“Exceptional customer experiences are the only sustainable platform for competitive differentiation.”
– Kerry Bodine
This timeless reality grows in significance in today’s hyper-competitive, mobile-first market where customer retention has emerged as a north star metric. The e-commerce industry is no exception to this cardinal pre-requisite for success. In fact, customer experience leaders outperform laggards by almost 80%, in terms of revenue growth.
A trailblazer in the e-commerce space in India, Flipkart has always placed a premium on delivering exceptional customer experiences, ever since its inception in 2007. And, personalized, relevant, and timely customer engagement continues to form the foundation of their differentiated customer experiences. This data-driven, innovation-first approach has seen them craft highly effective and memorable multi-channel campaigns.
The Big Billion Days sale was no different. Flipkart’s flagship 5-day sale saw them join hands with Netcore Cloud to script a dynamic new chapter in the e-commerce customer engagement playbook.
And, what better channel to break through the marketing clutter than WhatsApp to drive meaningful engagement and conversions?
Enter Netcore Cloud’s custom-built Big B WhatsApp chatbotthat didn’t just wow customers and industry insiders alike, but went on to become a viral one-of-a-kind campaign at the intersection of marketing and technology.
Presenting to you ‘Big Billion Bot by Flipkart’ on your WhatsApp ?. Quiz, Trivia, Offers via emojis & a lot more. #TheBigBillionDays
— Flipkart (@Flipkart) October 3, 2019
Click here to start talking: https://t.co/jCuSsUMXmH
In fact, 1.3 lakh unique conversations were initiated on the Big B WhatsApp chatbot over the course of the sale! With over 9.3 lakh incoming messages received, we helped Flipkart process over 36 lakh messages while the campaign was live!
What is a WhatsApp Chatbot?
A WhatsApp Chatbot is a software programme which runs on the encrypted WhatsApp for Business platform. Simply put, it allows WhatsApp users to communicate with an intelligent, pre-programmed bot through a chat interface.
What Set the Big B WhatsApp Chatbot Apart?
The runaway success of this unique campaign can be attributed to the following factors:
- Ease of access: Netcore Cloud helped Flipkart leverage Facebook’s “Click-to-WhatsApp” feature on Facebook Ads by allowing target audiences to engage in real-time by merely clicking on the relevant ad. Through this, Netcore enabled the e-commerce giant to “pull” users on to the chatbot instead of actually sending them “push” marketing campaigns.
- Multi-lingual approach: The chatbot was launched in both English and Hindi. This exponentially increased the reach and engagement with target audiences in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in India –potential customer segments that are increasingly migrating to online shopping.
- Impactful conversational flow: Users could instantly connect and interact in a conversational flow based on one of India’s iconic television quiz shows, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), starring the Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan as the host.
- Easy-to-use interface: With the objective of reducing usage friction and potential drop-offs, Netcore Cloud created a chat interface that was extremely simple, extending all the way down to the use of pre-selected emojis.
By merely sending a single emoji, users received real-time updates on products under that category. This meant that users could directly select the best deals for the product categories that most interested them, instead of the regular website or mobile app buyer journey.
- Multi-action engagement: Based on the conversational flow, users could take various actions directly through the chatbot. They could purchase products, apply for shopping loans, or unlock video messages from other celebrities by playing an interactive game.
This allowed users enough time to explore the options offered by the chatbot and helped Flipkart nudge them towards conversion through the power of engaging entertainment.
- Power of virality: Word-of-mouth has a powerful multiplicatory effect. It assumes even greater magnitude and momentum in the digital space. This is precisely what happened with the Big B WhatsApp chatbot.
With satisfied customers and tech influencers raving about the disruptive innovation across social media, Flipkart was able to reach out to larger audiences that sampled the chatbot based on positive recommendations. This, in turn, drove higher engagement and conversions for Flipkart.
This WhatsApp bot called BigB by @flipkart has my attention. Showcasing their Big Billion Days offers by using emojis and interacting with whatsApp is really innovative. Don't think I've seen a similar use of the platform till now – https://t.co/92j7Da4J1N pic.twitter.com/KPERnFintt
— Amit Panchal (@AmitHPanchal) October 3, 2019
My 2 cents on using technology the right way, you either use platforms because everyone else is on it or you use it to unlock its true potential. This BigB WhatsApp Bot is brilliant example of the latter. Check it out here: https://t.co/IYBeR5sY02 pic.twitter.com/J2Q41LOvkp
— Jaymin Shah (@JayminSOfficial) October 3, 2019
Tech innovation of the day – The BigB Bot! If you haven't tried talking to the BigB #whatsApp bot till now, you must give it a go https://t.co/TcFAgUmgeD. This is a good way of creating engagement using a platform's core feature. And yes, Languages too!
— Chetan Bhawani (@chetanbhawani) October 3, 2019
Very smart use of #WhatsApp by @flipkart for Big Billion days with their BigB Bot. Emoji se offers was really cool. Brilliant product built. Haven't seen any engagement led thing on whatsapp so far. Industry first? Try it here : https://t.co/gTu0zgxL0A
— Dhananjay Bhosale (@Dhananjay_Tech) October 3, 2019
Can WhatsApp for Business Be Used Only for Chatbots?
No!
While Netcore Cloud helps you build custom chatbots over WhatsApp for such high-impact campaigns. You can also create chatbots to provide real-time customer support, respond to customer-initiated queries, and offer relevant information on a convenient channel of their preference.
Don’t stop there though! You can even incorporate WhatsApp Business Notifications as another personalized channel of customer engagement, as part of your multi-channel marketing mix. You can learn more about critical industry-specific use cases that you can address through this channel right here.
Also Read: The Ultimate Guide to using WhatsApp Business
As a marketer, you need to reach the right customer with the right message at the right time, and through the right channel. WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps allow you to do just that and so much more.
Don’t be a stranger and get in touch today to understand just how Netcore Cloud can elevate your customer engagement and retention game through the WhatsApp Business Solution!
