In our increasingly digital, always-on world, customers expect to be able to engage with brands on the messaging channels they use every day. They look for brands invested in getting to know them, those that will tailor their services to them, and those that will remain available 24/7.
These expectations are making convenient, seamless customer messaging more of a competitive advantage than it’s ever been before. In fact, in our
survey of more than 2,000 consumers in the U.K. and U.S., 73% said that convenience is extremely or quite important in delivering great customer experience (CX), while 76% said the same about speed.
To meet these expectations and avoid losing out to the competition, businesses across every sector are exploring how rich messaging channels can help them deliver effortless, connected messaging engagements. In many cases, these channels also offer chances to drive higher customer loyalty, greater sales, and reduced costs with more automated processes.
But to design genuinely valuable, standout conversational experiences, you need to be familiar with the unique features available on each channel. And with more than 30% of the world’s population using WhatsApp for Business powered by Webex Connect, it’s an ideal place to start.
Powerful Business Features on WhatsApp
WhatsApp’s focus on end-to-end encryption, low cost of use, and Internet-based messaging has made the tool a go-to communication channel for more than two billion people worldwide. And now, with dozens of unique features for businesses, it’s creating valuable new opportunities to engage with customers.
A few of these features include:
- Rich media – The ability to send and receive emojis, geolocation, videos, documents, and more.
- Read receipts – Monitor whether a customer has read sent messages.
- Verified business profiles – Display your brand name, logo, address, and a green checkmark badge.
- Stickers – Animated emojis you can personalize to your brand’s style to convey emotions and reactions.
- Call to action – “Quick reply” buttons and list menus can be inserted within message templates to drive customer action.
By combining these features—along with dozens of others on the platform—innovative brands across every sector are finding ways to meet their customers’ needs and create effortless experiences.
Customer Engagement Opportunities Across Industries
While many of these features may seem simple, they can make a significant difference in customer engagement when used appropriately.
In some market sectors, brands are using features such as quick replies and list menus to send helpful, interactive reminders. For retail, these are being used to remind customers when they’ve abandoned a basket, while in healthcare and insurance, the reminders prompt customers when they’ve got a prescription refill or policy renewal coming up.
Brands operating in automotive, and utilities use similar features to offer their customers greater, more effortless control over their bookings and orders.
For example, many logistics brands now offer customers options to seamlessly authenticate themselves in WhatsApp to validate their identity for deliveries, while forward-thinking automotive brands are helping customers schedule and amend test drive bookings through quick conversations.
Achieve Your Customer Experience Goals with WhatsApp
These examples offer just a glimpse of what’s possible with WhatsApp for Business. The channel’s unique features offer dozens of opportunities to help you reach your CX goals and rethink what messaging looks like for your customers.
Building these conversational experiences is much easier when using an enterprise-grade
communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) solution that unites the management of your digital channels onto a single platform.
With the right enterprise-grade CPaaS platform like
Webex Connect, you can:
- Create intelligent channel fallbacks – to eliminate the possibility of broken customer journeys and offer customers an alternative channel if communication fails on their preferred channel.
- Optimize your costs and effort – with the ability to seamlessly route conversations from traditional, more expensive channels to cost-effective channels like WhatsApp.
- Centralize channel management – allowing you to create dynamic messaging templates that can be used across all your messaging APIs and flows and optimized for specific channels.
- Manage customer consent and preferences – with a complete picture of your customers’ needs and contexts in one place, helping you create personalized journeys wherever they interact.
- Future-proof communications – with the ability to adapt your messaging flows as channels evolve and add new channels into the communication mix as customer behavior trends change.
What’s Possible with WhatsApp
We’ve continued to work with businesses across every market sector to help them unlock their CX potential using WhatsApp.
Since these businesses have started embracing the messaging channel—we’ve seen many boost their customer engagement and satisfaction, reduce overhead costs, and significantly improve performance.
Get our guide to see how they’re achieving impressive results today and learn how you can start creating engaging messaging experiences for your customers with our help.
