Instant messaging has become a part of our everyday activities. Instant messaging channels such as text messaging, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger are already used to communicate between consumers.
For businesses, the growing popularity of instant messaging channels such as WhatsApp is creating new opportunities to serve existing customers and meet potential buyers.
The use of instant messaging applications is growing in corporate customer communications
Until now, customer communication has been mainly one-sided communication from the company, or at most offering a one-time response, for example in the form of an opinion or an order. This is no longer enough, but customers need to be able to offer more diverse and easier ways to interact with the company.
Consumers value the ease of communication and communication. The versatile use of instant messaging channels allows each customer to be served where they themselves want it or what is easiest and most natural for them.
WhatsApp provides a platform for business-to-customer interaction
One of the most popular instant messaging channels is WhatsApp, which is no longer a gateway for consumer-only communications. The app is starting to be a standard stock of phones that can be found in more and more people regardless of age. Today, in addition to traditional but highly effective text messaging, companies can also send and receive messages to WhatsApp.
What is meant by WhatsApp here is exactly the “normal” WhatsApp app we all use, not the WhatsApp Business version. Yes, the opportunities for instant messaging today are far more diverse for businesses and communities than they were just a couple of years ago.
The great advantage of WhatsApp is that it allows free-form conversation in the form of text, but also with voice messages and images. Through it, the customer is offered the opportunity to change, for example, an appointment or order by replying directly to the confirmation message.
Introducing WhatsApp
Starting to use the WhatsApp channel is very easy. A company identity is established for the company and the company receives its own dedicated Whatsapp phone number. After this, ready-made templates are defined, which can be used to start discussions with end customers, or to send only a bulletin about a specific issue, for example.
There can be several hundred ready-made message templates, which means that these can be reserved for a wide variety of uses. Message templates are only used for sending messages: If you receive and reply to messages from WhatsApp, communication is as free as in normal consumer communication.
There are three ways to start WhatsApp conversations with end customers:
- Reply to a business or community message in WhatsApp (B2C)
- Send a message to a company or community WhatsApp account / number (C2B)
- Start a conversation from an online form, just start the conversation with the form, then continue the conversation in WhatsApp (C2B)
How do I get started?
It is possible to have discussions on several instant messaging channels at the same time, but it requires a considerable amount of development work and resources from companies. Alternatively, conversations and connections to different instant messaging channels can be conveniently handled on one and the same service platform, SmartDialog.
You can take advantage of the platform’s modern api interfaces and / or web-based chat tool, depending on your needs. We handle the connection and maintenance of messaging connections on a turnkey basis, and we support the use of the service platform 24/7.
