Offering financial service customers a suite of rich interactive functionalities, WhatsApp allows service providers to reach customers on a platform they’re already active on, chatting with friends and family, organising events and liaising with work colleagues.
It allows service providers to be a part of their customers’ everyday lives.
3 ways financial service providers can use WhatsApp
1 . Two-way customer service interactions
The traditional customer service agent/customer interaction doesn’t offer many benefits for either party. Call centres can be costly and customer backlogs often build up due to the fact that an agent can only handle one query at a time. In turn, customers are left infuriated by the inevitable, ‘we are experiencing high call volumes’ message, and the subsequent lengthy time left in a queue or on hold.
When you use WhatsApp Business Platform, you can handle multiple conversations at once. You’ll also be able to provide a rich experience, thanks to the innate ability to send images, videos and other media, interactive buttons and more.
For simpler queries, you can even use bots to handle the entire interaction, with no agent needed at all!
2 . Measuring customer satisfaction
Did you know that nearly a third of consumers (32%) would be happy to complete surveys or write reviews if asked to do so via WhatsApp? So, boost your survey completion rate and successfully gather valuable feedback by using WhatsApp Business Platform to send customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys.
3 . Sending security alerts
If there’s any suspicious activity on a customer’s account, it’s vital that you alert the customer in the quickest and most engaging way possible. Using WhatsApp for these critical, time-sensitive notifications means that they’re sent directly to the place where customers are most likely to see them immediately.
WhatsApp Business Platform also offers end-to-end encryption so it’s ideal for sending sensitive information.
Benefits of using WhatsApp in the financial services sector:
- Extensive customer reach – WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app, with 2 billion monthly active users.
- Financial service customers want to engage via WhatsApp – 67% of mobile messaging app users said they expect to use chat more for communicating with businesses over the next two years.
- Customers are more likely to engage with a business offering WhatsApp touchpoints – 53% of customers say they’re more likely to shop with a business they can message directly.
- Ability to send rich branded messages – As well as being able to add your company logo and profile, providers can use the channel to send images, videos and more. Just like email but via the channel they’re using day-to-day!
WhatsApp Business Platform for financial service providers
Every business sector has challenges to navigate, and the financial sector is no exception.
One of the biggest challenges right now is the surge in call volumes coming into call centres. On average, incoming calls have increased by almost half (44%) since the beginning of 2020, due to a combination of things, including an increased demand for services, customers facing financial hardship and reduced availability of physical branches to visit in person.
This is an ideal time for financial service providers to re-evaluate how they communicate with customers. Mobile-focused methods are increasingly popular and hugely effective in interacting with your audience, and WhatsApp is one channel in particular that’s way ahead of the rest…
If you’d like more information on how WhatsApp Business Platform can help your business, please contact our dedicated and experienced industry experts today on 0345 356 5758.
In the meantime, find out more on how to take the empathetic approach even via digital means, check out our latest eBook. We include statistics from our latest consumer research and how you can use technology such as WhatsApp Business Platform and AI to support empathetic customer care.
Mayzin Han
Marketing strategist with 6 years of experience, 2+ of which in B2B tech. I have a particular interest in learning about customer experience and engagement technologies.
