Markets are noisy and busy. Companies are clamouring for customer attention and their share of wallet and engagement. It has become increasingly important for organisations to make connections with their customers, to create personal environments from which they can interact with brands and build relationships. The challenge is finding the right channels and ensuring that those channels are validated, secure and relevant.
WhatsApp provides the ability to infuse brand personality into B2C communication, enabling businesses to engage with their customers on a more personal level. This channel has more potential than email or SMS to increase trust and brand loyalty because it’s accessible, popular and relevant to the South African consumer.
WhatsApp has become the most popular mobile messenger app in the world with more than two billion monthly active users in more than 180 countries. South Africans make up around 38 million of those two billion users which makes the platform one of the most accessible and ubiquitous in the country. According to Digital 2020: South Africa, a report developed by HootSuite, 62% of the South African population is on the internet, 94% of those are engaged on social media, and most of them use WhatsApp.
If you compare these numbers to email, it rapidly shows how relevant WhatsApp has become a method of communication for the business. Many people in South Africa don’t have access to or are not active on, email, which makes WhatsApp a far more accessible and relevant choice.
What do customers want?
The 2019 South African Digital Customer Experience Report analysed South African consumer behaviour to find out what people want when it comes to service, experiences and brands. The upshot was that they wanted seamless self-service channels, better information, and someone to help them when they got stuck. Customers want on-demand support that’s relevant to their needs and don’t expect them to wait for hours, listen to bad music or get transferred around the call centre.
Incorporating WhatsApp into the business via the contact centre is the perfect way to do this.
