If you’re wondering whether you need to integrate WhatsApp into your customer support, you’re doing rightly so. Many people believe that WhatsApp is a great way to contact a business and get information on products or services and that it creates a personal connection to businesses.
I have had an interview with Massimiliano Romiti, the online product manager of an Italian e-commerce business, Bici e Monopattini, where we talked about their experience with the benefits of WhatsApp in their customer support.
Along with his insights, I’ll share with you the main reasons why WhatsApp is a great platform for your customer service and the potential it holds for interacting with customers. We’ll look at statistics of its usage, its main advantages, and AI’s capabilities to take your communication to the next level. We’ll also discuss the most important factors to consider when you want to make sure you are providing the best customer support you can.
WhatsApp Business in Customer Support- Is There a Need?
More and more people are using WhatsApp as a means of communication both in their personal and professional lives. According to recent statistics from 2022, 2.4 billion people are using this platform. To indicate how huge this number is, we can say that 1 out of 4 people are choosing WhatsApp for their communication.
Out of this number, 68% of them think that WhatsApp is the easiest way to get in touch with a business, and 64% of users believe that it’s a good channel for creating personal connections to businesses. It’s also one of the 4 most popular platforms leveraged for exploring new products.
In my interview with Massimiliano Romiti, he expressed that about 80% of their communication in customer support happens through WhatsApp, meaning that most of their customers’ first choice for contacting them is through that compared to other platforms.
By looking at these numbers, it becomes clear that there is indeed a need for this channel in customer support and that the number of people who would use it is surprisingly high!
Benefits of WhatsApp for Customer Support
When talking with Massimiliano, I asked about the main benefits they could observe in connection with WhatsApp in their support processes. He mentioned several good points, so let me share them with you.
- He said that when customers start an interaction with them, they can save their phone numbers which acts as a direct connection to the customers.
- He also mentioned that the whole conversation history is visible for both the customers and the customer support. This is a great feature that ensures all the necessary information is in our hands when providing help.
- Massimiliano also said that customers can continue the conversation whenever they want. This is very advantageous from a communication point of view.
- Overall, he concluded that WhatsApp can be a good selling channel if we take all of the above into account.
I would also add that as WhatsApp is also used in our personal lives, it can act as a very personal and convenient channel for businesses. As more and more people are using their smartphones for their interactions, contacting support and receiving notifications on their phones when they get an answer is like a friendly conversation between the customers and the agents.
So, the business can reach out to its consumers easily and provide efficient support in a personal and professional way. What’s not to love?
AI in WhatsApp Customer Support - Chatbots
When we talk about customer service nowadays, we cannot go past mentioning AI and AI-powered chatbots.
A WhatsApp integration also allows for the opportunity to implement artificial intelligence into your customer support, which offers great potential benefits for both the customer and you. Let’s see what these are.
Massimiliano explained an outstanding quality of the AI chatbot, the ability to answer in different languages. No matter what language(s) your agents speak, or in what language your knowledge base is documented, the AI-powered chatbot can answer customer queries in the language that the customer interacts with it. Multilingual support is an impressive quality that not all support centers can provide.
Besides this, a very obvious advantage is the 24/7 support AI chatbots can provide. It can answer questions within seconds, providing accurate information instantly. But what if it doesn’t know the answer? Yes, that can also happen, however, then the conversation can be transferred to human agents who can handle such issues. Either way, the customer gets notified that their case is being taken care of, which creates a feeling of being valued and respected.
So imagine being able to ask questions on your phone, laptop, or desktop in the chat any time you want, because there is always someone dealing with the messages. An AI chatbot does just that.
Most Important Factors to Consider in Customer Support
In the interview, I asked Massimiliano what he thinks the most important features of good customer support are. I think he put it very simply and sufficiently:
- The first and most important factor is accuracy -providing the right information to the right people.
- Second is the response time. The faster we can reply to incoming messages the better. There should be a feeling that someone is there on the other side of the conversation at all times.
- To this, I would add personalization. Support that cares about its customers is always going to be perceived as the best.
Now, if we think about it, WhatsApp can provide all that in customer support, especially with. The precise answers, the instant replies, and the personalized touch as well.
Conclusion
To wrap up, we can see that WhatsApp has great potential in customer service and offers a valuable way to interact with customers throughout the support process. It is personal, effective, and happens in real time. All the things customers are looking for when reaching out to businesses.
Is it something you are also seeking? If so, be alert, because SAAS First will soon deliver a new feature where you can integrate WhatsApp into your customer service and enjoy all the benefits we talked about. Stay informed, register, and follow us on LinkedIn to find out when the new exciting feature drops.
