A New Paradigm Shift on How Whatsapp Empower Small Business to Develop Customer Relationship and it Becomes an Integral part of Business

 

Naneetha. R

Research Scholar, Department of Communication and Media Studies, Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore

 

ABSTRACT:

In today’s energetic worldwide business, the ability to be responsive and alert to technological changes is more significant than ever before. Information and the interactions around it have turn out to be the key asset of most businesses. New technology may present negative or positive for many businesses. Instant messaging app is a new phenomenon that has changed how the business environment operates. Businesses are able to gain access to resources that were otherwise not available to them. It has also helped businesses to increase their worthiness, cultivate strategic partnerships and increase their contact with customers and suppliers. It has become important for business owners and marketers to understand how it works as a communication and marketing tool and how they can significantly grow their businesses. Fifty six customers were taken for the study. The primary data was collected using questionnaire method. The findings of the study indicated that Whatsapp is turning out to be a tool that is empowering many small businesses into a new paradigm change. Apart from mode of communication, Whatsapp provides customer relationship and support and become an integral part of business process.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

The 21st century has seen a shift in the way businesses market their products and services. Smith and Taylor (2004) reveal that companies are presently experiencing several new unanticipated events and the development of the Internet as a communication channel is almost certainly one of the most influential factors.

 

The internet has brought about several new elements – it has made consumers more accessible, it has emerged with a completely new set of communication tools that make the process of exchanging information much easier and faster, and it has compelled companies to rethink how they are communicating with their customers (Jaokar, Jacobs, Moore and Ahvenainen, 2009). Entrepreneurs, marketers and consumers are witness the appearance of virtual social media. Next thing was Smartphone, based on its sophisticated features, it attract entrepreneurs particularly those who have the interest in the online business. The features and the functions of the smart phone itself help to represent the new frontier via the Internet and World Wide Web to advertise their product. Therefore, mobile app enables an online business to plan and focus on their sales growth. Karrigan (2011) has claimed that “Nearly 50 percent of Techno Metrica survey respondents believe they have been able to spend more time on growing business revenues due to their use of mobile apps. Fifty one percent of these small businesses say their firms are more competitive”. (p.3). Therefore, online business also can be categorized as small business, owners mostly have crucial of time in expanding their business, therefore by using Smartphone applications, they can increasing their sales and revenue and at the same time they also can use it on the administrative functions.

 

Whatsapp – Paradigm Shift:

Online businessmen see the Smartphone as an opportunity for their business use. They are currently using the internet as their most valuable tool through creative innovation of advertisement on the product and the emergence of the 4G network will speed up adoption because of newer devices, faster speed, enhanced and more effective mobile apps that allow businesses to communicate with the public. Here Instant messaging app like Whatsapp becomes the medium of making communication which connects large customer. Whatsapp is a messaging app with a laser focus on building a messaging service that works fast and reliably anywhere in the world. It supports sending and receiving a variety of media including text, photos, videos, documents, contacts and location as well as calls Whatsapp is a free messaging system that is available on the iPhones, Windows phone, Nokia, Blackberry and Android devices. Whatsapp is use to send a series of bulk messages to their targeted customers using broadcast option. Companies started using this largely because it is a cost effective promotional option and quick to spread a message. Whatsapp has a 70% opening rate, which means they are always connected. Leveraging this, Banco Santander Bank, a Whatsapp customer service number where you can chat with the bank, post quires, solve issues. In a test pilot done with 17000 customers, 99% of customers found the service very useful and 98% said they continue to use it.

 

Whatsapp is one of the fast growing communication apps and a must for small business owners. Speed, Privacy and widespread use are features that have made Whatsapp Messenger as essential tool for small business. Brands are rapidly using this application to connect with their consumers better.  For instance, when Delhi’s Cafe Turquoise Cottage was revamped, the owners wanted to promote its new look, new menu and happy hours amongst young target audience. Hence, came up with a quirky idea to use Whatsapp for its digital campaign. The agency modified Whatsapp’s API to change their status and profile pictures to a running ticker and GIFs. The brand and its agency then promoted the campaign on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook and asked the target audience to add their Whatsapp number to check out the restaurant’s new menu and exciting offers. The result was very impressive. The enquiries for the restaurant went up by a whopping 117 per cent while the sales surged by 28 per cent for the month.

 

Brides Point:

Kavitha is a beautician who running the beauty parlor for more than five years in Thiruvallur. When she started long back, she advertised her parlor in local channel to develop her business and to acquire customers. However, she dint get much response and could not excel much. Few months before she decided to reposition the name of her parlor so that with help of technology and app she created a Whatsapp group named ‘Brides Point’ where she added the customer’s in group and if anyone went new to parlor for the first time to groom themselves she wantedtedly get their number and add them in group.

 

Availability:

Once it was created she used to put up the availability of the parlor timings whether it is opened or closed. Then she used to reply for the customers queries who ask for the timings. Every time it was not possible to make or answer phone calls to enquire about the timings of the parlor in such cases, they use Whatsapp for communication for speedy reply from the group.

 

Make up Photos:

Then she wanted to give more color to the group so she shared the photos of bride’s makeup. After that, she got lot of positive feedbacks and many customers they like the photos, which she shared. They believed her work and started to make use of her service.

 

Profile Picture:

To create something new and attract the customers she use to update the profile picture by placing new hairstyles, new makeup and recent event that happens. She will add photos of her new make-ups in status also. She made collage of her works and update in the profile picture. When customers view this profile picture they get an idea and made them to try.

 

Offers:

Once she created the app, she started to introduce offers based on the products. Once it shared in group, customer’s response will be good and they tend to make use of avail offers. It becomes an effective communication tool for marketing strategy for small business.

 

Customer support:

Brides point Whatsapp group has 65 members so far now. All the customers liked her service, creativity, idea, passion towards work. “When once we entered the parlor she doesn’t ask for what you want to be done? Instead she makes every customer comfortable, relax and calm down,” says Sangeetha a customer in Brides Point Whatsapp group. She had a very strong customer support as her responses to their messages and Whatsapp could be a great tool for customer support.

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

W. V. Siricharoen (2012) concluded that nearly 1/5 small business owners are integrating social media into their business processes, Facebook and LinkedIn have become the predominant platforms for small business owners which was similar to the study conducted by Cone Business in Social Mediaindicates that 93% of Americans believe that a company should have a presence on social media sites and 85% believe that these companies should use these services to interact with consumers. He added that social network may be used to establish the long-term relationship and network of customers, not for directly creating the income. It should be used as the support marketing activities to the target customers.

 

Tina P. Singh (2017) found that, social media is an effective tool in doing business today and brings out innovative strategies out of companies that used to be very monotonous. The study also determines that social media has a positive impact on business and it growth and performance. Dynamically using social media is one of the easiest ways to reach a large customer base and get the company or brand name in the heads of existing or potential customers.According to New York University professor of marketing and Red Envelope founder Scott Galloway, luxury brands are now building relationships through Facebook, user reviews and consummating the transaction online. It notes that companies are now building their own social networks. Also Dutt and Soumitra (2010) in their article on Social media strategy in Harvard Business Review says that social media are changing the way we do business and howleaders are perceived, from the shop floor to the CEO suite, whereas the best businesses are creating comprehensive strategies. This study is similar to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein (2010) in their study titled Users of the world unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media say that the concept of Social Media is top of the agenda for many business executives today.

 

Anshu and Arshad (2016) conducted a study on impact of Whatsapp usage among youth in Agra. The study revealed that Whatsapp is a medium of making communication easier and faster thereby by enhancing effective flow of information, idea sharing and connecting people easier. Examining it empirically, it was found that Whatsapp has also a profound negative impact on youth and adversely affects their education, behavior and routine lives. 72% of respondents stated that, they delay their work due to Whatsapp. It creates serious interferences with their work, studies, relationship and normal social functioning.  This study is similar to Johnson et al. (2014) indicated that Whatsapp has negative impact on the study of youth. It engendered procrastination related problem.Shahid Minhas et al (2016) concluded that Whatsapp is an effective and affordable platform of communication. Most importantly organizations have also created Whatsapp group for communicating with their employees. Due to the multifaceted functions of Whatsapp, students from Peshawar University share information, pictures and videos their use in a limited span of time as 32 % of the respondents use Whatsapp for sharing academic related information while 22% use it for sharing pictures and videos This study is similar to Jisha and Jebakumar (2014) found that all the respondents agreed that they are using Whatsapp for communicating with their friends and also exchange images, audio and video files. It was also proved that the only application that the youth uses when they are spending time on their smart phone is Whatsapp.

 

OBJECTIVE, METHODS AND ANALYSIS:

·        To analyze how Whatsapp  empower small business

·        To find how Whatsapp helps in communication with the customers.

·        To describe how Whatsapp integrate offers to customers.

·        To analyze how Whatsapp build customer relationship.

 

In this section gives a description methods and techniques employed in the study. The sampling procedure, sample size, variables used and analysis employed are given in detail.

This research deals with both qualitative and quantitative approach. The research has made the use of survey method. Primary data was collected using a closed ended questionnaire method. Interview was also taken among customers to know the depth of research.

 

Data Gathering Procedure:

Sample Size and Selecting Procedure:

Sample sizes of 56 customers were selected who were students, homemaker, employed and business women in Thiruvallur region. They were the user of Whatsapp and they belong to Whatsapp group created by Brides Point Beauty Parlor. Convenient sampling approach was employed in the study. The usage of social instant messaging app among customers between the parlors was included in the questionnaire.Primary data is the data is collected from the respondent for the first time, it is original in nature. For the purpose of collection of primary data, as a well-structured questionnaire was framed and filled by the respondents. The questionnaire comprises of close ended questions. The interview was also taken from the customers who are in Whatsapp group in Brides Point.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION:

Table1: When you want to contact parlor what is the mode of communication you do?

Occupation	Students	%	Employed	%	Home maker	%	Business women	%	Total	%
Through phone calls	4	22%	5	33%	4	31%	2	20%	15	27%
Whatsapp	12	67%	10	67%	9	69%	6	60%	37	66%
SMS
Direct Visit	2	11%					2	20%	4	7%

 

As shown in the table 1, 67% of the students contact parlor through Whatsapp, 31% of the homemaker contact through phone calls and 4% of the Business women they visit parlor. Facebook recently announced in its Q2 2017 earnings that messaging app Whatsapp now boasts 1 billion users every day. It shows that usage of Whatsapp has been increased which is similar to the study.

 

Table 2:Do you think Whatsapp can give you a time availability of the parlor?

 

As shown in the table 2, overall 88% of the respondents showed they thought Whatsapp can give time availability of the parlor.12% of the respondents thought they can’t give time availability.

 

Table 3:Which one in brides point group attracts you more?

 

As shown in the table 3, overall 59 % of the respondents attracted by makeup pictures in the group, 14% of them liked profile pictures, 16% of them liked health tips and 11% of them liked hairstyle pictures.

 

 

Table 4: Brides Point Whatsapp group really concentrate on what?

Occupation	Students	%	Employed	%	Home maker	%	Business women	%	Total	%
Acquiring new customers	4	22%	5	33%	3	23%	2	20%	14	25%
Enhancing Existing customers	14	77%	10	67%	8	62%	6	60%	38	68%
Retaining Customers					2	15%	2	20%	4	7%

 

As shown in the table 4, 68% of the respondents showed that Whatsapp concentrate on Enhancing new customers, 25% of the respondents concentrate on Acquiring new customers, 7% of the respondents concentrate on retaining new customers. The business will always be connecting to the customers in terms of changing preferences, lifestyles and resources and adapt to the changing interest of the consumers. Companies will also be able to cater to the dynamic interests and innovate on their marketing campaign accordingly.

 

 

Table 5: On use of Whatsapp group Brides point gained what?

Occupation	Students	%	Employed	%	Home maker	%	Business women	%	Total	%
Long term Relationship with customers	15	83%	11	73%	10	77%	10	100%	46	82%
Short term relationship with customers	3	17%	4	27%	3	23%	-		10	18%

 

As shown in the table 5, overall 82% of the respondent gained long term relationship with the customer when they use Whatsapp.18% of the respondent gained only short term relationship. Keys to successful application of social network is fully participation as a business and marketing strategy need regulation, automation routines and daily dedication  One thing to keep in mind is that social network may be used to establish the long-term relationship and network of customers, not for directly creating the income. It should be used as the support marketing activities to the target customers.

 

Table:6 the integration of this new channel of communication through Whatsapp really attracted you to access the parlor?

 

As shown in the table 13, overall 89% of the respondents use Whatsapp is a new channel of communication really attracted to access the parlor. Which is similar to the study Mackenzie Rinefierd (2016) that 61% of respondents reported better communication with customers when they use Whatsapp and 43% said its social tool utilization helped generate leads (Logofatu: 216).

 

DISCUSSION:

The study discussed in this paper investigated that Whatsapp acts as a tool for a startup business to attain development and build a customer relationship. As the empirical data show (1) the respondents prefer integration of Whatsapp as a mode of communication to access. The huge popularity of has many entrepreneurs wondering if they can use the messaging solution for businesscommunications. Whatsapp does have some attractive features, especially for small business and startups: It is free, it is easy to use, and many customers, clients, and employees are already familiar with the service. Many businesses are now turning to social networks as a worthwhile communication tool and, if used adequately, they can significantly improve their online presence, in the form of effective promotion.  (2) Whatsapp assimilates the offers to customers; the respondents showed they would like to receive offers from the group. Whatsapp can be the most useful promoting tool for your business as it can help to publicize brand, services, and products, communicate with purchasers, report new offers and ensure deals. This also allows small and medium companies to enhance client experience and upgrade their customer base extensively. To make this strategy successful, need two crucial things, a right business plan and contact numbers of targeted customers. Other than this, this app allows to send bulk messages, videos, and audio in a single go. Whatsapp concentrate on enhancing existing customers by promoting offers also.(3) The respondents showed that Whatsapp build customer relationship. Whatsapp allows improving customer service to a wide number of clients and customers. By incorporating this tool into marketing strategy, can undoubtedly increase customer base that are using Whatsapp on their mobiles. This is an easy communication tool that is very helpful for businesses and also it builds a long term relationship among customers. (4) Social media networks and messaging apps have changed the way we communicate, and for businesses it means adopting these technologies to reach their audiences. As the largest messaging application, Whatsapp Business has more than 1.2 billion users globally and businesses have been using it as part of their communications solutions. People have built new businesses using Whatsapp as a platform and some are using it to grow their business in a cost effective manner. Whatsapp really empower the small business.

 

The findings of the study related to the results of the survey conducted by Tina P. Singh. Social Media is a just like any other form of media is a tool used for communication but at the larger scale for social interaction using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media has a positive impact and a positive influence on the company as well as the customers. When creating a social media marketing strategy, it is worth thinking very carefully about who is being targeted. There will be people within the social networks who may not necessarily be customers, but who nevertheless can have a massive impact on the marketing efforts. Forrester Analyst, Augie Ray broke the various types of social media influencers into three distinct categories they are Potential Influencers, Mass Influencers and Social Broadcasters. Social media is an effective tool in doing business today and brings out innovative strategies out of companies that used to be very droning. Companies that are at maturity stage in the product lifecycle can adopt social media to extend their business survival, if they fail to do so they are undoubtedly going downhill in the coming years. The study also determines that social media has a positive impact on business and it growth and performance.

 

The findings of the study related to the result of W. V. Siricharoen. “Social media introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals”, enabled by ubiquitously accessible and scalable communication techniques were argued by Kietzmann. Social media is used as the tools and platforms that allow people interact socially online and publish content over use social network to reach small amount of customers. Six core principles motivate the importance of social-media solutions and provide as the characteristics that make social media differ from other forms of communication and collaboration are Participation, Collective, Transparency, Independence, Persistence and Emergence. The result of the study revealed that it is a key to successful application of social network is fully participation as a business and marketing strategy and social network may be used to establish the long-term relationship and network of customers. The study concludes that nearly 1/5 small business owners are integrating social media into their business processes and it became the predominant platforms for small business owners.The findings of the study related to the result conducted by Jamaluddin Ibrahim. Each Smartphone is able to access to all applications provided where this allows business people to create their own application program to be used by consumer through which android operating system is an open source and has a variety of programs as anyone can develop for this device. This application is compatible and accessible from Smartphone and also by using social network to engage with mobile customer. This can be the advanced step for business people to promote their product creatively using this medium and it is also important on how they convince the customer to buy their product by using this new technology of Smartphone with application. In order for business people to survive in this rapidly advance new technological world which uses mobile online revolution, businesses need to be innovative by bringing up their popular digital channels in store to help enhancing their customer experience. Overall, the findings showed that new technology such as Smartphone with application can help to develop business success and benefit the people. The findings of the study related to the survey conducted by Bhatt and Arshad. Whatsapp is a medium of making communication easier and faster thereby by enhancing effective flow of information, idea sharing and connecting people easier. It helps the youth to explore new opportunities and experiences. It also helps to keep contact to everybody one at a time. Indeed intensity of Whatsapp is very high among people because it reduces calling and SMS costs. The result of the study revealed that Whatsapp creates a positive intensity among youth.

 

CONCLUSION:

This paper investigated and concluded that Instant social messaging app like Whatsapp promotes start up business and build customer relationship a new paradigm shift in technology that used for business.Overall, the findings showed that Whatsapp can be used as an integration mode of communication for small business, anywhere and anytime ease of access is possible and they are always connected.  Whatsapp act as a flow of information like sharing photos, videos, podcast, location sharing, updating contacts. It really made the customers to active in Whatsapp group so that exchange of information also adapted here. Once the customer chats in the group, regarding the availability of the parlor speedy reply will be given by the creator of the Whatsapp group (Brides Point). Every month offers will be posted in the Whatsapp group to attract the customers and also enhance the existing customers. Offers provided by the Brides Point really pamper the existing and also new customers also. Everyday updating in the Whatsapp group attracts the customer and made them active in the group, it inhibits the customer support. Whatsapp creates the long term relationship with the customers even though they are not coming to Parlor. Whatsapp group made them connected and build a relationship. The Result shows that Whatsapp canreally act as tool for startup business a new paradigm shift and to attain a development and built a customer support and relationship and it becomes an Integral part of Business.

 

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Received on 24.10.2017       Modified on 18.12.2017

Accepted on 02.02.2018      ©A&V Publications All right reserved