How Is WhatsApp Messaging Transforming the Customer Experience Space?

I buy my clothes and my electronics online, and I subscribe to multiple services, and all of these require customer service and support.

Each of these organizations has a mobile app, which they ask me to download and install for a seamless experience. However, that brings in a lot of digital clutter on my handphone. I was grappling with close to about 60 apps on my phone.

It sets in digital fatigue. Besides that, you don’t use most apps regularly, and they end up consuming a lot of your phone’s resources.

What do you do then?

Lately, I have seen that most businesses communicate with me through WhatsApp. It is fairly conversational as well, and they are able to respond to my queries on WhatsApp.

For instance, I regularly buy my T-shirts from a brand. The brand sends me promotions and offers on WhatsApp with a link for me to buy directly from there.

Once I make the purchase, they send me details about the order, shipment status, and delivery confirmation via WhatsApp.

How So Convenient Is This Communication?

This works well for me for a few reasons:

• I am very comfortable using WhatsApp, and I use it day in and day out. So, getting offers and the ability to purchase and track the shipment till delivery on WhatsApp is very convenient for me.
• There is very little friction here, as I don’t have to access multiple apps to get information.

Think about WhatsApp communication with conversational AI integration, and everyone’s life will become much easier. There is one app that can do all your activities.

Let me give you a few use cases.

Broadband Service

I have a broadband service at home. Whenever there is a service outage, I open their mobile application and click on their support menu to register a complaint. The moment I click on that, then it takes me to their WhatsApp screen.

From there, all the self-service and diagnosis happens on their WhatsApp integration. Till the issue is resolved, everything from the complaint number, resolution timeframe, and the resolution provided is communicated on their WhatsApp interface.

Banking Services

You must have heard about the new DoT and TRAI regulations on promotional and service calls in India.

Every promotional call should start with the +140 series numbers, and every service call should begin with the +160 series numbers. The moment you see either of these series numbers, your inclination to attend those calls decreases, and you avoid them.

Now, the brands have lost their ability to reach their customers completely through the voice channel.

What is the best option available?

After this regulation, my bank reached out to me, asking if I would be comfortable communicating with the bank through the WhatsApp channel. I agreed, and now it has become easy for the bank and me to reach each other.

I am getting offers from the bank in a non-intrusive and real-time manner. I am able to query the bank on various transactional queries through the same channel, and the responses are always immediate.

E-Commerce

I am a regular customer of an electronics brand. I recently received an offer from them that allowed me to buy through a link on the messaging platform.

I clicked on it and went ahead with the purchase. All the communication related to order confirmation, shipment, and delivery was done on WhatsApp.

After receiving the product, I had issues in configuring the product. So, I wrote to them on the same WhatsApp channel, and I received a self-explanatory video on WhatsApp on how I could configure the product.

Why Do You Think the WhatsApp Channel Is Becoming Popular?

I am familiar with it.

I have been using WhatsApp for so many years now. I find it real-time and completely non-intrusive. I trust the channel, and it makes all my interactions easy.

It is instant communication.

I don’t have to wait in a long queue to talk to an agent. I get immediate responses to my queries, and as and when anything gets updated in the backend regarding my order, subscription, or pricing, I immediately get notified through a message.

I can’t think of any other communication that is this instant.

My engagement is high.

I haven’t seen myself responding to messages and emails the way I react to WhatsApp. My engagement on the platform is very high, as it multimedia and multi-lingual communication seamlessly.

It makes sense for both the brands and consumers to engage on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is used by more than 2 billion people worldwide. That’s a staggering number for an app.

Why would brands not be interested in using something that already exists? Besides, your customer segment is familiar with the platform, and they trust it.

WhatsApp in business spans the entire customer journey, from the time they find you to making the purchase and providing post-sales support.

I haven’t seen a channel that is better equipped to address the customer experience needs. It allows you to develop meaningful connections with customers while reducing operational costs.