApp Business, just like the other platforms dedicated to the corporate world, offers the user the possibility of creating a real company profile with references to the web page and to the direct contacts of the company. You can choose the name associated with your account, which can no longer be changed, and select a profile photo, which instead can be replaced or updated repeatedly and at any time.
Setting default messages
WhatsApp Business offers a communication service always present to its customers: it is, in fact, possible to set up automated and predefined messages to be periodically shared with one’s contacts. The application allows business users to create three different types of pre-set messages: welcome messages, aimed at warmly welcoming all new potential customers; quick answers, set in advance with the aim of automatically answering questions asked with particular frequency; and absence messages, created to communicate their availability and inform the client about the hours of activity.
“Structured messages” functionality
Business communications can be shared in different languages thanks to the “structured messages” feature, which is a type of message that can be automatically translated into multiple languages without having to set any type of change in advance.
Availability of analytics tools
WhatsApp Business allows business accounts to constantly monitor the effectiveness of their activities: through the use of specific tools it is possible to analyze which content is most read, appreciated and shared by its customers.
Possibility to segment customers
The Business application provides an interesting marketing feature: you can segment your contact lists, create different categories based on customer buying experiences and share personalized and particularly targeted messages with different types of users.
How do you configure a WhatsApp Business profile?
Here’s how to properly configure a WhatsApp Business account …
1. Configure the telephone number
Following the opening of the application, the first action to be taken is to accept the terms and conditions of the service, the following is required to enter and verify the telephone number you wish to associate with the business profile. You can also set the fixed number of the company as the default contact: in order to use WhatsApp Messenger and WhatsApp Business on your device at the same time, you must associate the accounts with different numbers.
2. Choose the name of the activity
Following registration, the first information requested is the name of the activity: it is important to carefully choose and correctly enter the name of the company as, following the first confirmation; it can no longer be changed.
3. Enter the contacts and information requested
WhatsApp offers the business user the possibility of entering company contacts, references to company web pages and a brief description of his work: it is important to accurately insert this information to be credible and reliable in the eyes of potential customers.
4. Try to obtain verification by the WhatsApp team
In order to have no reliability problems, it is essential to try to obtain official verification of the company profile by WhatsApp: users, in fact, place greater trust in already verified business profiles.
WhatsApp Business: Why is it important for SMEs?
Some Morning Consult research reports that 69% of SMEs consider WhatsApp Business a tool that can greatly facilitate interaction with customers. It is clear that the new WhatsApp chat business allows companies to carry out some essential marketing activities in a simple and innovative way to optimize their communication strategies:
Communicate directly with the customer
WhatsApp Business offers the company user the opportunity to establish a direct and informal relationship with the customer. Chat communications are short and intuitive, the use of emoticons can be an essential tool to intrigue and amuse consumers and the possibility to formulate informal responses can greatly optimize the company-customer communication experience.
Develop new marketing strategies and share promotions via chat
The WhatsApp business chat can be an indispensable tool for devising new direct marketing methods: surveys, special promotions, interactive messages and sharing of targeted multimedia content are the innovative tools used by WhatsApp Business to promote their content directly and informal.
Constantly support the customer
A corporate WhatsApp account is an essential tool for customer care: customers do not like communicating by voice using telephone calls, in fact, they prefer fast communication with instant messages. To use WhatsApp Business effectively, you need to be available to your customers. An unanswered chat message is considered particularly negative and can invalidate the company’s reputation.
Know the users’ opinion
Knowing the needs of your customers is an essential activity for planning your marketing activities. WhatsApp is a particularly suitable platform for promoting surveys and questionnaires, as the communication is particularly clear and rapid.
Monitor your activities
WhatsApp Business allows its members to constantly monitor their activities: for a company it is important to know which communication strategies have been most successful in order to select new personalized and previously planned marketing solutions.
WhatsApp Business: Tips to get started
WhatsApp Business is a potentially very effective tool to increase the visibility of your business, here are some useful tips to use the application optimally …
- It attracts the attention of customers by using surveys or interactive promotions: customers are more involved in activities that involve direct feedback and see them as protagonists in person;
- Share your WhatsApp profile on Social channels and on the company website;
- Promote “personal shopping” activities: divide your contacts into groups and create personalized promotions based on the specific experiences of each user;
- Set up automated and predefined messages to be always available: customers want immediate answers, especially when it comes to chat communication;
- Use images and videos: multimedia contents are appreciated by a greater number of users as they attract more attention;
- Try to develop direct and informal communication strategies: WhatsApp is a platform commonly used to exchange friendly messages, maintaining an informal and personalized profile can increase the trust placed by the customer in the company.
Do you want to grow your business and improve your business results?