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Don’t make mistakes that drive away customers! Learn how to use WhatsApp Business effectively to drive sales using photos, videos, and voice messages.
min de leitura
It’s not just a conversational tool for contacting clients or post-sale service. WhatsApp Business can help you sell more through multimedia. Photos, video, and voice messages, used effectively, will bring you success
I’d like to tell you a little story. A few weeks ago, I broke my glasses. In a clumsy moment, I hit them and broke the frames. Since they were still under warranty, I went to the optician’s where I bought them. ?
The place was closed. A sign in the door said they were on vacation, but that clients could message them through WhatsApp. I was a little reluctant to bother them during their time off, but I also needed those glasses.?
I decided to message them and explain the problem. On the other end of the line, someone who did not introduce themselves told me that they were sorry to hear about my glasses and asked me for the model number of the frames.
I followed the instructions, took a photo of my broken glasses, and sent it through WhatsApp. I was able to successfully get my new glasses 10 days later. However, I contacted them several times to find out what the status of my claim was and when my new glasses would arrive. ??
I confess that I was feeling doubtful.
Those glasses were important to me. I regretted not having a back-up pair, and I can’t deny that I also regretted having bought them at that optician’s. ?
Why am I telling you this?
So that your clients don’t see you the way that I saw my trusted optician, just because they made mistakes in how they used WhatsApp for business.
This every-day adventure made me think about the sales that small and medium-sized businesses lose when using the WhatsApp Business app, that excellent part of conversational marketing. ???
For a moment, I wanted to help the manager of the optician’s to improve their communication with the client (which in this case was me). I noted that they made some mistakes:
Introduced in early 2018, we know that WhatsApp business has undeniable advantages for your small or medium-sized business. WhatsApp advantages include:
But in addition to these advantages, it’s worth considering how WhatsApp Business can be not just a tool for client service such as a quick consultation or an order, but also a way to sell more. ?
According to recent data, WhatsApp has more than 1.5 billion users who send more than 60,000 messages a day. You can use it on Android, unfortunately WhatsApp Business for iphone is not yet available.
In this article I’ll tell you how to capitalize on WhatsApp functions and how to use WhatsApp for business. I’ll give you tips for how to use:
You likely use this trio of elements all the time in your personal conversations, but are you squeezing every last drop out of your business, or letting it slip through your fingers?
Don’t worry. We’ve all been a little lost when it comes to using the various conversational marketing tools. It even happened to the manager of that optician’s that I had such faith in. That’s how businesses work, improving step by step.?
We’ve also taken some time to understand WhatsApp Business development at Zenvia Conversion. We discovered that many of our clients- care dealers, insurers, furniture showrooms– receive hundreds of inquiries via WhatsApp and feel overwhelmed by it.
After some hard work, we have been able to help them by integrating WhatsAppp and Zenvia Conversion. But I’ll tell you more about that later when we analyze various types of WhatsApp. ?
Let’s take it piece by piece!
You probably receive dozens of photos a day on your personal WhatsApp: of friends, friends; children, your nieces and nephews, your children, some meal that your partner wants to share, and so on.?
But that’s not how businesses work. Spontaneity works in a different way. The client is very available to you for personalized contact, but you should use the WhatsApp Business functions to create trust and offer your products, not to be an annoyance.
It’s important to consider we use photos in WhatsApp Business. I’ll describe a few ways to use photos with a clear purpose in a way that will enrich your sales strategy:
· Photos of the product that the client is waiting for. In my case, when my broken frames arrived at the shop, the person sent me a photo of the package immediately, as if to say, “I didn’t lie to you, they just got here.”
· Photos showing new arrivals of products that are likely to interest your client or that the client has asked about before.
· Newsletters with promotions, sales, or discounts on your products. Here, be careful not to send them too frequently, or they will be considered spam (we’ll talk more about this later). Remember: you’re sending the client something they didn’t ask for, but if you do it carefully, you may catch their interest and turn it into a sale.
➕ One more tip: don’t forget that these are marketing communications. They should be specific and professional, although they are sent via instant messenger.
I’ve also made the mistake of thinking that “anyone can take a picture.” But no: make sure they are taken by professionals. Don’t forget that a photo can give a good or bad impression of your product.
Another great element that WhatsApp offers is voice messages. We use this a lot in Argentina, so much that some users have an alert on their statuses that says “I don’t listen to voice messages.”
I don’t think they’re being mean, they may just work in an environment where they can’t be on their phones all the time, or perhaps they have gotten tired of playing audio just to hear something like “Hi there, thanks a lot. I’m heading home on the bus now and I’ll call you when I get back.”
Think about your clients. When could a voice message be useful?
In the case of the optician that I told you before, if the salesperson had sent me a voice message explaining the steps for me to follow, I would have been grateful. I also would have recognized his voice, which is very distinctive. Then I would have know that it was the same salesperson I initially contacted. That’s where the personal touch could have come. Not bad, right?
? A voice message used correctly is a great way to build trust with your client.
? A voice message used incorrectly is an annoyance.
To avoid mistakes when using voice messages, remember these tips to make them an asset, not a liability:
“Hi John, I’m Mark from M&L Optics. In the following audio message I’ll explain the steps to follow for your order. Thanks for your time.”
That sounds friendly and makes you want to listen, doesn’t it?
Videos with promotions or interesting messages about your products are usually well-received by clients. Just like photos, one of their upsides is that they can be shared with other users who may be interested in your products.
However, there are some downsides:
What type of videos can you send? Videos that provide some value to the client?
Here are a few ideas to inspire you:
- Videos that show your products in action. Check out this video from the automaker Peugeot, who have decided to invest in sustainable mobility. The video demonstrates one of their foldable bikes in action. Or this video test drive of a Nissan Leaf, the most-sold electric vehicle in the world.
- Videos with post-sale information about a product you sold and/or maintenance tips. In the case of the bicycle, for example, you could create a short tutorial with advice for cleaning and lubricating the wheels, for example.
- Institutional messages that talk about the values and direction of your company are also usually well-received, and make it look professional. This category includes video greetings on special days: father’s day, mother’s day, or even a holiday like Christmas or Easter.
? To review: photos, videos, and voice messages are all available on WhatsApp and if you use them correctly they can help increase your sales.
➕ One more thing: you clients can share all these elements with other contacts. Don’t pass up this opportunities to reach more people. You can even encourage it by offering raffles or discounts for clients who share a photo, a newsletter, or a flyer.
Pringles has been a pioneer in understanding how to capitalize on this. In 2010, they launched a WhatsApp marketing campaign, in which contestants (students) had to send Mr. Pringles a creative message using WhatsApp emojis.
What did the winner get? A salary of more than 1,000€ a month for a year.
In conclusion, the functionality that WhatsApp Business for ios and WhatsApp Business for apk provide are very useful as long as you know how to use them effectively.
⚠️ And one very important point: don’t spam.
Although WhatsApp Business has functions that detect and block mass advertising, it is easy to bypass it and still annoy your clients without even meaning to. And if you do this, you’ve lost a great tool because they will block you and you will have lost your client permanently. ?
The secret, then, is in choosing photos, videos, and personalized messages and in knowing when to send them in a way that will provide value to your client. ?
Although it is an excellent conversational marketing tool, you’re not infallible when you message through WhatsApp.
That’s why Zenvia Conversion has integrated with WhatsApp Business and the main marketing channels your business uses to attract leads and connect with your clients.
➕ Solutions we provide include:
Before, you lost out because you didn’t know what your agents were doing, where they made mistakes or guessed about information. With Zenvia Conversion, you can see all your conversations in real time!
With Zenvia Conversion, you can send messages to hundred of contacts with just a click. It makes it much simple when you want to communicate with your clients en masse.
Whether your team needs to work collaboratively or with a client portfolio, Zenvia Conversion adapts not just to the needs of your business, but to those of each department.
First impressions count. That’s why you want your buttons to make you stand out from the competition. With Zenvia Conversion, you can personalize your WhatsApp buttons and include them on your website so your clients can contact you in just one click.
This is the way to ensure that you can respond to clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Zenvia Conversion allows you to set up a chatbot with answers for the most common questions you receive. Additionally, it includes an automated transition to move clients from a conversation with a chatbot to a conversation with an agent to continue the conversation.
We are proud to simplify your commercial processes and confident that our new version will make an impression on your clients. You can access the new version of Zenvia Conversion by clicking on the image below.
? We’ve reached the end. In this article we went over the importance of avoid technical errors in your communications using WhatsApp Business.
Remember that you can use it for:
– Sales.
– Client service.
– Post-sales service.
– Strengthening relationships with long-term clients.
And you can do it using the multimedia elements that you’re used to using in your private conversations. So don’t forget about photos, videos, and voice messages, a trio that will help you convert more sales and use WhatsApp Business more effectively. Give it a try and tell me how it goes. ?
