Marketing By Whatsapp To Approach The “Mute Generation”

“What time can I call you?”; “I am writing to you because I saw that she had a missed call from you”; “I’m going to send him a message for his birthday.” ring a bell? These are typical phrases of the so-called “mute generation,” young people who tend to reject telephone calls.

It is a reality that smartphones and other smart devices with Internet access have come to simplify our lives. Approximately 67% of the world’s population owns at least one mobile phone. And with the current models, people can carry out an infinite number of actions: checking social networks, taking photos, recording videos, browsing the Internet, downloading games, booking trips and flights, keeping track of their finances, and much more. The curious thing about this situation is that, currently, the last thing we do from our phones makes calls.

A phone to call? Not for the “mute generation.”

Let’s be honest, how many calls a week do you make from your mobile? We are less and less used to making phone calls; however, this increases in a specific generational group: young people between 15 and 25 years of age. Experts have called this group the “silent generation” (or “mute generation”), characterized, among other things, by always keeping their phones silent and feeling “phobic” about making phone calls. 

We are talking about those young people who prefer to communicate through instant messaging applications and social networks rather than by phone. 96% of young people use some instant messaging service as their preferred channel of communication and reserve phone calls for emergencies or only for their most intimate social circles. The supremacy of calls is coming to an end. 

The mute generation is recognized not only by their discontent when receiving phone calls; He doesn’t like doing them either. For this reason, actions that used to be commonplace, such as ordering a pizza by phone or calling a store to ask for opening hours, are losing that everyday nature. In these cases, both the pizzeria and the store would have to find new ways to connect with their customers of this generation.

How to communicate with the mute generation?

According to Hootsuite, the average number of hours spent on the Internet by people between the ages of 16 and 24 is 8 hours for men and 7:50 hours for women. To this, we must add that 90% of users access the network from smartphones, either exclusively or in combination with other devices. Once again, phones are no longer just for making calls. 

Although it is possible that brands can reach their customers through web pages, SEM strategies, and social networks, the immediate customer service offered by phone calls is left aside since the response time cannot be matched in any of the mentioned strategies.  

If we go back to what we discussed, we will remember that 96% of young people prefer to communicate through instant messaging. These have become so relevant in people’s daily lives that we can see several chosen as their “favorite Social Media platforms, “among which WhatsApp takes the crown as a favorite, even above Instagram and  Facebook. 

In addition, another interesting fact if we focus on the English-speaking population is that Spain and Mexico are in the top 10 countries with the most WhatsApp users in the world. 

So, if we are a brand that needs customer service that has the immediacy of calls and needs to impact the mute generation, WhatsApp is an excellent way to achieve it.  

Now I am sending you a “Whatsapp”! Whatsapp marketing is the answer

WhatsApp marketing strategies can bring great results depending on how it is carried out and how compatible the brand’s business model is with this messaging service. 

Due to the many active users (more than 2 billion worldwide), WhatsApp is a very efficient tool for starting conversations between customers and brands. This is due not only to the speed with which they communicate within the application but also because it is a free service, and all the people who have it already know how to use it, so the user experience it facilitates. 

Below, we share some practices that will be very useful in implementing a WhatsApp marketing strategy in your business: 

Install WhatsApp Business

It was released at the beginning of 2018 and followed the same logic as the typical application, only with some features that will make your work easier. You can upload your product catalog with characteristics and prices, hours, physical location, links to your websites and social networks, and configure quick responses that provide solutions to your customers’ doubts. All this for free. 

The WhatsApp Business API

Although the previous application can be very useful for small businesses, the API will allow you to connect your account with a CRM and your email marketing service so that you can respond and follow up on several conversations simultaneously. This API isn’t free, but it is a worthwhile investment if your customer volume is large enough to need it. 

Avoid spam to your customers.

This channel can be an excellent option for communicating promotions. However, as it is a much more direct and personalized medium, excessive messages will not benefit your strategy or customer relationship. Whenever you send a message, remember that you are doing so through a personal messaging service. 

Remember the nature of WhatsApp

The app is very accessible and practical, but try to use it with a single goal: to offer effective customer service, as well as to build a more personal and close relationship. Complement it with other strategies that can fill in the pending gaps in your strategy. 

Create specific content for this medium

Refrain from sharing with your clients the same thing they can find on your social networks or website. Think of WhatsApp as a compliment that will help you provide a much more efficient and simple service for people. 

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