A common struggle that we see today among businesses, irrespective of their industry, is keeping customers engaged and onboard. With the rising competition across markets, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

Traditional communication channels, such as SMS, email, and social media, are becoming inadequate by themselves. The need of the hour is a channel that can effectively engage customers on a more 1-to-1 basis – and that’s WhatsApp.

In this post, we’re going to look at a few real-life examples of brands using the WhatsApp Business API for customer engagement.

Top WhatsApp Business API use cases for customer engagement

Let’s take a look at the top use cases of WhatsApp for better engagement:

1. E-commerce brand enhancing customer support

Many eCommerce brands have turned to WhatsApp API for customer service that guarantees speed, consistency, and personalization.

 

WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to automate routine queries such as FAQs, and order tracking questions like “Where is my order?” or “When will my order reach?”.

 

With seamless escalation, queries that require a more hands-on approach can be easily directed to human agents.

 

One of the best WhatsApp Business API integration real-life examples is Creative Dukaan’s successful customer support efforts.

 

By using Interakt, the brand effectively handles high volumes of queries with ease. The shared team inbox feature allowed them to easily communicate and resolve customer queries. Using tags, the brand was also able to sort customer queries, allowing the team to manage them efficiently. The result was an astounding 88% improvement in their issue resolution times!

2. Financial services using WhatsApp for client communication

Financial services, banking, and insurance companies have also been embracing WhatsApp Business API to enhance client communication through secure automated notifications and alerts.

 

For example, a bank can notify its clients about suspicious account activity in real-time or send timely reminders for loan or credit card repayments. WhatsApp API also enables personalized interactions, such as allowing clients to request mini-statements, enquire about credit card balances, or apply for services directly through WhatsApp chatbot.

 

CASHe is a great example of using WhatsApp for financial services, as the leading digital lending platform has been able to offer seamless credit disbursal through the platform.

Partnering with Interakt, CASHe employed a custom conversational WhatsApp bot that allowed borrowers instant and convenient access to credit. 

 

The bot was capable of providing on-demand assistance and authenticating users. Thus, the brand was actively generating leads, witnessing more than 50,000 new customers.

3. Retailers using WhatsApp for personalized shopping experience

WhatsApp for retail marketing has also witnessed an increase with brands leveraging the API to offer customers personalized shopping experiences.

 

Retail brands can send product catalogs or carousel messages directly to customers, showcasing relevant items based on their preferences or past purchases. Brands can also share a small quiz through WhatsApp or ask a series of questions to recognize the tastes and interests of the customers, send tailored recommendations, or even schedule video shopping calls to provide convenience.

 

Reliance Industries’ JioMart’s goal of offering Indians a convenient and simple online shopping experience has been turned into reality through WhatsApp.

 

With a WhatsApp Bot, JioMart lets users discover products, add them to their cart, confirm delivery information, and pay, without leaving WhatsApp. The JioMart team was also effectively sharing promotions and nudging repeat sales through the channel. The brand was able to witness a steady average of over 1500 online orders per day while improving conversion rate by 15%.

Challenges and solutions in integrating WhatsApp Business API

Here we have listed some of the major challenges of integrating WhatsApp Business API along with solutions for tackling them:

1. Tackling the complex setup process with WABSPs

For many businesses, the process of setting up the WhatsApp Business API can be overwhelming, as it involves meeting strict guidelines, verifying accounts, and managing complex technical configurations among other things.

 

This complexity is often the cause behind discouraging many businesses from exploring and utilizing what the platform has to offer.

 

By partnering with a good WhatsApp Business API solution provider, businesses can overcome these challenges. These providers often handle these technical aspects on behalf of the business and guide them through account verification processes while ensuring compliance.

2. At-scale personalization made possible through CRM

Personalizing customer communication at scale can be challenging, especially when managing high volumes of interactions. Without streamlined data, it’s hard to tailor messages effectively.

 

Integrating WhatsApp Business API with a CRM system can help tackle this, as it can centralize customer insights and allow businesses to share relevant, personalized messages such as product recommendations, exclusive offers, updates, etc., without compromising consistency.

3. Adherence to WhatsApp messaging policies

Many businesses feel that WhatsApp’s strict messaging policies are limiting. Businesses are expected to follow guidelines on opt-ins, response windows, etc. to carry out respectful and ethical communication and avoid penalties.

 

An easy way to ensure compliance is to use WhatsApp Business solution providers that provide pre-approved templates. By adhering to approved template guidelines your business not only dodges cost-penalties but also manages to offer professional, policy-aligned, and compliant communication.

4. Finding scalable pricing plans for small businesses

For small businesses with limited budgets, the initial costs associated with integrating with WhatsApp Business API can be a concern. Fixed pricing models and high-tier subscriptions often make WhatsApp API customer engagement not feasible for such businesses.

 

But there are many WhatsApp Business solutions out there today that offer scalable pricing plans that allow businesses to start with basic features and expand as they grow.

 

Coupled with ROI analysis, businesses can better understand how the API is driving revenue and customer engagement, making these flexible plans practical and accessible for growing businesses.

5. Using customer conversations with chatbots and agent handover systems

Businesses that strive to deliver timely and personalized support often have to struggle when faced with higher volumes of customer queries. In these scenarios, solely relying on human agents can end up being expensive and inefficient.

 

Chatbots can help with this by easily handling routine queries such as order tracking or FAQs, that would otherwise eat up resources and time. With a great WhatsApp API tool, seamless escalation of complex queries to human agents can also be made possible, thus maintaining a balanced and efficient customer support system.

6. Integrating with existing tools/ platforms by leveraging API

For many businesses, the major reason behind not leveraging API is due to the perceived complexity of integrating the API into their existing tools/ systems such as CRMs, eCommerce platforms like Shopify, and analytic tools.

 

But in reality, through the right solution, the API’s flexibility allows for smooth integration with existing tools, allowing businesses to create unified workflows and share data seamlessly across platforms. This can result in better operational efficiency and a comprehensive view of the business’ customer interactions.

Conclusion

Effective customer engagement is indispensable for businesses to grow sustainably. And engagement is all about timeliness and alignment with what the customer needs.

 

Besides the challenges that it helps to overcome, an API solution provider allows brands to provide this timeliness in their customer Interactions, which makes tools like Interakt an essential part of well-oiled growth strategies through WhatsApp.

 

Get started with Interakt today!