A few months back I built out  WhatsApp Marketing Setup for an E-commerce client. After that many people reached out and asked how it was done or can you do it for us.

I got a chance to give a demo of it for ISKCON Pune, they also wanted to implement it. A Pizza Oven Maker inquired about it, and many more people.

If I am running campaigns in the Indian Market, I will never miss adding WhatsApp in our campaigns.

But first, let’s understand where it can implemented first of all

✅ It can used with Facebook and Instagram Ads, i.e. you're directing people to WhatsApp directly.

✅It can be a tool for customer engagement like a WhatsApp newsletter or Sharing the latest content/offers with all your contacts.

✅It’s a tool for qualifying or making a booking e.g. look at how thyrocare does it.

✅ You can use it in customer support.

According to their different use cases, I gave them different strategies, but here’s something common in my advice.

Step 1: Register for WhatsApp Business API (takes 3-4 working days)

You will need a new phone number, please note people can’t call this number nor can this number be part of any WhatsApp group as of now.

Other things you need are a verified Facebook Business Manager, Some social presence, or at least a website (if you want a green tick also)

Note: For Small Businesses or people who don't have a contact list as of now,  you can start with a free WhatsApp Business App available on your phone and use all of its core features.

Step 2:  Build your contact list i.e. a single CSV file

You directly download this from your existing CRM or platforms like WordPress/Shopify etc. But you will still need a few hours to edit it to avoid duplicate or empty entries.

Step 3: Segment your list i.e. putting them in different categories according to different tags like what product they are interested in, cart abandoned list, etc.

Step 4: Crafting good messaging templates that use storytelling, and personalization as per tags and according to the overall strategy I gave them.


Step 5: We did all native integrations or custom integrations with existing platforms that the company used. E.g In Shopify, there are native integrations for abandoned carts, order confirmations, pre-launch of sales, etc.


Pro Tip: Studying existing conversational marketing campaigns & modeling them for your use case.


Best practices: 
👉Being aware of the costs involved and managing it.
👉Always keep testing (A/B test)
👉Being open to trying a new concept that you learned by analyzing marketing campaigns.
👉Keep track of conversation rates
👉Being mindful that’s this not SMS marketing (Whatsapp is different)
👉Don’t spam your contacts

What are your thoughts on this?