Sugro has tied up with WhatsApp to boost digital engagement for its wholesale members.
Using WhatsApp Business API technology, integrated by B2B Store, Sugro said the instant messaging service would help carry out several business functions “in a secure one-to-one environment”, including communicating promotions and ordering products.
The service can also be tailored to wholesalers with the ability to offer customer segmentation, such as one-tap reordering or ‘add to basket’ directly from the message, and an in-app open banking payment system.
Sugro said it aimed to deploy the WhatsApp platform across 16,000 stores its members collectively supplied.
“B2B WhatsApp is a powerful tool that can be used in a variety of ways, and we believe it could be a real asset to our wholesaler members and their customers,” said Sugro head of commercial and marketing Yulia Petitt. “We see WhatsApp as a great means to get messages out to customers quickly in a secure environment that can track engagement through read receipts and clicks.”
“The benefit of using WhatsApp in comparison to other communication methods, such as SMS and email, is that we can send a variety of multi-format messages to customers at scale on a platform that we know the vast majority of people are using regularly throughout the day. The challenge is always guaranteeing we get eyes on messages and promotions we send so WhatsApp ticks this box in a way we haven’t been able to previously.”
B2B Store CEO Rob Mannion said: “Almost everyone uses WhatsApp on a daily basis, with 80% of the UK’s phone users downloading the app.
“While a lot of people are more familiar with the free versions of WhatsApp, our adaptation of the more advanced WhatsApp Business API technology supercharges what can be achieved – especially for wholesalers like those in Sugro’s membership.
“We’ve been working with the technology for several months and have found early adopters have adapted WhatsApp to their needs in different ways that goes to show how powerful this could be for the sector.”
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