Remember the days when customer service meant being put on hold for what felt like an eternity, or sifting through a cluttered inbox for that one order confirmation email? Fast forward to today, WhatsApp’s newly launched ‘Music Status’ feature is hitting all the right notes — especially in a country where every mood has a song. From brand anthems to viral hooks and regional beats, it’s a fresh, scroll-stopping way to tell micro-stories that sing.
What started as a platform for casual chats and forwarded memes has now evolved into a full-blown marketing powerhouse. From answering queries to closing sales and even building brand loyalty, WhatsApp has become the friendly neighbourhood shopkeeper, always just a text away. And brands? They’re jumping on board like never before.
“From redirecting shoppers to WhatsApp chat when they see an ad, to sending personalized messages, entire catalogues, product recommendations, abandoned cart reminders, post-purchase engagements, chat support and query responses --all directly within WhatsApp has led to brands in our network witnessing 3X higher customer engagement.” said Chirag Taneja, Founder & CEO, GoKwik, a company that helps eCommerce brands grow by solving key challenges across the shopping funnel.
Luminous Power Technologies, the company, known for its solar and battery solutions, has seen a whopping 220% increase in customer engagement through WhatsApp since 2020. And it’s not just about the numbers—it’s about how people interact with the brand. “Solar energy remains a relatively new concept for many consumers, and the significant hike in engagement over a year is a promising sign of their eagerness to learn,” says Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy Transformation and Marketing Officer at Luminous. With AI-powered chatbots guiding customers through product choices, from picking the right inverter to calculating energy savings, the brand is making decision-making a breeze.
At Max Protein, WhatsApp marketing has led to a 35-40% jump in customer interactions. “This growth is fuelled by open rates (messages actually seen by consumers) of 23%, a figure that surpasses industry benchmarks for digital communication channels over the past two decades. By offering real-time communication, personalized promotions, and automated responses, WhatsApp has become a cornerstone of our customer engagement strategy, driving meaningful interactions and fostering brand loyalty.” said Dr. Ravinder Varma, Sr. Brand Manager, RiteBite Max Protein, Zydus Wellness.
Bonjour, the sock and apparel brand, has also embraced WhatsApp with open arms, seeing a 34% rise in consumer engagement. What’s driving this? Speed, for one. Most businesses aim to reply to customer messages within minutes. Bonjour clocks in at around 10-15 minutes per query, while Max Protein’s AI-powered automation ensures a response in under 30 seconds. That kind of immediacy—compared to waiting days for an email reply—naturally keeps customers coming back.
Of course, personalization is key, but so is privacy. Brands are treading carefully, ensuring compliance with India’s new data protection regulations while still crafting tailored experiences. “At Bonjour, we integrate India’s upcoming data protection rules into our WhatsApp marketing strategy. We ensure explicit user consent, collect only necessary data, and use anonymized information for tailored campaigns,” says Raj Kumar Jain, Managing Director, Bonjour. This transparency helps brands build trust, reassuring customers that their data isn’t being misused.
But how do companies actually measure if their WhatsApp efforts are paying off? Traditional metrics like click-through rates and conversion rates still matter, but WhatsApp opens up new ways to track ROI. Max Protein, for example, sees open rates of over 90% when compared to the dwindling engagement levels of email marketing. Bonjour tracks direct sales through unique discount codes and UTM links, while also monitoring how WhatsApp messages drive footfall to offline stores. It’s a mix of real-time sales impact and long-term brand recall, with WhatsApp proving to be more than just another communication channel—it’s a revenue driver.
“We have been able to automate up to 80% of customer queries via smart Chatbot support. These bots are designed to provide instant responses for order tracking, return requests, FAQs, and personalized product recommendations. This has been saving a lot of brand costs in agent handling; the responses are pretty contextual and exude human-like tonality. With GenAI gaining continued momentum, we are expecting this to further evolve, with end-to-end shopping assistance being provided by AI-led chat bots in the near future.” said Taneja.
As WhatsApp marketing continues to evolve, one thing is clear: consumers love convenience. “For the relaunch of our brand Parachute Advansed Ayurvedic Coconut Hair Oil, which is designed to reduce hair fall and promote new growth, we developed an AI-enabled WhatsApp bot to engage consumers. The goal was to create a seamless pathway for consumers to seek product samples, create regular interactions about product usage, and once they saw positive results with their hair, enable them to recommend the product to friends and family through the same channel. This activation led to nearly 10,000 sample requests across South India, driving consumer engagement and word-of-mouth promotion.” says Somasree Bose Awasthi, CMO, Marico Limited.
Whether it’s ordering a product, getting a quick resolution, or just chatting with a brand like they would with a friend, WhatsApp has transformed how brands interact with people. And as AI chatbots get smarter, personalization becomes more refined, and engagement soars, it won’t be long before WhatsApp becomes as essential to marketing as social media itself. But what about the brands that are already ahead of the curve? They’re the ones sliding into their customers’ WhatsApp chats—not just to sell, but to stay relevant.
