The WhatsApp eCommerce customer journey

Building meaningful and relevant interactions with customers is essential for modern retail and eCommerce businesses. Millennials and Gen Z grow more intolerant to bad service or emotionless communications. In fact, according to a recent survey, 67% of customers have said that they’re willing to switch brands due to a single negative customer experience. The ability to create an emotional connection with customers could cost businesses $74 billion in lost revenue.

WhatsApp Business over Infobip’s omnichannel platform will help retailers provide the kind of experiences customers value and will keep them loyal to the brand. Retailers can create friction-free solutions for every stage of the customer journey over a channel customers know and trust, available on one platform.

Improve customer experiences for:

Infobip offers an all-encompassing platform that, together with WhatsApp Business will help retailers scale their communications, reduce pain points and boost engagement.

We offer simple integration with any existing system, making it easy to add WhatsApp to your communication mix. Our platform allows retailers to maximize their usage of WhatsApp and apply any use case across the entire journey with:

Infobip has over 40 data centers worldwide and with over 2 billion active users on WhatsApp eCommerce companies get the reach and visibility they are looking for to grow their business. From pre to post purchase, retailers can add value to every interaction by crafting conversational experiences using Infobip solutions over WhatsApp.

WhatsApp offers a wide range of use cases for marketing so that eCommerce retailers can improve engagement and make the most of every interaction. From attracting new leads with unique entry points to sending promotional messages based on past behavior, WhatsApp can help you maximize your marketing investments.  

Boosting customer satisfaction will help reduce churn and improve overall loyalty to your brand. With rich media messaging options and automated conversational support, the entire customer journey can be improved so that customers are inclined to purchase from you again.

With increased satisfaction comes fewer pain points and reasons for your customers to raise complaints. WhatsApp over the Infobip platform allows you to be present with prompt responses and become faster at resolving issues. Since most WhatsApp users are on the app daily, it gives retailers the visibility they need to grow deeper connections with their customers, leading to better reviews and happier shoppers.

The Infobip platform will give you the power to post targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram that lead to WhatsApp conversations. When a potential customer opens a conversation, you can lead them through the entire customer journey in a single conversation. This convenience leads to better conversion rates and easier eCommerce shopping experiences.

Agents are often overloaded with FAQ inquiries and repetitive questions from customers. By adding a self-service or intent-based chatbot, customers can resolve issues quickly and support agents will have more time to deal with complex issues instead of answering endless FAQs.

We want to see your business succeed. That’s why we offer CX Consulting that will guide you in building the best communication strategy using WhatsApp for the entire customer journey. CX Consulting support will help you determine which use cases and solutions are right for your business as well as clearly define goals and measurable metrics to create a plan that will boost engagement.

Post ads on social media that click to a WhatsApp conversation with your business. This will give customers easy access to your customer support team or chatbot that can answer their questions.

QR codes on ads are also useful for customers as they just need to scan the code to start a conversation. This makes the discovery phase user-friendly, as customers do not need to read through long FAQ pages or search for the right support number to contact.

Give customers the option to opt-in for notifications from your business on WhatsApp. Instead of sending newsletters that get a low open rates, use a channel that customers are active on and make sure your offers and promotions get the most visibility.

Now that your potential customer has subscribed to notifications or opened a conversation with you, you have a channel where you can send relevant offers for them to consider. Send engaging promotions to drive sales and stay in their line of sight while they consider other options.

Collect data on their browsing behavior on your app or website to send relevant offers and products through WhatsApp. Start strong and create a conversational experience where customers are inclined to respond to the relevant messages you send.

Let your potential customers know about new and improved products over WhatsApp. Send messages with easy access to your web shop where they can browse your new arrivals, boosting their WhatsApp eCommerce experience.

Send back-in-stock messages to customers for items on their wish list. When the items hit your warehouse, you can let customers know instantly, allowing them to reserve or purchase items by conversing with you over WhatsApp. Use call-to-action buttons to elicit quick responses and boost engagement.

Cart abandonment is a pet-peeve of all eCommerce retailers. Reduce the chances of customers not completing a purchase by sending messages over WhatsApp. Remind your customers of what’s in their cart and make it easy for them to complete the purchase within the chat app. You can even send discount codes or promotional offers for those items to entice them into making the purchase faster.

Make it easier than ever to browse your collection of products without ever having to leave the WhatsApp conversation. Thanks to list messages, retailers can offer a better conversational experience by allowing customers to shop in WhatsApp.

They can even choose from a list of past orders and repeat their purchases. This WhatsApp solution is great for retailers who sell products that need to be repurchased regularly such as printer toners, vitamins or cosmetics. By offering a seamless conversational experience, customers are more likely to shop with your brand.

To add more value to the conversation, customers can simply click on an item from the list to get more details on the product. Drive conversational commerce by having all these features available in the app. Customers save time and pain points are reduced, as there is no need to switch devices, apps or sites.

Allow customers to confirm orders with one tap. With call-to-action buttons, customers can complete their purchase while they converse with you. In one conversation they can view the product, add it to their cart and buy the product without ever leaving the conversation.

Give customers access to their loyalty status and the ability to use their loyalty points during a purchase on WhatsApp. With your automated chatbot, customers can simply ask for the status of their points and you can offer them the option to use those points during the checkout process.

You can even send personalized and automated messages for discounts and promotions based on their loyalty status. Keep your customers feeling valued and make your loyalty program stand out from the rest.

Having a personal shopper is a perk not everyone experiences. But, with WhatsApp, you can make it easier than ever to get access to a personal shopper. Allow customers to book appointments with personal shoppers over WhatsApp with list messages. Customers can book the time that works for them without having to make a phone call; ideal for bridal salons.

They can even converse with their shopping assistant over WhatsApp. Using rich media, the personal shopper can send images and videos of new collections or options that might suit the customer. It’s a great way to build a personal relationship through conversational experiences.

Easily send receipts, warranties and payment confirmations over WhatsApp. Use the channel that customers are familiar with and trust to make sure their documents are safely sent and seen. It makes for a user-friendly experience, eliminating the need to dig through mountains of emails in order to find receipts.

Adding a virtual assistant to your customer support team not only lowers costs but speeds up the resolution time for queries and makes the overall experience smoother for customers.

An automated chatbot on WhatsApp can be programmed to answer FAQs, lead customers through the purchasing process or send relevant videos or documents at the request of the customer. This opens support agents up for more complex inquiries.

Adjustments can be made to the chatbot at any stage allowing for retailers to offer relevant answers to their customers based on their needs.

Continue the conversation once the order has been placed. 93% of customers say that they want to receive proactive updates from retailers about their shipments. Keep your customers happy by keeping them in the loop over the channel they love. Proactively send delivery updates via WhatsApp and let them know about status updates before they reach out to you.

Mistakes happen. Sometimes the wrong order is sent to a customer, and it can be a massive pain point that may lead them to not returning. You can avoid this by utilizing WhatsApp to resolve issues. Your customer can send you an image of the item they received and ask for instructions on what to do next to quickly resolve this issue, resulting in a positive customer experience.

Returns may be disappointing, but it can be an opportunity for eCommerce retailers to further enhance the customer experience. Send your customers shipping labels over WhatsApp to make for a smooth return experience. Follow up with updates to make sure they know their return has been received and the reimbursement has been paid out.

Keep the conversation open by re-engaging customers and sending recommendations on products they might like over WhatsApp. It’s a great way to upsell and ensure customers see your products without having to open your web shop or app.

Collecting customer feedback can go a long way in deciding how eCommerce retailers approach their processes and tackle pain points. Make this touchpoint as simple as possible for customers to ensure you get the highest reply rate. Use call-to-action buttons or list messages to create a seamless feedback experience. Customers can rate their experience by choosing a ranking right in the chat – with no need to switch apps.