Where would you go for fishing if you don't want to catch your food daily instead of sporadically, even if it's small: At a big pond with big but fewer fish or at a pound slightly smaller than the big one with more but smaller fishes?
I bet your answer is the latter one. Why? Because you will get your food at a steady pace.
How is this related to WhatsApp promotional messages?
Well, here's the analogy: Email might have a higher user base (4 billion!) compared to WhatsApp (2 billion) but WhatsApp is proving to be a more intimate channel of communication with leads and customers. Big-box retailers are already crowding the emails & ads space. So as a small-to-medium business, you need to stand out & choose a communication channel that can help you send relevant and consistent communication directly to the customer. No cookies for guessing that, that channel is WhatsApp.
First, let's clear some doubts about sending promotional messages on WhatsApp.
Can You Send Promotional Messages on WhatsApp?
Before September 2021, WhatsApp only allowed transactional messages on WhatsApp so you could update people about shipping, tickets they've raised, any payment issues, reservations or send a welcome message.
WhatsApp is still a personal messaging app & its strength is in numbers. They have 2 billion active users, a presence in 180 countries. They didn't want businesses to spam people with sales (like how it happens on emails now!) & turn them away to some other messaging app.
But from September 2021, WhatsApp allowed businesses across all countries to send promotional messages by using a combination of the WhatsApp Business App & WhatsApp Business API.
Don't worry if you are not familiar with how to get access to these & use them to grow your business. DelightChat, a WhatsApp Business Solution Partner can help you set up everything & run your WhatsApp marketing without any hassle.
14 Promotional WhatsApp Messages & Templates That Help You Increase Sales
1. Seasonal & Holiday Offers
Around popular days or holidays, and during change of season people are looking to upgrade their send gifts, update wardrobe or buy something new for them. That's the time they are looking out for discounts, offers, and coupons. Even a free shipping offer can nudge them to make a purchase.
Template:
Autumn is here, and our prices are falling. Get up to 50% discount on top brands and styles that look good and make you feel confident. Get free delivery if you order in the next 12 hours. Flaunt your style before winter arrives.
Hello {{1}}, Need a gift to impress someone special?
Our valentine collection is {{2}} off for the next 24 hours. Add gift wrapping on checkout to get your gift wrapped in silky, chic paper for FREE.
Here are two examples of offer messages from popular brands:
2. Proactive Sale Reminder
Create excitement for your sale even before it begins by launching a reminder campaign. You can let people know that they can browse for products even before the actual sale begins & get their hands on favorite products before they run out.
This is particularly useful if your competitors are also running an offer at the same time e.g. during Black Friday, or Christmas.
Template:
Hello, {{1}}. Our summer sale starts in less than 1 hour! Are you ready?
Browse and add your favorite items to the cart for faster checkout. Get a 20% discount. No minimum order value. A discount code will be automatically applied at checkout.
3. Monthly Sale
It's the end of the month and you want to get rid of inventory before starting fresh in the new month or give a boost to your sales? Use this end-of-the-month campaign message to get new customers.
Template:
Hey {{1}} ! Is the end of the month making you feel broke but you want to pamper yourself? Well, we have an offer. Get 20% off on all our services on the {{2}} of every month. To book, visit {{3}}.
Template:
Hey {{1}} ! Is the end of the month making you feel broke but you still want to buy that pretty bag you like? Well, we have an offer. Get 20% off on all handbags till the end of the month. Place your order now to get it before you start a new month.
Here's an example from a real brand that sells fresh produce:
4. Games & Challenges
Games & fun challenges are a good way to increase engagement, stay on top of your audience's mind & boost sales by giving out discounts to winners or participants.
Template:
Hello {{1}}, it's games-week at AwesomeInc. and we are offering coupons worth $100 to winners of the Awesome-Trivia challenge. One lucky winner will get a lifetime supply of pop sockets.
To participate, visit the link {{1}}, register your phone number, and answer 3 questions correctly.
All the best! Hope you win. T&C apply.
Here's a real-world example from a watch brand running a game during valentines week:
5. New Product Launch
Successful brands evoke desire in prospects to buy and use their products. You can do that same & even give an incentive when you launch a new product. Sales from a new launch will help you quickly get feedback and re-iterate the product for future launches.
Template:
Bonjour, hot coffee.
Hello {{1}}, we've just launched our minimal french press to help you brew fresh coffee at home. Since it's out for the first time, we want to get it in hands of many people. So we're offering a 30% discount on till for the next {{2}} days. Buy now at this link: {{3}}. No shipping and you also get $30 extra off if you buy any coffee bag with it.
6. Abandoned Cart Recovery
If you sell anything on your website, you know that a lot of people add items to the cart and don't complete the purchase. But you can still recover this otherwise lost sale by sending them an abandon cart message.
Sometimes, they need a little extra nudge, some times they need to be reminded in case they left their cart because of some distraction.
Template:
Hey {{1}}. You left something in your cart. Grab those now and we'll ship them for free.
Not able to decide? Do you have some questions? Drop us a note here or call us at {{2}}. Happy to help.
You can also add an incentive in form of a discount or free shipping to motivate them to complete the purchase.
Here's an example from a real brand that sells coffee (and is a happy customer of DelightChat):
7. Back-in-Stock Notification
When an item is sold out once, people believe that it will likely sell out again. This shows that the product is really useful, good and popular. This can help add scarcity and social proof to our message and improve sales of re-stoked items.
Template:
Hello {{1}}. Our most loved almond butter variant called {{2}} keeps flying off the shelf! Maybe because it's super affordable, really tasty, and keeps you healthy. It's back in stock today. Order now before it runs out of stock, again. Here's the link: {{3}} with an added surprise.
8. Upsell
Upselling is when you offer a customer to buy a higher-priced item, bundle, or upgrade a product for more duration or features. This helps you get more profit from the same customer because your cost of acquiring the customer is fixed whether he buys for $10 or $100.
Template:
Hello {{1}}. Congratulations on the purchase of {{2}}. Here's an insider tip to help you save more money: Extend your subscription for a year to get two month's subscription for free along with priority customer support.
Want in on the deal? Click here: {{3}} to upgrade your account. Got questions? Send us a message here or call us on {{4}}.
9. Loyalty Rewards
The cost of acquiring a new customer is most likely 5 times higher than the cost of retaining an existing customer. That's why customer retention is important to keep your marketing spend low and build a loyal audience. A great way to keep customers coming back is by offering them incentives to order again.
Template:
Hello {{1}}, you made our day by ordering from us. Now we are making yours -- your wallet has been credited with 100 points that you can use when you order anything from our website next time. The points will expire 1 year from now. Check your total points here: {{2}}
Here's an example from two real brands offering redeemable points:
10. Re-engagement
Like loyalty rewards, another way to make your existing customers purchase again is by sending them a re-engagement message. With so many distractions, it's plausible that customers forget about your brand. So remind them again by sending a simple message. To motivate further, you can add a discount.
Template:
Hey {{1}}, it's been a while since you bought your favorite coffee -- {{2}}. We are curious, what happened?
We've also launched a new collection of coffee sourced directly from the farms. You might want to try that out this time. Check out the favorites here: {{3}}.
Here's an example from a real brand that offers grooming services at home:
11. Upcoming Event
Unless you are Coldplay who are going to be touring the country, you'll need to spread the word about your upcoming event. Get the right information to people so they can free up their schedule and ask them to register before tickets sell out.
Template:
Hello {{1}}, we are hosting a brewing session with our talented barista on the {{2}} and would love for you to be there. It's a {{3}} hour-long session. Learn how to brew that perfect cup of coffee.
We only have {{4}} seats left. You can head to this page to register: {{5}}.
Stay updated about future events here: {{6}}
Here's Leap Club informing their users about an upcoming event.
12. Rebranding
A change of website look, brand name, logo, etc. should be communicated to your audience if you don't want them to find a new look and get confused if they're dealing with the same, old company or a different one.
This is not exactly promotional but to celebrate the occasion, you can offer something special to your audience so that they visit the website, see the new logo or look.
Template:
Hello {{1}}. We've outgrown ourselves! And that means we needed to update our brand and messaging to reflect who we are and all we have to offer. It doesn't change anything in your services. Things will only get better from here on! From now on, you'll see the new logo and look on our website and every else.
To celebrate it with you, we are offering {{2}} % discount on all services for this week. Visit the new website to get your offer:
Additional read: If you want templates for sending non-promotional messages like updates on delivery, issue-resolution, payments, etc. checkout these useful WhatsApp Business Message Templates.
How to Send Promotional WhatsApp Marketing Messages using DelightChat
Here's how DelightChat makes it easy to create a WhatsApp broadcast and track campaign results in a few easy steps.
Step 1: Create broadcast
Login to DelightChat. Go to WhatsApp Marketing >Broadcast. In the top right corner, click on the 'Create New Broadcast' button.
Step 2: Upload contacts, select message template
Fill in the details one by one. Check the preview box to see how the message will look in the recipient's chat. Any variables will be resolved to corresponding data once it is sent out.
Step 3: Schedule or send your broadcast
Send the message immediately or choose a time in the future when you would like the message to be sent.
Once you are done, hit 'Publish Broadcast.' Your message will be sent to the list of contacts you uploaded & at the time you selected while scheduling.
Step 4: Track campaign results
DelightChat automatically tracks 2 goals through our integration with Shopify:
- Orders placed
- Order value
This is done by matching a customer's phone number who successfully received a broadcast to the phone number in a new order placed in your store.
To learn more, read our step-by-step guide on sending WhatsApp Broadcasts using DelightChat.
3 Hot Tips Before You Start Sending WhatsApp Promotional Messages
Segment and personalize your message
Segment your users based on certain criteria such as location, gender, and especially their purchase history to send the most relevant message to each user.
WhatsApp is not perceived as a channel of mass marketing communication by people yet. Try to personalize your message using the data available and include them in the variables resolved in the message template.
Track message data
Keep track of data to know if you need to improve your strategy, audience or messaging.
Perhaps your messages are better received during the night. Perhaps you need to craft better message templates that resonate with your audience.
Also, it's a good practice to identify less engaged users and avoid sending them multiple messages on WhatsApp.
Use a shared inbox to manage customer responses
Your customers might have questions about your product or doubts regarding the offer. They may reply to the WhatsApp promotional message and try to reach you.
Using a shared WhatsApp inbox for your team is a great practice. It helps you assign incoming chats amongst all your team members, use canned responses for replying quickly, and even setting up auto-replies for very specific but common queries.
DelightChat: Best WhatsApp Marketing Software to Grow Your Business
Customers today demand superior experiences throughout their journey with your brand. With that in mind, a bulk WhatsApp sender using official API can help you reach out to a large customer base at once and engage them with interactive messages on their favourite communication channel.
DelightChat’s WhatsApp Business platform is loaded with solutions to power your communication strategy.
- Manage your customer support tickets with a shared WhatsApp inbox
- Send WhatsApp Promotional Messages using official API
- WhatsApp Green Tick verification for your brand
- Automated abandoned cart recovery, COD order verification and more via Shopify integration
If you’re on the lookout for a platform that has all the features to help your business scale by the day, then sign up today and schedule a personalised demo with our team.
