Whats App Marketing Mistakes to Avoid When Switching from SMS
- chatixapp01
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 10
Slowly but definitely, WhatsApp is replacing SMS in India, and as a result more companies are moving from SMS campaigns to WhatsApp ones. Though both are communicating mediums, there are some crucial distinctions to consider. When you transition from SMS to WhatsApp, we compile the four most often occurring WhatsApp marketing blunders you should avoid.
India boasts the biggest WhatsApp market worldwide with 448 million monthly users. There is almost nothing that Indians don't do on WhatsApp, from grocery shopping to getting milk from the next seller to confirming their government identification.
For this reason, many companies are shifting their marketing efforts from SMS to WhatsApp. Given both are messaging platforms, it would seem logical that whatever worked for SMS would likewise work for WhatsApp. Just, that is not accurate. Running an SMS campaign on WhatsApp will not produce the same outcomes.
Understanding the variations between the channels will help you to be successful with WhatsApp marketing and help you to avoid the following quite common blunders.
First mistake in WhatsApp marketing: blasting without permission
For mass messaging, SMS in India is a quite simple channel.
Doing the same on WhatsApp, however, does not work because user behavior and expectations are different as well as the instant messaging service has privacy needs. Before it entered the corporate world, WhatsApp began as a personal conversation tool for friends and relatives.
Users of WhatsApp so see it as a personal communication tool where they neither expect nor value mass communications out of nowhere. Furthermore, WhatsApp has quite strict rules requiring businesses to initially (opt-in) request authorization before distributing advertising messages to consumers on WhatsApp. You can use apps for abandoned cart recovery & other problem solving.
Therefore, on WhatsApp, it is the default even if there was no need to find out whether consumers wanted to get an SMS promoting offer. A rather common WhatsApp marketing error is not considering the consumers' permission; it will most likely result in failed campaigns.
You will first have your number disabled should you breach WhatsApp's opt-in rules. More importantly, though, you will pass on some excellent prospects. Permission requests from users not only follow best standards but also help your marketing.
This opt-in form can help you, for WhatsApp marketing, learn more about the kind of material the consumers would most be interested in. This will guarantee not just that customers won't view your messages as spam but also improved conversions because of the capacity to provide tailored materials.
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Second mistake in WhatsApp marketing: emphasising transactional rather than conversational forms.
"We have your reservation. "Thank you for changing your details." SMS communications between businesses and consumers sometimes have a transactional, one-sided character because of their text-based character. Usually, they are supposed to just provide pertinent facts, not initiate a discussion.
Conversely, WhatsApp is a one-on- one chat tool so its main emphasis is on individuals having conversations. WhatsApp is also far more interesting than SMS with its rich media tools that let one easily transmit videos, pictures, voice messages, or files.
WhatsApp thus presents a great deal more opportunities for conversational commerce that companies should seize. On WhatsApp, especially since WhatsApp Payments in India started, going from a first consumer inquiry to a sale is a quite seamless process!
An instance of conversational commerce WhatsApp conversation brief
Businesses who solely view transactional terms but neglect to additionally use the conversational opportunities of conversational marketing on WhatsApp.
Third mistake in WhatsApp marketing: stopping at the first interaction.
Usually one-time, one-way blasts, SMS campaigns in India are not something marketers are used to thinking outside of.
Visual consumer trip
Although it's fantastic if your WhatsApp campaign can reach 1,000 people, it would be better if these users choose to buy with you following some of their follow-up questions on the campaign answered. Better still if these clients return in the future since they will be able to readily pick up the conversation left off.
Read our latest blog about Whatsapp one tick meaning
Your conversions will be better, the user experience will be better, and the customer will be more engaged the more you exploit the conversational strength of WhatsApp.
Additionally, it's a far greater return on investment since you save a lot of marketing money for re-engagement or new lead generating initiatives. All you have to do is remind a client in the same WhatsApp chat whether they wish to re-order an item or send a unique Diwali bargain on the thing they purchased prior.
Particularly when merging WhatsApp marketing with your CRM system via a conversational messaging tool, the opportunities are almost unlimited.
WhatsApp marketing: failing to differentiate between obtrusive and highly personalized
When moving from SMS to WhatsApp marketing, Indian marketers may overreach with the possibilities of hyper-personalization the channel provides.
If you run a luxury hotel brand with a highly customized butler service where customers may tailor their vacation stay to exactly fit their wants, for example, they will be quite willing to divulging personal information about their preferred cuisine or kind of activities they enjoy.
When handling extremely sensitive data, such insurance or financial information, you must strike a balance between running pertinent advertising and safeguarding consumer personal information.
Tools for starting with WhatsApp marketing
Your campaigns can be a complete success once you know the main variations between SMS and WhatsApp marketing.
Of course, another crucial factor is selecting the suitable instrument for your WhatsApp ads. Regarding WhatsApp marketing, you seek for a tool that:
grants you access to the whole suite of WhatsApp Business capabilities.
allows simple CRM, analytics, etc. marketing tech connections.
has an approved connection to the WhatsApp interface (official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider), enables for automation with thorough insights into your campaigns does not need IT resources or coding expertise to be used.
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