Five years ago, David Lillo and Javier Sánchez, designer and marketing expert respectively at the CREAME agency, were redesigning a business website. «The lady told us: you can touch everything you want except the WhatsApp button; It is the channel through which I sell the most”, recalls Lillo.
That gave them an idea and they set out to create a plugin for WordPress, a mechanism that would allow them to add a little button with the icon of the famous instant messaging app. They verified that the case of this first client was not special. All businesses can sell much more through WhatsApp.
Today, that plugin called Join.chat is installed on almost half a million websites. Lillo and Sánchez know how WhatsApp should be used in an online business. And they decided to share it with the Siteground community.
SiteGround is a web hosting provider specialized in WordPress. It is the one we use in Yorokobu and the one that makes it possible for you to be reading this article. But it’s much more than that. For years they have been creating webinars, eBooks, video or written tutorials. They create useful content for their audience and all of it is free. Part of this content was this #SGWebinar on how to use WhatsApp Business.
“Now life is measured in chats,” reflects Javier Sánchez. “Even to call, we ask before by WhatsApp if it is good for the interlocutor.” This has caused the interface of this application to be perceived as something familiar and not very intrusive. The client prefers it to filling out an annoying form, making a call or even sending an email, since the response is immediate and in real time.
“When people see the WhatsApp logo they think, “I know how to use this”. That feeling of familiarity is going to encourage them to contact us”, adds Jose Ramón Padrón García, country manager of SiteGround Spain and moderator of the webinar. This feeling is also intergenerational. Unlike social networks and other communication channels, WhatsApp is used by grandmothers and grandchildren, students and business women. It is transversal in all social groups.
But David Lillo and Javier Sánchez not only analyzed the profile of potential clients, but also of the potential businesses that can benefit from the use of WhatsApp Business. “There is a detail here that is not usual,” says Lillo. «The same app serves the fishmonger Ramón and Movistar. What happens is that Ramón is going to be a revolution ».
The operation of WhatsApp for Business is similar to that of its conventional brother, but some functions for companies have been added: we can add our business hours, we can define quick responses or company messages. This speeds up the conversation with the user and makes less time wasted.
The experts gave other tips, such as using a virtual line to separate the chat from the personal number and not having to rely on a phone. Or opt for multi-agent tools like Manycontacts, Wati.io or Trengo. These programs are especially useful in large companies with multiple agents and many conversations.
WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users worldwide. It is the most widely used instant messaging application and the secret of its success lies in its ease of use. That is why implementing it as a sales tool is a great idea. It is a more direct, informal and easy-to-use channel to communicate with potential clients. And you have all the keys to learn how to use it in this Siteground webinar.