Today, we are hooked on multiple conversational platforms and are found switching between them several times a day. These platforms are a great way to help us keep in touch with our friends, family and colleagues. They have also opened up new avenues for businesses to reach out to customers and stay connected with them at every stage of the buying process.
Marketers are making the most of conversational channels to engage with customers and nurture leads as well as promote their products with timely offers.
Both businesses and customers stand to gain immensely. While businesses have cut down their spending and have leveraged better customer engagement opportunities, on the hand, customers get to enjoy personalized and hassle-free shopping experiences. The best part—customers can connect with their favourite brands with just a few clicks.
When it comes to conversational channels of communication, one cannot ignore WhatsApp. The very fact that WhatsApp has over 2 billion monthly users, makes it a lucrative platform for marketers to explore. This is primarily because:
- WhatsApp messages have an extremely high open rate at 99%
- Being an instant messaging platform, customers are more likely to respond to WhatsApp messages than to emails or any other form of communication
- An average user is believed to open WhatsApp nearly 23-25 times a day and spend an average of 38 minutes on the app daily
While WhatsApp is gaining massive popularity, many companies continue to stick to the traditional mode of communicating through email. Email vs. WhatsApp marketing is one of the most talked-about and debated marketing topics of this era.
Every business that is looking to modernize and revamp its marketing strategy is often left wondering—which is better, email or WhatsApp?
In this post, we will give you an honest comparison of email vs. WhatsApp marketing, to help you get a fair idea about which platform will suit your business best. Let’s get started.
What is Email Marketing?
In simple words, email marketing is the use of email as a channel to promote products and services. Contrary to popular belief that email is dying, people continue to be active on this platform.
Email is a quick and cost-effective way to reach out to new customers. Email can help you create and share targeted messages. That said, it is important not to overuse the channel because people have a low tolerance for spam or irrelevant content that is sent to them all too frequently.
Once your emails are treated as spam, there is no way of going back and repairing the damage done. Your emails will slip through the cracks and not reach your intended customers, nullifying the impact that you wished to create with your email marketing efforts.
Let’s now look at the advantages of using email marketing.
Pros of using email marketing
- Email marketing is cost-effective when compared to other channels of marketing. You do not have to spend on printing, advertising, or branding space costs.
- It’s a great platform to send targeted and personalized messages.
- Email marketing is scalable—it can be used to reach wider audiences or smaller targeted groups.
- Email marketing helps you engage with customers who look forward to receiving communication from your end. Your email marketing list will consist of people who have actively indicated their interest in receiving emails from you.
- With email marketing, you have the opportunity to make your content relevant and in line with your brand persona by adding attachments, gifs, or videos.
Cons of email marketing
- There is no guarantee that your emails will be read by customers, as there is a high chance that marketing content ends up in the junk or spam folder.
- The chances of customers ignoring your emails are quite high as they receive hundreds of such emails from various DTC brands.
- Being creative is key to making your emails stand out to readers. This can take up a lot of your time as email is not quite flexible when it comes to designing.
What is WhatsApp Marketing?
When comparing email vs. WhatsApp, it's interesting to note that WhatsApp is relatively a newcomer in the block but has been gaining massive momentum with businesses and consumers alike. WhatsApp marketing refers to the activity of promoting your products and services on a popular platform.
There are 3 versions of the app—the basic WhatsApp which is meant for personal communication, the WhatsApp Business App created for entrepreneurs and small business owners with limited features and the WhatsApp Business API launched to cater to the growing communication needs of medium and large enterprises.
By adding WhatsApp as a marketing channel, businesses of all kinds can reach out to 1000s of opted-in customers instantly, engage in real-time conversations with them, share marketing content, and lead potential customers to a sale. WhatsApp holds immense opportunities for marketers as it is specifically designed to get businesses closer to customers through personalized conversations.
Let’s now look at how WhatsApp marketing fares vs. email in terms of its benefits and limitations.
Pros of using WhatsApp Marketing
- WhatsApp is a highly secure platform. Customers are assured of high levels of data privacy and security thanks to WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption on all conversations.
- It allows you to offer real-time customer support and service. It has never been easier for businesses to connect with customers. With WhatsApp, businesses can offer instant solutions to customer queries.
- WhatsApp is a highly engaging channel. Users can add elements of fun and creativity to the messages by including gifs, emojis, and audio or video content.
- WhatsApp enables you to build stronger relationships with customers. By engaging with brands on WhatsApp, customers feel more connected, heard and understood. You can set automated responses, and quick replies to take care of FAQs and product-related queries.
- It is an ideal platform to improve conversions and increase sales. Customers are more likely to respond to WhatsApp messages than any other channel. When timely messages are sent to announce new product launches, recover abandoned carts, and share new discounts and offers; you can win over customers and get them back to your stores.
Cons of WhatsApp Marketing
- WhatsApp has laid out strict guidelines and policies which companies must adhere to.
- When a customer has reached out to you, you have a 24-hour window to respond to them. If you fail to do so, you can only respond to them with WhatsApp template messages which have to be pre-approved by WhatsApp, before they are sent out to customers.
What is the difference between email and WhatsApp?
Email vs. WhatsApp–the main difference lies in the speed of communication and the possibility of your messages getting ditched as junk or spam.
We've also done a thorough study of SMS vs WhatsApp Marketing. Read the guide to learn what's best for your business.
Email vs WhatsApp marketing: What's best for your business?
We have done the groundwork and laid out the pros and cons as well as the key differences between email and WhatsApp before you. Now it's over to you to choose the right channel to boost your marketing efforts after taking into consideration your business goals and needs.
Truth be told—WhatsApp is the best option for you if you are looking for quick and effective ways to connect with your customers and drive sales.
With the WhatsApp Business API on DelightChat, you will be empowered to scale your business operations, reach out to 1000s of opted-in customers and establish strong customer relationships.
Wait no more! Sign up on DelightChat and explore the capabilities of WhatsApp marketing.
