Businesses must communicate with their customers – that’s an undeniable fact. From booking confirmations and event updates to marketing and promotions, the end goal is messages that get opened and provoke action.

The most used form of digital communication between businesses and their customers is email, with around 80-90% using email marketing. It’s immediate, almost everyone has an address, and you can target large groups in one go.

But now, the limitations of email are holding back business owners. The average person receives over 120 emails every day, many of which are marketing emails that they don’t even remember signing up for, let alone want to open. In fact, an open rate considered good sits at about 20%.

For those that don’t end up in the junk folder or get immediately deleted, click through rates are even worse. The average email earns a click through rate of just 3-5%.

This makes it tough for business owners to market to their customer base, which is a challenge. But when messages are more urgent, like changes to an event schedule, or are time sensitive, missed emails hurt both the sender and the recipient.

So, what is the alternative?

Many companies are developing their own apps for more effective and immediate communication with their customers. But with over 1000 new apps released every day, there’s app fatigue – people are reluctant to download a new app for every new business, shop or event.

On the other hand, WhatsApp already has over 2 billion active worldwide users. It’s a platform that people know and trust.

Businesses can now use WhatsApp Business API for two-way communication with their customers; it’s a tool that allows businesses to integrate WhatsApp messaging capabilities into their own systems. This is different to the WhatsApp chats we use with friends and family. The platform integrates with existing CRM systems, allows the sender to track and analyse customer behaviour, and ultimately, sends messages that get opened.

Think about receiving a notification on your phone – are you more likely to open it if it’s an email or a WhatsApp message? The stats say that if it’s a WhatsApp, the open rate will sit at 80%.

That’s a dramatic 60% more than the open rate of emails.

By no means should business owners should start using WhatsApp for all their communications. In fact, one of the things that makes WhatsApp such a trusted platform is the anti-spam capabilities that prevent its users being, well, spammed.

As a rule, the WhatsApp Business API platform should be used when one of the three conditions applies:

• Communications are high importance
• Messaging is time sensitive
• Personalisation is required

High importance notifications might include booking confirmations and details; things you wouldn’t want to be standing in front of a ticket inspector or welcome desk frantically searching your overcrowded email inbox for. For example, when customers of Travelodge make a booking, they receive an instant WhatsApp message containing the details of their stay.

When messages are time sensitive, emailing customers can be too slow. Most people check their emails all in one go once or twice a day, rather than when each message arrives. Instant messaging communications mean customers don’t miss out on limited time offers – but be careful, as sending these notifications too often can be ‘spammy’.

WhatsApp Business API is particularly helpful for conversational flows that deliver messages based on customer interests. This means the recipient can make choices that affect future communications, without the need for a person on the other end of the phone manually replying to them. The NHS in Greater Manchester has recently piloted a programme, which is now getting further roll out, delivering support and resources to families on long waiting lists for speech therapy. By answering questions and choosing from options on the platform, they’re given personalised advice based on the patient’s needs.

Business owners can also use this approach to understand trends in customer behaviour. Whilst email marketing has more of a ‘throw it at the wall and see what sticks’ approach, WhatsApp allows a two-way flow for a much more meaningful understanding of your customers’ preferences.

Emails are still useful to business owners when messages are longer and more detailed, information is not time sensitive or is more generic. For the most impact, emails should be used in conjunction with instant messaging depending on the content and purpose of the communication.

Helen Nurse, owner of Capture 1