Companies in the UAE have been urged to leverage social media during this Ramadan to keep their operations running smoothly while connecting with customers in a secure, reliable and private way.
A global study by Kantar Group, a data analytics and consultancy firm, revealed that 66 per cent of people globally prefer to message a business than to use email.
To keep businesses on track, Kantar identified five WhatsApp strategies that can help businesses to drive sales this Ramadan.
Create a great messaging experience for customers
For many small business owners in UAE, WhatsApp is their business – their website or virtual store counter to showcase their products, answer customer queries and drive sales. So when customers come, businesses need to be ready.
During Ramadan, that might be as simple as updating business hours on WhatsApp Business to let customers know that your products and services are available during the holy month.
Makes people feel more connected to a business/brand
Personalise messages to create connections and enhance the relevancy of messages. Businesses should guide users through the journey using buttons (quick replies, list, call to action) and product messages with in-thread cart and product selection. Kantar said there are several things that businesses can do to build interactive experiences that increase stickiness and quality.
For companies offering deals and promotions during Ramadan, it is best to highlight the products in a catalogue so that customers can easily identify what they might want to buy.
Attract new customers this Ramadan
The lifeblood of any small business is finding more customers. So once a business builds a valuable experience for customers, it is key to drive more people to the WhatsApp channel.
To begin with, businesses should add QR codes on their storefront, website, product packaging, or marketing materials to allow customers easily to connect via WhatsApp. To find the QR code, go to Business Tools and Short Link.
Businesses can also share their QR code with others easily on WhatsApp.
Drive traffic from social media
A lot of small and medium businesses are already present on Instagram and Facebook. From Business Tools, businesses can add a WhatsApp button to their Facebook or Instagram accounts so that when customers click the icon, it will directly open a chat on WhatsApp Business app.
That way, customers browsing these platforms can easily start a conversation with representatives on WhatsApp to ask questions or place orders.
To go a step further and find brand new customers, businesses can create Facebook or Instagram ads that click to open a chat on WhatsApp.
These ads are an incredibly effective and powerful way to attract new customers and get them to start messaging your business.
Stay organised
Ramadan can be an extremely busy month for businesses – especially with so much commerce condensed into a few hours of the day. With a potential influx of chats from new customers, companies need to keep businesses and chats organised.
One trick is leveraging catalogue collections to the group and organising products into specific categories so that it is easy for customers to browse a business’ offerings.
You can feel the blessings everywhere you look... We are Ramadan-ready at Carrefour! How about you? #ChampionsOfRamadan #MoreForYou #GreatMoments @MajidAlFuttaim pic.twitter.com/xzJGzvy54F
— @CarrefourUAE (@CarrefourUAE) March 21, 2023
As the company’s customer base and chat volume grow, businesses can even graduate from the WhatsApp Business app to the more powerful WhatsApp Business Platform where they can engage with customers at scale.
From car dealerships to retailers, several companies are offering promotions and discounts during the holy month to support consumers.
News Source: Gulf Business
