In an effort to prioritize relevance and quality interactions, WhatsApp has recently introduced marketing message limits in India, altering the landscape for businesses seeking to engage effectively with their audience. This significant development challenges brands to rethink their strategies and adapt to the new constraints.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the implications of these changes, explore strategies to navigate the limits, and provide actionable insights to ensure continued engagement with your audience.

Understanding the New WhatsApp Changes: Navigating Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits

WhatsApp has recently implemented a significant update known as “Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits,” which has a direct impact on the delivery of marketing messages by brands on the platform. It’s important to grasp the implications of these changes to effectively navigate WhatsApp marketing strategies.

Under this new rule, WhatsApp exercises discretion in determining the number of messages a brand can send and the frequency with which end customers receive them. Factors such as read rates and engagement levels play a role in WhatsApp’s selection process for allowing brands to send messages.

It’s crucial to note that WhatsApp may periodically adjust these limits, making it essential for marketers to stay vigilant and adapt their WhatsApp marketing approaches accordingly.

What is changed?

Before diving into strategies to address these changes, let’s provide a brief overview of what has been modified:

1. Limits on Marketing Messages: WhatsApp now imposes restrictions on the number of marketing template messages a user can receive. This measure aims to prioritize high-quality and relevant engagements, ensuring a positive user experience.
2. Exemption for Ongoing Conversations: If you have an existing marketing conversation with a user, messages sent within that ongoing conversation will not be affected by the limit. This exemption allows for continued communication without interruption.
3. No Charges for Blocked Messages: Businesses need not worry about incurring charges for messages that are blocked due to these limits. WhatsApp understands the necessity of these measures and will not charge for undelivered messages caused by the imposed restrictions.

As WhatsApp continues to refine its policies and limits, it is crucial for marketers to stay informed and adapt their strategies accordingly. By understanding and navigating the Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits, businesses can maintain effective communication and engagement with their customers on the WhatsApp platform.

How Does it Affect You?

WhatsApp’s decision to implement per-user limits on marketing template messages carries significant implications for businesses throughout India. This development necessitates a fundamental reassessment of existing communication strategies. With users now receiving a limited number of messages, brands must recalibrate their approach to prioritize quality over quantity. This shift demands a deep understanding of user preferences and behaviors to deliver messages that resonate and foster meaningful interactions.

To thrive in this new landscape, brands must strive to provide value-driven content that captures user attention and elicits a response. Failing to do so risks being overlooked as users increasingly gravitate towards brands that offer personalized and engaging experiences. Non-compliance not only jeopardizes message delivery but also erodes user trust and brand credibility. Therefore, the implications of WhatsApp’s new marketing message limits extend far beyond mere compliance. They signal a new era of digital engagement where success hinges on a brand’s ability to deliver value, cultivate meaningful connections, and adapt to evolving user expectations.

It’s important to note that not all messages are subject to these restrictions. Ongoing customer service chats within a 24-hour window remain unaffected, allowing brands to maintain uninterrupted communication for support purposes. Click to WhatsApp Ads also remain unaffected, providing an avenue for brands to initiate conversations with users. Additionally, transactional and utility-templated messages, such as OTP shares, are not impacted by these limits.

However, it’s crucial to understand that if a brand’s messages fail to resonate with the audience, delivery rates may significantly decrease. The more a brand’s messaging is read and engaged with, the higher the likelihood of being among the top brands allowed to send messages to a particular customer.

Why this Change?

WhatsApp is increasingly focusing on customer experience and strives to ensure customers have an enjoyable experience on WhatsApp. Reducing ad clutter and spam is a step in this direction.

While this is good news for customers – it is also an excellent opportunity for brands to personalize messages and stand out. This means that when your message gets delivered, it will have a bigger impact as it will be one of the few your audience receives, ensuring they aren’t feeling overwhelmed.

What Can You Do?

To secure a spot among the top brands for a customer, we recommend implementing the following:

Optimize your WhatsApp Marketing Strategy:

• Build a hyper-personalized  Whatsapp strategy to deeply resonate with audiences and drive higher engagement. (Include aspects such as the recipient’s name, the product or category last viewed.)
• Initiate WhatsApp campaigns based on events or actions, leveraging customer anticipation of receiving a message, resulting in increased engagement rates.
• Since the “Per-User Marketing Template Message Limits” setting set by WhatsApp can vary – monitor campaign performance and adjust based on data.
• Optimize your opt-in strategy and adhere to any opt-out requests.

Improve Engagement

No more mass blasts without A/B testing or, better yet, leveraging AI-powered experimentation that enables real-time multifaceted testing to identify the best-performing content, time, and channel for engagement at any given time.

1. Engage your audience with interactive elements such as polls, surveys, and quizzes embedded within your messages.
2. Incentivize engagement by offering exclusive discounts, promotions, or sneak peeks through WhatsApp.
3. Streamline customer interactions by implementing automated responses to common queries or requests.
4. Utilize advanced segmentation to deliver personalized messages tailored to each user’s preferences and behavior.
5. Capitalize on user actions and behaviors to trigger timely and relevant messages.
6. Respect user preferences by providing clear opt-in and opt-out options for marketing messages.

Omnichannel Approach:

Engage based on customer preferences and not based on channel capabilities. Diversifying your engagement strategy with channels like Email, SMS, Push, and more for disengaged users on WhatsApp for sustained user engagement levels.

Conclusion

As businesses navigate the new WhatsApp landscape, it is imperative to adapt communication strategies, embrace personalization, and focus on delivering value. By understanding and proactively adapting to these changes, brands can maintain strong delivery rates, foster user engagement, and stay ahead in the evolving realm of digital engagement.

Get in touch with us to know how AppICE can help you in redesigning your customer engagement strategy