How WhatsApp Business Helps You Build Personalized Customer Journeys

Enterprises are finding the need for enhancement of the user journey experience. With over 2 billion active users, WhatsApp has seen substantial potential for businesses to connect with their customers on a personal level. The advent of WhatsApp Business has taken this even further, as now companies can conduct very detailed meetings and individually nurture customer relationships. This article will take you through the way WhatsApp Business will help you develop a personalized customer journey and will focus on its features, benefits, and practical applications.

The Importance of Personalization in Customer Engagement

Personalization is no longer an option but a critical term for companies that are looking to play on the edge of customer loyalty and sales. Customers now expect these custom-tailored, what they consider to be unique, experiences that meet their needs and requirements. 

Personalization can come in the form of a wide range of options, from targeted marketing messages to custom-made product recommendations. With the help of Facebook Business tools, companies can have a one-on-one conversation with their customers just the way those people consider it to be when being with a friend.

Why WhatsApp?

WhatsApp is in a class of its own when it comes to communication channels that are commonly opted for by businesses. It is found in many different locations, and its interface is very straightforward. Here are some reasons why WhatsApp is an ideal platform for personalization:

• High Engagement Rates: WhatsApp is an email killer with open rates that are up to 80% higher than the traditional email marketing approach. WhatsApp messages are more likely to be seen earlier and, as a consequence, quicker action will be taken on them.
• Real-Time Communication: The power of WhatsApp is the fact it enables businesses to communicate with customers in real time and, therefore, improvements and support can be provided immediately.
• Rich Media Support: Businesses via WhatsApp can exchange images, use video, and share documents, which WhatsApp supports. Thus, the incorporation of visual elements shall bolster message personalization realistically.
• Familiarity: Since many clients are familiar with WhatsApp as a means of personal communication, using the platform for companies becomes an even easier option for engagement.

Key Features of WhatsApp Business for Personalization

WhatsApp Business prides itself on the availability of many functions that are specifically used by businesses in order to put into place a completely personalized customer journey:

1. WhatsApp Flows

One feature that stands out on this most progressive application is the WhatsApp Flows. The interactive, customizable part of WhatsApp Business is called Flows, where businesses can set up and have customer conversations through the platform. Flows incorporate a series of questions or prompts into the process, which is meant to gather user data and then give responses or take actions that are adjusted according to the user's feedback.

A good example would be when a clothing seller wants to find out about a customer's style, size, and colour preference. Then, via chat, the Flow might recommend specific products, cast products' availability, and even let you complete your order. The whole idea of being able to choose an item and be interactive in the process of purchasing it is an amazing thing for the client. The more interactive shopping experience feels even more personalized and engaging due to these features.

2. Automated Messaging

The usage of automated messaging features of businesses ensures the processing of instant messages or other responses without human mediation. For example, if an individual checks on the availability of a product, a pre-written message will be sent according to the information that the customer has already left before.

3. Personalized Product Recommendations

The attachment of consumer information to WhatsApp Business enables the firms the ability to provide relevant content to the consumer, i.e. such as through the provision of a product that the client once bought or requested. For example, if one of the customers is already known to be sport-centred the company shall be referring to any of the outwear of the company around this segment, they most likely will receive the highest tailored suggestion for the new items.

4. Shopping Assistance

Chatbots and live agents on WhatsApp empower companies to provide shopping help in real time. On the instant message platform, customers can interrogate the types of products, inquire about the size guide, or ask for help regarding styling. Altogether, customers enjoy convenience as they can have one chat with instant messaging, and that’s it.

5. Post-Purchase Engagement

The customer's personalization cannot be only in their shopping but continues in their after-sale services as well. Companies can use WhatsApp to deliver order updates, track deliveries, or engage with customers after the delivery, thus ensuring that satisfied customers are on the premises. This corresponds with the regular communication of companies with the existing customers and helps them to remain friends forever.

Building Personalized Customer Journeys with WhatsApp Business

For any company that truly aims at the development of a personalized route for the users of What's Up Business, there are several steps:

Step 1: Understand Your Customers

Understanding the people you are trying to get closer to is the foremost stage in individualizing. Collect data, implement analytics software, and thus get hold of the user's behaviour, purchase history, and demographics. These clues will help you craft the communication strategy that is perfect for your business and, as a result, lead you to make a solid impact on the message that you want to get across.

Step 2: Create Interactive Flows

The best way to do that is to use Flowcharts that can design the dialogue flow in such a way that the user is guided toward the completion of their goal, such as making a purchase. The first thing is to greet them in a polite manner as well as to ask about their preferences or needs. Their actions and, consequently, the customized treatment of their issues, for instance, can result in the provision of prompts.

Step 3: Automate Where Possible

Implement automation in such a way that the customer service is still personalized and yet efficient. This is achieved by making use of the WhatsApp automation capabilities for the routine tasks settings of automated responses for the frequently asked questions or most of the inquiries related to products or services. This helps the queries to be resolved in a timely manner, and the team gets time to deal with the more intricate queries.

Step 4: Monitor Engagement Metrics

You should examine the customer engagement metrics, such as the response times, the open rates, and the customer satisfaction levels, which you can find in the WhatsApp Business account analytics tools. The better you analyze these details, the quicker you find out the communication points that you can improve or the ideas that require adjustments over time.

Step 5: Foster Ongoing Relationships

Even if you get the customers to discuss on WhatsApp in a friendly way, you still need to keep revising those relationships. The most effective way of personalizing interaction is to send new products or promotion updates to them which are related to their interests or the old purchases they made. This is how they will be kept in the loop even after their initial interaction.

Real-World Examples of Successful Personalization Using WhatsApp Business

Several companies have used WhatsApp Business to deliver a more personalized experience during the customer's journey.

AirAsia

Using an application such as WhatsApp Business, the airline has made it more convenient for their passengers to book flights. 

When a customer books AirAsia flight tickets by using WhatsApp, the system is automated, and the customer receives automated messages confirming their bookings but also real-time updates about check-in times and flight status, thus ensuring a smooth travel experience for the passenger.

IKEA

Through WhatsApp Business, IKEA makes it possible to maximize its ordering service to customers. 

They can communicate with chatbots that provide them with products matching their personal choices, like furniture styles or certain room layouts—providing them with an enjoyable and engaging shopping experience which is directed to the individual's demands in the best way possible.

Overcoming Challenges in Personalization via WhatsApp Business

Despite the fact that employing WhatsApp business offers a range of benefits to companies in terms of customer personalization, there are still exist certain problematic issues that should be handled:

1. Data Privacy Concerns

Legal demands for GDPR as well as CCPA are being targeted, and hence, businesses should ensure their compliance with the law when using customer data for personalization purposes.

• Seek the necessary permissions granted by the customers in the form of promotional messages.
• Be transparent in representing the correct purpose of data collection in regular communication periods.
• Provide secure means of transferring and storing sensitive information via the platform.

2. Balancing Automation with Human Touch

It looks as if the automation part has helped simplify the task of dealing with commonly asked questions or solving problems on the platform, but the need for real human touch should at no time be undermined:

• Strive to keep automated messages as close as possible to the natural human language and away from a mechanical tone.
• Formulate the processes in a way whereby customers could seamlessly contact chatbots and get help when needed.

3. Maintaining Consistency Across Channels

Businesses take on new communication styles made up of the internet (e.g. social media platforms) and instant messaging apps. The practice of preserving the uniformity across all these platforms becomes of supreme importance:

• Have a uniformity of brand and design across platforms so that the client can have a cohesive experience no matter how they first correspond with you
• when required.

Conclusion

Through WhatsApp Business, companies have the privilege of fashioning custom-specific interactions that incite engagement and loyalty in consumers! With the help of WhatsApp Flows, automated messaging, and rich media, companies can create individual stories that not only match personal user tastes but also bring about the desired effect in the task of running a project smoothly.

When businesses are involved in the information age and forced to compete with rapidly changing customer preferences, solutions such as those provided by WhatsApp Business Marketing Service ought to be included if the businesses are to succeed at delivering their strategies to the market effectively!

A good option to consider for your business that involves WhatsApp Business is a partnership with 12Grids. By the efficient use of our WhatsApp service, your company can make personal customer journeys and, therefore, reach growth!