THE RELEVANCE OF WHATSAPP NEWSLETTERS

The short communication channels of the Internet allow companies to manage contact with customers effectively and inexpensively. Gone are the days when expensive advertising brochures and elaborate flyers had to be printed and sent out. Apart from the enormous environmental impact and the waste of precious resources, the procedure involved a considerable amount of effort and, moreover, a lot of working time and costs.

Digital communication channels have permanently changed marketing in virtually all areas. Where print products used to be produced and sent out, newsletters have established themselves, are extremely popular with most companies and are now an integral part of their marketing. Of course, it didn’t take long for some companies to bring their newsletters to the people via other communication channels as well. One popular medium in this regard was WhatsApp. 

It’s obvious that you can reach a large number of users through WhatsApp and thus get in touch with your customers quickly. Customers who gave their phone number during an order process and thus signed up for a WhatsApp newsletter then received messages via WhatsApp with offers and learned about future discount promotions and new products. In this way, their email inbox remained empty and they were able to read the newsletter the short way via WhatsApp. This, of course, has tempted many companies to rely on WhatsApp for marketing in addition to the traditional emailing of a newsletter. Another advantage for customers was the short communication path to the companies. They could quickly write a message via WhatsApp, similar to what they already do several times a day to friends and acquaintances, and thus clarify questions or find out about the shipping status.

Of course, WhatsApp recognized the potential of how the Messenger service could be used commercially and, after the ban on mass messaging, developed an alternative that could meet the needs of businesses. WhatsApp developed an app for Messenger marketing called “WhatsApp for Business.” With this app, the messenger service primarily had small businesses in mind, which were to be made easier to manage communication with customers with the help of the tool. However, an adequate solution could also be found for medium-sized and large companies. The company advertised that it would have access to two billion WhatsApp users, who could be turned into its own customers at low cost. Until then, the status quo was that companies could only send messages to customers if they requested them. Newsletters and marketing e-mails, on the other hand, were not permitted.

This changed in October 2020 with the introduction of WhatsApp Business API. From then on, companies should once again have the opportunity to get in touch with their customers more easily and quickly. Although it was avoided to talk about the possibility of sending newsletters again, in reality, WhatsApp Business API basically meant exactly that for companies. From then on, companies and brands could approach their customers with news and offers via Messenger.

Unlike WhatsApp newsletters, WhatsApp Promotional Messages are more regulated. WhatsApp Promotional Messages are officially allowed by WhatsApp and regulated accordingly. For example, there are different quality levels into which companies are divided by WhatsApp. Basically, the lower the level, the more restrictions the company has to accept. Through WhatsApp Promotional Messages, WhatsApp also sets a certain quality standard and restricts abuse through spam messages. This was not possible with the old system, when companies sent WhatsApp newsletters. Now, through WhatsApp Promotional Messages, businesses can also choose a custom design in their marketing messages and thus personalize their messages significantly. But the added value of WhatsApp Promotional Messages also comes at a price. While the “classic” WhatsApp newsletters were basically free, WhatsApp requires financial compensation for the use of “Promotional Messages”, which is reflected in a multi-level pricing model. In this way, WhatsApp has ensured that users are not harassed by spam messages, that companies and brands can approach customers again via WhatsApp, and that WhatsApp can also generate a profit for its services.