Cologne, Germany – 5 July 2017 –
Almost 70 percent of Germans use the WhatsApp news app for everyday communication. A business version of the messenger service is already in the test run, but the potential of WhatsApp as a communication channel of companies is hardly used. At the same time, every fifth in the general population is of the opinion that WhatsApp and chats with companies are already long overdue.
One in three WhatsApp users also find that social networking and apps are often less straightforward to communicate with companies than through other ways (such as e-mail, post, phone). Even 24 percent of those who have not yet used WhatsApp can imagine using WhatsApp as a future user to communicate with companies. This is demonstrated by the results of the study “WhatsApp im Kundenkontakt” by the international market research and consulting institute YouGov.
“Companies should use WhatsApp’s potential in enterprise communications to take the lead when WhatsApp is just as common as private individuals,” said Markus Braun, Head of Business Unit Reports at YouGov. “The direct contact of the users with the companies also presents big challenges, because the direct dialogue is gaining in importance”.
For companies wishing to enter into personal communication via WhatsApp, there are also other hurdles to be considered, in addition to the legal uncertainties that the new court rulings of the District Court of Bad Hersfeld raise. Thus, 45 percent of the potential group, H. Of those who consider the use of communications with companies as overdue expressed the fear that WhatsApp is only another way of collecting data about customers. Furthermore, the potential group significantly more frequently installed an AdBlocker on the mobile phone. It is therefore advisable to define precisely, for what purpose and how it should be used, in the use of WhatsApp in order to meet the concerns of the users. “Advertising should be avoided in a rather cautious way and the advantages such as personal approach, a short response time or the anonymisation in group chats should be emphasized,” says Braun.
The majority of surveyed WhatsApp users who would be able to get in touch with the company would choose individual and direct contact, such as customer service / support (54 percent) or consulting (42 percent) ) Or profit games (27 percent). Only 12 percent of the interviewees can think of the exchange via WhatsApp for the job search or even the application process.
In order to establish WhatsApp as a contact channel, the target and potential group should be analyzed in advance. Companies can thus assess whether it is worth using WhatsApp directly as a communication and contact channel, and how the offer can be transformed into a positive brand impression.
If you look at the WhatsApp users’ target group in comparison to the non-users in detail, the following differences are evident: WhatsApp users are between 18 and 34 years old (36 percent) and are more interested in fitness , Training and sports (38 per cent), as well as going to the cinema (60 per cent), restaurants (63 per cent) or pubs (39 per cent).