Using a WhatsApp chatbot as part of an omnichannel communication and one-to-one marketing strategy can offer customers an engaging experience across multiple channels.
The chatbot can be integrated with other customer touchpoints, such as website pages, social media, email and mobile applications, in order to offer seamless, personalized communication.
Whatsapp CHANNEL
WhatsApp is the most used instant messaging channel in the world, with a penetration rate of 97%.
The application is present on the devices of 78.5% of Italians.
83% of people use it daily with an average monthly use of 17 hours and 6 minutes.
In 2023, 140 billion messages per day were exchanged on Whatsapp.
Combining the advantages of conversational AI with the direct interaction of the Whatsapp channel on mobile devices allows you to take your one-to-one marketing strategy to a higher level.
use caseS
There are currently 3 versions of the Whatsapp application available:
- the “Consumer” version for private use;
- the “Business app” version designed for SMEs and professionals;
- the “Business platform” designed for the Enterprise market, compliant with the GDPR and integrated via API.
The most common use cases of Whatsapp chatbots are in the customer care, outbound marketing and “Whatsapp Commerce”.
Let’s see some examples.
24/7 Customer Assistance: implementing a WhatsApp chatbot offers your customers a 24/7 customer care service on their mobile device. The chatbot integrated into Whatsapp can help manage customer support requests, answering frequently asked questions and routing more complex requests to a human operator if necessary.
Direct interaction via WhatsApp facilitates live customer engagement and the collection of information functional to lead generation.
Appointment Scheduling: the WhatsApp chatbot can be used to manage appointments, deadlines and reminders for customers. This helps improve services and customer satisfaction.
Whatsapp Commerce: in the e-commerce field, the Whatsapp chatbot facilitates the booking of appointments and services or the purchase of products by interacting directly via WhatsApp.
The purchasing process becomes simple and immediate and customers benefit from an always active assistance channel, to support the increase in sales, the reduction of the abandonment rate and the development of brand loyalty.
Outbound marketing: integrated with softwares for managing message traffic, chatbots can send targeted outbound messages to customers, such as promotions or product updates, and collect feedback based on their preferences and purchasing behaviour.
This can help companies reach customers at the right time and improve their marketing strategies, as well as the company’s products and services. Interaction via chat also facilitates the collection of customer profiling data to personalize the offer, as well as, promotional messages.
Live engagement and gaming: with Whatsapp chatbots it is also possible to involve customers through fun and interactive interactions, to make the experience more engaging and entertaining, increasing the conversion rate and customer retention.
Feedback Collection: through the WhatsApp chatbot it is possible to collect feedback and evaluations from customers, through automated surveys and questionnaires aimed at collecting useful information to improve products or services. A WhatsApp chatbot can collect valuable data about customer interactions, which can be used to analyze customer trends and preferences across multiple channels. This information can be used to improve products, services and communication strategies.
Multi-channel integration: it is possible to connect the WhatsApp chatbot to other communication channels, such as website pages, mobile apps and social media, to offer a seamless omni-channel experience. This allows customers to interact through their preferred channel.
Onboarding and training: it is possible to employ the Whatsapp chatbot to provide detailed instructions, guides or tutorials to your customers. This can help customers (but also suppliers, partners and employees) to use your products or services effectively and reduce the number of support requests.
COMBINING whatsapp CHATBOTS AND GENAI
The integration of a chatbot on the Whatsapp channel requires the activation of software for managing the traffic and costs applied by Whatsapp business to the messages exchanged.
The recent partnership agreement between Athics and Mitto, provider of omnichannel solutions through SMS, Viber, WhatsApp, combines the advantages of customer engagement solutions on messaging channels with the benefits of conversational AI.
According to Mitto’s data, interactions through instant messaging channels obtain a 98% open rate (compared to 22.7% for emails) and a higher click through rate of 9.18%.
Furthermore, 60% of customers read text messages within 5 minutes of receiving them, while 85% prefer receiving SMS instead of calls or emails.
The interaction of the chatbot via Whatsapp is furtherly enhanced by the automatic generation of the bot’s responses, in natural language, made possible by the integration of the Large Language Model (Generative AI) within the Crafter.ai platform.
The conversation experience thus becomes fluid and engaging, supporting an omni-channel strategy aimed at improving customer experience and loyalty, increasing retention and encouraging revenue growth.
