How WhatsApp commerce can transform businesses in India

As per eMarketer, India has 390.1 million monthly active users on WhatsApp, which is more than any other country. With digital penetration and IT infrastructure constantly improving, this number is only expected to grow further.

Since its launch on Indian shores, WhatsApp has been the go-to app to connect with relatives, friends, and even businesses. So much so, WhatsApp Business is among the 30 most downloaded apps in India, beating the likes of Jio Saavn and Wynk. As per a Kantar global survey ‘Business Messaging Usage’, Indians prefer WhatsApp over any other platform to communicate with businesses. The same survey also mentioned that 75% of respondents claimed they would purchase or do business with companies who are available over messages.

In view of this trend, it is critical for businesses to make the most of the platform and reach customers in their own style — with a WhatsApp chat.

The last five years has seen WhatsApp become a full-stack communication platform, providing better results than SMS, calls, and emails. And most companies have been following the upward trajectory keenly, including CM.com, a leading WhatsApp business solution provider.

Since its launch in 1999, CM.com has been leveraging cloud software for conversational commerce, enabling businesses to deliver a superior customer experience. In tune with their mission to help businesses reach customers on platforms of their preference, the company has created a host of services for key communication channels, including WhatsApp.

Features of WhatsApp commerce

It is no secret that WhatsApp leads businesses to a whole new world of customer experiences. The platform’s easy interface and its presence in almost all homes makes it an ideal place for businesses to start conversations.

There are various things a business can accomplish on WhatsApp, starting with their own business profile. The WhatsApp profile enables them to share key information about their brand, along with address and contact information. By clicking on the profile, a customer will automatically know if the brand is for them.

Alongside this, WhatsApp lets businesses respond to their customers instantly, allowing customers to get their answers in a fraction of the time it would otherwise take them while talking to a traditional business. Businesses can further broadcast their message through WhatsApp, meaning that messages can be sent from a brand’s WhatsApp account to a specific set of customers.

WhatsApp also gives the option of single-product messages, multi-product messages, and list messages. Single-product messages enable businesses to showcase a single product item from their inventory, while multi-product messages allow them to showcase multiple products and/or services. Via list messages, businesses can include a menu of up to 10 options and customers can select one during their interaction with the business.

But to make the most of these features and truly thrive on WhatsApp, businesses need a partner who understands the app thoroughly. And that’s the gap CM.com bridges with its services.

The CM.com difference

CM.com has helped various companies leverage the power of WhatsApp. These companies include Radius, Coca-Cola, Hellopaisa, Cash Crusaders, among others.

Most of these use CM.com’s WhatsApp solutions for three key main categories, namely marketing, service, and commerce. Through CM.com’s solutions, brands can connect with customers, initiate more conversations and benefit from CM.com’s array of features.

Here’s what you get with CM.com’s WhatsApp services:

1. Constant engagement: One can use the app for alerts, customer support, and rich content. Through CM.com’s WhatsApp solution, businesses can share real-time notifications and support through media, location, contacts, user verification, and chatbots.

2. Better customer support 24/7/365: CM.com provides a host of features for improved interaction and customer experience management by multiple support agents. These include multi-agent access via professional support software, onboarding program and 24/7 CM.com support, GDPR compliance and end-to-end encrypted messaging, and chatbot integration and conversation automation.

3. Automate WhatsApp conversations with a chatbot: CM.com enables businesses to create an easy-to-build, no-code WhatsApp chatbot that totally automates communication at every stage of the customer journey and speeds up resolutions. Businesses can leave repeated questions and FAQs to the chatbot and only hand over the conversation to the customer support agent when necessary. The chatbot is available on WhatsApp and any other channel and device, and it can save up to 35% of the service operation cost.

More recently, Coca-Cola made a solid impact at the Euro 2020 Football Cup with CM.com’s capabilities. The leading beverage company had launched a ‘Scan. Enter. Win.’ contest, where consumers who scanned the codes on the bottles could win dozens of prizes in a weekly draw. But Coca-Cola wanted to ensure that the experience was hassle-free and seamless for the thousands of customers who would participate. They chose CM.com’s WhatsApp Business as the most efficient channel possible and a chatbot as the solution to automatically manage the required steps.

CM.com utilised their WhatsApp chatbot to deal with the campaign. Coca-Cola planned the steps of the whole process on the chatbot — right from replies to codes or messages sent by the consumer and the time they have to wait before the system triggers the next message, to how the user will be guided in case of possible incorrect code redemption or invalid requests. Through this, every participant was guided instantly in every case throughout the journey. The team also managed to ensure that only eligible people, who fit their criteria, could participate. The chatbot was also capable enough to prevent system misuse.

The results pushed Coca Cola to enlist CM.com again for the ICC T20 World Cup and daily campaigns in different countries.

WhatsApp for better CX

One of the biggest plus points of WhatsApp is how it guides the customer through every step of their journey, right from discovery, shopping experience to post shopping experience. Alongside this, it is one of the best tools for increased engagement. Based on a person’s shopping history, brands can leverage WhatsApp to share personalised announcements and discounts. They can also use the platform for deals and offers, and in case a customer leaves the shopping midway, the brand can also use WhatsApp for abandoned cart reminders.

“There are various reasons why WhatsApp works wonders for brands in India: It has the most users in the world so distribution is one of the biggest benefits of the platform. It is industry and size-agnostic, meaning that any company of any size can do business on it. And finally, CM.com’s WhatsApp Business API ensures seamless integration of existing tools with WhatsApp, making it accessible to millions of brands,” said Gleb Grozovsky, Head of Sales at CM.com.

In a country that is seeing more people join WhatsApp amidst the ecommerce boom, it will be interesting to see how businesses can make the most of the platform. A simple WhatsApp chat can open doors to new customers, repeat orders, and better retention.

To grow your business on WhatsApp, connect with CM.com and easily manage all your conversations with the Mobile Service Cloud.