Everything you need to know about Utility Messages

WhatsApp opens up amazing opportunities for business, commerce, and marketing. That is why many companies actively use this platform today. Its main task is to help ensure effective and high-quality communication between businesses and clients, potential consumers, and customers.

Considering the constant development of WhatsApp and the introduction of new features and rules, the business potential is also growing. One useful and widely used solution can be called Utility Messages. Not everyone fully understands what it is, its features, and how it can help your company. Therefore, in this review, you can get answers to the most essential and common questions.

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What are Utility Messages?

First, you need to answer the simplest and most important question: What are Utility Messages, and what do they mean?

This is the name of a special category of messages initiated by business representatives to send notifications, updates, and other information to clients after completed transactions. An important condition is that in order to send such messages, the client must first agree to receive them, that is, approve the mailing to their contact information.

Using the capabilities of Utility Messages through the WhatsApp platform, you can send the necessary information to clients during the purchase process or after placing an order. In this way, you can provide detailed and timely information that the client needs, ensuring a positive customer experience throughout the entire interaction with the company.

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Possibilities of using Utility Conversations

The type of messages that companies can send through the WhatsApp platform have vast application possibilities. The main task is to conveniently convey the necessary information to clients, provide answers to current questions, etc.

Utility messages deliver information to clients using a convenient and clearly visible communication channel. Several key factors can be highlighted among the main possibilities for use.

• Dialogue bots. You can connect and activate chatbots through WhatsApp. They will interact with customers in a one-on-one format, offering quick response options, disclosure of necessary information, etc.;
• Payment reminders. Another helpful function of the messaging utility is the ability to send quick reminders that the customer needs to make the next monthly or scheduled payment. This eliminates the need to make calls or send email notifications that are often not viewed;
• Order status updates. With Utility Messages, companies can automatically send data about the current order status update. For example, when the order is confirmed, shipped, delivered, returned, exchanged, etc. This provides an excellent opportunity to reduce the customer's anxiety level. After all, he will know promptly at what stage his order is and when to expect delivery or a refund after a return, for example;
• Feedback. Utility Messages allows you to easily and conveniently collect comments, reviews, and customer ratings. The company will use this information to eliminate shortcomings in its work or to encourage active customers.

As you can see, Utility Messages have quite a wide range of possibilities. Therefore, many companies are actively implementing WhatsApp Business and realizing the potential of this category of messages.

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Utility Messages vs. SMS Mailing

The question of choosing between WhatsApp and its utility conversations vs. standard SMS messages is quite natural.

To answer it, we need to compare the functional capabilities of these two types of messages visually.

Let's start with SMS. Here, we can highlight the following key features:

• low interactivity rates;
• insufficient message saturation;
• no calls to action in the message window;
• only one-way updates;
• CTR rate at 8%.

Now, it will be valuable and exciting for you to look at WhatsApp and what this platform offers thanks to Utility Messages:

• unlimited number of messages sent;
• use of the capabilities of a 24-hour window;
• saturation with additional elements;
• more characters;
• availability of buttons for quick response;
• incentives to action from customers;
• bot flows;
• marketing and transactional opportunities;
• CTR rate over 50%.

SMS allows short notifications to be sent without additional elements. The character limit when using WhatsApp is 1024.

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How Utility Messages Bring Results to Companies

For any commercial company, the result is the primary indicator of the successful implementation of a particular solution. Therefore, examining how utility messages sent through the WhatsApp platform can produce the corresponding results will be valuable and engaging.

• Noticeable and timely notifications. Statistics clearly demonstrate that Utility Messages have a significantly higher opening rate, as well as guaranteed delivery to the client;
• Interaction capabilities and focus. Due to the excellent response, multimedia capabilities, as well as response functions from clients, such types of messages are ideal for most types of business communications;
• Consumer choice. A huge number of people today use WhatsApp messenger's capabilities. At the same time, the majority of adult users (about 70%) prefer to communicate via messages rather than by phone with business representatives.

Therefore, it is obvious that Utility Messages have excellent potential and can deliver the results that companies expect from the implementation of WhatsApp Business.

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What is the principal value of Utility Messages?

Now, we need to talk about the importance of Utility Messages from a business perspective. Any company is interested in whether a marketing, commercial, or communication tool can generate profit. After all, the implementation of WhatsApp Business requires certain financial investments. How justified is this decision? To do this, you need to look at the value and capabilities of Utility Messages.

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Increased profitability

Investments in integrating WhatsApp Business bring results and increase profitability. The company gains access to a prompt and convenient channel of communication with customers.

Thanks to WhatsApp, reading, opening, and response rates increase significantly. At the same time, the quality of business interaction with its consumers increases. Efficiency also increases due to the decrease in the number of incoming requests. Customers quickly receive all the necessary information, so there is no need to contact technical support, call the company, find out the order status by phone, etc.

Utility Messages offer amazing opportunities to keep customers up to date with current events and provide them with a convenient two-way communication channel.

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Improving customer experience

Customers receive information through a channel convenient for them. This stimulates the growth of the quality of customer experience, customer retention, and CSAT improvement. By investing in CX, you improve the perception of your brand.

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Increasing the effectiveness of interaction

This will happen at all stages. After all, WhatsApp can be used for marketing, commercial offers, and service notifications. As a result, you can use one powerful tool for many purposes and tasks.

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Features of using Utility Messages

Knowing how to integrate WhatsApp capabilities into your business and use utility messages will be helpful if you integrate them correctly.

• Such notifications are usually launched in response to completed events. This allows the company to track its actions and the requests of its consumers further. But sending is possible only to those customers who have subscribed to the mailing list;
• Messages must necessarily consist of data about an active, current or completed transaction, account, subscription, etc.;
• A pre-approved template should be used for mailing. It will include data about transactions, customer accounts, subscriptions, etc.

Complying with such rules and requirements will allow you to maximize the potential of utility messages on the WhatsApp platform.

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Using Utility Messages in Various Industries

There are many options for using utility messages in various industries and spheres. But we can highlight several of the most common and popular ones.

• E-commerce and retail. In these situations, Utility Messages can be used to send delivery notifications, provide reviews and feedback, make requests for product replacement or return;
• Financial sector. In this case, utility messages can help send transaction data, notifications about payment cancellations, account updates, password recovery, etc.;
• Education. In this sphere, you can send messages to remind them about classes, payments, and extensions of paid courses. It is also a convenient tool for organizing feedback;
• Travel and tourism. Through WhatsApp, you can cancel flights, register a ticket, order additional services, get visa recommendations and much more;
• Entertainment and media. WhatsApp allows customers to learn about new tariffs, the need to renew a subscription, account updates, and more.

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This clearly shows the opportunities and advantages of Utility Messages. Therefore, it is not surprising that modern businesses are actively implementing WhatsApp and realizing the potential of this powerful communication tool.

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