By Prof. Dr. Stefan Gröner
The smartphone has become our daily companion and has evolved into the number one communication medium, especially among younger target groups. Private communication is increasingly shifting away from pure social media channels like Facebook, towards group and individual chats via messenger apps such as WhatsApp, or the specialized messenger functions of Snapchat or Facebook Messenger. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg foresaw this trend back in 2014: "Messaging is one of the few things that people do more than social networking."
For this reason, the use of WhatsApp as the most significant messenger app is becoming increasingly relevant in customer communication for businesses, as it allows them to reach their target audience where they already predominantly engage in daily communication. However, the use of WhatsApp in corporate communication has only recently been established, resulting in limited experience.
Therefore, an empirical study was conducted to explore the potential of WhatsApp in customer communication, with the help of expert interviews from the communication industry (companies, agencies, and associations already using messenger services), deriving success factors for the use of the medium from it.
Main Applications: Newsletter and Customer Service
WhatsApp is primarily used in two areas of corporate communication: firstly, as an information (e.g., newsletters) and marketing tool (e.g., special offers), and secondly, in customer service.
The use of newsletters on WhatsApp currently aims mainly to direct customers to the company's website via links. There, customers can find complete information related to the teasers from the newsletter. However, sending a newsletter via WhatsApp does not necessarily lead to one-to-one communication with customers. This naturally occurs in customer service. Here, customers can easily send their inquiries to the company and engage in a dialogue for quick and informal issue resolution.
Regardless of the purposes for which WhatsApp is used in corporate communication, several key success factors for managing this medium were identified in the study:
The three key criteria for successful communication:
Measured Usage and Focus on Customer Relevance
Regarding the proactive use as a newsletter or marketing tool, it is recommended not to send more than one or two messages per day. However, this rule of thumb is not generalizable, as the content and relevance of messages vary significantly depending on the industry. For example, a media house often has more relevant news for the target audience than a pure brand company. Therefore, when sending messages actively, it is crucial to thoroughly examine the content's relevance to customers in advance and avoid pure "sales content" with a spam-like character. Although WhatsApp is currently often used solely to draw users' attention to website content, in the future, the goal should not be limited to generating click rates. Users should increasingly receive directly relevant content, such as recipe ideas, in a short message. The stronger the focus on content relevance, the lower the newsletter unsubscribe rates.
In contrast, the use of WhatsApp in customer service is reactive. Therefore, the frequency of messages depends on the number of inquiries. On average, companies currently receive about ten messages per day via WhatsApp. The company's goal here should be to be available to customers as quickly as possible for uncomplicated exchanges via WhatsApp.
Rapid Response Time and Flexible Handling of Customer Inquiries
The use of messenger apps like WhatsApp can pose significant challenges for companies. A key feature of instant messaging is the quick response to incoming messages. While newsletters are usually sent to users from Monday to Friday between 10 am and 6 pm, with a response expected only during this time, customer service via WhatsApp ideally should be available 24 hours a day.
Similar to private WhatsApp usage, customers expect an immediate response to a message. Customers want to initiate a dialogue. Therefore, users often respond to newsletters even though they are not intended to elicit a response. Thus, this form of communication also requires manpower and a system in the background to handle potential customer inquiries, even if they do not directly concern the newsletter content. Incoming messages should be answered as quickly as possible to align with WhatsApp users' normal communication habits. Currently, the response time of the surveyed companies ranges from one to four hours, which can be seen as a minimum requirement. Since real-time responses may not be possible, especially for complex customer inquiries, customers should receive a personal acknowledgment that their message has been received and will be addressed by the relevant department - ideally with a time frame provided. If a personal response is not feasible due to capacity constraints, an automated message can be sent to the user.
If the necessary response time and context-specific response cannot be ensured due to capacity constraints, the use of WhatsApp must be critically evaluated. Under no circumstances should WhatsApp be used solely to follow a modern communication trend without providing the necessary resources. Newer technological developments such as chatbots and artificial intelligence may help reduce the challenges of rapid initial responses in the future.
"Human-to-Human" Communication
Due to the private nature of WhatsApp usage, users expect a high level of discretion and sensitivity from companies in communication compared to communication via email or Facebook, for example. Companies need to learn how to manage this, as users' responses are often short and incomplete, similar to private usage, requiring multiple follow-up questions in the form of a real dialogue. Mastering individual customer communication can significantly enhance customer loyalty. When designing communication via WhatsApp, a personal, human approach must be used. The language should be personal ("you"), casual, youthful, and supported by emojis and smileys. Therefore, by providing special training to the messenger team and largely avoiding rigid communication guidelines, the aim is to achieve a "human-to-human" communication style rather than a "business-to-customer" communication style. However, it is essential to develop clear industry-specific guidelines of fundamental "dos and don'ts" in dealing with customers to avoid confusion and damaging behavior.
Development Potential of Messenger in Customer Communication
In the future, the importance of messaging apps like WhatsApp is expected to significantly increase, especially in dialog communication, according to all surveyed companies. Therefore, it is anticipated that new usage forms for WhatsApp will emerge beyond the current application areas described. This opens up opportunities for conversational commerce applications, such as the possibility of payment functions in the messenger, up to handling complete ordering processes and purchases in WhatsApp."
For more information on Prof. Dr. Stefan Gröner, please visit:
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