Customer service on instant messaging apps also works for B2B! As grocery wholesaler Transgourmet shows: with their use of WhatsApp in customer service, they improved productivity and received positive customer feedback throughout.
The grocery wholesaler Transgourmet specializes in delivering food to large customers in hotels, restaurants, companies, and organizations. As part of its customer service, Transgourmet also offers the option to ask questions and resolve issues immediately through WhatsApp.
We sat down with Lukas Ratschke, Head of Project and Innovation Management at Transgourmet, and talked about their approach to WhatsApp customer service in B2B.
Why WhatsApp is especially successful with B2B
Talking to end-to-end customers on WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger is a no-brainer. After all, messaging apps is where most customers reach out to businesses anyway these days.
But what about the B2B environment? Turns out, this is where messaging apps like WhatsApp are especially successful!
For Transgourmet, for instance, it's actually important to serve their B2B clientele even faster than B2C customers, as orders from business partners are typically a lot more time-sensitive. The traditional phone service is not ideal for this, as waiting for an agent to answer can be very time-consuming, especially during peak hours.
And then, customers might not have the necessary information (customer ID, order number, or invoice number) ready right away... and finding it takes time. In the end, it's very difficult to deliver fast help for a large number of customers through a phone hotline.
That's exactly where Transgourmet wanted to optimize their process. They were looking for a customer service solution to reduce wait times for customers, take the pressure off the agents, but still guarantee an efficient and personal approach. WhatsApp was the perfect tool for that!
Read how the e-commerce sports brand, Women's Best, made their customer service twice as fast with WhatsApp.
Transgourmet: WhatsApp in customer service is THE solution
Instant messaging apps like WhatsApp allow service teams to answer customer queries fast and with little effort. Customers, in turn, have more time to look for the required information, and everybody can answer when it's the best time for them to chat.
In addition, when it comes to complaints, it's much faster to solve an issue on a chat app like WhatsApp because you can simply send pictures. With these clear advantages of WhatsApp over hotlines, Transgourmet was able to save a lot of time in solving issues, says Ratschke.
At the same time, Transgourmet noticed that the exchange with customers became friendlier and more personal. That's another reason why WhatsApp works so well for B2B where personal relationships are at the core of the business. Consequently, Transgourmet's customers only had positive feedback for the WhatsApp service.
Aside from offering a service channel that customers prefer, talking to clients on WhatsApp has also improved loyalty. B2B communication via instant messaging apps increases trust, as you're communicating with clients in the same environment as their friends and family. That makes the business relationship grow closer as well.
Results: Boosted productivity, happier customers
As a result, Transgourmet isn't only able to reduce the workload for the team, answer requests faster, but also improve the customer satisfaction. In fact, Transgourmet has been able to improve a very important key performance indicator for the customer success team.
What software does Transgourmet use for their WhatsApp service?
In order to be able to manage multiple customer requests centrally, and from a desktop computer, Transgourmet needed a professional solution that went beyond the regular WhatsApp Business App.
As the WhatsApp Business App has a limited number of devices that can be used at the same time, and doesn't offer a convenient way to integrate customer relationship management systems or chatbots, it was too limited for Transgourmet. In addition, the Business App is not 100% compliant with data regulations like the GDPR, so the company chose to work with Sinch Engage.
Sinch Engage is a all-in-one messaging platform for the business use of WhatsApp and other messaging apps. It offers all the possibilities of the WhatsApp Business API (mass broadcasts, chatbot integration, etc.), but many additional perks as well.
You can easily integrate your CRM system, build a chatbot in a few minutes, use multiple messaging apps (and manage all incoming requests them through one central inbox, regardless what app they're coming from!), set up broadcasts on messaging apps, even with the help of GPT!, and so much more. And: the solution is also 100% compliant with the strictest data regulations.
With Sinch Engage, Transgourmet is now managing their customer requests much more efficiently!
Get more out of messaging apps for your business, with Sinch Engage, your all-in-one messaging platform for marketing, sales, and customer service.
