Create a Winning WhatsApp Marketing Strategy in 2023

As the world grows more interconnected, messaging apps like WhatsApp have become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives.

With the global population conversing on WhatsApp, it can be leveraged as a powerful channel to market your products, connect with your customers, and increase engagement and retention. 

In fact, as we move further into an increasingly digital-first world, messaging apps like WhatsApp are expected to play an even more critical role in businesses’ digital marketing strategies, surpassing traditional marketing channels by leaps.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of WhatsApp marketing in 2023, its various types, benefits, and best practices to execute successful WhatsApp marketing campaigns.

Whether you’re looking to expand your digital marketing toolkit or explore new ways to engage your customers, this guide will provide you with the knowledge and strategies you need to succeed with WhatsApp marketing. 

Let’s dive in!

What is WhatsApp Marketing?

With over 2 billion active users worldwide, and over 50 million businesses using WhatsApp business, WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps connecting people across the globe. WhatsApp marketing is a type of digital marketing on mobile that uses the WhatsApp Business app to connect with customers and promote products or services. This is typically done by sending promotional messages, offers, alerts, and other types of content to customers through the Whatsapp Business app.

WhatsApp marketing can be carried out using various techniques such as broadcast messages, chatbots, and direct messaging with the help of WhatsApp Business API.

Benefits of WhatsApp Marketing

Here are the key benefits of using this marketing tool.

1.) Personalized Communication

WhatsApp marketing enables businesses to establish direct and personalized communication with potential and existing customers. Paragon Technology & Innovation, a major cosmetic manufacturer in Indonesia, leveraged the WhatsApp Business API to personalize customer interactions and boost sales. 

By integrating a “Click to WhatsApp” button on their website and social media pages, Paragon offered a personalized shopping experience through WhatsApp, providing customers with tailored recommendations and detailed product information.

This approach increased the customer satisfaction rate to around 98.9% and grew traffic by 600% within the first year of adopting the WhatsApp Business Platform.

2.) High Deliverability

With WhatsApp’s high deliverability rates and quick response times, businesses can ensure that their marketing messages are delivered and seen by their target audience.

Omay Foods, a snack manufacturer from India, integrated a WhatsApp button into its business website, Instagram profile, and Facebook page, resulting in a 5X increase in customer inquiries via WhatsApp compared to the previous email contact channel.

This high deliverability rate enabled Omay Foods to efficiently guide customers through the ordering process and quickly communicate with retailers and wholesalers via WhatsApp messaging, garnering a 5X increase in sales for retail channels within merely a year.

3.) Multimedia capabilities

WhatsApp’s multi-media capabilities allow businesses to create interactive and engaging content by exchanging text messages, images, videos, and audio files using the WhatsApp Business app, providing ample opportunities for businesses to integrate their WhatsApp marketing efforts with other marketing strategies. 

For instance, in South Korea, Dior Beauty provided an exclusive event where fans of Jisoo from BLACKPINK could interact with the muse of their Dior Addict Shine Lipstick and access exclusive content. 

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This event provided the opportunity for their 9.6 million followers to join a WhatsApp group where they could chat with a Jisoo chatbot, watch a behind-the-scenes video of Jisoo as Dior’s global ambassador, and access a link to purchase the brand’s new lipstick. 

Additionally, participants could enjoy a one-on-one conversation with Jisoo and even plan a virtual trip together using the rich multimedia features available on the messaging app, such as sharing images, videos, files, web links, and audio files. The response to the event was overwhelming, with thousands of people participating and interacting with the Jisoo chatbot an average of 18 times. 

4.) Affordable and Efficient

With no message-sending fees, utilizing WhatsApp can help reduce marketing cost while enabling companies to effectively engage with their customers.

For instance, Modanisa, a Turkish fashion e-commerce platform, implemented two chatbots on the WhatsApp Business Platform, resulting in a 36% reduction in call center expenses and 70% of customer inquiries being resolved without the need for a live chat.

Overall, by leveraging WhatsApp’s unique features, businesses can create personalized and effective marketing campaigns that resonate with their target audience, ultimately leading to increased customer engagement and conversions.

To learn more about how WhatsApp marketing stacks up against other platforms, check out this blog that explores the advantages and disadvantages of two major messaging apps and helps you make an informed decision about which platform is best suited for your marketing strategy.

What Are the Different Types of WhatsApp Marketing?

To get started with WhatsApp marketing, businesses can leverage some of the most popular types of messaging strategies.

Here are some examples to consider:

1.) Promotional Messaging

This type of WhatsApp marketing involves sending WhatsApp messages, offers, and alerts to customers. It is ideal for businesses looking to increase brand awareness, promote new products or services, and drive sales. 

Examples of businesses that can benefit from promotional messages via WhatsApp marketing:

• Restaurants that want to send out special offers or promotions to loyal customers.
• Fitness centers or gyms that want to send promotional messages about new classes, special discounts on memberships, and fitness challenges.
• E-commerce stores that want to showcase their latest product offerings and sales.

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2.) Sales and Transactional Messaging

This involves sending messages related to sales and transactions, such as order confirmations, delivery updates, and payment reminders. Automated messaging campaigns are ideal for businesses that want to improve the overall customer experience and reduce customer inquiries related to sales and transactions. 

Examples of businesses that can benefit from sales and transactional messaging via WhatsApp marketing:

• E-commerce stores that want to provide customers with order updates and delivery notifications.
• Online payment platforms that want to remind customers of payment and send confirmations.
• Insurance companies that want to provide existing customers with policy updates and renewal reminders.

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3.) Conversational Commerce

Conversational Commerce enables businesses to interact with their customers in real-time, providing personalized recommendations and product suggestions, and answering questions through WhatsApp conversations.

This type of WhatsApp marketing can lead to a more engaging and interactive customer experience, resulting in increased sales and customer loyalty.

Examples of businesses that can benefit from Conversational Commerce via WhatsApp marketing:

• Healthcare providers that want to send personalized messages to provide virtual consultations, answer patient inquiries, and schedule appointments.
• Beauty brands that want to provide makeup and skincare consultations.
• Travel agencies that want to provide customized travel itineraries.

For a deeper understanding of how the integration of the WhatsApp messaging app and conversational commerce can revolutionize your marketing strategy, go through this insightful article. 

Best Ways to Use WhatsApp as a Marketing Tool

In order to get started with WhatsApp marketing and succeed in it, businesses need to follow some best practices that can help them create effective targeted campaigns.

Here are some key best practices to keep in mind when using WhatsApp as your marketing tool:

1.) Optimize for WhatsApp Business

You can optimize your WhatsApp business account to keep track of your customer data, send bulk WhatsApp messages, and provide customer support, amongst other things. With the average open rate for WhatsApp marketing messages being as high as 98%, you can make sure that your messages reach your consumer, every time.

You can customize your account to provide a better customer experience and increase engagement with your subscribers. Here are some ways to optimize your Whatsapp account: 

• Fill out your WhatsApp Business profile with relevant information, including your business description, contact information, and website and social media links to familiarize your customers with your brand.
• Customize your WhatsApp Business greeting message to provide a warm welcome to your subscribers.
• Set up quick replies to respond to common inquiries more efficiently.

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You can also increase your company’s revenue and encourage brand loyalty using WhatsApp marketing. Here are some insights on it.

2.) Personalize Messages

With WhatsApp’s messaging features, you can create and send personalized messages that make your subscribers feel valued and achieve click-through rates of 45-60% for your WhatsApp marketing messages. You can leverage insights gathered from their past purchase history and engagement patterns to craft messages that they can relate to.

Here are some ways to personalize your WhatsApp messages:

• Use the subscriber’s name or location in your messages to create a more personalized experience.
• Tailor your messaging to the subscriber’s interests or preferences.
• Use emojis and multimedia to add personality to your messages.

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The above screenshots showcase how brands tailor their broadcast messages to specific genders. On Women’s Day, American Eagle addressed a female recipient directly, while FNP addressed a male recipient by asking him if he knew what the women in his life wanted. This simple act of changing the intent of the message according to different demographics and segments creates a huge impact. 

Such personalized messages demonstrate the power of customization in reaching and resonating with different audiences.

Sending the right message to the right customer at the right time makes the customer feel heard and valued. a Haptik report shows that 85% of consumers are interested in receiving timely and proactive communication from brands on WhatsApp. WhatsApp makes it easier to implement these processes at a large scale. Consult with professionals and take advantage of WhatsApp integrations that can analyze customer behavior to optimize your messaging.

3.) Follow WhatsApp Guidelines

To avoid being banned or penalized for spamming or violating WhatsApp policies, it is crucial to follow the WhatsApp Business app guidelines and best practices.

To maintain a good standing on the platform, it is important to respect customers’ privacy and avoid engaging in any activities that may be deemed inappropriate or offensive. Here are some ways to follow the WhatsApp guidelines:

• Avoid sending unsolicited messages.
• Do not send messages containing misleading information or scams.

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Pro Tip: Always offer customers the option to unsubscribe from your messaging list. This simple gesture demonstrates that you value their preferences, build trust, and can help you maintain a clean contact list, letting businesses improve customer engagement and increase customer satisfaction.

4.) Integrate with Other Platforms

To create a comprehensive Omnichannel marketing strategy, it’s important to integrate it with other platforms, such as social media or email marketing. This will help you reach out to potential customers through multiple channels and increase your chances of conversion.

Here are some ways to integrate WhatsApp marketing with other platforms:

• Leverage the power of social media to promote your WhatsApp Business number and entice potential subscribers to join your list. However, to make the most of this tactic, steer clear of these critical mistakes in your social media marketing approach.
• Share exclusive content or promotions through email marketing to drive subscribers to your WhatsApp list.
• Integrate your WhatsApp list with efficient customer engagement software to keep track of your subscribers and their preferences.

5.) Provide Exceptional Customer Service

As a messaging platform, WhatsApp creates an expectation among customers that businesses will promptly respond to their inquiries. Providing top-notch customer service can foster customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. Here are some ways businesses can provide excellent customer service on WhatsApp:

• Respond promptly to customer inquiries and complaints.
• Provide personalized and helpful responses to create a positive customer experience.
• Use chatbots and automation to provide 24/7 customer service and support.

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What Are Some Successful WhatsApp Marketing Campaigns?

WhatsApp marketing has proven to be a successful marketing channel for businesses across various industries. Here are some examples of what an effective WhatsApp marketing campaign looks like and the key factors that contribute to its success:

1.) Unilever: I will bring you back your beloved clothes

Goal

Unilever intended to publicize the launch of their new Comfort fabric softeners line in Brazil, which consisted of a washing powder and a washing liquid with improved features and capabilities.

They wanted to raise awareness of the new products and encourage customers to try them, with the ultimate goal of driving product sales. Unilever was seeking a unique and disruptive approach to its promotional efforts that would guarantee a significant impact.

Campaign

To achieve this goal, Unilever put up 1,000 posters around Sao Paolo that displayed teaser marketing messages like, “I’ll bring you back your beloved clothes,” and a number for WhatsApp. Once interested customers contacted the number; they were greeted by a chatbot called MadameBot.

The chatbot utilized rich media such as audio and memes to engage customers in friendly discussions, offering guidance on how to take care of their clothes and promoting the new Comfort washing powder and liquid products.

Following the chat, customers were offered a 50% discount on the new products, as well as free shipping. The self-service chatbot was developed using the WhatsApp Business API.

Results

Comfort’s first WhatsApp Business campaign turned out to be a huge success, exceeding all expectations. 

• Within the first 12 hours of launch, the chatbot exceeded its expected goal of 600 interactions by receiving interactions from 6,335 unique customers and exchanging 145,000 messages.
• The high level of engagement prompted the extension of the three-day campaign for an additional week. Overall, more than 12,000 unique customers interacted with the brand, exchanging over 290,000 messages.

Moreover, Unilever’s call center was flooded with calls lauding the campaign. The success of the conversational campaign showed the benefits of using WhatsApp Business as a unique approach to promoting products and engaging with potential customers.

2.) ADAC: Don’t Call Mom

Goal

ADAC, the German automobile club, launched the “Don’t Call Mom” campaign to promote their roadside assistance services among young drivers in Germany. The campaign aimed to increase awareness of ADAC’s services and encourage young drivers to sign up for membership, with the ultimate goal of driving customer acquisition and retention.

Campaign

To achieve this goal, ADAC launched a series of humorous videos featuring young drivers facing various roadside emergencies, such as a flat tire or an empty gas tank. In each scenario, the driver hesitates to call their mom for help, as they don’t want to bother her or admit their mistake. 

Instead, they were encouraged to contact ADAC through their WhatsApp line for assistance, which arrived promptly and resolved the issue. ADAC made themselves available on WhatsApp messaging for 14 hours a day, with a team of 20 people (not chatbots) and even influencers at times, playing the role of a helpful “mom” to answer every question and provide assistance. 

Results

ADAC’s “Don’t Call Mom” campaign surpassed all expectations and became a huge success.

• The videos generated over 20 million impressions on YouTube, with high engagement and positive comments from viewers. 
• They exchanged over 140,000 messages in only 6 weeks. 

The success of the “Don’t Call Mom” campaign showed the benefits of targeting specific demographics with tailored messaging.

For more examples of WhatsApp campaigns, check out this blog on WhatsApp marketing campaign ideas for consumer brands.

Next Steps

While WhatsApp marketing provides an opportunity for businesses to reach out to their target audience in a more personalized and engaging way, it is important to note that it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It requires careful planning and execution to ensure maximum effectiveness.

To get started with WhatsApp marketing, check out MoEngage’s guide to WhatsApp native marketing. With its powerful analytics and segmentation features, MoEngage allows businesses to analyze customer behavior, personalize communication, and deliver targeted campaigns, amongst other things.

Overall, businesses need to constantly adapt and evolve their WhatsApp marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition and meet the changing needs of their customers.

By embracing a Whatsapp marketing tool like MoEngage that lets you use WhatsApp effectively, you can build long-term relationships with your customers and drive growth in today’s highly competitive digital marketplace.