The way we communicate has changed in the past decade or so. With the introduction of instant messaging social networks like WhatsApp, communication has become more quick and streamlined. And as of Feb 2020, WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users around the globe. Its wide user adoption rate is enough to tell how effectively WhatsApp has penetrated in people’s lives. Not only that but after Facebook acquired it back in 2014, it introduced new plans for WhatsApp.
In 2018, Facebook launched the WhatsApp Business application so that businesses can leverage its potential. It has many impressive features like an automated reply, business profile, catalog creation, and others. Many large scale businesses and enterprises have started using it effectively to communicate with their customers. But what of small businesses? How they can efficiently utilize the power WhatsApp holds?
Don’t worry. Because, with this article, we are going to elaborate on the top 10+ effective ways to use WhatsApp for your business in 2020. So, without further ado let’s get started.
Top 10+ Ways to Use WhatsApp for Your Business
We’ve listed 10+ ways small businesses like yours can use WhatsApp effectively to target customers and engage with them in a better way.
1. Create Your WhatsApp Business Profile:
The first thing you want to do is to install the business version of the app. It is a separate app under the name WhatsApp Business. Then, open the app and fill in the necessary details of your business such as business name, opening hours, catalog, website address, business category, description, and address.
Try to include as much information about your business as possible. Because it will help your new visitors and customers to better understand your business before they take any action to engage with you.
2. Real-Time Customer Service:
If you want the luxury of providing real-time service to your customers, then WhatsApp for business is a perfect way to go. Before WhatsApp for Business, providing real-time customer service was a luxury only a few can afford. But now, small businesses have a better way to offer customer service.
Real-time customer service cuts down a lot of wait time as your customer service team can respond to customer queries quickly. Research also suggests that customers need a quick response to their queries and for that, they use social networking platforms as they are quick and easy to use.
3. Promote Effectively with Broadcasts and Groups:
With WhatsApp, you can create various groups and broadcasts based on the interests, age, or gender of your customers. These groups and broadcasts will help you effectively promote your products and boost your conversions. Using this time-saving method, your customer will have the comfort to shop from your store. Also, you can tease them with new and upcoming product releases.
But be careful and don’t overdo it. The trick here is to send personalized messages once or twice in a couple of weeks. Otherwise, it may irritate customers and force them to leave your group.
4. Personalize Communication:
Once your WhatsApp groups and broadcasts list has grown, you need to be more attentive and personalize your communication. This is because as the customer list grows, they will have more doubts, questions, or need support. And you can resolve all their queries or even accept orders directly from WhatsApp by accessing it on smartphones, tablets, or PC. Also, it will be appealing for your customer if you make yourself available for one-on-one interaction.
5. Integrate WhatsApp on Ecommerce Store:
One easy way customers can get-in-touch with your team from your eCommerce website is by integrating it with WhatsApp. Facilitate your new visitor in solving their doubts by allowing them to contact you on WhatsApp right from your eCommerce store.
Also, prompt users to share your products with their social groups through the integrated WhatsApp. This will kind of build social proof of your brand, which helps others to trust in you. And it will elevate the user experience of your online store for customers and drive more traffic as well.
6. Build a Product Catalogue:
WhatsApp Business app also provides you the option to create a catalog of products. You can add product info such as Name, Description, Image, Price, and Product Link. This will allow customers not to go through the tedious process of searching for perfect products in their budget from your online store as they can do so simply with your WhatsApp Catalogue. Create a catalog of your best selling products and receive orders directly from WhatsApp.
7. Use Story Feature for Product Promotion:
Following the path of other social networks, Facebook has incorporated a story feature in WhatsApp. Through this feature, businesses have another way to serve their customers without irritating them with personal messages. You can post images and other product info on WhatsApp stories so that your contacts and customers get notified of your latest products. Also, they have the option to reply to those stories of yours and ask their doubts or order your product immediately.
8. Share Discount Offers and Sale Announcements:
Through instant personal messages or via the story feature of WhatsApp, you can share promotional offers, discount codes, sale announcements, and other business events your customer might be interested in. Also, you can run flash sales for a limited time and let your customer know about it through groups and broadcasts. All this will help create buzz around your brand and drive targeted traffic, which will also bolster the conversions.
9. Provide Product Demos:
Many customers want to see the demo of the product in use. So, create videos or guides if possible demonstrating what the product does, its hidden features, how to use it, and many other things. You can post them on your status or provide YouTube links to let your customers see the demos of various items in your inventory. Even if the customers won’t purchase them right away, demos will help keep your products and brand on customers’ minds whenever they need to purchase them.
10. Offer Early Access to Deals:
Suppose a festival is coming up and you have designed a promotional campaign just for that festival. What you can do here is to allow early access to those deals to your WhatsApp customers. You can post on your story or send a personal message to customers offering them 1 or 2 days early access to exciting deals and new product launches. This will surely increase the traffic and conversion on for your eCommerce store.
11. Try Giveaways:
Who doesn’t like free stuff? Everyone. Right?
It’s taken that giveaways are something not every business can afford especially the small-scale ones. But it has significant potential to boost quality traffic coming to your eCommerce website. And since WhatsApp is free to use, the only cost you would bear is the cost of products you giveaway. Thus, lowering the overhead expenses of your marketing spends.
Wrapping Up
WhatsApp is a continuously evolving instant messaging social network. It is one dynamic platform, which provides ease of use to everyone. And with the introduction of WhatsApp for Business, it has taken instant business promotion to a whole new level. And thus, we have provided Top 10+ effective ways to use WhatsApp for your business in 2020. Still, if you are confused or need any help, then consult our Ecommerce experts for reliable and sophisticated advice.