Growing WhatsApp as a Marketing Channel

In WhatsApp marketing, quality is the key to scaling your messaging strategy. Every business account starts out with a limited number of messages it can send, and they have to earn the right to send more. How? By getting customers to consistently open and engage with their messages.

What this means for your business is that quality is not just a priority, but a necessity. You can’t scale WhatsApp marketing without sending great messages. On the flip side, you’re doomed to fail on the platform if you just blast out thoughtless spam. 

Here's how you can monitor your WhatsApp marketing campaigns for quality:

1. Earn and maintain customer trust 

Winning a customer's trust isn't a one-and-done deal; it's a continuous commitment. On WhatsApp, you solidify your customers’ trust in your brand through timely, personalized communication. Each message you send is an extension of your brand's promise, and inconsistency or irrelevance can jeopardize the rapport you've painstakingly built. 

A recent Salesforce survey found that 65% of customers say they are more loyal to companies that offer a personalized experience. By forgoing generic outreach for personalized interactions that resonate with the recipient's preferences, needs, or past behaviors, you don't just make a sale—you create a brand advocate. 

The bottom line? Make personalization a cornerstone of your communication, and you'll rightfully earn enduring customer loyalty.

2. Prioritize data security

Customers know that their data is valuable. If they entrust you with their personal information, you have to handle it with care. That’s especially true on WhatsApp, a platform with end-to-end encryption that emphasizes data protection for businesses and consumers alike.

As a brand, that means your customer’s trust comes with heavy responsibility. You need to diligently collect and manage customer opt-ins, making sure you only contact customers who explicitly agree to receive communications from you. 

It’s more than just a common courtesy; it’s a strict WhatsApp compliance policy. If customers don’t opt-in, Meta can fine your brand and deduct points from your quality score, which can limit the range of your messaging.

The good news is, Bird helps handle customer opt-ins for you so your brand is shielded from compliance issues. By gaining this approval on behalf of your customers, we protect your brand score from getting flagged by WhatsApp. 

3. Understand quality ratings

WhatsApp values its users' opinions big time; they rely on user feedback to rate your messaging quality since they can't view encrypted chats. If you get too many blocks or spam reports, your quality score will take a hit, especially if these reports are fresh.

There are three quality ratings: 

• High (green)

• Medium (yellow)

• Low (red) 
  
  

If your brand account reaches a low rating, your phone number status will change to Flagged, and WhatsApp will limit the number of users you can message each day. 

Your goal is to minimize the number of flags your brand account receives so that you never reach a Low rating. Wondering how you're doing? Check Bird, or your Meta Business Suite account for your current quality rating.

It’s not just nice to keep your WhatsApp audience happy; it’s essential for your brand’s existence on the platform. 

4. Investigate quality flags to avoid rate limiting

Understanding quality flags is one thing, but investigating them is another. When your business account receives quality flags, it sends a sign to WhatsApp that your account isn’t sending high-quality messages in line with its guidelines. And you want to avoid being flagged at all costs. 

Flags lead to your quality score plummeting which leads to rate limiting. This means WhatsApp caps how many messages you can send each day. 

“Every brand is given a starter account through which they can send a base, limited amount of messages from a marketing perspective,” says Anish Chadda, VP of Product at Bird. “What WhatsApp will do is it’ll actually monitor the quality of that brand’s messages. If they see you get a high number of people marking it as spam or blocking the brand, WhatsApp may deactivate your account or keep you at 100 messages a day.”

You’ll miss out on timely responses or opportunities to reach out to potential customers. If you receive a quality flag, don’t hesitate to investigate: Your WhatsApp reputation (and marketing bottom line) might depend on it.

5. Keep user sentiment high 

Think of user sentiment as the temperature of your audience's feelings. Too cold? They're not engaged. Too hot? They might be overwhelmed. Just right? You've got their attention in the best way. Let's break down the thermostat settings:

1. Frequency of Messages: Send too many messages, and you're that annoying brand in a customer’s inbox they want to block. Too few, and you're forgotten. Find the sweet spot that keeps users engaged, but not overwhelmed.

2. Relevance: Ever gotten a message and thought, "Why did they send me this?" That's a misfire in relevance. Tailor your messages to align with user interests and needs, so that customers never think, “This message isn’t for me.”

3. Business Reputation: This is the weight your brand carries in the market. A strong reputation can make users more forgiving of a misstep, while a shaky one means you'll be on thin ice. Continuously build and maintain a solid reputation to keep user sentiment tipped in your favor.

6. Steal this quality checklist

You don’t have to sit around and wait for quality flags to come in. You can (and should) proactively do what you can to maintain a High rating. Here’s a step-by-step checklist to doing that: 

• Review 30-Day Quality History: Check your quality history for the past 30 days, regularly. This is like your business's credit score for quality of customer interactions. Keep it healthy!

• Check Template Performance: Regularly audit your message templates to make sure they’re performing well. Are some templates seeing higher engagement rates? You’re doing something right. Low rates? Time for a strategy pivot. 

• Monitor User Reports and Blocks: Keep an eagle eye on any increases in user blocks or reports. These are red flags that your messages might be missing the mark.

• Keep Opt-In Records: Ensure you have explicit documentation of customer opt-ins. It's strict WhatsApp policy to only message customers who have opted in, and you want to be able to prove you have their consent. Plus, it’s the right way to treat you customers.

• Make Opt-Outs Accessible: Make opting out as easy as opting in. If someone wants to leave, hold the door open for them with no hard feelings.

• Create a Feedback Loop: Encourage and monitor customer feedback if possible. WhatsApp can be a powerful two-way communication channel and a way to tap into user sentiment straight from the source. Your customers should serve as your marketing GPS. Without them, you're just driving in the dark.