The competitive environment in the
world of communication technology has led to the emergence of a number of great
communication apps within the consumer market. With the ubiquity of text
messaging apps that we have today, brands are now exploring a whole new set of
marketing opportunities to jump on the text messaging marketing bandwagon for
their businesses. With over a billion total active users and approximately 30
billion messages sent daily worldwide, WhatsApp is now being reported as the
fastest-growing communication app among the smart phone users.
“Messaging apps
will introduce a paradigm shift for marketers where interactive and contextual
conversations will replace ad broadcasting,” said Forrester analyst Thomas
Husson. He also added that the new conversational interfaces will drive deeper
relationships between consumers and brands.
In tandem with the rise of
communication technology innovation, this brings the right set of circumstances
for marketers to invest in such ideal “relationship platforms” with their
consumers. Today, almost everyone has a WhatsApp account associated with their
phone. As more and more users master the use of phone communication apps,
interested marketers have begun to realise the potential of text messaging
marketing in engaging and connecting with their prospective customers.
If you are running a small or medium enterprise branded
account, take a look at the following article for some of the insights on why WhatsApp is now an imperative text
messaging marketing strategy for your business.
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Cost-effectiveness
WhatsApp is free, however, for small
business, it can successfully perform functions of a specialised app. Creating,
promoting and maintaining an app for delivery or an errand-running service can
be too pricey, whereas you can use WhatsApp instead as your order-placing and
booking platform.
You may have come across the opinion,
that though WhatsApp is perfect for communication with existing loyal
customers, it is hardly appropriate for reaching out for new ones, as your risk
becoming spammy.
However, you can still grow your
database and use this opportunity of creating the engaged audience by promoting
your WhatsApp number through other media and offering your customers something
lucrative in return: a product consultation, a promotional code, a freebie, a
contest.
A contest is also a very effective
way of creating a buzz and accumulating user-generated content. One should not
underestimate this opportunity because such content often becomes viral.
Remember Starbucks: no one pays all
those people to post selfies with pumpkin spice lattes each fall – they do it
willingly and become the ambassadors of the brand, promoting it through their
personal pages.
Versatility
WhatsApp is a communication tool,
however, a wide variety of group chats makes it resemble a social network in
many ways. Indeed, it is immensely popular among young people, who spend hours
chatting, gossiping and forwarding jokes in WhatsApp.
It is in fact so popular, that the
word itself became a verb (“WhatsApp this to me”) and monitoring
of WhatsApp chats is a growing concern to
parents on par with Facebook or SMS monitoring.
Sometimes they even call WhatsApp a
“new SMS”. However, compared to SMS and e-mail, WhatsApp has almost no
limitations with regard to format. With the help of WhatsApp, you can send
files, images, short video clips about your products and services and accompany
it all with welcoming text providing a short description of what has been
enclosed.
Moreover, there is less restriction
on the way of your messages to your customers’ eyes: DND-numbers do not apply,
and spam filters either. However, make sure your attempts to reach your
customers will not annoy them.
Though there are no spam filters in
WhatsApp, still no one likes spammers, so make sure you do not overuse WhatsApp
(1 or 2 messages per week is quite enough). Being pushy with advertising can
seriously damage your brand image.
Non-intrusive
Feedback
You can use WhatsApp to request a
feedback from your clients in a discreet and low-key manner – they are much
more likely to respond to a text message in a personal chat than answer an
incoming call from an unknown number.
You can also use the app for opinion
polls and market research. With an opening rate of 70%, you may rest assured
that the opinion you get from your customers is relevant and representative.
Ask your clients about their
preferences as for products (what ice-cream flavour do they like the most, what
new item they would like to see on a menu, what coveted service is not yet
available) make it in a creative and entertaining way. Stay in touch with them
and increase brand loyalty by sending them new offers and season greetings.
Speed
WhatsApp provides every possibility for an all-around customer support: in empowers swift response to customer queries, complaints and suggestions. On top of that, chatting via WhatsApp is much quicker than mailing and your customers are more willing to engage in a conversation.
On the other hand, you too must do whatever it takes to stay available and to respond immediately. What is the use of having a WhatsApp account for your brand, if it takes hours to get an answer from you? Make sure you have dedication and resources to maintain contact with your customers in ASAP mode.
Personal Touch
In WhatsApp you are free to be more
informal compared to e-mail. It is a perfect tool for one-to-one communication.
This feature makes WhatsApp perfect for small and medium business. Make the
most of it. You are addressing your customers directly and personally.
It will be appropriate to personalise
your brand account as well. A persona behind the avatar may be a real community
manager, a mascot, a fictional character.
On the other hand, for big business
with great numbers of customer queries such approach may be impractical, as it
is difficult to handle and stay casual and personal. Still big renowned brands
(such as Sony) use WhatsApp for exclusive promotions and campaigns.
Although one-to-one communication is
much more preferable than group chats with regards to marketing and customer
support, there is also a broadcast feature for a wider reach.
When you are “broadcasting” you can
send the same message to 250 contacts from your list at once, and they will not
see other recipients, as well as will not be bothered by group message
notifications when someone answers your initial message.
This is a great marketing
opportunity. Even if you need to reach more than 250 customers, broadcast still
works great: you can create specific lists with different demographics or
simply duplicate the message.
Although each day brings its own
fads and crazes and many feel unwilling to hop on a bandwagon each time,
WhatsApp is too good an opportunity to miss! Give it a chance and try in out at
least as a secondary marketing instrument and you will see if it meets your
needs as a business.
Inspiration:
Inspiration:
Image Source:
(1) pinterest.com
(2) campaignasia.com
(3) corrata.com
(4) fotosearch.com
(5) theguardian.com
(6) play.google.com
(7) associationsnow.com
(1) pinterest.com
(2) campaignasia.com
(3) corrata.com
(4) fotosearch.com
(5) theguardian.com
(6) play.google.com
(7) associationsnow.com
Chia Yi Jing | Bubbling with enthusiasm, bright ideas, and confidence, Yi Jing set foot in the PR world with Orchan Consulting, where she was offered permanent employment after a successful internship. She is determined to make her mark in the industry, and her bosses know that she will.
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