WhatsApp Business for Different Industries – Overview of Use cases

An average WhatsApp user spends 19.4 hours or roughly 38 minutes a day using WhatsApp, and in India, the number goes up to 21.4 hours spent monthly using WhatsApp.

Every passing day, the number of businesses that reach out to users over WhatsApp is growing. 

There were three key reasons behind that,

1. WhatsApp is the preferred mode of communication, with over 1.4 billion daily users
2. Eases operations with WhatsApp API connector and multimedia capabilities 
3. End-to-end encrypted communication ensures safety for users

Moreover, it is convenient for businesses and users to interact just like they communicate with their peers on the platform.

Be it ticket bookings, payment due, reminder for class, appointment scheduling, or order confirmation, WhatsApp has taken over business communication by storm.

Let’s get a deeper understanding of what WhatsApp for business is.

What is WhatsApp for Business?

WhatsApp for business is tailor-made for small businesses. The main intent is to catalog products & services and to respond to customers as quickly as possible. However, this isn’t the route to take when it comes to having a WhatsApp channel for established or large businesses. This is where WhatsApp Business API comes in.

WhatsApp Business API is a dynamic platform when used with a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider. You can run campaigns, use chatbots and run third-party APIs too. On the whole, you will have a secure full-stack end-to-end management platform for WhatsApp.

However, the use cases vary with industries. Let’s have a detailed look.

WhatsApp use cases for Industries:

  1. Financial Services – (BFSI, NBFC, and Fintech) – 

When it comes to financial services, customers often face tiring procedures and constant re-routings, even to run a simple business errand. But over the past few years, as the adaptation of digital technology maximized, along with business competition, the urge and mandate to provide top-notch customer experience grew.

Although banking institutions provide support over their app and with in-house support teams, few financial institutions have tapped customers’ preferred communication channels for support. For example, instead of customers wanting to reach out to agents for simple query resolution, they can be run through a series of automated Q&A via WhatsApp chatbot. The list of WhatsApp use cases when it comes to Financial Services:

• Resolving L1 Queries with Chatbots: Help customers check bank balances, find local ATMs, check interest rates and credit limits, etc.

• Customer Onboarding: On average, it takes about 16 weeks to get a customer onboarded, affecting CX. However, with WhatsApp, you can easily automate the process.

• Real-time Updates: Help customers with new offers, policies, withdrawals, monthly expenditure reports, and stock updates.

• Automated Reminders: Remind customers of the due date, late payment charges, exceeding the credit limit, auto payments, and more.

• Account Services at Ease: Enable customers to change passwords, shift plans, generate statements, and update account information without hassle.

• Emergency responses: In instances where a card is lost or stolen or a fraudulent transaction has been made, quickly freeze the card/account.

• Third-party Integrations: Easily integrate WhatsApp API with in-house CRMs to gain a holistic view of the customers.

  2. eCommerce

Unlike any other industry, eCommerce is the only industry that exploits the benefits of WhatsApp as a business platform. WhatsApp helps build great rapport with the customers, which app notifications or email fails to do.

As every customer has a different buying journey, it not only gives businesses a great opportunity for personalized communication at various stages but also allows businesses to read the intent and find cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. The list of WhatsApp use cases for eCommerce:

• Shipment Updates: Keep your customers informed about their orders by providing them with an order placed, shipped, in transit, out for delivery, and delivered messages.

• New Offers: Promote seasonal offers or personalized offers via WhatsApp campaigns.  Find opportunities to cross-sell and up-sell.

• Cart Reminders: Inform customers of their unchecked carts. Then, influence them to buy the product with a small added offer.

• Custom FAQs: Frequently asked customer queries can be answered with chatbots with pre-fed conditions.

• Feedback on Orders: Encourage customers to rate their shopping experience with your business to enhance CX.

3. Healthcare 

The Healthcare sector is always fast-paced and mainly works on an emergency basis. In such a case, the implementation of digital technology and especially WhatsApp happened to be a boon for the entire healthcare industry.

Quick adoption and reliable service came with WhatsApp because it is user-friendly, secure, and end-to-end encrypted. Healthcare professionals don’t have to go through a series of customer filings; once they open the patient’s file, their entire health bio pops up. The list of WhatsApp use cases when it comes to the Healthcare industry: 

• Schedule Appointments: Easily book a consultation with your healthcare professional via WhatsApp.

• Emergency Bookings: One tap intimation to ambulance dispatch centers to immediately avail services.

• Addressing FAQs with Chatbots: Try resolving basic queries with automated chatbots and escalate to agents only during emergencies.

• Third-party Integrations: Easily integrate WhatsApp API with in-house CRMs to gain a holistic view of the customers.

• Reminder on Check-ups: Constantly keep your patients informed about their scheduled monthly or weekly check-ups.

• Monthly Report and Invoice: Send personalized and detailed insights on the patient’s health status month-on-month over WhatsApp.

• Health Tip Updates: Send everyday tips for patients to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• Feedback on Experience: Garner patients’ experiences to gauge the performance of your healthcare institution’s customer-facing side.

4. Travel 

The travel industry is filled with a lot of competition. Although every business focuses on providing great user experience over the app, yet they are always looking for ways to deliver the remarkable CX on customer’s preferred channel. This is where WhatsApp comes into play.

In addition, customers expect a more personalized experience and tailor-made offers based on their longevity on the app. This can be leveraged by integrating the CRM to personalize the experience and provide best-in-class support. The list of WhatsApp use cases when it comes to the Travel industry: 

• Booking Confirmation: Send instant notifications to users on booking details so users don’t have to check the app for more information.

• Addressing FAQs with Chatbots: Resolve basic queries with the help of chatbots via WhatsApp

• Automated Reminders: Remind customers of the travel date, payment details, auto payments, and more.

• Promotions and Offers: Provide customers with the right promotional offer or coupon codes to encourage more bookings.

• Status Updates: Keep customers informed about the status of their journey, departure, boarding time, etc.

• Feedback on Bookings: Understand how users like the booking experience by gathering feedback.

5. Education 

In an industry that revolves around Gen-Z, it is pivotal to provide an engaging user experience on the social channels where everyone is at.

It’s a given that parents need to know the whereabouts of their wards in terms of their educational trajectory. This is where a support or communication enhancement over WhatsApp could help scale CX. The list of WhatsApp use cases when it comes to the Education industry:

• Class Reminders: Send notification reminders to students and parents on class timings and venues.

• Enrollment and Admission Notification: Inform parents of the status of their admission and cross-sell other course information.

• Fee Payment Reminders: Keep parents informed on the due date for fee payments and late fee charges.

• Addressing FAQs with Chatbots: Basic level 1 configuration and setup queries can be resolved with FAQ chatbots.

• Feedback on Service: Gaining valuable feedback from the students and parents can help enhance the quality of service educational institutions provide.

To wrap it up, we are all aware of the importance of exploiting the benefits of a channel that’s being used worldwide. It’s just that few businesses fail to recognize the scope of improved CX a platform like WhatsApp could provide.

To back it up, here’s a list of customer success stories published by Meta on how WhatsApp business helped various industries. Exotel’s Whatsapp for Business solutions have helped many companies take their customer engagement to the next level. So if you are looking for a full-stack WhatsApp Business Provider, we are here to help. Sign up now.