According to participants in Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia and Mexico, WhatsApp has become the preferred platform for Singaporeans to connect with their brands. 72% of Singaporeans said they shop on WhatsApp, followed by Facebook Messenger (40%), followed by Instagram (30%).
New data from Twilio shows chat messaging has gone from being a "good thing" to a "necessary" feature for brands looking to expand their reach in Singapore. Almost 6 in 10 (62%) consumers in Singapore would like to shop directly from a chat messaging app, and almost 4 in 10 (38%) Singaporeans say they would spend at least 20% more on a brand that offers instant messaging.
“As loyalty becomes the primary currency ushering in a new era of engagement, companies that prioritize trust building over transactions will have a competitive advantage.
Additionally, Singapore's online shopping landscape has evolved from a one-way transactional interaction to a dynamic digital experience with a dynamic storefront. While the initial explosion of digital storefronts made consumers' lives more convenient, the proliferation of e-commerce applications eventually led to the fragmentation of the platform. Many consumers are annoyed by promotional emails and pressured by non-urgent app notifications.
In Singapore, almost half (46%) of consumers receive notifications from at least five different brands. 6 in 10 (58%) were overwhelmed by a constant stream of notifications and said they turn off push notifications "sometimes".
With WhatsApp dominating the market in Singapore as a private channel and offering historical insights into security and encryption, there is a great opportunity for brands to use it as a commerce channel, said Richard Bisladell, CEO of Construct Digital.
In addition, there are opportunities for small to medium-sized businesses and large organizations where WhatsApp has grown rapidly due to its simple interface and low cost of use. However, the challenge for small, medium and large businesses is the uniquely personal nature of the way Singaporeans use WhatsApp.
"If you can maintain that behavior and figure out how to use it, chances are good," he said.
Should WhatsApp be used for marketing or only for marketing?
Ideally, Bleasdale adds, brands using WhatsApp should see it as a dedicated customer service and support channel, but not bots. A study by Twilio also found that the majority of respondents (71%) would rather speak to human customers than bots. The effectiveness of the bots is questionable, with 41% of Singapore respondents saying they only solve their problems with chatbots.
"Simple questions, simple troubleshooting, and basic advice can make sense for brands to start with high-value customers as a VIP or premium support/service option," explains Blaisdell. Over time, as customers become more familiar with service and support channels, the opportunities for personalized and targeted marketing messages increase. This expansion means providing customer success specialists who are more focused on existing customers who derive better or greater value from their relationship with the brand.
When brands are smart and focused, WhatsApp offers them great potential.
He added that we still have a lot to learn about how WhatsApp works and doesn't work as a marketing channel. "In many ways, it will be an intelligent and successful brand, allowing customers to set the agenda and pace for how to effectively introduce WhatsApp into their marketing mix."
Sanchit Manderatha, CEO of Merkle Singapore, echoed Blaisdell's argument, saying chat can help all businesses, but it's important that all businesses consider using this channel to facilitate transactions, offer service support, or both .
When it comes to platform marketing, Menderatta says brands should use platforms sparingly and keep the marketing push going with personalized offers.
The customer is the queen and the queen's approval is everything.
The marketing team also needs to keep in mind that while it's easy for brands to reach customers on WhatsApp, it's easy for customers to block brands. When asked about the exact number of notifications a brand should send to marketers, Menderatha replied that there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Therefore, in such situations, Merkel advises customers to limit the number of push ads and limit the time your customers organically interact with your apps and websites.
So if a customer opens your app twice a day, brands might consider sending two notifications a day. And they open the app twice a month, which is the maximum allowed and a good nudge for marketers to make those two ads very convenient, contextual, and personalized in a month.
Consider broader integration
Brands can use WhatsApp to connect with existing or potential customers, but it's not about losing, said Gosia Rakowska, head of business at Publicis Media. Additionally, WhatsApp cannot be viewed as just a business tool: brands need to integrate their presence on WhatsApp with other touchpoints in the D2C or marketplace.
Pricing and notifications should be displayed universally to enhance the overall brand experience, and analytics play an important role in determining pricing and personalization levels.
"Unfortunately, analytics on WhatsApp is still in its infancy compared to other platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which give brands a better measure of what they can share with their users," Rakowska explains.
Rakowska adds that parent and parent companies are relatively successful in using corporate platforms, as are often speaker/buyers. Brands can learn from this and use the platform effectively by targeting their customers through WhatsApp communications, which is standard healthy marketing practice; It uses WhatsApp to communicate directly with customers to provide services and make additional product recommendations.
“Consent-based communication is a powerful tool to create a personal connection and reduce frustration or inconvenience caused by frequent notifications. By obtaining consent, brands give their customers the power to customize their experience, which leads to higher engagement.”
Understand your customers
Antony Founder and CEO Serm Teck Chon said markets outside of Singapore, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, have huge potential for commercial use of WhatsApp. However, he says that unlike corner shops, big brands not only need to create conversational channels to drive sales, but also use a long-term data strategy to look at them from a higher-level perspective.
"When using tools like WhatsApp to communicate with their customers, big brands need to analyze conversation data, analyze customer behavior and even use the data to predict customer demand and subsequent purchases," he said. Additionally, when brands run push notification campaigns, they should review responses and optimize campaigns to better understand user behavior.
In addition, the Twilio report also finds that brands should invest in proprietary and zero-sum data collection to maximize the full potential of distributed storefronts. This data, provided by customers themselves, helps brands understand what matters most to their customers: their pain points, needs, and communication habits.
"Companies that offer interactive, original and intuitive platforms in the digital storefront environment for almost any brand will stand out," said Coghill.
In particular, consumers prefer to interact with human agents rather than robots. A Twilio study found that three-quarters of respondents in Singapore have engaged in at least one conversation with chatbots in the past month, with the majority (71%) preferring to speak to human customers over bots. The effectiveness of the bots is also questionable: only 41% of respondents in Singapore said they could solve their problems with a chatbot alone.
After all, inflation and the threat of recession mean that customers are now more cautious about their decisions and want to know more about their purchases. "So it's up to the brand to provide the level of commitment to meet the needs of curious customers," he added.
The rise of Generation 1 to the role of the first professional worldwide and with this increase in consumer income also brings new challenges and opportunities for brands. As digital natives, Generation Z is more flexible than ever with classic advertising. To connect with this demographic, brands should invest in the channels these customers prefer, the report says.
