It was in early 2005, when Gupshup emerged to become one of the primary players in the messaging space, recognising the need for conversational messaging in the market. Today, it has turned into a conversational messaging leader, becoming a one-stop-platform for a brands’ messaging needs.
With a wide variety of messaging channels to use from, WhatsApp is the most preferred messaging app in India with more than 95% users using the app every day. Gupshup was one of the first solution providers for WhatsApp for Business with the largest volume for notifications and customer engagement.
Conversational messaging works well for startups to engage with customers and users where they already are, i.e., a messaging app. It’s almost like engaging with them, the way they would with friends and family.
As per the reports and statistics, 175 million consumers message a business on WhatsApp every day, managing the complete buying experience for their startups via WhatsApp Commerce. Besides, 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business, where they can enable product discovery, commerce, and support using Instagram API. Again, 50% Of businesses plan to spend more on chatbots than mobile apps, thereby automating and creating personalised consumer experiences with AI-powered chatbots on any messaging app. Lastly, WhatsApp records an open rate of 98% vs. 20% on email.
Startup leveraging Conversational Messaging for growth
Conversational Messaging helps to leverage the growth of startups in particularly three areas, listing Marketing, Commerce, and Support. Let’s look at each of these.
Conversational Marketing
1. Marketing Entry Points - Making any digital or physical entry point a conversation starter with QR codes or URLs, be it for a website, app storefront, billboard, product package, or digital ad.
2. Marketing Chatbots on WhatsApp, Instagram - Starting with an entry point, lead generation, lead nurturing, and lead conversion can become frictionless with AI-powered branded bots on WhatsApp, Instagram, and any messaging app, taking prospects on a journey.
3. Use A2P Messaging - For small and large databases, sending rich media messages on WhatsApp, Instagram and any messaging app to start automated two-way conversations.
4. Outdoor Media - While running advertising campaigns leveraging outdoor media networks, QR-code-enabled chatbots can convert physical surfaces into conversational interfaces.
5. Integrations - Integrating messaging with CRM, ORM, Social Media, and Marketing Automation systems or native tools for startup use.
Gupshup also provides services like Conversational Commerce and Conversational Support.
Conversational Commerce helps the startup generate more revenue by taking customers on a conversational journey through the purchasing process, through which customers could discover products, order, pay and track these orders within a messaging app like WhatsApp or Instagram.
Conversational Support helps startups create a 24x7 support channel for the customers so that routine and complex queries can be handled efficiently and live agents are brought in sparingly. This helps a startup maintain customer experience while keeping support costs low.
Gupshup, the startup that turned Unicorn through conversational messaging, supports more than 40,000 companies and developers. Thus, to delve deeper into the tenets of conversational messaging, Gupshup, powered by YourStory, presents a webinar on how conversational messaging is turning out to be the biggest growth hack for startups.
To be held on February 4, 2022, this virtual event would be graced by the eminent presence Ravi Sundararajan, Chief Operating Officer, Gupshup, to be moderated by Manasi Phadnis, from YourStory.
To all the startup owners out there, if you are planning to scale up conversations with your customers, then here is your chance to learn it all from some of the best brains in the space.
To join and live stream the event, Register Now