OLX: Automating engagement with 50,000 WhatsApp sellers to drive revenue
Bird
11 Sept 2021
Customer Story
1 min read
Key Takeaways
OLX Indonesia needed a scalable, automated way to communicate with its 50,000+ professional sellers—primarily car dealerships and real estate agents.
Seller performance data was previously shared over email, resulting in just a 5% open rate and low engagement.
By partnering with Bird, OLX Indonesia launched WhatsApp-based automated reporting within six weeks—connecting backend systems, image databases, and communication flows.
WhatsApp proved to be the ideal channel since most sellers actively use it on their personal devices.
Automated package reports on WhatsApp significantly improved engagement and opened more upsell opportunities for OLX’s sales teams.
The shift from manual to automated communication helped OLX boost open rates by 600% and increased seller adoption of data-driven insights.
The success of WhatsApp automation unlocked broader opportunities: package expiry notifications, credit reminders, feedback collection, surveys, and other targeted lifecycle messages.
Bird’s global presence and fast implementation speed enabled OLX to quickly scale communication strategies across teams and regions.
SMS fallbacks ensure sellers still receive critical updates even if WhatsApp delivery fails.
OLX now leverages Bird as a long-term partner to build omnichannel communication flows that support acquisition, retention, and revenue growth.
Q&A Highlights
Why did OLX Indonesia need a new communication approach?
They needed a scalable, automated solution to reach and engage tens of thousands of professional sellers.
Why was email ineffective for seller reporting?
Email reports had a very low open rate (5%), limiting seller engagement and upsell potential.
Why choose WhatsApp as the primary channel?
Most OLX sellers actively used WhatsApp on their personal devices, making it the most natural and high-engagement communication channel.
How fast was Bird able to implement the solution?
OLX launched the full WhatsApp automation in six weeks.
What did OLX integrate with Bird?
Their backend contact list, image database, and automated communication flows.
What kind of messages did OLX automate?
Performance package reports that highlighted the value sellers gained from the OLX platform.
What impact did WhatsApp automation have?
It increased open rates by 600% and unlocked new upsell conversations.
How did automation support OLX’s sales strategy?
It created more consistent seller touchpoints and helped agents identify better upsell opportunities.
What other WhatsApp use cases can OLX expand into?
Package expiry reminders, low-credit alerts, feedback requests, surveys, and lifecycle notifications.
Why does Bird’s global presence matter?
It allows OLX Group to replicate successful strategies in other regions quickly.
How does SMS fallback improve reliability?
If WhatsApp delivery fails, the message is automatically sent via SMS to ensure sellers still receive critical updates.
How did OLX evaluate Bird as a partner?
Through responsiveness, speed, technical capability, and deep understanding of OLX’s business needs.
OLX Indonesia identified that many of their sellers were using WhatsApp on their personal devices, so in partnership with Bird, decided to trial sending package reports through the app.
Deploying technology to drive engagement
OLX Indonesia wanted to find an easy-to-implement communication solution to increase revenue and improve engagement with its large network of professional sellers. They approached Bird, and within six weeks, OLX Indonesia was able to set up their WhatsApp account, integrate their backend contact list and image database, build the automated communications flow, and send out the first batch of 6,000 messages.
Engaging and upselling the B2B seller
Communicating with sellers via the WhatsApp Business API
OLX Indonesia identified that many of their sellers were using WhatsApp on their personal devices, so in partnership with Bird, decided to trial sending package reports through the app. To ensure maximum deliverability, you can also implement SMS fallbacks for WhatsApp messages that fail to deliver. These package reports were shared as a competitive differentiator to showcase value delivered by the OLX platform. The high levels of engagement caused by automated notifications on WhatsApp resulted in an increased number of upsell opportunities for agents.
Executing on sales strategy globally and across industries with faster, targeted sales
Automated package reporting sent on WhatsApp is only the beginning, there are many possible applications of cloud communications for OLX Group globally. From sending notifications about package expiry and low credit, to collecting user feedback and soliciting surveys, agents can approach customer acquisition and retention more effectively than ever before. And with Bird’s global presence and short ramp-up period, these solutions are just a click away.
“The Bird team was super responsive and has a quick throughput rate, it inspired us to use communication to improve sales processes in ways we had never thought of before. We achieved a 600% increase in open rates.”
Mizan Miftah, Head of Customer Excellence
