How WhatsApp can Unlock The Next Frontier Of Customer Engagement

In today’s crowded marketplace, marketers are locked in a constant battle to break through the noise. The challenge? Delivering personalized messages that reach the right customers, through the right channels, at precisely the right moment, when it actually matters.

To cut through this noise, marketing teams and brands have looked to break the mold on what marketing looks like. The budget airline, Ryanair, has played with humorous social media campaigns mocking their customer service. Spotify annually creates personalised summaries of users’ listening habits, and Louis Vuitton turned their 16-story flagship store into a stack of oversized trunks.

These viral marketing tactics command attention and boost brand visibility – but at what cost?  Savvy marketers with real-world budgets understand the true value lies in sustained customer relationships. That’s why many are shifting from flashy, short-lived campaigns and going back to the basics: genuine conversations with customers.

While returning to basics, we’re not stepping backward, but reimagining how we can approach outreach. Enter WhatsApp: the world’s most popular messaging platform, which has emerged as an essential customer engagement channel, opening doors most marketers haven’t yet discovered.

Grab attention where and when it matters most

The simple truth about marketing success? Reaching customers where and when they’re most receptive. However, consumers have grown increasingly numb – even resistant to traditional outreach, presenting marketers with a significant challenge.

Today, 79% of marketing emails aren’t opened, instead they’re left to collect virtual dust – never to be seen by the recipient. However, it is not that consumers don’t want to be reached – it’s that brands aren’t reaching out to them in their preferred channels.

We’re seeing younger generations actively call for brands to engage with them on native channels, with 16-24 year olds in the UK reporting that their top preference to speak with brands is on WhatsApp,  followed by Instagram. In large part, this reflects a growing preference for conversational brand communications. Customers want  real, two way conversations that happen in real time. increasingly, we’re also seeing customers call for asynchronous communication – AKA, if you step away from your laptop, you can resume your conversation from another device.

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Why WhatsApp’s 3 billion users should be your marketing priority

WhatsApp is currently the world’s largest and most popular messaging app, boasting over three billion active monthly users. But more importantly than that, this user base is incredibly diverse. It is used ubiquitously across generations and countries. In countries across Asia, Latin America, Africa and increasingly Europe  it has become the default communications platform. In contrast to the next most popular global messaging app, Facebook Messenger which is predominantly used in the US (24%) and by 25-34 year olds (33%). Moreover, WhatsApp messages have a staggering 98% open rate – making the opportunity clear; there is a messaging channel over a quarter of the world’s population uses – and many want to be reached through.

The opportunity: How WhatsApp Transforms Campaigns into Conversions

For brands, WhatsApp is not just a customer favorite but an advanced channel that can facilitate a myriad of instant business actions.

WhatsApp can be integrated as a channel to many CRMs and outreach organizers. In fact, WhatsApp Business enables features like shopping carts and payment integration – creating an end-to-end customer experience. In reality, this means that you can issue targeted campaigns to users that prompt actions that can be completed in one chat. Paired with AI, you can supercharge outreach on WhatsApp by empowering AI to autonomously handle responses and trigger actions.

In practice this could look like sharing a flash promotion, such as a reduction in your annual travel insurance costs and enabling your customers to access it from within the chat. So in just a few clicks, your customers can almost autonomously apply the discount code. This equates to near instantaneous conversions and consumer engagement with brands.

Another important consideration is that consumers are increasingly vocal and willing to vent their frustrations with brands online in public spaces. This means that brands now have a greater need to proactively and efficiently engage with customers. Leveraging instant messaging channels like WhatsApp enables you to quickly converse with customers and de-escalate any potential issues.

Don’t be left on read

While budgetary strains and a crowded advertising landscape have necessitated a return to 1-1 outreach, I would argue that the savvy marketer has a greater opportunity on everyone’s favourite messaging app than they do on an oversized billboard.

The maths is simple, consumers prefer using messaging apps and brands can deliver personalized campaigns on these channels through their existing CRM systems. Today, WhatsApp isn’t just another channel, it’s where meaningful customer relationships are built. Add AI-powered conversation management, and you’ve created the perfect formula for building loyalty while optimizing resources.

When consumers prefer messaging apps and brands can deliver personalized campaigns through existing CRM systems, the math is simple.

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Picture of Dvir Hoffman

Dvir Hoffman

As the CEO of CommBox, Dvir has over two decades of experience in technology innovation and product strategy.