9 tips to provide real quality customer support on WhatsApp
If you own or work in a company that provides goods or services it’s no news to you that offering top-notch customer service is essential for the prosperity and growth of your business. Customers are the very reason businesses exist in the first place and you want to attract them and keep them satisfied - but you already know this, because you’re a customer yourself!
Providing excellent customer support on WhatsApp is no exception, or rather, it’s where you truly need to shine because customers that decide to get in touch with you through their personal WhatsApp number show you trust and expect a fast, personalized, and resolutive support.
In fact, people like and trust WhatsApp more than other popular messaging apps — it’s the favorite social platform among Internet users aged 16 to 64. These people are using the messaging app to connect with friends and family — and to reach out to businesses. 80% of adults say messaging is an easy way to communicate with businesses. And 175 million people message a business on WhatsApp every day.
So it’s no surprise that nearly half of marketers (47%) plan to increase their investment in WhatsApp in 2022. And 59% say that social customer care has increased in value for their organization.
If you’re already using WhatsApp as a tool for customer support or plan to do it, don’t make the mistake of underestimating some aspects that are peculiar to it, and don’t miss out on these 9 tips that we want to share with you:
1. Exceed your customers' expectations with efficiency
Using a tool like WaliChat can dramatically improve the impact that you have on your customers, here’s why:
- You can connect your whole team of customer support agents simultaneously. Yes, all of them, wherever they are! Having several people taking care of your customers will facilitate providing a broader range of support hours and less waiting for the customer.
- You can integrate it with your CRM and deliver an outstanding service.
- You can apply tags, metadata, and notes to organize your work and avoid losing any details about your customer.
2. Complete your WhatsApp Business profile
A WhatsApp business profile includes information that makes it easier for customers to connect with you both on and off of WhatsApp. It provides credibility for your brand and builds trust. It can also set expectations for how customers can interact with you on the app.
3. Let customers know they can reach you on WhatsApp
Offering WhatsApp customer service allows customers to reach you through a channel they already use and understand. But this only works if they know they can find you there.
Make it easy for your customers to find and contact you on WhatsApp. Try adding a “click to chat” link anywhere you share customer service contact information. You can also create a QR code that connects customers with your WhatsApp care team.
4. Set response time expectations
Customers don’t think in business hours. That’s especially true if you serve an international audience. Having several agents cover multiple time zones and operative hours as mentioned in tip number 1 definitely helps, but if you can’t have a 24/7 service you can configure an “outside of working hours” message within WhatsApp. Here’s how.
5. Integrate WhatsApp with your CRM and other messaging channels
Integrate WhatsApp with your CRM to get a full understanding of who you’re chatting with. You’ll have a sense of what they’re most likely to want and need from your customer care team. Integrating your CRM system with WaliChat is very easy, thanks to our extended documentation in over 10 programming languages.
6. Automate basic tasks with chatbots
Simple, repetitive requests don’t require a human skillset. For example, tracking and order status inquiries are perfect tasks for companies using WhatsApp for customer service to offload to WhatsApp chatbots. Your customer care team can then spend more of their time working on requests that need a human touch.
WhatsApp bot customer service works 24/7 so your customers get an immediate resolution to their requests – regardless of timezone.
How to implement a chatbot? With our API and webhooks! We have an extensive documentation section for
6. Send proactive messages that help customers
If customers opt into service updates, with WaliChat you can send messages that offer help even before they seek you out. Potential examples include:
- Shipping notifications
- Parcel tracking numbers
- Appointment reminders
- Order status alerts
You could even follow up with new customers after a purchase to see if they have any questions or need help. This is a great way to establish an ongoing relationship. Over time, this can enhance brand loyalty.
7. Take advantage of WaliChat’s rich media features
WhatsApp customer interactions usually start as text chats, but they don’t have to stay that way. WaliChat supports images, videos, audio, and even PDFs.
So, if a client needs help with a product issue, ask them to send a photo. Share videos with assembly instructions. Share PDF forms or audio clips. Or even hop on a video chat.
8. Link your product catalog
Think this seems more like a strategy for WhatsApp marketing? Incorporating your catalog into your WhatsApp business profile is also important for customer service.
First, a product catalog can help provide context for customer questions. They can browse your products or services and ask questions about a specific offering. You can also share your entire product catalog link or links to specific products. This is an instant way to assist customers looking for product recommendations.
9. Track your results
When adding a new channel to your customer service portfolio, it’s important to understand how well it’s working. After all, a customer care channel that makes customers frustrated or angry is worse than no customer service channel at all.
WaliChat can help you keep track of your company’s communication on WhatsApp and provides insightful data on the overall activity on your WhatsApp number and of each individual agent that can help you target easily your team’s improvement opportunity spots.