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WhatsApp is the communication channel par excellence for users, and it is increasingly being used as a means of contact between customers and companies. How to use WhatsApp for customer support effectively?
When the name of a technology becomes a verb, we know that we are dealing with much more than a tool: we are facing a cultural change. Years ago “WhatsApp” (or”Wasapear”, as accepted by Castilian academics) is the form of messaging most used by cell phone users (and we could argue that it is the most commonly used form of communication, perhaps only behind the spoken word). It is logical that companies have incorporated WhatsApp as one of the ways to contact their customers, as was the case with social networks.
In fact, because of this growing use of WhatsApp in the business world, the platform launched WhatsApp Business, with specific functionalities for companies. Pero Are all companies ready to include WhatsApp among their communication channels? How to implement it effectively to generate a good relationship with customers? We tell you all the secrets so that you “wasape” successfully with your customers and don't leave them “in sight”.
Benefits of using WhatsApp for customer support
Everyone uses it: In the Western world, everyone (except for very analogical spirits) uses WhatsApp. Enabling this route will connect you with a wide range of customers who use WhatsApp as their main means of communication, so they are already very familiar with its use and feel comfortable using this medium.
It allows closeness: As the most used tool for chatting with friends and family, WhatsApp enables a more trusting relationship with customers. The level of proximity is greater than in other media such as email, telephone calls or even social networks, which are seen as more “corporate”. However, even if it is a more “relaxed” means of interaction, it is important to maintain professional communication and not fall into excessive colloquialism.
Control is held by the customer: The majority of The Millennials they prefer WhatsApp contact to telephone support. Why? Because they can have much more control over response times than in 100% synchronous communication. But at the same time, it's not as asynchronous a medium as email. Communication can be immediate, but timing is always on the customer's side.
It allows you to better track the process: It is very difficult for the user to receive a WhatsApp message and not see it. Even when you don't read its content, you know that you've received a message. The messages arrive directly to the user's cell phone, which gives us a much higher opening rate. In addition, even when we don't receive a response, we can know if the person received a message and didn't open it, if they read it but left us the visa, or if they haven't been connected. This allows us to do future actions with much more information.
It can be used as a marketing tool: Because of this ability to arrive, WhatsApp is a very good tool for Outbound Marketing campaigns. We can send images, audios, videos and texts very easily, with a high probability that the customer will receive and read it. However, extreme care must be taken not to be invasive and only send messages to customers who may really be interested. WhatsApp has strict rules against spammers and can block the number if a mass mailing is detected.
It's a good Lead Nurturing channel: As a marketing tool, it is feasible to use WhatsApp to communicate with potential customers with whom we already have contact. Depending on the stage of the sales funnel in which the lead is, we can nourish them by sending them information of interest or personalized proposals that lead them to the purchase or to the re-purchase.
Other uses: Due to its immediate nature and high opening rate, Whatsapp is an ideal channel for sending notifications at different stages of the buying and marketing cycle. For example, you can notify an upcoming payment deadline, confirm an enrollment in a course or a purchase, in a non-invasive way.
Tips for a good use of WhatsApp in your Contact Center
1. Define audiences and objectives: Yes, almost everyone uses WhatsApp, but will all my customers want me to communicate with them this way? It will depend on the type of company and the communication objectives. Before implementing this new route, you have to check that your customers will use it.
2. Customize the account: It's essential that users can recognize your company on their phones. As in other social networks, you must place a logo as a profile image, enter the company name, and if possible add an email or URL. Take advantage of “status” to provide useful information: instead of”Hey! I'm using WhatsApp” which comes by default, we recommend something similar to “We are the support line. We're here to help”. It can also be the opening hours if they are limited.
3. Align communication: Agents pass, companies stay. It is very important to align the communication of all agents in terms of tone, style and content; especially in a medium that enables informality in expressions. Although it is usually an advantage to provide care with a more personal and decontracted tone, it is important to set certain guidelines and ensure that in each interaction the values of the company are transmitted. To mark professionalism, you have to take care of your spelling and drafting. Having pre-written response models will help you ensure good quality messages.
4. Tell your customers that you're on WhatsApp: If no one knows that they can contact you on WhatsApp, all planning is a waste of time. Add your contact number to your website, social networks, email signature, the footer of your newsletters and other means of communication that you use. On your mobile website, you can make the contact clickable so that the number is automatically saved. You can also specifically communicate that you are now available on WhatsApp, sending an email with this news or spreading it on the networks.
5. Respond quickly: We already mentioned that customers like to be in charge of communicating via WhatsApp. That is, to respond to us when they want to, but not to wait for our answers. To be successful on WhatsApp, it's important that answers are immediate. It is not recommended to wait more than an hour to answer an incoming message; and when you reply, be careful to continue the conversation smoothly. For that, you must have the necessary equipment to meet that demand, and seek maximum speed. For this, it also helps a lot to have pre-defined message templates.
6. Establish business hours: One of the challenges of enabling WhatsApp is the “risk of always available”. If we don't have a 24-hour service capacity for a channel that users can use around the clock, it's important to explain the hours of operation so as not to leave customers “hanging”.
7. Use good support technology: A very small company can manage WhatsApp using just a mobile phone or WhatsApp Web. Companies that receive a lot of daily interactions should choose to specialized software for distributing queries, assign conversations and collaborate between agents. Even more so if you have several contact numbers depending on the company's department.
8. Apply a distribution strategy: Use the full potential of your management tool through an intelligent distribution of interactions, according to the skills of the agents or the characteristics of the customers. If your priority is the quality of support, for example, you can define that messages be distributed first to the agents with the most knowledge about a certain topic. If immediate care is the priority, the best distribution criterion will be availability.
9. Integrate WhatsApp with all your service channels: For the customer experience to be optimal, it is essential to integrate WhatsApp service with the company's other contact channels. Integrate WhatsApp to a omnichannel management system allows you to centralize all customer data, better track inquiries through different channels and ensure a smooth experience for the customer every time they contact your company, by any means.
10. Consider including a ChatBot for Whatsapp: Artificial Intelligence commands the trends in omnichannel care, and it's a good idea to bet on this tool if you need unlimited business hours or if the volume of inquiries is too large for the number of agents available. Automating some responses using a ChatBot will free your agents to answer questions that do or do require human interaction. Happy customers, streamlined operations.
Would you like to learn more about how to provide excellent omnichannel care? We tell you all the secrets in this material!
