New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI/Mediawire): Over the last two years, the pandemic irrevocably changed the business and community landscape.
Technological advances in operations, newer concepts, and tactics in digital marketing, and prioritized customer experience strategies have made businesses more aware. E-commerce has entered almost every sector of business, with small to medium and large companies as well as corporate giants taking a bite from this pie to give their customers a fully immersive experience. Business is no longer about just selling a product to a customer but about presenting an engaging and personal experience for the customer to engage them.
Many businesses are using instant messaging technologies like WhatsApp to enhance their marketing and customer relationship management. Widely used by businesses to connect with customers through various customized marketing strategies, WhatsApp is a huge hit among SMEs. From giant e-commerce platforms like Jio Mart, Nykaa, and Flipkart to startup unicorns and the local Kirana shops, WhatsApp is widely used to communicate with consumers.
So what makes WhatsApp such a hit among SMEs? As a simple, easy, user-friendly communication app, WhatsApp has evolved into a successful business communication tool. From operational processes to keeping the customer in the loop of how, where, and when their product is at a point in time, WhatsApp provides a direct communication route between the core business and its consumer.
Businesses can build a solid sales channel through WhatsApp by connecting with their customers and informing them about offers, recommendations, service offers, product details, discounts for various personal occasions and festivals, etc. The interface and accessibility of WhatsApp make it easy to send images, documents, videos, etc, making it easier for businesses to send personalized catalog messages to their consumers. This would encourage the consumers towards a much more seamless shopping experience where they can avoid rush hours, long queues, and last-minute issues.
With the Shopify-WhatsApp integration powered by Interakt, carts received on the WhatsApp chat can be converted into final orders on Shopify with a click of a button. For non-Shopify merchants, Interakt also offers out-of-the-box integration with leading Payment gateways, like Razorpay, which has made it easy for customers to place their orders, confirm their delivery details and pay for them via a seamless experience on WhatsApp itself.
This automated checkout workflow makes the shopping experience truly seamless for the customer.
Siddhant Rana, Market Development Lead India & South Asia, Shopify said, while talking about why Interakt’s Sales Channel App is the de-facto platform for merchants to scale up sales during the upcoming festive season, “our research shows more than three quarters (76 per cent) of Indian consumers plan to shop online in the lead up to Diwali, and Interakt’s seamless Shopify-WhatsApp integration gives merchants the ability to connect with customers throughout their online journey. It’s a simple and effective plug-in for your online store to boost acquisition, conversion, support, and loyalty through conversational commerce with customers over the festive shopping season.”
Businesses can also manage returns or exchange orders on WhatsApp with the Interakt-Return Prime integration. The brand just has to add the Want to Return/Exchange option as part of their automated Welcome/OOO message on WhatsApp to direct customers to a personalized Return Prime page for them to enter a return request.
WhatsApp offers smart automation features that can reduce customer wait time, enabling businesses to improve the quality of service. For instance, Automated notifications can be leveraged to inform the customer of offers or discounts during the holidays, delay and order updates during rush hour, or welcome messages.
Brands can also set up auto-replies for Frequently Asked Questions. It will enable them to manage high volume of consumer conversations during the festival rush, effectively and efficiently.
Interakt’s client, Yash Bhanage, Co-founder of Bombay Sweet Shop, while talking about the Shopify-Interakt integration, said, “no one in India wants another app on their phone. The ease and convenience that WhatsApp brings to the table are unparalleled so we knew we wanted to get our customer service built on WhatsApp.
Customers need assurance about their online orders and that can only be achieved through constant communication over a channel that they are comfortable with. And that’s where the Shopify-Interakt integration helped us tremendously!”
Ahshad Jusawalla, VP & Business Head, Interakt, while discussing the importance of a WhatsApp-based sales channel, said “The Shopify-WhatsApp integration powered by Interakt has helped 1000+ merchants leverage the simplicity and reach of WhatsApp to build strong relations with their customers. Our clients have reported 20 per cent of their total business coming from the Sales Channel App.
I would encourage brands to set up their WhatsApp stores to promote, and grow their online sales in this upcoming festive season!”
While it remains to be seen if this year’s festive season would bring back the fervor in sales and business, it is clear that businesses have advanced and evolved to embrace the WhatsApp Commerce revolution, to help them build more than a commercial relationship with their customers.
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