Mumbai: Click-to-WhatsApp Ads are reshaping India's digital marketing landscape, offering small businesses a direct line to engage customers at scale, which has proven particularly valuable in a digitally diversified market like India. This trend has seen significant growth as WhatsApp, with over 500 million users in India, is deeply embedded in the country’s communication culture. From mom-and-pop stores to artisans and niche e-commerce brands, click-to-WhatsApp ads have become a cost-effective, accessible gateway for customer interaction, facilitating direct messages, product inquiries and conversions, making them especially effective during the festive season.

For India’s small businesses, click-to-WhatsApp ads provide more than just visibility; they offer a real-time conversational channel to drive sales. Many small retailers and artisans operate with limited budgets, and traditional advertising channels often don’t yield the immediate, measurable responses that click-to-WhatsApp ads can generate. Through this format, businesses can engage customers quickly, answer queries, share catalogues, and even process orders within the app. This direct connection has empowered small businesses to extend their reach to new customers and engage returning ones, allowing them to scale operations without heavily investing in elaborate e-commerce setups or dedicated customer service teams.

The feature has also fostered trust with consumers, as it enables personal, real-time conversations with brands. For businesses, this results in lower customer acquisition costs and better conversion rates, particularly during high-traffic periods like the festive season when consumers are actively seeking personalised products, services and exclusive offers.

On the question of content that works best in the favour of Click-To-WhatsApp Ads to engage potential customers, White Rivers Media group head - media, Tejas Maha said, “Click-to-WhatsApp Ads work best with clear, personalised, and action-driven content. Messaging that quickly highlights key benefits paired with engaging visuals like images or videos grabs attention fast. Interactive elements like polls or quick-response options invite immediate interaction.”

As for festive ad spends, he replied, “As festive ad spends increase, brands will double down on digital strategies, with Click-to-WhatsApp Ads leading direct consumer engagement. Personalisation powered by AI and automation will speed up response times, while omnichannel marketing ensures a seamless experience across platforms. This approach has the potential for higher engagement and conversion rates, setting the stage for a more dynamic and responsive digital marketing environment.”

On the question of challenges, Gupshup senior director- marketing Vartika Verma said, “One of the biggest challenges that marketers face is the lack of or the need for more First-Party Databases. As businesses grow, marketing leaders must look to increase their customer base while also trying to increase return on ad spends. This is where Click-to-WhatsApp comes into play wherein every click on the ad can lead to a conversation on WhatsApp. The two-way conversations on WhatsApp can be automated to qualify and convert leads, with an added advantage of having a 72-hrs retargeting window for CTW Ads.

To effectively manage the growing volume of inbound customer conversations, brands need an intelligent automation platform to effectively turn conversations into conversions. Gupshup’s Conversation Cloud has rich capabilities such as personalisation and AI-powered conversations that increase the efficiency of Ads that click to WhatsApp.

To optimise Click-to-WhatsApp ads, we are helping brands create compelling ad campaigns with high quality visuals, concise messaging and a strong call to action. Once the customer enters the chat, brands are bringing in personalization and are leveraging automation to offer immediate responses, collect preliminary data and even guide users through a series of questions to better understand their needs. We’ve also seen brands offer value driven incentives such as exclusive discounts, special offers, which helps accelerate the lead generation process.

Businesses are leveraging the personalise feature of our platform to tailor their campaigns and conversations based on customer history and real-time actions from their website, app, or any other owned asset. This drives more efficiency and intuitively guides marketers to identify the right audience, who has a higher propensity to respond, and above all what they would be most likely to engage with or buy.”

For building stronger relationships with customers during major sales events like Diwali or Christmas, she replied, “According to the global “Seasonal Holidays Study” by YouGov, 61 per cent of holiday shoppers say they spend more time online during the holiday season compared to other times. The increased media consumption correlates with intensified shopping activities, such as the discovery and purchase of a wider range of categories.

Another trend that we observed in 2023 was that holiday shoppers are open to discovering new brands and products online. They enjoy personalised shopping experiences and relevant messaging more than ever.

Today, customers expect to reach out to brands like they reach out to their friends - on social messaging channels, via natural language input, at their convenience. Ads that Click to WhatsApp layered with automated conversational workflows have been instrumental in sparking that instant conversation that leads to more engagement and conversions.  

Brands can create festive-themed chatbots that not only provide instant responses but also share personalised product recommendations based on customer preferences and past behaviours. This level of customization helps brands stand out in a crowded marketplace, as customers appreciate the effort made to cater to their individual needs and interests. Moreover, by leveraging WhatsApp’s high engagement rates—where messages boast a 98 per cent open rate—brands can ensure that their festive offers are seen and acted upon promptly.

Additionally, these Conversational ads enable brands to build anticipation for upcoming sales by sending teasers and exclusive previews of discounts directly to customers' chats. This approach not only keeps customers informed but also creates excitement around the brand's offerings. By blending promotional content with engaging interactions, brands can create a memorable shopping experience that goes beyond mere transactions.

Here are some examples where brands have used Gupshup’s platform to build superior customer experience at a lower cost-

-An IPL team was able to drive down cost per fan acquisition to 1/4th of traditional ads. They were able to generate 28 per cent more leads as compared to traditional ads.

-An e-commerce company in India leveraged Ads that Click to WhatsApp to drive app downloads. The company saw 1/10th of the cost per install with gamification.

-A leading wearables brand created excitement and built first party data prior to product launch and saw 1.6X sign-ups on WhatsApp compared to web forms.

-A leading home furnishing brand saw 75 per cent reduction in cost per qualified lead compared to traditional digital ads.”

She again emphasised a bit on challenges before concluding, “For many years, shoppers have allocated a significant portion of their Mega Sales Days budget towards Black Friday and Cyber Monday, particularly in Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America. The trend in India is not very different. Shoppers are spending more time online, discovering new brands, shopping for themselves, and purchasing gifts. Amidst all this, the biggest challenge for marketers is not to only market right but also to stand out from the other advertisers.

Personalised offers make customers feel valued and increase the likelihood of interaction. Businesses often use Click-to-WhatsApp ads to share exclusive holiday discounts or personalised offers directly with users, addressing them by name and referencing their past interactions or purchases. This targeted approach can drive more engagement, encouraging users to initiate a conversation with the brand.

To make the most of Ads that Click to Whatsapp, our advice for brands is to test and scale their conversational journeys. By preparing journeys in advance, brands can automate lead qualification, give AI-powered product suggestions, and automatically trigger nudges based on customer activity, such as abandoned carts and more. This not only adds to customer delight but also deflects the workload on human agents.”

Runway Realty group marketing chief officer Rima Kirtikar said, “For the upcoming festive season, we’re focusing on curating unique experiences in terms of big spike events like Music concerts, stand-up comedy acts & food fest. To name a few – we have Biswa Kalyan Rathi performing on the 13 October, and Masters of Scene performing ABBA TRIBUTE on the 18 October. Seedhe Maut concert - India Tour is on 20th October, we have the Indian navy perform band on 24th October and we close the action-packed October with Bhukkad Flea – Food fest on 26 & 27 October. In addition to the above, we have Diwali décor coming up by mid-October which will form a lovely backdrop to all the social pictures. There will be an array of engagement options and workshops for all our visitors. Our aim is to provide a holistic shopping experience that captures the festive spirit while offering a wide range of choices.

This year, we’ve noticed a shift in consumer behavior where shoppers are more inclined towards premium products and experiences. There’s also a growing interest in sustainable and locally-sourced products, which we are actively supporting by offering a selection of such brands in our stores.

She further stated on how R-City supports its retail partners in maximizing sales and creating festive offers to which she said, “At R-City, we are deeply committed to supporting our retail partners in maximizing their sales, especially during the festive season. To enhance their reach, we are rolling out high-impact pan-Mumbai print advertisements along with dynamic digital campaigns that aim to drive footfall from across the city. Additionally, the exciting lineup of events we have planned will attract customers from all corners of Mumbai to the mall.

We are actively encouraging our brands to focus on creating memorable festive experiences for customers. While they work on offering attractive discounts, promotions, and gratification, we are collaborating with them on joint marketing initiatives. These include customized promotions and prime space allocations for festive product displays, ensuring that our brands connect with the right audiences and see a significant boost in sales this festive season.”

On leveraging technology and digital platforms to enhance the festive shopping experience, she concluded by saying, “At R-City, we recognize the importance of technology in enhancing the customer experience, especially during the festive season. While our primary focus remains on creating vibrant, on-ground experiences at the mall, we are also leveraging digital platforms to keep our customers informed and engaged. Through targeted digital campaigns, social media interactions, and online festive offers, we are connecting with our audience to ensure they stay updated about the exciting promotions and events happening at the mall. This approach keeps the focus on your existing efforts while acknowledging the role of digital platforms.”