WhatsApp is free: why RippleCom?

There are three types of WhatsApp. WhatsApp that's free. WhatsApp is free for personal use. We use WhatsApp for family and friends. WhatsApp Business is also free. Self-employed people use WhatsApp Business to separate work and private life. And there's WhatsApp RippleCom. RippleCom is for organisations whose teams want to be ready for their audience. Investing in RippleCom means gaining time, engagement and sales. After all, communication is the key and RippleCom is the master key.

WhatsApp as a free solution

We communicate a lot with each other via WhatsApp. Billions of messages are shared worldwide between 2.8 billion users. It's nice that WhatsApp is free. This free solution was made to quickly and easily share messages and media between people using the two biggest mobile systems: Android (Samsung, HTC, etc.) and iOS (iPhone from Apple).

WhatsApp Business came as a free solution to help business users (mainly one-person businesses) keep 'work and private life' separate. This way, businesses can be available for work contacts while keeping private contacts private. Work and private communication are no longer in sync. That's why WhatsApp Business is often used to have two WhatsApp accounts on one phone.

The old marketing thought

Businesses reach their audience mainly by email. Email funnels don't give the wanted results. Recent research shows that the average open rate for email marketing is only 21.33%, while the average click rate is even lower at 2.62%. "Read rates" aren't real read rates; if the user clicks the email by mistake, it counts as "read". This is certainly not completely accurate!

Then we have "click rates". The receiver who opened the email and clicks through from that email. Usually, the explanation and success of the email campaign stop there. When asked about the "conversion rate" on the emailing, a vague response comes that the information only comes from Analytics (Google) and email programs. In short, based on estimated values and not hard figures.

AI now makes the texts. Fine! Yet, read rates still stay around 21.33% (that's good in Marketing-land). Click rates of 2.62% are seen as very high. When we filter out outliers and other things. This means that out of every 1000 emails sent, only 213 are opened and just 26 people click through. We at RippleCom think that organisations are missing huge chances to reach their audience.

WhatsApp for the business market

WhatsApp for the business market is now used in a limited way. This is due to not knowing the possibilities. Now organisations are available to have a more professional image on that channel too. Even organisations that want to seem professional use WhatsApp Business. Because it's free. Free to use to be available on that channel too. Installed on one phone. Imagine: a customer asks a complex question. With free WhatsApp Business, an employee answers, without talking to colleagues or making clear who's sending the answer. This can lead to incomplete or wrong information.

With luck, "WhatsApp Web" is used. Then a maximum of four people (plus 1 on the phone) can have a free conversation with a customer. Via WhatsApp Business. That's quite something, because being available via the most used platform WhatsApp is already distinctive. The big advantage is that these organisations already see that customers don't call anymore (70% have a form of call anxiety) and email boxes are full of many unread messages and everything 'neatly in folders'. Although WhatsApp Business is free, it misses crucial features for team communication. For example, you can't see who answered which message, which leads to confusion and double work. There's also no option for internal notes or forwarding conversations to colleagues.

WhatsApp RippleCom: team collaboration

The WhatsApp RippleCom solution is for teams that do want to work together. Where you can't see who sent which message with WhatsApp Business, you can with WhatsApp RippleCom. Unlike free WhatsApp, RippleCom offers a central environment where all team members can work together. You see exactly who answered which message, can discuss internally without bothering the customer, and easily forward conversations to the right colleague. Internal communication is clear and transparent. That's why you work with RippleCom with an unlimited number of users. That's included in the monthly fee. Work from a central environment that works on every device. So no separate apps. Just one RippleCom with your team. This is where the first saving and payback moment is: efficient communication and higher customer engagement.

The reason for RippleCom with your own user account is simple; safety and transparency. See who needs to take action. Get automatic reminders for follow-ups. When it suits you. WhatsApp RippleCom can always be used in between. Forward the conversation internally like you transfer a phone call to a colleague. Add internal notes to clarify the conversation. Quick answer, no full mailboxes. Little phone pressure. For example: a customer has a technical question. With RippleCom, customer service can directly forward the conversation to a technical specialist, including internal notes about the situation. This way, the customer quickly gets the right answer from the organisation, without being sent from pillar to post.

The new marketing

Organisations can easily reach their audience via WhatsApp. That's where the audience already is: 99% of Dutch people (98% of Europeans) use WhatsApp. Put your organisation between the friends and family of your audience. Let them take direct action. And the marketing numbers don't lie! The example calculation.

A WhatsApp bulk message is sent via RippleCom to 1000 individual WhatsApp (phone numbers). In the first 20 minutes, 75% of the messages are read. In the 24 hours following, 99% of the messages are read. For comparison: this is 21.33% for email. Then follows the click rate. This is between 45%-65%. So 650 people click through (instead of 26 people via email). Of course measurable via Google Analytics. And then follows a conversion rate of 16%-24%. So 240 people place an order/make an appointment/fill in a survey etc. In other words: Out of 1000 people, 240 people take direct action.

Email addresses are no longer 'gold'. Newsletters are hardly read anymore. On average, people have 2 to 3 email addresses to receive 'private' and spam (newsletters) only to throw them away immediately (67% don't read the mail!). With RippleCom, you therefore collect phone numbers. Phone numbers are the new gold. Phone numbers are the online citizen service numbers (BSN). Most people mainly use 1 mobile phone. That's where you want to be as an organisation. This is where you're going to earn money with WhatsApp on conversion. Within two weeks, the annual costs of WhatsApp RippleCom are earned back.

Conclusion

WhatsApp is free for personal use. That's what makes it so effective. That's why RippleCom is the smartest choice for businesses. It offers what free WhatsApp misses: professional team collaboration, transparency and advanced features. With RippleCom, you reach your customers directly. You achieve higher read rates and conversions than with email. You invest in better service, higher efficiency and more turnover. The choice is simple: do you just want to be 'free', or communicate effectively? RippleCom makes the difference. That's worth every penny.

With email, you're told how many people have read your message. Without taking into account 'opening by mistake'. Then click rates are discussed. Note, these are not conversions! With WhatsApp RippleCom, we find the open rate and click rate an old-fashioned thought meant to cover marketing. It's about the conversion rates! That's when you get in touch with your audience. So WhatsApp is free? If you don't want to earn or save anything with WhatsApp, it costs you nothing, except time. If you do want to communicate effectively and professionally, RippleCom is available within two working days.