Drive Sales and Marketing with WhatsApp Business

Drive Sales and Marketing with WhatsApp Business

2.2 billion monthly active users worldwide, over 100 billion messages, 596.6 million voice messages per day. That's WhatsApp, one of the most used apps in the world, a must-have for private and increasingly also for business mobile phones.

WhatsApp Business: A Hidden Gem for B2B Marketing with 95% Open Rates

Suppose you have already given up analyzing the?20% open rate?of your newsletters. In that case, this blog showcases another free channel, that could be effectively used for lead generation and promotion, and an average open rate of 95%. On top, messages are opened within 2 minutes of being received. In B2B marketing, that's an incredible open rate, and a channel, which is hardly used in the selling process.

My mission is to make things zSofisticated in marketing. WhatsApp is one of my favorite apps and I believe it can bring value and speed up our business lives. Recently, I had an exciting conversation with Aman Kumar, the founder and CEO of IT solutions provider TechNordia, on how he uses the free WhatsApp Business to gear up the buying process and deliver accurate brand value to his partners and customers.

Aman is originally from India, where WhatsApp is widely used. What WeChat is to China, WhatsApp is almost to India. They have mastered the application, and even the government sector has its own channels to communicate with society. Coming from this culture, it is no wonder that he has also successfully integrated the app into his day-to-day business.

Direct Messaging for Sales

Primarily, WhatsApp Business was developed for small businesses, but larger companies can also use this data by integrating it into their CRM systems such as Hubspot, Salesforce, and Dynamics 365. According to the latest report from August 2024, the business app has been downloaded 152.1 million times worldwide. Even though it is a free app, it is secure thanks to end-to-end encryption for chats, making it difficult for others to access or read the messages.

Aman uses the app from the very beginning of the sales process when he contacts a person. He scans the QR code on the WhatsApp profile, so the mobile phone saves the name, and phone number and he can add additional information about the person as well. Uploading daily photos and videos to WhatsApp stories, shares his daily business moments. Showing “behind the scenes”, and giving a short insight into his life is emotionally engaging, helping him to build up trust in his contacts.

For dynamic entrepreneurs like him, being sure that the message was delivered is critical. WhatsApp shows accurately the exact status of the messages that were received and read. This makes communication quicker because the status is like a psychological push on the receiver to make a reaction to the message.

The ability to use the app anytime anywhere sounds fantastic, but even a simple message can result in quick responses. Since Aman uses his device for both personal and business purposes, the tone should be different for friends and family members than for business associates. The editing function offers the possibility to correct the text after it has been sent, which is a great advantage over emails, because once sent, it is almost impossible to change the text.

Building Strong Communities and Driving Marketing Success

The app makes one-on-one communication fast and also supports the communities. WhatsApp Groups are a great feature to communicate with up to 1024 users at the same time. Like a digital round table to build and support a conversation. The feature enables two-way communication, which is great for discussing different topics. Aman uses dedicated groups to assign tasks within the development team and to find new freelancers in a headhunter team. Documents and links that are sent out are also easily accessible via the group settings so that everyone is on the same page during a busy event.

Besides assigning tasks, I also like to use the groups for trade fairs or conferences to inform colleagues about the meeting time, the next presentation, or even the live location at a big event to easily find our booth.

WhatsApp Broadcast: Exclusive Business Relationships

In the B2B world, the partner ecosystem is an essential part of the business. WhatsApp Broadcast helps to stand out and shine from the monthly partner newsletters and generates additional value by sharing educational content, customer support, exclusive offers, and upcoming events to make partners feel like they have a direct communication channel and build up the impression that they are in an exclusive group. The more personal the contact, the stronger and longer the relationship will be. Broadcast lists ensure privacy, as replies are only addressed to you. This unique way of communicating ensures one-to-one communication between the sender and the customer, making the entire interaction exclusive.

WhatsApp Broadcast efficiently reaches an audience of up to 256 users and is suitable for businesses, organizations, or personal broadcasts. From a technical perspective, Broadcast allows you to send messages to a wide audience without alerting the entire group. This way of communication can be effectively used during the Q4 hectic time because, with the help of these lists, you can send specific updates, promotions, and notifications to multiple contacts who have opted-in to receive messages from you, ensuring that your content lands directly in the hands of interested customers.

Targeted Segmentation and Lead Generation

The audience could be also segmented by sending them customized messages. The best-converting messages are similar to social media posts, where the post starts with a hook, creative, short text, and a clear CTA.

One possible way to generate leads with this free tool is to start in an interactive group and post regularly with different CTAs in order to segment the audience. You can then include these users in special programs and send them exclusive content, conduct product tests, and push them further down the sales funnel.

Conclusion:

Free tools can deliver high value and great customer satisfaction if we know how to utilize them. The less people know the benefits, the bigger impact it can make. WhatsApp with its high open rates, personalized communication features, and ability to reach a wide audience makes it an incredible asset for B2B sales and marketing. By effectively leveraging WhatsApp Business, organizations can improve communication, generate leads, enhance customer satisfaction, and streamline operations. As WhatsApp continues to evolve and expand its features, businesses that embrace this platform will be well-positioned to thrive in the competitive landscape of modern sales and marketing.

About the Author:

Let’s make things #zSofisticated!

Zsofia Raffa is a global digital marketing strategist with a journalist’s heart! With over 15 years of rocking the marketing world, she’s helped brands like Kodak Alaris, NVIDIA, Black Rock, and Lufthansa to shine digitally.

She’s all about turning data into stories that wow. As a regular newspaper writer, Zsofia knows how to make numbers turn into capturing attention. LinkedIn is her special field – she’s mastered the art of social selling, lead generation, and turning employees into brand ambassadors.