WhatsApp Conversational Marketing: Your Ultimate Guide with Examples from Real Brands

Messaging apps have changed the way in which companies reach out and interact with customers. These apps allowed them to offer better sales experience to their buyers on the go. Among them, WhatsApp marketing has become a staple for businesses that want to engage customers on their mobile devices by leveraging the business platform from WhatsApp. That’s why it has become crucial today to know the difference between WhatsApp vs WhatsApp Business.

WhatsApp has emerged as a powerhouse for running conversation marketing campaigns, providing you with a direct and personal channel to connect with your audience. It has become such a renowned platform that more than 100 billion messages are sent and received each day!  

So it is an obvious choice for you to utilize the WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Cloud API to reach out to a wide target market. That’s why in this guide, I will delve into WhatsApp conversation marketing, its benefits, and how you can execute it over WhatsApp. 

Whether you are a seasoned professional or just stepping into the world of conversational marketing, this guide is designed to equip you with the knowledge to make the most of WhatsApp’s marketing potential. So, let’s get into it!

What is WhatsApp conversation marketing?

As the name implies, WhatsApp conversational marketing is a type of marketing and sales engagement approach that emphasizes engaging in direct, real-time conversations with potential customers, understanding their pain points, and offering personalized, relevant solutions.

The goal of WhatsApp conversation marketing is to create meaningful interactions with customers by leveraging the functionality and accessibility of WhatsApp. To make the most of the capabilities offered by WhatsApp, you first need to have a solid WhatsApp marketing strategy in place. 

In order to use WhatsApp as a channel for conversation marketing, you basically have to utilize the benefits of WhatsApp Business API along with an outreach solution to set up two-way communication with your prospects at various stages of the sales funnel.

But before I get into the process of how you can use WhatsApp for conversation marketing, let’s take a look at the advantages of WhatsApp conversation marketing. 

Benefits of WhatsApp conversation marketing

Being a global communication platform, there are several benefits of running conversation marketing campaigns on WhatsApp. Following are a few of them:

Direct channel

WhatsApp lets you have direct, 1:1 conversations with your customers in real-time. Unlike traditional marketing channels that may feel distant, WhatsApp facilitates two-way communication, marking customers feel valued and heard. 

This personal touch fosters a sense of connection between you and your customers, resulting in building trust and stronger brand loyalty. 

High engagement rates

WhatsApp has an extremely high engagement and conversion rate, much higher than any other marketing channel. According to numbers, WhatsApp campaigns can offer a CTR of almost 45-60%. Not just that, WhatsApp also offers an open rate of 98%.

These numbers are way too high when compared to other marketing avenues. For example, As per Mailchimp, the average email open rate of emails across various fields is around 21%. This goes to show that WhatsApp is a better platform in terms of engagement and interactions.

Conversational commerce

WhatsApp, along with being a marketing platform can also facilitate conversational commerce, where you can conduct transactions within the messaging platform. You can use WhatsApp for ecommerce to take orders, process payments, and provide customer service, creating a frictionless buying experience for your customers all from a single application.

How to execute conversation marketing on WhatsApp?

For executing conversation marketing campaigns on WhatsApp, you have to follow several steps to ensure their successful implementation. With that said, here is the step-by-step procedure to get you started:

Create a WhatsApp Business account

The first thing you have to do to start running a conversation marketing campaign on WhatsApp is to create a WhatsApp Business account. Now, before you begin creating a WhatsApp Business account you have to understand that WhatsApp offers its services in two forms:

• A mobile application, known as WhatsApp Business
• APIs (Cloud and On-premise) which can be integrated with supporting communication software

You have to choose a suitable solution based on your business, its size, and the number of messages you want to send through WhatsApp Broadcast for business. For instance, if you are a small business that has a few team members and a relatively small target audience, then the WhatsApp Business app is the right fit for you.

On the other hand, if you are a medium or large company with big teams and a considerable target market you want to send bulk messages to, then go for the WhatsApp Business API solution.

After deciding on which platform to use, you have to create the Business account accordingly. For the mobile application, simply download the WhatsApp Business app from Google Play Store or Apple Store and follow the on-screen instructions to set up your account.

However, the process is a bit complex for the APIs. This is because WhatsApp API has two forms: Cloud and On-premise with their pros and cons. So you have to compare both of them to figure out which one is a good fit for your business.

Once that is out of the way, you also need an outreach platform to run your campaigns from. And Zixflow is what you are looking for. It is a marketing platform that lets you run WhatsApp conversation marketing campaigns at scale through WhatsApp CRM integration.

Furthermore, with Zixflow, you can create message templates for further use as these are required to start a conversation from your end (I explained this in detail below.) 

Create a contact list

The next step of the process is to build and segment your contact list. As you might already know, WhatsApp functions primarily on a phone number basis. So to reach out to customers over WhatsApp you either need their phone numbers or encourage them to opt-in to receive messages from your business.

Out of these two methods, the latter one is easier as people are reluctant to offer their personal contact information. So, promote your WhatsApp presence on various channels, such as your website, social media profiles, and in email newsletters. 

You can also offer incentives like exclusive offers or discount codes to entice potential customers to subscribe to your WhatsApp messages. For that, you can use WhatsApp Commmunity feature to send messages like offers, discounts, etc. to your group of customers.

Make use of the right template

WhatsApp is designed as a communication app for users to freely send and receive messages. It is not a marketing channel for companies to run one-sided campaigns. So, to stop companies from spamming users with promotional messages, WhatsApp has put in place a few restrictions.

For example, if a user reaches out to you first with a query or an issue, then you have 24 hours to respond to their message however you like. This 24-hour rule applies to every message sent by the customer and not just the first one. 

But if you are the one initiating the conversation, then you have to use pre-designed Business Message Templates that have to be approved by WhatsApp. These templates are built for particular scenarios, such as product launches, cart abandonment, or order details and allow you to better engage your audience. 

For instance, OnePlus, a smartphone manufacturer that develops high-end flagship smartphones, uses WhatsApp to promote its new products while also providing a discount offer when a purchase is made using a specific medium.

Personalized messages

Personalization is an important aspect of WhatsApp conversational marketing. It involves customizing your WhatsApp marketing messages and interactions to each recipient’s unique needs and preferences. By doing so, you can deliver more relevant messages, leading to better sales engagement.

To make sure that your WhatsApp messages are tailored according to your audience, always address them by their names. Don’t use generic greetings in WhatsApp Business messages like “Hello user” or “Hi customer.” Addressing your messages using the name of the recipient allows you to bring a conversational vibe, making it seem like you are having a face-to-face conversation.

This simple yet effective approach adds a human touch to your messages that shows you recognize your prospects as individuals, not just some contacts in your list. 

For example, AJIO, a fashion and lifestyle brand, sends personalized WhatsApp messages to its customers that are addressed using their names and include relevant products that might be a good fit for them based on their past purchases. 

This type of customer-centric selling approach increases the chances of repeat purchases and also makes the brand stand out from the competition.

Use multimedia

One of the biggest advantages that WhatsApp has over traditional SMS marketing is the ability to include visual elements in your messages. Using multimedia in WhatsApp conversations can significantly enhance your messages and overall customer engagement.

Multimedia allows you to deliver information much more effectively than plain text. It is also more visually appealing and attention-grabbing, resulting in higher engagement rates. 

Take Lenskart for example, it is an optical brand that usually sends discount sale offers on WhatsApp. It incorporates catchy images to grab the reader’s attention and provide useful information easily.

Monitor your efforts

Lastly, to run an effective WhatsApp conversation marketing campaign, you have to monitor the performance of your initiatives. Analyzing and improving the areas you are lacking in is essential for achieving long-term success. 

By systematically measuring whatsapp analytics data of business and using insights to make factually correct decisions, you can optimize your WhatsApp conversation marketing campaigns.

That’s why Zixflow provides you with valuable insights via its campaign analytics function. Using this feature, you can check whether your messages are successfully delivered or if you are facing any deliverability errors. You can also see how many of your messages have been read and if they are deleted by your recipients.

Build strong connections and boost your bottom line using conversation marketing on WhatsApp

Overall, WhatsApp conversation marketing is a powerful sales engagement approach to engage potential customers and build lasting relationships. Keep in mind that it is more than just marketing your offerings. It is about actively listening to your customers and delivering value that will enrich their lives.

And Zixflow is a tool that enables you to accomplish that precisely. It is an advanced salesOS that lets you not only simplify your sales process but also lets you run engagement campaigns across various channels, like WhatsApp, email, and SMS.

On top of that, you can create a free account and make the most of its pay-as-you-use payment plan for campaigns to ensure that you don’t have to worry about committing anything before you have thoroughly tried the software. 

So, use this dynamic platform alongside WhatsApp to make the most of the transformative power of personalized messaging and connect with your customers on a deeper level. Happy conversing!