WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging applications in Italy and around the world.

Four out of ten Italians regard WhatsApp as their favorite smartphone app, and it is used by 90.8 percent of the population with Internet access.

Over time, the WhatsApp channel has been used by users not only to chat with friends and family, but also to exchange information with companies and businesses.

Some data collected by Meta confirm how the use of this channel has been appreciated by consumers:

  • 80% of adults agree that messaging is a quick and easy way to communicate with a company
  • 175 million people send messages to a corporate account every day
  • 75% of adults said, "I want to be able to communicate with companies in the same way I communicate with friends and family through texting."
  • 100 million messages a day are sent by businesses using the WhatsApp Business platform
  • 85% of consumers agree that interacting with a company via messaging app is relationship-building

Use of the channel has become so frequent that it has been used by businesses as a communication and marketing channel. Many businesses use WhatsApp to send promotional messages, special offers, useful content and more to their customers.

In this article, we will look at the benefits of using WhatsApp in your communication strategy and how best to do it.

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The advantages of using the WhatsApp channel

Using WhatsApp in marketing and communication strategy allows companies to gain several advantages, such as:

  1. High open rates: WhatsApp is the communication channel that achieves message open and read rates close to 100%, much higher numbers than traditional email or texting.
  2. Speed and immediacy: With WhatsApp Marketing, messages are sent directly to customers' phones, without going through intermediaries. This means that the messages will reach the recipients instantly.
  3. Personalization: the WhatsApp allows companies to create personalized conversations with their customers. This means that companies can speak directly to their customers and understand their needs.
  4. Interactivity: the WhatsApp allows companies to interact with their customers in real time. This means that companies can answer their customers' questions and create a closer relationship with them.

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How to Use WhatsApp for Marketing Purposes

Now that we have seen the benefits of WhatsApp Marketing, let's look at some concrete examples of how companies can use the WhatsApp channel in their marketing strategy.

  1. Sending special offers: Companies can send special offers to their customers via WhatsApp. This creates a sense of exclusivity for customers and incentivizes them to purchase products or services.
  2. Abandoned cart retrieval: for e-commerce, it is possible to use the abandoned cart retrieval feature on WhatsApp. In this way, the user who has just abandoned the product in the cart can be contacted again on WhatsApp to finalize the order
  3. Order update: you can expect to send a WhatsApp message to update the recipient of the order status
  4. Automated service and support: it is possible through some specialized platforms to create a series of automated responses that offer prompt response to the customer according to his or her needs
  5. Sending service notifications: businesses can use WhatsApp to inform their customers about services offered, such as opening hours and overtime closures. This is especially useful for companies in the service sector.
  6. Sending useful content: companies can use WhatsApp to send their customers useful content, such as guides, tutorials and videos. This helps provide added value to their customers and build trust with them.
  7. Using surveys: companies can use WhatsApp to create quick and easy surveys to understand what their customers like and don't like. This is important to understand how to improve their products or services.
  8. Reminder: an appointment, installment or important date can be reminded on WhatsApp.

How to integrate WhatsApp marketing into your company's marketing strategy

To use WhatsApp as a marketing channel, a few steps must be followed.

  1. Obtain customers ' consent: before sending messages to their customers, companies must obtain their consent. This means that customers must agree to receive messages from companies.
  2. Create a contact list: companies should create a contact list of customers who have given their consent to receive promotional messages via the WhatsApp.
  3. Create effective and highly personalized messages: messages sent via WhatsApp must be short, clear and effective. They must also be personalized and tailored to the specific needs of customers.
  4. Monitor and analyze results: companies need to monitor and analyze the results of their WhatsApp Marketing campaigns to understand what works and what does not. This allows them to improve their marketing strategy and achieve better results over time.
  5. Use platforms that integrate WhatsApp's official APIs and allow the channel to be used professionally and effectively

Conclusions

Using WhatsApp as a marketing channel is definitely an effective and efficient choice for businesses. To date, WhatsApp is the best performing and most effective communication channel as it ensures much higher read and interaction rates than all other communication channels used (e-mail, sms).

Through WhatsApp, companies can send special offers, service information, useful content and more to their customers.

In addition, WhatsApp Marketing offers many advantages, such as speed and immediacy, personalization, and interactivity. These advantages make WhatsApp Marketing a very effective marketing channel for companies of all sizes.

Through the use of conversational platforms using WhatsApp's official API, it is possible to make certain features automatic, such as: reminder or reminder messages, birthday greetings, abandoned cart retrieval, sending informational or professional messages, and more.

For example, Spoki is the Italian conversation platform that uses WhatsApp's official APIs and makes it possible to integrate the channel within corporate strategy. Through Spoki it is possible to integrate WhatsApp with enterprise tools, CRM and CMS and thus create integrated, omnichannel communication.

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