WhatsApp for whom?
Businesses, institutions and governments strive for personal contact.
With Email, digital communication has taken flight. Email has long predominated, first in personal private communication and later in professional interactions. That is a process that took years. After email and the rise of social media, the glory days of email are over. Overfilled email inboxes and spam have quickly made their entrance. Personally, emails are no longer sent—at most to record formal communication, like the ‘old-fashioned’ paper letter. Email was once an efficient and reliable method to send and receive messages. Now that has turned into a digital wilderness of unread notifications, overfilled folders, and a constant stream of irrelevant newsletters.
Where personal interaction always leads the way, that also applies to short messages. Often of an informal nature and works ‘nice and fast’. In the shadow of the chaos called email, over the years WhatsApp has grown into a powerful and—business-wise—overlooked hero: WhatsApp. While this platform has its roots in the personal sphere, the challenge is still wide open in business environments. This is not due to a lack of potential—on the contrary. It is currently a lack of attention, necessity, and insight into the possibilities of WhatsApp. It still feels a bit “new” in the business world. In the meantime, email gets stuck in a sea of unread messages. WhatsApp, on the other hand, offers a direct and intuitive way to stay in touch. We already use it personally to stay in touch with colleagues in group apps. We do that both inside and outside the walls of an organisation.
In the online world, the real problem is not so much reaching customers. We have countless online marketing agencies that “make you score high in Google”. Writing a lot of content is important for that. But also tricks like buying backlinks to make the page score high in Google have mushroomed in recent years. Now focus on where the customer is; social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok. Smart to reach the target group there. But what do you do when customers want to reach your organisation? Where do organisations get the ability to engage the target group in an effective and timely manner? In a time where our attention span is shorter than ever before. Good for reaching customers. But how do customers reach you? Communication, after all, goes two ways. It is essential to communicate on the channels our target groups actively use and trust. That is where WhatsApp shines. While emails remain unanswered and phone calls remain unreturned with callback requests, WhatsApp offers a direct line to the customer, where and when they need it.
WhatsApp is being used more and more in the business world. In some cases, it is even banned—something that is almost impossible. The frustration of reaching organisations seems higher than ever. Emails that aren’t answered, phone calls with long waiting times, and no more direct connection with the customer. In light of these challenges, we have developed RippleCom. The only innovative solution that enables organisations to integrate WhatsApp into existing communication strategies in an organised way. Focused on collaborating with the team. Working with colleagues on customers. Or the worst version: we are now going to work customer-centrically. RippleCom is there not only to work customer-centrically (logical) but also to work together with colleagues. Using WhatsApp at companies is intended to communicate quickly and easily—short!—with customers, and to work together internally in a way that was previously unthinkable. In that, RippleCom is unique!
RippleCom offers features that are customer-oriented and focused on collaboration. We do that with a central smart inbox where conversations come together, simply on the business phone number. At the same time, an unlimited number of colleagues have access to this. This allows conversations to be ‘transferred’ to the right colleague so they can provide an answer. Follow conversations after they are transferred to see if there is a response. Because nothing is more annoying than not following up on a question. Precisely by doing that, you are being customer-oriented and task-oriented. It is even possible to switch to automated messages, perform analyses of customer interactions, and integrate with other communication systems. That all seems like a bridge too far “because that’s not possible with regular WhatsApp either”. We finally enable companies to benefit from the power of WhatsApp with the ease of email. At the same time, we fully meet the requirements of a modern, digitally driven world.
The potential of WhatsApp is enormous and it’s time to embrace and recognize it. WhatsApp is a powerful tool for communication and engagement. But that power must be deployed smartly, in measured doses, and under control. That sounds complicated, but it certainly isn’t. With RippleCom as your partner, you are ready to take on the challenges of the modern world. You want to reach your customers, and the customers want to reach you.
