The Benefits of WhatsApp Business for the Kenyan Market
“A WhatsApp account can only be used with one number on one device. So, if you have a customer care team of 10 people – are they going to pass the phone around.? What happens is the customer sees just one WhatsApp number but on the other side it could be 10 people responding to queries and talking to hundreds of other customers.”–Trevor Kimenye.
WhatsApp for business is extensively used. Premium brands encourage their sales managers to use the application to contact potential customers and offer exclusive, personalized services. WhatsApp business has been implemented in several e-commerce startups as well as traditional retailers in local markets. Examples Include; ShillaClaud Shoes which operates in the fashion retail industry, and Partspoa.co.ke which operates selling car accessories.
Why is this happening? Good question. Here’s why;
- It’s fast. All communication begins with a mobile phone. It’s unlikely that you would prefer a computer’s screen for this.
- It’s simple. Quite simple even for unsophisticated users. You will not need any additional knowledge or experience.
- Everyone reads text messages. In fact, about 98% of messages will be read with a notification, while mail is checked regularly by only 22% of users, and Facebook publications are only 7%.
- Messages are always personalized. You do not need long introductions or signatures at the end of the letter.
Where WhatsApp Business comes in.
“Customers today don’t want to call or email a business – they want to send a message. And since customers are on WhatsApp, businesses need to be too.” ~ Mitu Singh,
Product Manager for WhatsApp Business.
So, what exactly is WhatsApp Business intended for?
- Personal interaction with the customer.
- Building a common communicative space.
- Organization of purchases.
- Internal Communications.
- Personal interaction with the customer;
Personal interaction with the customer is the most common way of using WhatsApp, regardless of the size of the company. WhatsApp business allows direct contact with the customer, answering questions and offering support. Why is customized interaction good? This is due to one reason which is” Trust”. In the Kenyan market especially, where trust in the online world isn’t given but earned, close interaction helps in establishing a bond with consumers allowing customers to become more confident with brands, increasing their online purchasing habits. WhatsApp business wins on this, due to the fact of its customized nature.
- Building a Common Communicative Space;
We looked at personal messages in the previous section however, those are just half the benefits that WhatsApp presents for businesses. Most users belong to certain communication groups from classmates and co-workers to interest groups as well as fan clubs.
Businesses are also able to use WhatsApp to create their own groups. Let’s use an example, a local sport gym may not be an active user of Instagram or Facebook, but all of its customers may actively communicate in a group created in WhatsApp, where they share photos and video training files, new instructions and information about new activities.
- Organization of Purchases.
WhatsApp closely interacts with its most loyal partner Instagram. Let’s put it into context. Within the new trend of online shopping, Instagram works as a showcase and WhatsApp as the seller. For small companies that do not have websites, their only way to sell products is to sell them with the WhatsApp service.
Here’s how it works. Buyers and sellers organize payments and delivery through messages. Customers are able to pay through their mobile banking applications. An electronic confirmation is then sent via WhatsApp to a direct seller. For the Kenyan market (M-PESA) being the preferred mean of payment.
There is no need to install any additional applications – you just put your mobile phone number on your personal profile and the client can contact you directly. As a transaction tool, WhatsApp has replaced commercial platforms such as Shopify, etc.
- Internal Communications;
Sustaining all employees on the same web resource requires a lot of effort. When mailboxes are full of unread messages and your only shortcut being “Urgently” the best alternative to eliminate such problems is nothing quicker and more efficient than using WhatsApp. A majority of employees have switched to the service WhatsApp as the main means of communication with their employees. What this means is WhatsApp has proven a much quicker mean as well as efficient way of sending urgent information.
This is relevant not only for big companies and start-ups. Small businesses and private entrepreneurs are using their best efforts to solve any problems with the help of WhatsApp.
Interested in a WhatsApp Business Live Tutorial? click the link below
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/3x2aMnAt1xM
THE APP & YOUR BUSINESS (Summarized)
Customer Service
Connect with your customers on their trusty smartphones, creating instant and personalized experiences. Solve your customers’ problems instantly, talk them through setting up your product, etc. with the voice or video call features.
Know Your Customer
The insight enabled App collects data enabling you to be 100% sure that your customers have read your communication or not, whether they engage with you or not.
Desktop Accessible
To make it easier for you to communicate with your audiences, you can sync your WhatsApp Business to your desktop via WhatsApp web.
“CONNECT YOUR BUSINESS WORLD TO YOUR CUSTOMERS ENVIRONMENT”
How Much does it cost to set up WhatsApp Business?
Costs nothing to register? Are you serious? Yup that’s WhatsApp Business at a glance
WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (API) can be used to set up automated replies to customer queries. You will need to register with WhatsApp as a Business to be able to get more details. They’ve structured their pricing in such a way that it will cost money only when a business responds to client’s messages beyond 24 hours. All messages that were responded to, within 24 hours period are free. Beyond that, they would cost anywhere between 5 cents to 90 cents for sending response messages.
So, there you have it WhatsApp Business is definitely something to look forward to especially within the Kenyan Market. We do hope the information is useful and we plan on sharing more industry trends with you in our upcoming Blogs.
That’s us for now. See you all next week!
