If you’re still relying on WhatsApp status and groups to make sales, you’ve been doing WhatsApp marketing the wrong way. Worse, you’re leaving money on the table because most people don’t check statuses, and group messages get buried fast.
Whether you run a walk-in store or operate 100% online, the strategies I’m about to share will change your WhatsApp marketing game for good.
In this post, you’ll discover 5 powerful (and free) ways to boost your sales on WhatsApp, with real examples and copy-and-paste templates.
This guide is packed with actionable WhatsApp marketing strategies for small businesses, and you can implement them right away without additional tools.
(Did you know that 67% of Nigerians prefer to make purchases via chat rather than through websites?) This indicates a huge potential for making more sales on WhatsApp with the right strategies.
Without wasting time, let’s dive in!
5 Killer WhatsApp Marketing Hacks to Skyrocket Sales for Your Small Business
1. Segment Your Customers for Targeted WhatsApp Marketing
Not all customers are the same; some buy often, some just browse, some need a push. Segment them so you send the right message to the right people. You can do this using the WhatsApp label and broadcast features.
3 Types of Customers to Segment:
- Hot Leads: These are people who asked about a product but didn’t buy. A few ways to get this set of customers to buy is to offer them an incentive (e.g., discounts, free delivery, free after-sales services, free gifts, etc.) or ask follow-up questions to uncover the reason they are yet to buy. Edit the items in the square brackets [] to suit your product/service and offer.
Discount Template: “Hi 👋 We know buying decisions can be tricky, so here’s a [little gift] – get a [FREE steel bracelet] if you order in the next [24 hours!] 🎁 This is our way of saying thanks for choosing us. Click here now to order [Link to your product catalog]”
Follow-up Message Template: “Hi 👋 Just checking in – we know choosing the right [product/service] can be tough! Is there anything holding you back or any questions we can answer to help you decide? 😊 We’re here to make it easy for you! Just reply – we’d love to help.”
- Repeat Buyers: These are customers who have bought once or more. Don’t let the conversation end after the first sale! Your Repeat Buyers are invaluable. This segment lets you nurture those relationships by sending occasional campaigns about new arrivals, exciting product launches, exclusive discounts, and flash sales deals.
- Warm Contacts: They are people who haven’t bought. These could be contacts of people on your business WhatsApp group or walk-in customers who have never bought your product but have shown interest by joining your group or visiting your store.
Once you have segmented these sets of customers, you just need to send valuable and educational content once or twice weekly. Say you sell jewelry, you can send them tips on how to identify fake jewelry products.
If you already post valuable content on your social media pages, just re-purpose the content and send it to these contacts on WhatsApp, and once they show interest in buying, move them into the “Hot Lead” segment and then the Repeat Buyers’ lists respectively..
The whole essence of segmentation is to send the right message or deals to the right people and to maximize your business contacts. This is a core part of effective WhatsApp bulk messaging and targeted outreach.
Pro tip: If you have an offline shop, collect the WhatsApp contacts of your walk-in customers, segment and target them accordingly.
Watch this short video on How to Segment Your Customers on WhatsApp.
2. Offer Exclusive Deals to Select Customers
Another hack to sell more on WhatsApp is by offering exclusive deals to some of your customers. The idea behind this strategy is to offer them VIP treatments to make them feel special and extend their lifetime value (LTV is the duration a customer buys from your business before they move to your competitor).
The exclusive treatment strategy will make them feel valued and will keep buying from you for a longer period.
Who Can Join the VIP Segment?
For a customer to be added to this segment, he/she could be a high-paying customer, influential, repeat buyer, or someone who constantly refers you.
How to Do It:
- Create a label for ‘VIP customers’ and add all the customers that fall into the categories I mentioned above.
- Send them a message notifying them of this upgrade.
VIP Message Template: “Hi👋, Big news, you’re officially on our VIP list! 🌟As a special thank-you for shopping and referring us, we’re upgrading you to our VIP Package – where you’ll get
-First access to new arrivals & exclusive discounts
-Priority support (skip the line!)
-Surprise gifts/discounts on birthdays/anniversaries.
(hint: drop your dates below! 🎁)To personalize your perks, just reply with:
Your birthday (day/month),
🎂Anniversary date (if applicable) 💍
We’re so grateful to have you, thank you for trusting us! 🥰”
- After notifying them, you can now send them occasional messages (at least twice a month) about new arrivals and deals. Remember to include “VIP Deal” in your message title.
You don’t need to remove them from the repeat buyers lists.
3. Use Discounts the RIGHT Way
Discounts work, but only if used smartly. You can send occasional discount deals messages to all your leads, giving them discounts on your products/services.
Note: Use the 80:20 rule when sending this type of message to your “Warm Leads.” That is: Send one promotional message after 3-4 educational messages.
For example: If you are sending a total of 4 messages to your cold leads in a month (one message per week), it means that the first 3 messages should be purely educational, and the last one can then be the promotional message.
Discount Strategies
Here are 3 discount strategies you can use for your WhatsApp promotion:
- Time-Limited – This 10% off expires in 8 hours!
- Buy X Get Y Free – Buy up to 50 pieces and get a free delivery.
- Scarcity-Driven – Only 3 left at this price!
When to Offer Discounts:
- New product launches
- Flash sales
- Weekends
- Holidays/Festive seasons
4. Follow Up Like a Pro
Following up is a big sales secret that many businesses ignore. Think about the last time you bought something online. Did you click “Buy Now” immediately? Probably not.
Most customers buy after multiple follow-ups. In fact, 80% of sales require 5+ follow-ups, yet 44% of business people give up after just 1 attempt. Following up is crucial for your business, and WhatsApp make it easier to do so.
When to Follow Up:
- When a customer makes an inquiry: Follow up politely at least 5 times unless the customer explicitly says they aren’t ready to buy.
- When a customer makes a purchase: Follow up to ask about their satisfaction with the product/service.
- After an event or webinar: You know those WhatsApp trainings you organize; follow up with the attendees.
I’ll save the in-depth “how and when to follow up” guide for another time. For now, here’s your call to action: go follow up with every customer who’s ever made an inquiry in the last 1 month😉
5. Ask for a Referral/WhatsApp Status Shoutouts
So, a customer drops you a message, “Oh, I love my product, thank you so much!” That right there? That’s your golden opportunity to ask for a referral or a WhatsApp status shoutout! And, during your usual post-purchase follow-up, make it a habit to ask for referrals from those happy customers. This strategy works like a charm because you’re catching them exactly when they’re beaming about their purchase.
Pro tip: Have a ready-made template/graphic that your customers can easily share. So instead of saying, can you please refer us? You can send them the template or graphics to share/post.
Be polite in your ask and watch your sales grow through word-of-mouth marketing.
Final Thoughts
Ghosting isn’t just for customers, you, the business owner, can be guilty of it too when you don’t follow up! Imagine all those WhatsApp inquiries that never went anywhere because you didn’t chase them. Anyway, this 5 powerful WhatsApp hacks are going to fix that.
What’s one hack you’re excited to try first?
Keep an eye out for my next post: How and When to follow up!