WhatsApp Solutions for e-commerce

As an e-commerce owner, you must face several problems; the most challenging being the high customer acquisition cost and the difficulty of customer retention, primarily due to the lack of interaction on traditional marketing channels.

Retargeting campaigns are the perfect solution to achieve repeat sales and cover the cost of acquisition. And WhatsApp is a promising channel with exclusive interactive marketing campaigns and effective customer service solutions.

Why is WhatsApp the solution for higher ROI?

Traditional marketing platforms are far-fetched history. You must have experienced failing campaigns on both channels as interaction sharply decreases. People no longer check their emails. As for SMS, a person receives around 600 ads annually; hence, people naturally neglect these messages.

That’s why it’s high time you embrace another solution. WhatsApp has been top of the list of favorite communication channels worldwide for the past few years.

Consider the following reasons why WhatsApp is the solution to opt for to increase your revenue.

• The favorite communication channel: Statista points out that more than 90% of Saudis use the app to connect with family and friends for more than 70 minutes daily. WhatsApp reports reveal that 75% of interviewed people say they prefer communicating with stores on WhatsApp because the app permits instant and direct interactions.
• High open rate: messages on WhatsApp are read within the first three minutes of delivery. The open rate reaches 90% compared to 10% for SMS.
• High interaction rate: based on the last 5000 sent from the Kartly platform, we noticed that at least 20% of the database would interact with the campaign each time.

Opting for WhatsApp as the top marketing channel for your store will help you reach your target audience on their favorite app. You can easily nurture relationships and increase loyalty and sales. However, you should know that there are two WhatsApp products designed for businesses. You must learn the differences between the two so that you can choose the right product for your store.

WhatsApp accounts

Meta developed two WhatsApp products: the business app and the business platform or WhatsApp API. The first was designed for small companies and the second for medium and large companies.

Here’s an overview of the main differences:

Unfortunately, to override the limits of the WhatsApp business app, several stores opted for illegal solutions to reach more customers at once. However, these are not sustainable solutions; eventually, they will result in the blocking of your number. About 40% of our clients reported encountering such problems before subscribing to our platform.

Don’t risk your official store number; don’t use those solutions. But you must be searching for a marketing channel with high click-through rates, right? Well, WhatsApp API is the solution you need. The platform provides advanced technical features such as integration with external and internal marketing systems like CRMs and shipping systems.

How to get started with WhatsApp API?

WhatsApp API is the best solution to double your sales and deal with a vast customer list. However, it does not have a user interface and cannot be downloaded from app stores like the WhatsApp Business app. It's a set of codes requiring user interface integration to launch their features.

You should therefore engage with one of Meta's official partners, such as Business Chat, to provide a platform for managing conversations and marketing campaigns.

The platform should provide a unified message inbox so your team can work smoothly and reach conversation history to improve the service and an e-commerce chatbot. The platform should be able to integrate with the marketing systems you need and send unlimited marketing campaigns.

Only through integration with such platforms and WhatsApp API will you be able to achieve your goals.

Sounds promising? Continue reading to discover how WhatsApp API and Kartly will help you achieve 10X higher ROI than email and SMS.

WhatsApp e-commerce: use cases

Retargeting campaigns with higher ROI

To overcome the problem of the cost of acquisition, you must focus your efforts on retargeting campaigns. They can increase customer loyalty and repeat sales. These campaigns include new product launches, seasonal campaigns, and other messages that help keep customers coming back and constantly exposed to your brand.

Your sales will definitely skyrocket because WhatsApp has a much higher conversion rate than email and SMS.

Automated notifications to increase interaction

Constant customer communication is vital throughout the customer journey and beyond. Thanks to the integration feature, you can program notifications to keep your customers updated on their order status and answer possible questions.

Other useful notifications include cart abandonment, with an open rate of 60%. WhatsApp will help you create a customized and intimate relationship with your customers, as these notifications are highly personalized and will definitely increase loyalty and satisfaction.

Automated notifications are a one-time effort while ensuing sales are ongoing.

Instant customer service to anticipate customers' questions

Customers prefer stores that are available on the spot and answer their questions quickly. The WhatsApp chatbot will increase response time and answer around 80% of frequently asked questions and queries. It will decrease the pressure on your team and boost customer satisfaction thanks to effective and instant interactions.

To guarantee customers have a way to reach you from anywhere, add WhatsApp buttons on Facebook and Instagram and website widgets to direct leads to your account. The chatbot will intuitively register their contact information.

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Marketing campaigns reinforced with customized chatbots

Customize your e-commerce chatbot responses for each call-to-action to facilitate interaction with marketing campaigns. For example, you can send the customer a collection of your products if they choose to discover the catalog.

If you have sufficient paths with all possible required information, you can rest assured that the chatbot will support your customers 24/7, even outside of business hours when no one is available.

It will also assist customers in shopping from the catalog easily and hand over the conversation to a human agent only if the customer asks or in case of complicated questions. Predetermined paths will ensure a smooth rotation.

Quick replies help increase customer satisfaction and encourage more interaction with your brand, eventually increasing sales. Several studies have revealed that customers tend to be loyal to brands that communicate with them within the first few minutes of reaching out. So, keep an eye on your inbox.

Build a bigger database at a lower cost

You must know that owning your own authentic customer database is the ultimate weapon for your store. To build a significant contact list, you can rely on WhatsApp to acquire new leads at lower costs than other methods.

One of the top tactics to build a list is to hold contests and share coupons. Usually, sending people to a specific landing page to submit their contact information to participate has a conversion rate of 45% in best-case scenarios.

You can send them to WhatsApp instead and guarantee a 100% rate. You can simply include QR codes in your ad; once scanned will direct the lead to your WhatsApp account, and the chatbot will register their information without any inconvenience.

It’s worth noting that Meta decreases the cost of these ads by 50% compared to other options. Hence, there will be fewer expenses for you.

The second way to build a list is through customer service. You will only need to change your phone number on social media with a WhatsApp button and add a widget to your website. Whenever a customer contacts you, the chatbot will handle the process.

Frictionless shopping experience

A Statista report revealed that 73% of e-commerce sales happened through smartphones, 80% of which were on apps. It’s totally normal as apps are optimized for mobile phones per default, whereas most websites are not.

Apps offer a smooth shopping experience, which justifies that you are probably considering creating your own app. Unfortunately, this choice has two problems.

First, the cost of creating an app from scratch is high. Second, you will need an extra budget to market the app.

This is where Kartly offers a perfect opportunity to turn your WhatsApp account into an app for your store without needing to market it, as the target audience already uses it.

The platform provides a storefront featuring your products, making it easy for customers to shop directly from the app. It also allows integration with your online store on Zed, Sella, Shopify, etc., rendering inventory easier.

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