A Complete Guide to Cart Abandonment
Learn the reasons why customers abandon carts and the best practices to recover carts with this complete guide to cart abandonment
Maximize the impact of your WhatsApp promotional messages with our guidelines and use cases. Learn how to effectively reach and engage with your audience.
Imagine this🤔
I asked you to open your email inbox.đź“©
What would I find?
Bunch of unopened brand marketing emails crowding your inbox!
Whereas if I asked you to open your WhatsApp
What would I find?
All messages are opened and read!
If a brand is using WhatsApp to interact with its customers, chances are it will be opened 98% of the time. In fact, 80% of WhatsApp messages are read by recipients within 5 mins!
Higher open rates = Higher conversionsâś…
But how can we connect these statistics to WhatsApp promotional messages?
Lets find out...
Although email has a much larger user base than WhatsApp (2:1), WhatsApp is proving to be one of the most effective channels of communication. It is more personal, engaging, and convenient than any other platform. With customers being bombarded with unnecessary emails, the chances of unopened emails seem greater than ever. WhatsApp, on the other hand, acts as an app proxy for your brand and helps you interact with customers efficiently.
WhatsApp has always prioritized its users and has been constantly working to make its user’s experience better.
For the past 3 years, businesses could only send approved WhatsApp message templates that were transactional in nature. In addition, a brand must collect a WhatsApp opt-in(user consent) from the user to send notifications.
However, a recent feature released in September 2021 has allowed brands to send promotional messages on WhatsApp. All brands using WhatsApp Business API can avail this feature to generate leads and drive sales. With this feature, businesses can send product recommendations, new product launch alerts, shopping cart abandonment reminders, and more. WhatsApp’s new marketing features are all set to revolutionize the way brands interact with their customers.
WhatsApp promotional message is a non-transactional message that a business can initiate for marketing their products and services and comprises updates/notifications such as back-in-stock alerts, offers, discounts, coupons, app promotions, abandoned cart reminders, product recommendations, and more.
Customers have been to found enquire about offers and discounts from their favorite brands via WhatsApp. Hence, keeping these in mind, WhatsApp has recently started to approve non-transactional messages that can be used to interact with customers and build a lasting relationship.
However, here are 3 things that a brand must ensure before sending promotional messages on WhatsApp:
âś…Maintain a 3:1 ratio between transactional & promotional messages.
âś…Avoid spamming users with promotional messages.
âś…Personalize the message by using emojis, images, videos, pdfs & easy-to-read words.
Promotional messages are an important part of any brand’s WhatsApp marketing strategy. It is essential to notify the customers of ongoing sales, recent launches and offers to ensure that customers keep coming back to your e-commerce or retail store. It can help brands:
âś…Offer a better customer experience throughout their journeys
âś…Build loyalty in the long run.
✅Initiate new conversations based on the buyer’s interest or purchase history
âś…Incentivize repeat purchases
âś…Boost conversion rates
âś…Reach a wider audience
A buyer may be dissatisfied due to a lack of experiential shopping or they simply didn’t think that they weren’t getting a good enough deal to complete their next purchase. Sending WhatsApp advertising messages such as discount codes or loyalty points in such cases can help brands increase their repeat purchases thus increasing their customer retention rate.
WhatsApp prioritizes its user experience and ensures that they don’t feel spammed while using the platform. In addition, non-transactional messages fall under the WhatsApp template message category. Hence, companies wanting to send messages outside the 24-hour window have to pay charges. The prices may vary from country to country. In February 2022, WhatsApp changed pricing model, to conversation-based pricing. Brands will now be charged per conversation in a 24-hour session.
Due to this, there are certain requirements that brands must follow while sending business WhatsApp promotion messages. They are:
Any user receiving a WhatsApp promotional message from a business must opt-in to receive updates so that the user doesn’t feel spammed when receiving these alerts.
The message sent should be personalized and relevant to the user. It should contain all the necessary information and steps if the customer wishes to proceed further.
The messages should be sent in a relevant time frame. For instance, a brand cannot send promotional messages four months after they last interacted with the brand.
WhatsApp has laid out certain guidelines for sending WhatsApp promotion messages to users. They are:
âś…Businesses must comply with the opt-in policy that states that all users must give consent to receiving messages and alerts from them.
âś…Businesses must comply with the WhatsApp Commerce Policy
âś…Businesses should avoid spamming users with regular updates or newsletters since it can lead to blocking or reporting. This can ultimately lower the quality score of the business.
âś…Users can opt-in to different categories of messages based on what they wish to receive.
âś…Businesses must ensure a quality experience for their customers.
Previously, businesses in Indonesia and Mexico could send non-transactional messages on WhatsApp. With its latest update, the countries that are eligible are as follows:
WhatsApp marketing campaigns are an excellent way to engage and interact with existing and potential customers. In fact, Netflix ran a campaign that allowed users to stay in touch via WhatsApp. Once a user opted in, users would get a movie or watch the next recommendations. The objective of this campaign was to engage with customers even after the subscription expired. Netflix used its WhatsApp contact list to send subscription reminders and recommendations based on their watch history to incentivize viewers to re-subscribe.
With that being said 80% of Consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that sends personalized offers. And using WhatsApp promotion messages in a tactful way allows your brand to revolutionize your shopper’s experience.
There are several ways you can use this feature to enhance customer experience. Here are 23 use cases for your brand:
Making your customers feel special is an effective way to build a lasting bond with them. What better way to do it than by making them feel special on their birthdays? Send personalized offers based on the customer’s demographics, tastes, or preferences. For instance, sending a discount code on their birthday. You can also use this for anniversaries and special occasions.
Consumers love personalization. It makes them feel heard and understood. According to a Mckinsey report, personalization drives performance and better customer outcomes. Companies that grow faster drive 40 percent more of their revenue from personalization than their slower-growing counterparts. Leverage customer browsing history, purchase history, and more to send exclusive offers on WhatsApp.
Are you crafting a new product launch strategy? Be sure to include WhatsApp on your list. Send promotional alerts to customers to update them on your new product launch. You can also build up the excitement via WhatsApp.
For instance, if you are launching your autumn collection you can send a count-down alert notifying your customer about your upcoming collection launch.
Seasonal sales can be a bargain shopper’s dream. Many shoppers actually wait for seasonal sales to get access to discounts, offers, and coupons to get a good deal. Send promotional alerts for your upcoming seasonal sales. You can also include discount coupons that can be easily applied upon checkout. For instance, informing customers about your upcoming sale on Christmas is a great way to engage with shoppers and keep them in the loop.
Messages like “offer valid till stocks last” or “sale for the next 1 hour” encourage shoppers to act quickly and complete their purchase. You can even use a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency. Launching a reminder campaign can also be a great way to incentivize shoppers to prepare when the sale begins. It is often found useful when your competitors are also running sales like Christmas season sales, end-of-season sales, etc.
You can also send reminders for recharges or recent appointments. For instance, your brand can send appointment details to the customer and confirm about their plans. They can even go ahead and reschedule. All of this can be done via WhatsApp.
Send back-in-stock updates to customers who had wish-listed items but couldn't purchase them because it was out of stock.
Brands are often found to create push notifications and emailers alerting customers about their ongoing monthly sales. Use WhatsApp to notify customers about your monthly sales and discounts. For instance, sending a reminder of shopping anything from your fashion store at a 10% discount.
Send weekly deals to incentivize your customers to make a purchase. You can also personalize it based on their preferences.
For instance, sending a weekly deal of buying 2 shirts and getting a 20% discount on their next purchase will not only increase your AOV but will also make your customer buy often with your weekly special deals.
One of the biggest problems of e-Commerce is abandoned carts. In fact, the average cart abandonment rate is about 69.82%. Customers abandon carts due to multiple reasons such as lack of convenient delivery options, lack of payment methods, confusing checkout process, and unexpected shipping costs.
WhatsApp promotional messages are a great way to address the abandonment cart issue. Send cart reminders on the items the customer left in the cart in order to incentivize them to complete their purchase.
Here’s how Sleepy Owl is conducting their WhatsApp marketing campaigns
Discounts are a great way to incentivize customers to make a purchase. You can also offer discount coupons and give the final nudge to complete the purchase.
You can also add checkout timers to create a sense of urgency in the minds of shoppers and incentivize them to complete the purchase.
Browse abandonment can be defined as an event wherein a customer views the product and category pages on a website without adding any items to the shopping cart. 53% of shoppers say they always research before making a purchase to ensure they’re making the best choice. Shoppers browse products for research that help them make informed decision on their upcoming purchases. You can collect this browsing behavior data and target customers who browsed your website on WhatsApp.
The above-mentioned use case would work best for new customers who have browsed your site and dropped off. However, sometimes loyal customers also browse without adding any items to their shopping cart. In this case, you can reach out to these customers with exclusive discounts and more on WhatsApp to incentivize them to make a purchase.
Impulsive loyal buyers are always on the lookout for discounts. Creating a sense of urgency and earning reward points is a great motivation for impulse buyers to hit the final click to purchase. You can add a countdown timer to your WhatsApp promotional message and alert these shoppers of ongoing discounts to complete their purchases.
Spin the wheel, lucky draw, and games are some of the best ways to get visitors to sign up for your WhatsApp marketing lists. It is also a great way to increase engagement with shoppers. You can conduct these games and challenges on WhatsApp to keep customers engaged with your brand.
Engaging existing customers to continue shopping for your brand is an integral part of growth and sustenance. The best customer retention strategies enable brands to form lasting relationships with their customers. In fact, loyal customers are 50% more likely to try a new product from your store and spend 31% more than new customers.
Conduct your loyalty program via WhatsApp to continue to engage and assist customers that can help form lasting relationships with your customers. You can send messages to loyal shoppers every time you launch a new collection, offer exclusive discounts, and more
Loyalty memberships are an excellent way to incentivize customers to keep coming back to your store. You can send instructions on how to become a member and all the benefits they would receive after becoming a member via WhatsApp.
Customer appreciation is the art of expressing gratitude to your customers for their business. And brands that reinforce such relationships often translate it to higher retention and referral rates. Use WhatsApp promotion messages to show appreciation for your valued customers.
If you want to learn more, here’s a helpful article on how to boost customer loyalty with WhatsApp
Brands that leverage data to serve their customers are already way ahead of the game. Brands can analyze a user’s purchase history and send recommendations based on their preferences using conversational AI solutions. The AI automatically creates a user profile and gives an overview of the user's past purchases, wish lists, tastes, preferences, and more.
Send relevant product recommendations based on your customer’s shopping behavior. This will help increase your average order value and revolutionize your customer experience.
For instance, if a customer purchases a shirt, you can send real-time product recommendations complementing their shirts such as a pair of jeans or shoes.
An excellent way to increase your average order value is to send recommendations while conversing with the customer. For instance, a customer lands on your WhatsApp window enquiring about a dress. The customer is looking for a dress in a different color.
The WhatsApp chatbot immediately responds to the customer regarding its availability and adds it to her cart. The bot then sends recommendations such as accessories or shoes that complement the dress. The customer, in turn, may find the recommendations helpful and add those to her cart.
Customers love deals. In fact, the RetailMeNot survey found that nearly 74% of Americans say offers are a top factor when deciding where and what to buy online. And 81% of Americans say finding a great offer or discount is on their mind throughout the entire purchase journey. Hence, discounts and deals play a major role in upselling. Upselling is when you incentivize customers with discounts and offers to buy high-priced items, bundled items, or upgrade subscriptions. It is an excellent way to earn more profits and increase your average order value.
Reengagement alerts are a powerful conversion optimization tool to communicate with shoppers who have already purchased or have shown an intent to convert. Send re-engagement alerts to remind customers about your brand via WhatsApp.
Although WhatsApp has allowed brands to send promotional messages to customers, brands must be mindful of their WhatsApp marketing strategy. Here are some points you should remember while planning your strategy:
âś…Avoid sending promotional messages to less engaged users
âś…Leverage analytics and customer data to segment shoppers based on intent
âś…Avoid spamming customers with unnecessary promotional messages as it may result in account blocking and your quality rating going down
âś…Always send messages that are personalized and relevant to the customer
âś…Brands must adhere to the WhatsApp Opt-in policy
Building meaningful relationships and having engaging conversations with customers play a major role in devising a good marketing strategy.
Using WhatsApp as your ally can help build relationships that last longer and also help ensure that customers keep coming back.
Your customers already prefer chatting with their favorite brands on WhatsApp.
The question is are you leveraging WhatsApp promotional messages to boost your brand engagement and drive sales?
If you are ready to boost your revenue, send us a hello at hello@vizury.com!
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