If you want to rapidly grow your business then a WhatsApp e-commerce store can be the answer that you are looking for! How? Read this article for full details👇

3 seconds after placing the order I got a WhatsApp message.

This was a Rs. 499 order from Shakti bookstore in Sambalpur but with this simple WhatsApp message, they are creating a Flipkart-like experience.

Would you like to do this for your customers?

2 billion users use WhatsApp. And every WhatsApp message gets seen and replied to within minutes. That’s better engagement than any other messaging platform. And here’s how you can hack this engagement and use it to grow rapidly your business.

If you still have any doubts here are three simple reasons why you should create a WhatsApp e-commerce store

People don’t give a shit about the SMS alerts until the alert is about their salary being credited or if they received OTPs!
All that engagement of WhatsApp can actually turn into business growth for you.
It gives you a chance to deliver better overall customer service.
Which in turn gives you a competitive edge over your competitors.

But before we get into how to set up WhatsApp e-commerce and how to unlock the several growth channels available through WhatsApp e-commerce, let’s kill the villain first.

Table of Contents

Why you shouldn’t choose SMS for e-commerce alerts

For your customers, SMS = SPAM: People lost trust in SMS marketing because of spam and fraudulent messages.
SMS is boring: Short SMSs without any clear or appealing images fail to catch consumers’ attention.
Limited size and info: You can’t deliver the complete message and 160 characters.
Less used: most people have DND turned on which means if you send Bulk SMS to 200 people it will actually get delivered to only about 10-20 people.

Other key benefits of WhatsApp as a marketing platform

Apart from the insane engagement rate, some key features make WhatsApp the go-to choice if you’re really serious about engaging your prospects and customers and growing your business

Get replies with buttoned messages
Give people an option to unsubscribe and remove disinterested people from your messaging list
Send engaging messages with images and multimedia
With the new official WhatsApp cloud API, you can message thousands or even lakhs of users on their WhatsApp in one go

6 ways to increase sales of your eCommerce store with WhatsApp

1. By using WhatsApp Business APP for business communication

if you’re using personal WhatsApp for business communication stop right away they are so many business-friendly features in WhatsApp business, once you know them you will curse yourself for using WhatsApp messenger instead of the WhatsApp business app for business communication.

It has features like automatic replies to most common FAQs of customers and sending greeting messages.
You can have your A Business profile
There are many business tools like catalogs, customized greeting messages, away messages, etc.
You can also link your Facebook and Instagram with your business.
You can create labels and put different contacts under different labels to manage your entire business network on WhatsApp
Another important thing is that it is absolutely free.

2. By using the official WhatsApp Business API for mass marketing

Would it help your business grow if you could message all your past buyers on WhatsApp and inform them about new office that you have?

WhatsApp or WhatsApp business does not allow bulk messaging.

And if you try it with third-party apps your number gets banned from WhatsApp. Because the WhatsApp app is meant for personal one-to-one communication

But with WhatsApp’s official business API you can do this in literally 10 minutes!

Here are the key features of WhatsApp’s official business API that can help you quickly engage new prospects in large numbers and convert them into paying customers.

Bulk WhatsApp marketing broadcast messages to a practically unlimited number of people.
Instantly engage with all incoming leads on WhatsApp using a WhatsApp chatbot.
Send button messages, get them to make choices, and redirect them to other platforms and pages based on their choices. Everything is performed in complete automation.

How does WhatsApp’s official API work

This is a paid service provided by WhatsApp for medium and large businesses. The WhatsApp Business API unlocks a lot of marketing tools on the platform to grow your eCommerce store.

APIs allow two software programs to integrate and work together.

The WhatsApp API has no limits on the number of users or the volume of messages.

You can send bulk WhatsApp messages to your prospect regarding the offers without even being concerned about the number-banning issue.

It can also be easily integrated into your eCommerce website to track every website activity that your prospect performs.

Also read: Everything you need to know about WhatsApp Cloud API

3. Integrate the WhatsApp chat button on your eCommerce website

Let’s say your prospect wants to buy something but before that, he has a doubt.

Having the WhatsApp chat button is an ideal option for such a situation.

Because now the prospect can just click a button to contact you, get his query resolved, and place the order!

Heck with TeleCRM WhatsApp API integration, you can take it a step further and automate the entire interaction.

The perfect WhatsApp support automation

By clicking on the chat button, your customer will be taken to a chat room
Where your automated chatbot will answer general FAQs
And transfer chats to an agent when necessary.

How to add an integrated WhatsApp chat button?

It is very simple. You can add the WhatsApp chat button by using the WhatsApp API link.

We are currently building a simplified, ready-to-go solution for this if you’re interested, just mention it in the comments below and we will notify you once it’s ready!

4. Providing 24/7 customer service through WhatsApp chatbots

No one likes typing long emails explaining their issues and most importantly waiting for hours to hear back.

As a result, people remain unsatisfied with the customer service of most companies.

60% of users hesitate to make an online purchase because they were concerned about customer service.

Imagine!

It would be wonderful if you could provide customer service on a platform where your customers get support 24 hours a day.

Today, AI chatbots have become one of the most revolutionary technological advancements. Especially in the realm of business.

Many businesses use WhatsApp chatbots to provide 24/7 customer service. It has been proven that customers prefer to chat rather than call support.

A chatbot can handle most issues, but if the customer needs extra support, it can transfer the chat to a customer service representative.

Therefore, you should use WhatsApp chatbots to provide your customers with efficient customer service anytime they need it.

TeleCRM a business solution provider helps you in integrating WhatsApp Business API to use WhatsApp AI chatbots

To know more: Provide customer support 24×7 with the smart chatbot

5. Cart recovery via WhatsApp

Why do you need to use WhatsApp API? – If you want to automate your business and focus on growing sales, WhatsApp API is the right solution.

Let’s see how!

Suppose, visitors to your eCommerce website add products to their cart but never check out.

You can send them an SMS alert but it will either get filtered by Truecaller or it’ll be ignored by the customer so that’s practically useless.

In this situation, WhatsApp cart recovery comes to the rescue. The interactive WhatsApp button messages will allow customers to easily reply or recover their cart with a single click.

Here are a few steps to help you recover your cart using WhatsApp API

Sending a gentle cart abandoned reminder (You can automate this with WhatsApp Business API)
Provide them with some discounts to entice them to buy your product.
Make the customer feel like they’re missing on a very good deal unless they recover the card right now.

This is how WhatsApp API can help you in recovering lost sales and convert visitors to customers.

Now you are thinking how will you do that? Right?

As you know WhatsApp Business API is a product of WhatsApp that needs a Business Solution Provider App like TeleCRM. They provide an interface by which you can use WhatsApp API. This feature of WhatsApp can be enabled by integrating the WhatsApp Business API into your eCommerce platforms.

6. Provide order updates and tracking via WhatsApp

Earlier, sending regular order updates and order tracking was very difficult to send via emails and SMS. And not very fruitful.

But with WhatsApp API, it has been really easy to provide such information to the customer.

Imagine that you have ordered a pair of shoes to wear on a special occasion, and you are anxious about when they will be coming or what is the status.

Basically, You want to know your order update!

Wouldn’t it be super helpful if you receive regular WhatsApp updates about your order, and delivery status?

You can prepare a backup in case delivery is delayed.

Providing this information to the customers leads to increased customer satisfaction, repeat purchases, and hire referrals.

For a business using WhatsApp Business API for eCommerce, providing this information does not seem like a big deal, but for customers, it creates a huge impact and causes brand loyalty.

How can you manage a customer database with WhatsApp API of existing users?

The biggest problem with WhatsApp bulk marketing is –

Most business owners don’t have the data of all their customers in one place.
And if they do then it’s not properly categorized.

This means you cannot run a targeted marketing campaign, especially on WhatsApp as there is no room for spamming people.

What if you can simply dump all your data, quickly run through it and categorize it once, and then have software manage and categorize the data according to different parameters and criteria like

Old customers
New customers
Completed orders
Pending orders
Pending payments, etc.

A better understanding of this data will assist businesses in managing their sales more efficiently.

For example, in the old customer section, you can find a list of all the previous customers you can contact again for feedback or let them know about new products and offers.

By doing this, you can increase repeat orders, and grow your revenue.

Similarly, you can use this information to track pending orders and clear them as quickly as possible.

How can you utilize your WhatsApp API for this?

TeleCRM is a one-stop solution for all of your issues!

Want to know more? Check out TeleCRM WhatsApp Cloud API features

Whatsapp for eCommerce: Steps to setup your eCommerce store

Now that you know 6 ways to increase eCommerce sales through WhatsApp. Let’s look at the procedure to set up eCommerce on WhatsApp.

So let’s take a look at how to configure WhatsApp for eCommerce.

1. Steps to set up a WhatsApp business profile

As already discussed this profile is best suited for small businesses with less volume of messages and fewer users.

Firstly, download the WhatsApp business app from the Google Play Store of Android or the App Store of iOS.
Verify your business phone number through OTP.
In the settings, add the name and logo of your business.
You can then click on business tools and select a business profile, filling in all the necessary information.
Again from business tools open the catalog option to add your product and service for sale.

The stage is all set now for your eCommerce business. You can customize your profile according to your needs.

2. Setting up WhatsApp Business API

The WhatsApp Business API is best suited for mid-sized and large businesses. Due to its extra features and limitless messaging capabilities.

As opposed to WhatsApp business profiles, this is not free of charge. WhatsApp charges you per conversation.

TeleCRM helps you to integrate WhatsApp API. You need to submit your request for the same.

Create an account on your WBSP’s website.

Select WhatsApp Business API and you will be directed to the WhatsApp Business API setup page.
Fill in all the required information and submit your application to the Meta team.
You have now completed your task, so wait for Meta to approve your API request within 2-3 days.
After completing all the verifications, you are all set to go ahead.

To understand the detailed pricing, details, and integration procedure check how to send bulk WhatsApp messages

Conclusion

By converting potential customers into direct sales via WhatsApp, you can convert your unrealized loss into realized profit.

You can significantly increase your sales by integrating WhatsApp for eCommerce into your business with the help of WhatsApp API.

Now is the time to take the initiative and gain an edge over your competitors.