Sunway Property

In real estate, timely communication can be the difference between closing a sale and losing a buyer's interest — and Sunway Property's customer communications were lagging behind. Improving response times was a key priority.

“We needed to get back to customers as close to instantly as possible, to make a strong and positive impression from the get-go, and show that we're serious about responding to our prospects.”

Heng Meng Yong, Head of Digital Transformation, Sunway Property

The team also had poor visibility into how sales reps communicated with customers. Conversations were spread across SMS, email, and a number of personal WhatsApp accounts, with information gathered and collated manually — making it hard to track leads, customers, and sales.

“Overall, we lacked a proper 360 view. We didn't know if sales reps actually responded to customers, when they responded, and how they talked to customers.”

Heng Meng Yong, Head of Digital Transformation, Sunway Property

Gathering genuine feedback was a challenge too. Net Promoter Scores were collected manually with pen and paper — time-consuming for the team and tough for customers to respond to authentically.

Replacing a patchwork of personal WhatsApp accounts, SMS, and a cheap but ineffective email tool, Sunway Property evaluated solutions against several requirements.

Now the developer uses Inbox and WhatsApp for Business to scale its communications and track messages in a centralized hub. WhatsApp has become its most effective channel, thanks to how interactive and easy it is for customers to engage with Sunway Property representatives.

When the company launches a new property development and advertises it on social media, prospects are redirected to a landing page and sign up via WhatsApp, where Bird immediately guides them through automated flows that ask qualification questions to register interest in specific properties. Once a lead is automatically qualified, Bird passes it to a sales representative in Inbox, who can pick it up and continue the conversation with direct, personalized communication — ultimately converting it into a sale.

Instead of collecting feedback on pen and paper, Sunway Property now sends WhatsApp messages immediately after customers leave an event. NPS scores are gathered easily, securely, and digitally, automatically integrating that data into dashboards for real-time analysis.

Sunway Property's strategic integration of WhatsApp into its sales processes has been transformative, evidenced by significant upticks in conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Customers who interact via WhatsApp convert at a higher rate than those who simply fill out a "Contact Us" form on the website. Most importantly, the sales team decreased response times by 300% — and Bird's automated flows keep the company responding to leads 24/7, even outside office hours.

“Customers are impressed with the speed we get back to them. Ensuring they have a smooth end-to-end experience has had a significant impact on our overall success.”

Heng Meng Yong, Head of Digital Transformation, Sunway Property

The next step is to use WhatsApp not just to acquire customers but as a vital component of ongoing customer service. As prospective buyers become homeowners, their needs evolve, but the expectation for quick, efficient service remains. By using WhatsApp to answer frequently asked questions and address common concerns, Sunway will be able to deliver instant concierge-style support to homeowners.

As the front-runner for digital engagement across the wider Sunway group, the team is now looking to help the rest of the organization catch up to its success.

“We're exploring working with other business units to see how they can leverage WhatsApp, too.”

Heng Meng Yong, Head of Digital Transformation, Sunway Property