Everything You Need To Know About WhatsApp Broadcast Marketing For eCommerce Businesses

WhatsApp is the most popular mobile messaging application across the globe. Today, close to a 100 billion messages are sent on WhatsApp everyday! With over 2 billion active monthly users, it is also one of the very few mobile apps that has been downloaded over 5 billion times on both Android and iOS devices.

Think about the number of times that you open the app in a day. And the number of messages you send and receive on this app alone on a daily basis.

This Facebook-owned tech giant boasts an open rate of a whopping 99% with over 40% response rate!

Now when an average Android user spends about 38 minutes everyday on this app, what do you expect?

‍
WhatsApp has now transitioned from just a messaging app to stay in constant touch with friends and family to also making room for businesses to communicate with their customers as well. The platform is known for being spam-free, which means your customers are more likely to see your messages and respond to them as well.

“Businesses want tools to quickly and effectively respond to messages.”, says Will Cathcart, Head of Whatsapp. They have now expanded to also include Businesses in their user base with their dedicated app, WhatsApp Business.

This is the very reason it makes for one of the most promising channels to actually get your message across to a wide base of subscribers and customers as an eCommerce business. And with features like WhatsApp broadcast, this is a marketing channel your business should definitely not be missing out on.

But sending broadcast messages on WhatsApp has its own nuances and in this post, we’re going to explain it all.

What is WhatsApp Broadcast?

A broadcast refers to sending a single message to many users at the same time.

When you send a broadcast message on WhatsApp, it does the same and no recipient will be able to see the other recipients of the broadcast either. These broadcast messages can be sent out from both the regular WhatsApp as well as WhatsApp Business apps.

You can create multiple broadcast lists and each of these lists can be organized and labelled as per your choice.

Recipients will receive these messages like any normal WhatsApp message. When they reply, replies will be seen in your personal chat tabs with that particular recipient and not in that broadcast tab. This means their replies will not be sent to other recipients in the broadcast list.

Why do you Need WhatsApp Broadcasts?

As an eCommerce business, you’re continually adding new products, new collections, new deals and discounts and even planning some for the time ahead. All this effort is pointless if your customers don’t know about them.

With WhatsApp broadcast you can get your message across to everyone with a single tap. This feature makes sending bulk messages to a large contact list so much easier and efficient. You can send anything from promotional messages to promote sales, discounts or even messages like the traditional newsletters.

Now you must be already using channels like email and web push to do this, but here are some statistics on why you should be using WhatsApp too:

- As per the latest WhatsApp statistics, more than 5 million businesses are actively connecting with customers on the chat app
- 80% of businesses hold the opinion that WhatsApp has helped their business grow
- WhatsApp is more than just a chat app; it is now a ‘life app’, which makes it frequently ‘checked’ and your messages stand a higher chance of being read
- WhatsApp has an open rate of almost 99%, owing to its instantaneous nature and frequent use
- The channel also has shown 40% or more response rate on campaigns owing to its intuitive chat interface and natural usage among users
- WhatsApp generates three times more traffic than SMS marketing for eCommerce businesses
- WhatsApp delivers open rates as high as 99% compared to average open rate of 21.33% of emails

Different use cases of WhatsApp Broadcast for eCommerce Businesses

A 2018 survey conducted by NDTV shows that close to 84 percent of Small and Medium Businesses consider WhatsApp as an integral tool to help communicate with customers.

While WhatsApp is slowly growing to help businesses provide efficient customer support services, it is also a great medium to simply keep them updated about product releases, updates, offers and any other relevant news.

However, before you bombard your customers with these promotional messages, make sure to first seek their permission for the same, as a best practice. Also remember, shorter messages tend to have a higher readability than longer ones which almost always get skimmed over and avoid sending an excessive number of messages.

Here’s a list of types of WhatsApp broadcast messages your eCommerce business can send out:

1. New Product/ Collection Announcements

Announce new products easily through broadcast messages. No online shoppers spend time on a storefront browsing through their entire range; so make it easier for them to discover what’s new!

<include promotion banner image>
We just launched our limited edition festive incense sticks
Enjoy upto 30% off on all products in this range! Use code INS30 at the time of checkout!
Shop now
<link>

2. Promote New Discounts And Deals

Stay in constant touch with your customers by informing them about all the offers you run at your store. Use WhatsApp marketing to entice your customers with new discounts and deals offered by your ecommerce store.

Make sure to include a clear Call To Action (CTA) while sending out these kinds of broadcast messages.

<include promotion banner image>
Hey,
We’re giving a flat 40% discount on all our foot salts!
Use code 40SALT at the time of checkout. Offer valid only for 7 days!
Click here to buy
<order now cta>

3. Notify About Upcoming Sales

Running sales is one thing, keeping your customers excited about the sales is another. It is always a good idea to inform your customers about any new sale a while before the sale is actually live.

This helps grab your customer’s attention and also slowly persuade them into buying from you. Again, include a clear CTA here as well.

<include promotion banner image>
Wohoooo! Our biggest End of Year Sale is on its way.
Enjoy upto 80% off on all our collections! Sales start from November 15 2021! Are you excited? We sure are!
Start wishlisting today!
<link>

4. Inform About Policy Changes

Any changes in your store’s general terms and conditions, shipping, return and refund policies, to name a few, should be promptly informed to your customers. As buyers they need to know about the alterations and additions made.

SInce the content of this message will obviously be the same for all customers whatsoever, you can easily send it out via WhatsApp broadcasts!

Hey,
Owing to the changes in our shipment partners, we have made some changes to our return and exchange policies. Don’t worry, we’re still on your side, but just want you to know about them
<link>
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us!

5. Contest Announcements

To improve customer engagement, you can run contests like giveaways in your stores. Send out a quick WhatsApp broadcast message to inform your customers about these fun contests you have planned for them.

Hey,
Stand a chance to win our limited edition FRIENDS Tshirts!
We’re giving away 2 F.R.I.E.N.D.S oversized tees. One for you and one for your friend. All you have to do is -
Follow us on Instagram @ <link>
Comment on our most recent Instagram post about your funniest memory with your friend and tag them as well!
And that’s it!
Hurry! Entries accepted till Sunday!

6. Collect Feedback

As an eCommerce store owner you need to necessarily collect social proof to build your brand credibility. At the same time, you also need to constantly keep improving your product and/or service to offer the absolute best to your customers. The best way to do this is to obviously ask your customers for feedback.

Hey,
As our valued customer, your feedback is of most importance to us. Please rate your experience shopping with us on a scale of 1 (extremely poor) to 5 (exceptional):
[insert options]

7. Share Your Milestones

Did your brand get featured in a magazine or endorsed by a popular celebrity? Share the news with your subscribers on WhatsApp with broadcast messages. It’s a great way to show them how good your brand is, and at the same time, involve them in your journey.

Hey,
Our brand, XYZ, just got featured in the ABC magazine with a whole column on its features. We’re so happy to see it become the most voted for product this year. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
You can read the complete article here: <link>‍

WhatsApp Broadcast using WhatsApp Business App

Yes, you can send broadcasts through the business app of WhatsApp. But it comes with its own limitations -

Recipient has to have your number saved - Only contacts who have added you to their contacts will be able to receive the broadcast message.

Member list limit - WhatsApp broadcasts lists can only have a maximum of 256 members. Any more than that, you will have to create multiple lists and send out messages.

No automation whatsoever - With zero API or any integration support, businesses can’t automate sending out messages.

So what is that you can do to make the most of WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp broadcasts?

Sending WhatsApp Broadcast Messages Using QuickReply.ai

Sending WhatsApp broadcast messages can get complicated if you don’t have a proper tool for managing it all.

With QuickReply.ai, you can make sending broadcast messages on WhatsApp a breeze with features like team inbox, AI chatbots, advanced analytics and more. It uses the official business API and offers smart automations and chatbots for different eCommerce-specific purposes.  

- Quit worrying about your phone number being tagged as spam
- A great solution for automation.
- Easily build auto-reply chatbots and more
- You can have multiple admins for your WhatsApp Business account
- Easily integrate APIs with external systems to send out transactional updates
- Personalize your messages at scale

- Segment and conquer by creating separate broadcast lists of customers  

Stop Waiting, Start WhatsApp Broadcasting!

The world is turning to conversational marketing to sell more. This is where WhatsApp stands out as your best bet! And like other marketing channels, you can leverage it to broadcast announcements too.

Get started with QuickReply.ai and we’ll show you how you can make the most of this chat app.

Want to see how QuickReply.ai works for Shopify WhatsApp marketing and WhatsApp broadcast marketing?

FAQ-

Q1. How to send broadcast messages in the WhatsApp business app?

Ans: To send a broadcast message using the business app, follow these steps -> Open WhatsApp Business app. Then, Tap New Broadcast under More options. You can either look for or pick the contacts you want to add. Click the checkbox.

‍Q2. How can I tell if my broadcast message has been read?

Ans: If your sent message has two blue ticks next to it, the receiver has read it. When everyone has read your message in a group chat or broadcast message, the ticks will become blue.

‍Q3. What style of writing is utilized for broadcasting?

Ans: When composing broadcast news copy, the "active" voice must be used. A passive sentence has the main subject either doing nothing or having something done to them, whereas an active sentence has the subject doing the action.

Book a demo today.