WhatsApp Customer Service Platform for Outstanding Experiences

Two decades ago, customers primarily interacted with businesses through just two channels – email and phone. However, present-day consumers don’t think twice about using a combination of channels for communication, which include social media, email, SMS, chat, or phone calls.

87% of today’s consumers think companies need to work harder to provide a pleasant experience. Modern-day customers are sensitive and can be influenced by a single experience; one positive experience could be a deciding factor for them to stick with a brand. However, one bad experience can send them running to a competitor. Therefore, businesses will have to understand their customers’ preferences and make conscious efforts towards fulfilling them if they wish to sustain themselves in this hyper-competitive world. 

The use of instant messaging platforms such as WeChat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp has exploded in the last few years, to the point where they are now the topmost preferred channels of communication. Businesses should take heed and actively engage with their customers on conversational messaging channels that they prefer and frequently use.

The Growth of WhatsApp

With over 2 billion users on WhatsApp, this widely-used messaging platform has opened up a plethora of opportunities for businesses to communicate with their customers. According to Statista, WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messaging application worldwide, based on the number of monthly active users. This is why progressive businesses should start leveraging the power of the WhatsApp platform.

WhatsApp Customer Service Platform Benefits

Here are a few benefits of WhatsApp Business API (WhatsApp Business Platform) for Customer Service

Enhanced Customer Experience
WhatsApp Business API provides real-time communication, enabling more engaging customer experiences. Moreover, it’s easier to connect with customers on a platform they are already using.

Efficient Support

With the WhatsApp Business platform, you can use chatbots for workflow automation and efficiently handle customer queries at scale. In addition, integration with CRM tools helps drive conversions by engaging customers across all stages of the sales funnel.

Better Response Rates

WhatsApp’s open rate of over 95% is significantly higher than other traditional communication channels. The ease-of-use help businesses reach a wider audience.

Rich Media Messaging

WhatsApp Business API supports several message types, including media, such as images, documents, and videos, allowing businesses to provide richer communication. This capability is a powerful tool for showcasing products, providing visual guides, and enhancing the overall support experience.

Companies Using WhatsApp for Customer Service

WhatsApp Business API allows companies to manage all of their business communications in one place in a structured manner. It is designed to make communication easy and convenient for businesses and customers. Customer service is not just about addressing their queries, but also delivering essential notifications about the products and services to the end-users and developing an ongoing relationship.

Whatsapp Business has the potential of becoming one of the most powerful channels for customer engagement, especially for large scale businesses serving a global audience. With its extensive reach, rich communication capabilities, and a highly-engaged user base, WhatsApp has become one of the most preferred communication channels for businesses.

With WhatsApp, customer support representatives can actively engage with end-users on a global scale, on a platform they are already active on. Around 3 million companies across the world use WhatsApp Business, and about 84% of SMBs believe that they can effectively communicate with their customers via this channel.

Let us take a look at how some companies use WhatsApp for customer service –

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

One of the most popular airline brands, KLM,  has been communicating with its customers via WhatsApp since 2017. KLM addresses customer queries through its WhatsApp business account. Upon request, the airline also sends booking confirmations, boarding passes, check-in notifications, and other flight-related information to its passengers via WhatsApp.  

KLM Airlines also reminds passengers about their check-in time and offers them a digital copy of their boarding pass via WhatsApp, which they can use at the gate.

Alfa-Bank

Alfa-Bank is one of the largest banks in Kazakhstan. This bank is setting a new standard in the banking sector by using WhatsApp for customer service.

Although many banks use messaging apps to support customer inquiries, it is mostly through Chatbots. However, Alfa-Bank allows its account holders to directly connect with the customer representatives and get their queries answered. To be able to interact with a human representative, the customers have to add Alfa-Bank’s WhatsApp number to their contact list and send a message. The representatives will quickly address all the queries. 

Hellmann’s WhatsCook Campaign

Hellmann’s, the mayonnaise brand owned by Unilever, has shown how businesses can effectively leverage communication channels such as WhatsApp to engage consumers.

Hellmann’s introduced an interactive WhatsApp campaign ‘WhatsCook’ to connect with the consumers and solve their dilemma of what to make with the leftover ingredients in the fridge. Consumers could register for WhatCook on a dedicated website and connect with a real chef via WhatsApp. The chef helped the customers cook meals, staying connected through WhatsApp.

The campaign offered consumers a great experience and presented Hellmann’s in a different light. Around 13,000 people signed up for the campaign and spent an hour on average interacting with the brand.

This is a classic example of what a great idea can achieve when paired with a personal communication channel like WhatsApp.

BookMyShow 

The popular online ticket booking platform, BookMyShow, was one of the early adopters of WhatsApp Business API. As part of the ticketing process, the brand collects customer contact numbers so that they can automatically send movie/event tickets once the booking is confirmed.

With this simplified process in place, the customers only have to flash the QR code at the entrance of the event hall, instead of having to find their ticket through their emails.

WhatsApp offers fantastic opt-in experiences by making support-related interaction easy, and also brings down the overhead costs of the support teams by automatically routing queries via WhatsApp chat.

Key Takeaways

Successful customer engagements will result in increased customer loyalty, which means your customers will keep returning to your business, and you will have an excellent chance to drive sales upwards. Customers show increased loyalty to brands that are easy to contact. WhatsApp Business API can help businesses earn customer loyalty by enabling them to respond to the customer queries instantly and provide constant support. Overall, businesses can see significant benefits using WhatsApp Customer Service Platform for meaningful interactions.