8 min read
Published On: 2023-05-26
By:Lifesight
In today's ever-evolving digital landscape, ecommerce and DTC businesses have emerged as disruptors, transforming the traditional retail industry. These brands have found innovative ways to capture the attention of customers and deliver tailored experiences. One such powerful tool is WhatsApp marketing.
Equipped with interactive features and over 2 billion active monthly users worldwide, WhatsApp offers a unique channel for businesses to connect with their audience on a more personal level.
This guide explores the potential of WhatsApp marketing strategy for Ecommerce and DTC businesses, with actionable ways to redesign the customer experience, foster connections, and unlock new avenues for growth.
By leveraging the platform's wide user adoption and powerful features, brands can enhance their Ecommerce marketing strategies and achieve various business objectives. Here are some key benefits of marketing on WhatsApp for DTC brands:
As a DTC brand, tapping into the potential of WhatsApp's Business API could be a game-changer for your customer interactions. Connect it with your preferred growth marketing platform, and unlock a world of opportunities to engage with your customers in a channel they already use and love.
Setting up a WhatsApp Business Account is the first step towards leveraging the platform for your DTC brand. We'll guide you through this process step by step.
Having a verified profile with the green badge provided by WhatsApp adds authority, credibility, and trustworthiness to your brand. When customers receive a communication from a verified account, they can be sure that the number belongs to an Official Business Account (OBA).
For verification, you'll need a WhatsApp Business API account registered with a Facebook Business Manager account. You can submit your application via a third-party service provider or by yourself.
Here are the steps to apply for a green tick on WhatsApp:
Meta takes the ultimate decision on whether your business account is eligible to get a green tick. Here are some tips to boost your chances of getting verified:
You will receive a response from Meta within 7-10 days of submitting your application. And that's it! Now you're ready to scale your DTC business with WhatsApp marketing.
To successfully use WhatsApp for marketing, a well-thought-out strategy is essential. Let’s look at successful WhatsApp marketing ideas and examples to set your DTC brand apart from the competition.
In 2023, the average number of emails sent and received per day is projected to be 347.3 million. What does this mean for your business? Your promotional mail might get lost in the sea of emails your customer receives every day.
In a world overwhelmed by generic promotions, personalizing your message can give your brand a competitive edge over the others.
WhatsApp marketing allows you to utilize your existing customer data to engage with shoppers on their special days and seasonal festivals. Curate a direct, personalized promotional message with a clear CTA.
WhatsApp marketing example:CaratLane, a gold and diamond jeweler, customizes communication by giving a discount on the customer’s birthday.
WhatsApp Status, with its 24-hour visibility, offers a unique platform for brand storytelling and driving sales.
Use it to share sneak peeks of an upcoming launch, behind-the-scenes moments, the stories behind your products, and any other content that helps build a connection with your customers.
WhatsApp marketing idea:If your ecommerce store is offering a limited-period discount, you can advertise it by posting a special coupon on your WhatsApp status. Mention that the offer is available only for the next 24 hours to create a sense of urgency and grab the attention of customers.
In today's scenario, buyer patience is low—90% of customers consider an "immediate" response as an important part of your customer service.
When a customer reaches out via WhatsApp, you can solve their queries with preloaded automated responses. It cuts down response time, makes sure you don't miss out on any query or feedback, and leads to greater customer satisfaction.
Automated messages are a great way to welcome new customers, handle frequently asked questions, share order tracking details, and send reminders for upcoming events. But these automated responses may not have all the answers, so it's always a good idea to offer customers the option to manually type a concern that is not listed down.
WhatsApp marketing example:Neeman’s, the DTC footwear brand uses automation to reply instantly, that too in a tone that makes customers feel like they are interacting with a human customer service agent.
Integrating WhatsApp with a customer data platform (CDP) like Moda helps attract, engage, support, and retain your customers and drive revenue. Moda, with the help of automation and AI, collects leads and customer data on your behalf from emails, SMS channels, and 100+ touchpoints and groups them into RFM segments.
With Moda’s WhatsApp marketing software, you get access to valuable insights into customer preferences, behavior, and engagement patterns. This allows you to hyper-personalize your interactions and marketing campaigns, enhance customer experience, and convert visitors into loyal customers.
Learn more about using CDPs for Ecommerce here.
DTC brands can increase customer engagement by utilizing WhatsApp’s two-way communication channel. Instead of bombarding customers with only promotional messages, sending out interactive content like quizzes, surveys, or contests keep them invested and interested.
WhatsApp marketing idea:American brand Hellmannused this concept in their WhatsCookWhatsApp marketing campaign. Participants registered on the brand's website with their phone numbers to connect with professional chefs. They could share images of the available ingredients through WhatsApp, and the chefs would provide personalized recipe suggestions using those ingredients and Hellmann mayonnaise.
The result? This fun campaign led 5 million people to connect with the brand directly, helped create 500 new recipes using Hellmann mayonnaise, and established a strong engagement between the brand and its target audience.
Read more on such customer engagement campaigns here.
50% of American WhatsApp users access the platform daily, so you can expect high visibility while using WhatsApp for marketing. Unlike regular group chats, broadcast lists on WhatsApp allow you to send messages to many people simultaneously without them being in the same conversation. It's an effective way to reach a large audience with important announcements or offers, all while keeping their inboxes clutter-free.
With broadcast lists, you don't have to select particular names every time you want to send a message—all of your contacts who are part of the list will get your message at once. It maximizes your reach, saves time, and also protects private customer data like contact numbers and names from being exposed.
When the customer shows interest in a particular product, you can leverage the opportunity to cross-sell related products through WhatsApp. Use existing customer data to display images, videos, and website links of products that they might be interested in.
You can also list down your products along with their descriptions on the WhatsApp catalog. It allows customers to quickly access the available products without leaving the platform, making the browsing and shopping experience as frictionless as possible.
WhatsApp marketing example: Here's how Alpha Coffeepromotes cross-selling.
After receiving an order, use WhatsApp to keep the customer updated with real-time shipping information. From order confirmation to dispatch notifications, tracking details, and estimated delivery time, your customer can track their packages conveniently from their smartphones.
Be it a small local business or a global DTC giant, this feature is useful for brands of all sizes. Take this opportunity to send a personalized welcome message, and win their trust with a transparent order tracking process.
Here’s an example of sharing shipping updates using WhatsApp marketing.
Read more: Leveraging WhatsApp for Conversations and Conversions
In the era of instant messaging, WhatsApp can serve as an effective customer service tool for your DTC brand. Here are some ways you can utilize the platform to enhance customer satisfaction:
Let’s see how Mylo, an online store for baby, mom, and pregnancy essential products uses WhatsApp marketing post purchase to collect customer feedback.
Send targeted messages on WhatsApp to remind customers about their abandoned carts and offer exclusive discounts or incentives to encourage them to return and complete the checkout. This is a personalized approach to rekindle a lost sales opportunity and increase conversion rates.
What’s remarkable about this WhatsApp marketing campaign is that Alpha Coffee Company used a QR code on its product packaging to drive offline to online conversions.
Your WhatsApp marketing initiatives will be deemed successful when they hit the right KPIs. As a DTC/Ecommerce business owner, regularly track the delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, and use these data to identify your best-performing customer segment that has generated the highest ROI.
Getting started with a WhatsApp marketing software like Moda helps derive insights from these metrics to improve your future marketing strategy. With data-driven and personalized WhatsApp marketing campaigns, you can acquire new customers, drive meaningful engagement, offer excellent post-purchase experience, and build repeat purchase habit loops with upsell and cross-sell automations.
Start your free trial with Modaand establish your DTC brand as a standout entity in your industry.
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