Driving Higher Engagement with WhatsApp
In the rapidly evolving world of digital marketing, staying ahead of the curve is crucial for any organization. Our Client, a global community of investment professionals, has taken a significant leap in this direction by adopting WhatsApp as a marketing channel, integrated with Salesforce. In this post, we delve into the details of this successful implementation.
Client Background: A Beacon for Investment Professionals
Our Client serves investment professionals globally and uses Salesforce platforms for Service, Sales and for Marketing. In 2022 JourneyBlazers helped the client move from a legacy platform into Salesforce and has been supporting their marketing operations via managed services since then. The client explains, “Our goal is to ensure that the investment industry prioritizes the interests of investors, underpinned by trust, competence, and transparency.”
JourneyBlazers formulates the Business Case: Embracing WhatsApp for Enhanced Engagement
For a very long time email had been the client’s only channel for engaging its subscribers and prospects. To increase engagement the JourneyBlazers team complied a business case to integrate WhatsApp into the client’s marketing strategy, which included WhatsApp’s impressive engagement metrics of 98% open rates and a 90 second average response time. With India and Brazil being the largest users of WhatsApp, JourneyBlazers’ recommendations included (initially) targeting a small set of the Indian subscribers to gauge the effectiveness of integrating this new channel.
“Integrating WhatsApp with Salesforce Marketing Cloud allowed our Client to achieve higher deliverability, open rates, opt-ins and overall higher engagement.” explains Sonal Babel, a Salesforce Architect at JourneyBlazers.
The Implementation Journey with JourneyBlazers
The implementation was conducted in a phased approach within a span of three months and involved several key steps. It began with an email campaign to Indian subscribers, inviting them to opt-in for WhatsApp communications. Following this, the team set up a WhatsApp Business account and integrated it with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This timeline could vary for clients based on multiple factors including approvals from Meta and registration of offshore phone numbers. “JourneyBlazers played a crucial role in this project. Their expertise in Salesforce made them invaluable, providing thought leadership and best practices throughout the implementation,” the Client adds.
Overcoming Challenges
One of the primary challenges was – account setup, approval timelines from Meta, and ensuring overall compliance with WhatsApp’s strict guidelines, particularly regarding customer opt-ins for receiving messages. The team tackled this by meticulously managing opt-in information and adhering to all regulatory requirements.
Impact and Success Metrics
The results of this initiative have been highly rewarding. “We’ve observed a 72% open rate for our WhatsApp messages, which we anticipate will lead to increased candidate registrations and a positive impact on memberships and enrollments in these regions,” the Client shares.
Metrics from an initial MVP campaign:
- Delivery Rate – 94.20%
- Open Rate – 69.44%
- Click Through Rate – 20.22%
- Opt-In Rate – 33.19%
Future Plans and Scaling Up
Encouraged by the success of the pilot, we have helped our Client expand the use of WhatsApp to reach more subscribers on a global scale. They are also exploring Omnichannel Journeys, allowing subscribers to choose their preferred communication channels such as SMS, WhatsApp, Email, and Paid Ads.
Conclusion: A Game-Changer for Marketing Strategy
The integration of WhatsApp with Salesforce has revolutionized our Client’s marketing efforts, enhancing customer engagement and setting a foundation for future growth. The strategic guidance and implementation expertise provided by JourneyBlazers were instrumental in this success.
This case study not only highlights the innovative approach of our Client, but also serves as an inspiration for other organizations looking to leverage new technologies to enhance their marketing strategies. As digital platforms continue to evolve, embracing such innovations will be key to staying relevant and achieving marketing excellence.
