Source/Contribution by : NJ Publications
We have often talked about Digitization and Social Media in our previous articles, and this one focuses on how “WhatsApp”, a small element of the above, can effectively be used for our business' growth.
Whatsapp was launched in 2009 as a “texting” app, and nobody knew back then that it would soon take the shape of a divine messenger working towards the well-being of millions of small and large businessmen across the globe. For many small business owners, Whatsapp is the savior as it's their sole business platform, and financial advisory too is following the norm, for good. Most financial advisors use social media platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and WhatsApp for promoting and expanding their businesses.
WhatsApp because of it's unique characteristics serves as a terrific platform for connecting with your clients. WhatsApp is a two way communication tool. So when you post something in a WhatsApp group, you get immediate responses from the clients. There is an element of personal touch, which you do not get in sms' or e-mails. And most importantly, most of your clients are on WhatsApp, so why not approach them within their comfort zone. In the following paragraphs, we have shared insights on how financial advisors can make the best use of this incredible tool for the prosperity of their business.
Replace redundant calls with WhatsApp messages: Many people do not prefer receiving calls for petty things, or you may be annoying them by calling at a time when they are occupied with something important. WhatsApp messages serve as a great replacement to such unwanted calls. If you want to follow up with the client for something trivial like a missing document or a picture or address details etc., you should take the convenient route; WhatsApp him. It will convey your message without really disturbing the client.
Don't sell Products; share Knowledge in Groups: WhatsApp provides a very effective platform for sharing knowledge. Although when you'll see so many clients at one place, you will crave to sell, but control your emotions, share ideas and insights catering to the welfare of the participants instead. Talk about wealth creation, about how the macro economic factors can impact various investments in the current and future scenarios, or about goal based investing, etc. You can also share general information like government policies, health tips, etc. Sharing knowledge will help you in building your image of a trustworthy and a well informed financial advisor. And though such information sharing isn't directly a sales pitch, yet you will get business queries as a complimentary gift.
Classify your clients: A very effective marketing strategy that WhatsApp enables you to implement very effectively is Customer Segmentation. You can classify your clients on the basis of certain common characteristics and put those clients into one WhatsApp group and then share content according to their profile. So, you can put your younger clients into one WhatsApp group, older ones into another, new investors into one and the mature ones into another, and likewise. So, by doing this, all people belonging to a particular group are homogeneous in many respects and they will get only the know-how that is ideal as well as sought by them.
Don't spam: Even though WhatsApp provides an opportunity to connect with a mass, and you can send pictures, videos and other promotional material to a large number of people in little time, yet it doesn't mean that you start pestering random people with your messages. No one likes spam, and it doesn't leave a very good impression too. There are better ways of reaching new people, and Whatsapp spam is definitely not one of them.
So, to conclude WhatsApp is an economical and equally effective tool which can help you in connecting with people, in building your brand and growing your business. Follow the above tips, use it smartly to get the maximum out of the App.
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