WhatsApp Marketing: A Simplified Guide with Tips & Examples

Quick question- Which platform do you use most often to stay in touch with your friends and family? Or which is the quickest channel where you will get a response from anyone you are in touch with? 

I am certain it is a text exchanging platform, and it is also WhatsApp! Nah, I am not prying on you; it is what the whatsapp statistics for businesses are telling me. As per the numbers, WhatsApp is the most downloaded platform globally, with 100 billion messages being sent every day! 

It clearly showcases that it is loved by all, thus, also making it one of the best platforms for marketing. It is high time to leverage WhatsApp for marketing because if you do not, it’ll be too late. I am not just asking you to jump on the bandwagon; I am asking you to jump, make the best of it, and outshine your competition. 

Once you are done reading all that I have to say, you will already be 2 steps ahead of your competitors. Take my word for it because I am bringing you the perspective of both a customer and a marketer. 

What is WhatsApp Marketing? 

The cliche and overused phrase ‘go where your customers are’ is what describes Whatsapp marketing in the best way possible. WhatApp marketing is the easiest way to reach a vast audience within seconds. Not only that, but it is also the platform used by people of all age groups, demographics, and geographics and hence also one of the most favorite for marketers to leverage. Best of all, since it is also the platform being actively used, there is no way it will lose its charm in upcoming decades either, and META made it even more clear by bringing WhatsApp under their umbrella in 2014. 

All and all, WhatsApp marketing refers to using the WhatsApp messaging platform to promote your products, services, and all the other possible marketing and promotional efforts with the help of WhatsApp marketing tools.

Benefits of WhatsApp Marketing 

As aforementioned, WhatsApp is the platform where you find your audience, so that is already the reason enough to use it, but here are a few more benefits of WhatsApp marketing that you should know about. 

Enhanced customer engagement 

If you are reaching out to your customers on their preferred platform, then no one can stop you from increasing your sales engagement which will yield positive results for your marketing efforts and, of course, increased sales by manifolds. 

The easier you make it for your audience to have access to your brand, the more your customer engagement will increase, and WhatsApp gives you a direct line to your customers, so do not underestimate it. 

Sharing secrets as a customer, whenever I receive a text or two from brands through WhatsApp, I usually end up opening the links being shared, exploring their products and services, and maybe even buying them. It is a cycle that keeps on going, and every single customer goes through it. I assure you that you want this cycle for your business as well. 

Reach your audience worldwide 

WhatsApp has billions of users worldwide, and you can reach every single one of them if you want to; that’s the charm of WhatsApp marketing! The geographical boundaries are no more, and you have access to your audience across the globe at your fingertips. 🚀

Now that’s a big deal!  

Increased conversations, aka increased conversions

Even though the SMS channel is still a very relevant and popular means of marketing, it is still very old school, and expecting a reply via SMS is delusional today, especially when WhatsApp exists. WhatsApp makes it easier not only for you to reach your customer but also easier for your customers to reach you. It is easily accessible, has an intuitive UI, is used by a large chunk of the population, and, most importantly, it is an app being used on an everyday basis by your audience. 

All the above-mentioned points help your business with an increased number of conversations with your customers, ultimately increasing your ROI from WhatsApp Marketing. 

Lower Marketing cost 

WhatsApp marketing requires consistent but smaller amounts of investments than other forms of marketing, and the results are tremendous. Marketing through SMS and email are undoubtedly incredible options, but they also need incredible investments! 🤷

WhatsApp marketing, on the other hand, lowers that cost and makes customer engagement and retention cheaper. You’ll get tools for WhatsApp automation for marketing purposes at a very affordable price.

Ace brand positioning 

WhatsApp marketing allows you to indulge with your customers on a personal level and in your customers’ comfort zone. This lets you know what your customers expect from you, and you can then build your WhatsApp marketing strategy around that. 

This will give you an edge over your competitors since you will be able to curate your marketing strategy as per your customer preference and let your customers know that you care about them. Making it easier for you to impress your sales prospects.  

Happy customers- Happy Business

“I don’t like connecting with my favorite brand on the most easy-to-use application that I frequently use throughout the day.” - Said no customer ever!  

Think like a customer, and you will know why WhatsApp usage will help your business. Easy connectivity to get your queries resolved, quick answers to your questions, and get to know about upcoming offers and new products consistently through WhatsApp catalog feature- which customer would not enjoy that? 

No doubt, WhatsApp marketing helps businesses grow because happy customers help you build a happier business. 

How to build a WhatsApp marketing strategy? 

Thinking of starting WhatsApp marketing and actually implementing it are two different things; a lot goes in the back, and here I will give the direction to start with. Here are all the things you need to do before you build a WhatsApp marketing strategy to make it a success. 

Specify your objectives and what you want to achieve 

Before you start designing your WhatsApp marketing strategy, you need to get your goals straight. Figure out why you want to start with WhatsApp marketing in the first place and what possible results it can get you. Most of all, keep it all realistic, the numbers you are deciding, the numbers you are aiming for, the objectives you have for your business- keep them real and achievable. 

WhatsApp marketing can give you results that no other marketing and sales engagement strategies could. So start by finding out what is lacking in your marketing and make it right with WhatsApp marketing and figure out the KPIs that will help you achieve your targets. 

For instance, if your conversion rate is low, then you can connect with your audience on WhatsApp and send them attractive offers that will help them choose your business, and then you will just have to focus on retaining them. 

Narrow down on your target audience

You cannot move even one step ahead unless you know who you want to sell your product and services. WhatsApp marketing opens doors for both B2C and B2B industries, but to attain its benefits to the fullest, you need to know in which direction you want to take your marketing efforts. 

Start by building a buyer persona, finding out everything possible about your target audience (the more, the merrier when it comes to knowing about your customers), and find out answers to the following questions: 

• Why do customers need your product? 
• Why should customers use your products? 
• What do the customers desire in the kind of products and services you offer? 
• Are your products solving the problems of your users? 
• What is your unique value proposition? 
• What is the end result of using your products? 

Once you have answers to all these questions, you will easily be able to figure out who your target audience is and then curate a WhatsApp marketing strategy that will get you maximum benefit for your business. The better your strategy, the easier it will be for you to convert different types of leads. 

Get WhatsApp Cloud API

Why? 

Because if you want to scale your business, you also need a solution that is scalable itself. WhatsApp Business application is good, but it is only helpful for smaller businesses. When it comes to extravagant marketing affairs, there is not much that the business application can do. On the other hand, business 

Cloud API is curated specially for you to grow your business. What’s even better is that WhatsApp Cloud API is accessible to all, unlike WhatsApp Business API, and you also do not have to pay a hefty amount to get access to it since WhatsApp’s pricing for Cloud API is based on conversations instead of individual messages.

You get the maximum benefits from WhatsApp Cloud API you need to integrate with platforms like Zixflow. This way you’ll be able to utilize the Whatsapp business CRM tool for all your whatsapp marketing efforts.

But why only Zixflow? 

✅ It is an easy-to-use platform that you can access not only for WhatsApp marketing but also for sales automation and omnichannel communication. So an all-in-one solution for business success. 

✅ Integrate with CRMs and other platforms that facilitate your brand’s operations. 

✅ Automate your WhatsApp campaigns and updates for users. 

✅ Do bulk broadcasts and send messages to a large number of users in one go. 

Make your business a brand by giving it an identity 

When you think of Netflix, entertainment comes to your mind. When you think of Amazon, online shopping is the first thing to pop up. When you think of Adobe, designing and editing is the first thing you can think of. When you think of Cartier, you think of luxury jewels. Have you ever wondered why? 

It is because these brands have built their persona in this way. They have attached a meaning to their identity, and you need to do the same to make your business a brand. You need to give a personal touch to a brand, and it starts with giving your business a story. 

Why did you start your business? 

What is the value system involved in building your business? 

What do you intend to do with it? 

How does your service or product help people? 

Who are you, and how did you come to where you are right now? 

Giving the answers to these questions will help you connect with the audience better. You will give them a sense of belongingness, something to relate to, and most importantly, you will share a part of your personal journey, and no one can turn a blind eye to that. 

We all know Jeff Bezos started by selling books, handpicking them, packing them, and delivering them- doing all the work himself. Many customers appreciate him sharing his journey, some resonate with him, and some understand him, but in the end, we all love Amazon because the brand gives us a sense of belongingness. 

Once done with giving the persona to your brand, you can then start creating your WhatsApp marketing campaigns around them and watch your sales skyrocket. 📈

Streamline a communication plan 

All your efforts would be good for nothing if you will not communicate with your audience on WhatsApp the right way or if you will produce poor content. To ace WhatsApp marketing, you need to have a game plan ready, especially because WhatsApp has a better open rate than other channels in the market. 

See if the types of content that you are producing will have an impact on your audience; once they open the message, will they be tempted to click on the link or respond to you? Figure out how you want to communicate through WhatsApp, how you want to depict your brand’s persona, and design your communication plan accordingly. 

WhatsApp Marketing tips that every business needs but rarely any business knows

Now that you have taken care of your WhatsApp marketing strategy, it is time that you start putting it to use by combining it with the following tips. The following tips on WhatsApp marketing are extremely underrated, you might or might not have heard about these, but today you are going to read them in detail and start implementing them right away! 🏃‍♂️ 

Build broadcast list 

C’mon, get started with it already! 

WhatsApp Broadcasting is the best way to run your promotional and educational campaigns. One click, and you can reach a vast chunk of your audience in a second. Let your customers know that they are getting the best offers from you. Keep them updated with upcoming sales, give them discount coupons to splurge, send informative texts, and tell them what’s new. There are endless possibilities when it comes to the broadcast list. 

Start using broadcast lists today and watch how your WhatsApp marketing game changes. 

Create exceptional content 

Firstly, do not hold back in terms of creativity when it comes to creating content for WhatsApp marketing. Secondly, create content specifically for WhatsApp marketing. 

If you think that you can utilize the same content for WhatsApp as you do for other channels like SMS, email, and push notifications, then you are living in a bubble that needs to burst! Your audience on WhatsApp is expecting things extremely different from what your subscribers to emailers are expecting. You cannot even think of writing a 2000-word informative WhatsApp text message, but an emailer might require that. Similarly, a monotonous 2 liner SMS content would not work on WhatsApp either. 

WhatsApp needs something more when it comes to content, and you need to figure out what more that is for your business and your audience. 

So create your content accordingly, and make it very specific to WhatsApp, its UI, and your audience there. Once you start doing that, you will notice a drastic shift in your engagement, and then you will be able to use that customer engagement to increase sales. 

You have the option to add media, so use it to the fullest 

The best part about WhatsApp marketing is the variety of content that you can use, be it a video, a photo, a GIF, or emoticons. You can use it all on WhatsApp. So since you have the opportunity, then make it a point to utilize it as well. 

Instead Of writing a huge text, add a video that would be interesting to watch and will successfully convey your message as well. Add images along with your text message so that the user can know what the text is about in one glance and read further if needed or act on it. Who doesn't like a text with emotions? So make sure to use emoticons as well to convey your message better. A confetti emoji for celebratory events and a party popper emoji to share information regarding discounts and offers can do wonders for you. 

Give it a try and see the results for yourself. 

Personalize to the maximum extent possible 

“Hey, we have 10% off for all our customers this Friday on veg pizzas; go and start binging now!” 

“Hey Mia, we are bringing an exclusive offer for our selected customers this Friday, and you are one of them. To express how grateful we are to have you as our customer, we are offering you 10% off on all our veg pizzas. So plan a binge night this weekend!” 

Can you notice the difference? One is a generic message intended for all, while the other looks like it has been specially curated for Mia. Consider this, if you are walking in public, what would make you turn heads? A loud ‘HEY’ or your name? For sure, your name, the same goes for WhatsApp marketing. 

When the customer sees their name in the notifications from your brand, that will increase the chances of getting your text opened more than a regular hey. So capture your audience’s attention by catching them with surprise. 

Personalization goes beyond just using the customers’ names; you can curate specific WhatsApp business message templates targeted towards specific people or use the element of personalization to surprise your customers on their special days. There are several ways of using personalization for WhatsApp marketing. You just have to find the best one for your business. 

Automated texts

Customers want to stay updated with everything at all times. However, your team cannot be sitting in front of the screens at all times to give them updates. So what to do? Well, employ a solution like Zixflow that helps you automate your process. 

Sent automated texts regarding delivery status, OTP, abandoned carts, and much more by setting triggers through Zixflow. Once a lead is added to the CRM and activity is created, kickstart your marketing automation for WhatsApp campaigns. Make sure you include some great WhatsApp automation hacks into your marketing strategy as a cherry on top.

Run retargeting campaigns 

A customer showed interest in your products and services but did not checkout. Or a customer enquired from you about your products and services, but there has been no activity from their end for a long time. If a faithful customer has not bought anything from your brand relatively recently, then it’s time you start retargeting campaigns on WhatsApp. 

What is retargeting? 

It refers to a particular segment of the audience which has previously shown interest in your business, your products, or services and is more likely to buy. You remind them of your existence and convert them by providing a tempting offer or telling them what new is available. 

Running retargeting campaigns on WhatsApp is a result-giving activity because if a prospect has shown interest in your business, they are more likely to still be looking for similar products and services; all you have to do is remind them about your business and give them a reason to do business with you. I am guessing that you are smart enough and take care of the latter part, while Zixflow will help you take care of the former by segmenting your audience. 

Bring to WhatsApp and then do smart segmentation 

Pretty much everyone uses WhatsApp, literally! So try to connect with your audience and existing customers as well on WhatsApp. Be it a website visitor, or your newsletter subscriber, try to connect with them on WhatsApp. So next time a website visitor has a query, utilize the Leadbot to know more about them and what they are looking for, ask for their permission to connect on WhatsApp, and if granted, then BOOM, make use of it to the fullest! 

Not just that, but also try to understand your audience’s preferences and what they are expecting on WhatsApp. Observe your leads’ behavior to your campaign efforts, tag them accordingly in Zixflow, add filters, and create segments. 

Once your audience is segmented, it’ll be 10X easier for you to win them over. Run campaigns specific to your segments and watch your ROI increase. 

Use cases of WhatsApp Marketing 

You have the WhatsApp marketing strategy in place, and you also know the tips to drive the best results, but how to implement them? Where exactly to use them? Worry not; when I said you’d learn everything about WhatsApp marketing, I meant it. Laying down the use cases of WhatsApp marketing for you to put it to use in the best possible way, that too with examples from your favorite brands in various industries.

E-commerce 

Order confirmation 

Let your customers know instantly that their order is confirmed with you through a WhatsApp text so that they are not worried about the status of it and don’t get jumpscares of making payment but never getting the order confirmed. 

Delivery updates

Talking as a customer right now, I don't like having to open an application to track my orders or a link sent to me through SMS every time I want to know where my order is. It is too much of a hassle, and I’d do anything to get rid of this stress. Believe me when I say this I am not the only one. Pretty sure many others would resonate with me; some of them might even be your target audience or existing customers. 

So why put them through this trouble when you can simply update them on their favorite app- WhatsApp? Consider your customers’ plight, focus on customer-centric selling, and start using WhatsApp to send regular updates. 

I’d be really thrilled if I get a notification on WhatsApp that my order is out for delivery; maybe your customers will be too, so watch out! 

Exclusive offers and deals 

Let’s be real; everyone loves saving money, even if it is 5 bucks; a discount is a discount and can bring a smile to your customer’s face. So give exclusive offers and discounts to your customers by using the newsletter feature of WhatsApp, specially curated for them or a segment of the audience, and watch them get delighted!

Cart recovery 

An abandoned cart is that ray of sun trying to shine through a cloudy day. It is hopeful yet hopeless. That’s exactly what an abandoned cart feels like. But at times, it could be a case that the customer was about to check out, but something came up, so send a quick reminder that their cart is waiting for them. 

If there is no positive response, then you can send another follow-up message giving them a discount on their current cart order and watch your customers get tempted. 

New product in store 

“As a customer, it is really hard to keep track of what is new and what is incoming, and it would really help if I could just get updates about my favorite products and brands.” 

Well, it is possible now with WhatsApp marketing. Send instant updates to your customer about new products and watch your new addition get sold out in no time.

Notify about sale 

What good is holding a sale if your customers are not even aware of it? Well, hey, notify them! Let them know that you are selling products at huge discounts and make your sale days a success! 

Banking and Finance 

Send app updates notifications

Banking apps can be really tricky, and they can really make your heart race if, by any chance, they ever get stuck. Well, do not give that scare to your users and send up a notification for timely updates of the application and increase sales engagement for financial services. 

Instructions to use the banking application 

Knowing how to use banking apps the right way is really important so that no one ever gets defrauded or played with. So send instructions on how to use your applications the safe way. 

Investment opportunities and offers  

Gone are the days of coming to the banks and enquiring about the FD options and other investment options available. If you want your customers to invest in your policies and funds, you need to notify them online, preferably through a platform they prevalently use- WhatsApp.

Education 

Registration & enrollment 

To make registration and enrollment easier and quicker for students, you can send your forms on WhatsApp itself or send a text message guiding the students on how to fill out the form. 

Course details 

You can increase the popularity of your courses and eventually sign up for them by sending crucial yet interesting details about them to the students. 

Updates on university levels 

Emails and SMS are, of course, an option to send mass updates to students, but WhatsApp is better, especially when it comes to important information. To make sure no student misses out on crucial pieces of information, you can use WhatsApp to send updates. 

Generic 

Welcome messages 

“I don’t want to be greeted and treated well since the beginning of interaction with a business.”

Something that no customer would ever say. Everyone likes a good greeting; to treat your customers well, you need to greet your customers well. You wouldn’t believe how much good greeting accounts for when it comes to rating customer service experience. 

Verification codes and OTPs

WhatsApp is being used so widely that it only makes sense to send your verification codes or OTPs on the platform. The best part is the user can see the code from the notification itself, so it reduces their hassles, and that’s literally what every customer is looking for. So if you haven’t been using WhatsApp marketing for verification purposes until now, it’s time that you start. 

Promotional campaign 

If you want your products to go viral or your services to get fully booked, it is time you start leveraging WhatsApp to do so. Send a promotional campaign for your product and watch it get sold out in no time! All you have to make sure of is that the content you are sharing through drip campaigns for sales engagement is undeniable! 

Feedback collection 

The only way better than research to know about your customers and their opinion about doing business with you is to collect their feedback. Tell them that their response is anonymous and get honest reviews from your customers. Consider these reviews and make changes in your products and services accordingly and ensure that you are delivering nothing less than the best to your customers. 

Brace yourself to ace WhatsApp Marketing 

If WhatsApp Marketing was as easy as it seems, then every single business out there would succeed. But clearly, that is not the case. WhatsApp marketing requires extensive research, detailed knowledge about your customers, and, most importantly, everything about your own business. 

But it does not end here; even after you have aced all the above-mentioned points, you now have a bigger task at hand to build a strategy and start implementing WhatsApp marketing. Even after all the efforts, in the end, you need a tool to facilitate your WhatsApp marketing efforts to give you exceptional results. 

So since you have already come this far, why not give Zixflow a try and watch how the results of your WhatsApp marketing multiply.