Table of Contents
What A Winning WhatsApp Marketing Strategy Must Include
To get the best results from your WhatsApp marketing, you need to create the right strategy first. A solid marketing strategy will provide clarity and direction and help you to avoid unnecessary marketing activities. We recommend that you spend time developing your WhatsApp marketing strategy, as it will provide you with the best long-term results.
What are your WhatsApp Marketing Goals?
The first thing to include in your strategy is the goals that you have for your WhatsApp marketing. You need to clearly define what you want to achieve with your WhatsApp marketing so that you can create a plan that supports these goals.
Maybe you have an issue with customer retention that you believe WhatsApp marketing can help you to fix? Or maybe you want to provide a better level of customer service? Take the time out to decide what your WhatsApp marketing goals will be and the metrics that you will need to measure the progress that you are making.
Record your WhatsApp marketing goals by either writing them down or listing them in a word processing document. Make sure that you have access to your goals at all times to keep you focused. Commit to reviewing your goals regularly and making changes if necessary.
Define your Target Audience
You must define your target audience to get the best results from your marketing efforts on WhatsApp. One of the best ways to define your audience is to create a customer avatar. This will result in you identifying what your ideal customer looks like. There are some important questions that you can ask yourself to help define your target audience. Here are some good examples:- Why do your customers use the products and services that you provide?
- What value do your customers receive from your products and services?
- What problems do your customers solve using your products and services?
What is your Customer Service Strategy?
You need to determine the kind of customer support that you want to provide using the WhatsApp platform. We recommend that you strive for the best possible customer service goals, as this is what WhatsApp users will expect.
Would the implementation of chatbots help you to provide better customer service to your customers? A chatbot will be available 24/7 which will be appreciated by your customers. It is also possible to provide better customer service at a lower cost when using chatbots.
Commit to Developing your Contact List
Your contact list on WhatsApp is very important, and every winning marketing strategy should include the development of your list. By increasing your contact list, you will have more potential customers for your products and services. It makes sense to make the development of your contact list a priority with your marketing strategy.
What is your Communication Plan?
You will get the best results from WhatsApp if you have a clear communication plan that you stick to. Many businesses fail to do this and just post content in a haphazard way that does not provide the results that they desire. Create a plan for your WhatsApp communications with customers.
Mistakes To Avoid With WhatsApp Marketing
A lot of businesses see the potential of 2 billion WhatsApp users across the world and rush in to try and promote their brand. As a result, they make a lot of mistakes, and some of these are serious and can even lead to accounts being closed. But all of them will cost you money and lower your ROI.
Not Creating an Enticing Profile
Your profile is your shop window, and many businesses fail to create a full and enticing one. There can be different reasons for this, but none of that matters. You must create a full and enticing profile on WhatsApp if you want to achieve the best results.
Posting Irrelevant Content
A successful marketing strategy for WhatsApp is to provide regular content on the platform. Some businesses make the mistake of posting irrelevant content that users do not appreciate. If you do this, then you can quickly make your customers lose interest in your business.
It is better to provide valuable content less frequently than low-quality content several times a week. You need to create a content plan and schedule what you will post and when. Poor content is unlikely to increase your leads and sales on WhatsApp.
Sending Spam Messages
You cannot send spam messages on WhatsApp. If you are caught doing this, then your account will be closed.
WhatsApp has a zero-tolerance of spam, and some businesses just never learn. Users do not want to receive unsolicited messages from you, so don’t do this.
Not Developing your Contact List
Many businesses do not pay attention to growing their contact list. By growing your contact list, you will get more leads for your products and services.
It makes good business sense to develop your contact list, as it will provide you with the best chance of success on WhatsApp.
Not Using the Message Automation Feature
Another mistake that a lot of businesses make with WhatsApp is that they do not set up automatic messages. Some of these businesses may not be aware that the feature exists, while others may not see the value in the messages.
We recommend that you take the time to set up your “quick reply”, “greeting” and “away” messages. The “quick reply” messages are very useful as they will help to answer the most common customer questions instantly.
You need to do everything you can to increase engagement on WhatsApp. Creating automated greeting messages that welcome customers in a friendly way is a good thing to do. It will not take you long to create greeting messages that will provide a good impact.
Unless you are going to be available 24/7, you need to set up some automated “away” messages. Tell your customers that you are unavailable because your business is closed, for example. You can refer them to your hours of business so that they know when to expect a response from you.
Adding Users to Groups without Permission
Some businesses try to add WhatsApp users to groups without asking their permission. This will aggravate a lot of users, and you need to avoid this mistake. Trying to force WhatsApp users into your groups is likely to end badly. Users talk to each other, and they can tell others what you are doing.
Not Using the Call Features
It is a mistake not to take advantage of the video and audio call features offered by WhatsApp. You can call your customers directly with their permission. Personal calling will usually help to increase trust with customers.
Use These WhatsApp Features To Maximize Your Marketing Success
The WhatsApp platform has some very useful features for marketers that you can take advantage of when you have a Business account. Interestingly, several businesses on WhatsApp do not use these features. Maybe they’re unaware of them or don’t consider them to be a good fit for their business. We recommend that you use these features to maximize your marketing results.
Customer Service Features to Help You Provide Phenomenal Service
Almost all businesses on WhatsApp use the platform to provide customer service and support. This is something that you must do as well. WhatsApp users expect businesses to respond promptly when they contact them.
The open rate for messages received on WhatsApp is high, at around 90%. If you send out a broadcast to your contact list telling them about a new product or service or a special offer, then the majority of those that receive your message will open it. This could result in a lot of customer inquiries that you need to respond too quickly.
It is not acceptable to make WhatsApp users wait a long time to receive a response from you. Make it clear when your business is open and set targets to ensure that you respond to all customer inquiries within an hour of receiving them.
Dynamic Profile Features to Develop an Enticing and Engaging Profile
All WhatsApp Business account holders have a profile. Some businesses do not take the time to make their profile enticing and leave a lot of gaps. WhatsApp users are not going to be interested in businesses that have incomplete or empty profiles.
Treat your profile as your shop window on WhatsApp because that is what it is. Come up with an enticing tagline that will attract users to your business. Provide useful information in your profile such as your website URL, your email address, your hours of business, and the locations of any physical stores if this applies.
Use a high-quality image for your profile that will make you stand out from the crowd. Every time that you interact with your customers, they will see your profile, so it needs to be professional and enticing. Poor business profiles rarely attract customers on WhatsApp.
Use the Catalog Feature to Showcase your Products and Services
There is a catalog feature on WhatsApp where you can add all the different products and services that you provide. This is good for WhatsApp users as they can browse through your catalog to see if there are any products or services that can help them.
It will take time to add your products and services to your catalog (especially if you have a lot) but this is worth doing. Even if you only have a few products and services, you need to add these to your catalog.
Use WhatsApp Groups for Marketing
It is a good idea to use WhatsApp groups in your marketing. When you are a member of a WhatsApp group, you can send messages to all the group members. We recommend that you use groups to demonstrate your expertise in your niche.
Take Total Advantage of the Status Update Feature
When you have a WhatsApp Business account, there is a status update feature that you can use to tell your audience what is going on with your business. A lot of businesses on WhatsApp fail to use this feature, but it is very useful. Use it to notify users about your new product launches, special promotions, and more.
