Conversational Messaging: 6 successful examples from Latin America
How do companies from Latin America (LATAM) use messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger from Meta or Instagram for their customer communication? And how successful are they? We did a review of 6 examples of successful conversational messaging from various industries. These show how you can use WhatsApp & Co. to take your own customer communication to the next level.
What do two online retailers, a car manufacturer, a professional sports club, a cinema chain and a ticketing platform have in common?
In terms of customer communication, a lot. They all have customers who communicate primarily with messengers. Whether WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram Messenger, customers use messenger apps . For example, the new DIGITAL 2022 Report shows that over 95% of all Internet users primarily use these chat apps – even more than social networks or search engines.
This is an opportunity for companies that, used well, can help solve a wide variety of challenges. These include better customer service, more effective lead generation, increased sales of products and services, and closer customer loyalty and brand loyalty.
- Online-Retailer AMARO : Higher customer satisfaction and reduced costs with central CRM platform and automated workflow
- Omnichannel-Retailer Magazine Luiza (Magalu) : Call and message flood reduced with WhatsApp Business API and Messenger API for Instagram
- Ford Motor Argentina : Doubled lead generation with along the entire customer journey
- Club Atlético Peñarol : Increase fan engagement during the pandemic with WhatsApp Business
- Cinépolis cinema chain : From first contact to booking everything in Messenger
- Ticketplattform eticket: Quick response to customer inquiries, as well as efficient event communication with Login Connect via Messenger from Meta (Facebook Messenger)
1. Higher customer satisfaction and reduced costs – online retailer AMARO
AMARO laid the foundation for its now 17 physical stores in Brazil with its online clothing store launched in 2012. With the aim of offering its customers the best possible shopping experience, the online retailer integrated Facebook Messenger (Messenger from Meta) into its digital strategy in 2018. This was followed by WhatsApp and Instagram Direct Messenger via API the following year.
Together with the customer service platform Kustomer, AMARO brought its messaging channels together centrally in a single CRM system. The goal of the project was to use automated workflows to help the customer service team respond faster and more efficiently to the numerous customer inquiries. For example, resolving a customer inquiry usually doesn’t even require human involvement, although an integrated hand-over to an agent is always beneficial.
Because for more complex issues, the chatbot can then seamlessly hand over to an employee. This significantly increases customer satisfaction. Because nothing is more frustrating than when the bot just replies that it didn’t understand the question.
The numbers speak for themselves:
- 93% customer satisfaction since the implementation of WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram
- 58% reduced phone support costs since launch of WhatsApp Business API, Messenger API for Instagram, and Handover Protocol
- 92% of solved customer inquiries at first contact
- Total number of customer contacts reduced by 22% thanks to proactive WhatsApp notifications
Instead of expecting customers to visit its website or mobile app to receive support, we decided to offer them a personalized space via Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
Wellington José, Head of Digital Product by AMARO
AMARO automated chat conversation on Instagram and Messenger from Meta / source: Meta
2. Efficient call and message management with WhatsApp Business API and Instagram API – Omnichannel Retailer Magazine Luiza (Magalu).
Magazine Luiza – or Magalu for short – is of a different order of magnitude to AMARO, with more than 1200 stores in Brazil. The company has also been active in the e-commerce sector since 2000, making it a true pioneer. Very original was the introduction in 2018 of the digital assistant “Lu”, a digital persona that gave a human face to Magalu’s conversational messaging.
However, even with Lu’s help, Magalu’s Customer Service team faced an immense number of calls and messages every day. In order to respond to the inquiries more effectively, especially on Instagram and WhatsApp, the company worked with external help to minimize the daily volume and response times.
After implementing Messenger API for Instagram and WhatsApp Business API into their communication strategy, the company achieved remarkable results between October 2018 and October 2020:
- 30% more efficient via messenger compared to email or website
- 6,9-times more tickets solved through Instagram API
- 30% fewer calls through WhatsApp Business API
- On average, 60% of customers use WhatsApp again
By offering this service experience, we achieved greater customer service efficiency and our team increased productivity.
Eduardo Galanternick, VP of Business, Magazine Luiza
Magalu Effortless conversation on Instagram and WhatsApp Business / Source: Meta
3. Double lead generation via WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram – Ford Motor Argentina
As part of its digital transformation, Ford Motor Argentina was looking for ways to make the online customer journey more attractive. A challenge was to harmonize the many branches and customer service centers in order to improve the user experience.
After conducting customer surveys about their after-sales preferences, the company decided to use a unique, hybrid system. With access to internal systems and databases, automated dialogues and location-based handover protocols, the chatbot “FORDi” maps the entire customer journey on WhatsApp, Messenger from Meta and Instagram via API.
If there is a successful conclusion through the chat, the customer is automatically entrusted to a suitable representative in geographical proximity. FORDi has brought Ford Argentina’s customer service team, in one year, increased productivity and numerous more potent leads :
- 3.5 times more Messenger requests
- 90% of conversations were resolved automatically
- 2,1 times increase in higher quality leads
FORDi’s integration with multiple platforms on the Facebook Apps Family allows us to connect with our customers on relevant communication channels, identifying their needs quickly.
Ezequiel Balducci, Marketing & Digital Transformation at Ford Argentina
4. Boost fan engagement during pandemic with Whatsapp Business API – Club Atlético Peñarol
For a traditional South American club, there is nothing more important than its own fans. Club Atlético Peñarol from Uruguay is one of the most popular in the country. The 52-time champion was in urgent need of an automated system to handle the large number of daily inquiries. About one-third of telephone inquiries were not getting through. At the same time, the club wanted to make interaction with its supporters more personal.
Together with leading cloud communication provider Sinch , CA Peñarol launched the Hey Now chatbot for WhatsApp Business API. This allows fans to navigate naturally through a menu using conversational messaging and get to the desired result. If necessary, they can also contact a service employee live and discuss more complex issues.
The chatbot proved to be a lifesaver, especially during the Corona pandemic. Fans were still able to take part in club events despite closed stadiums.
The members even voted for their new board of directors via WhatsApp, with 15,000 messages and a 65% turnout . A campaign for premium memberships, which r aised over $50,000 in a very short time , shows how well the new communication strategy is accepted.
Club Atlético Peñarol Effective fan engagement at scale through WhatsApp Business / source: Meta
More KPI’s from this messaging success story:
- 61% fewer calls to the call center
- 78% shorter response times compared to traditional services
- 96% of WhatsApp conversations are fully automated
WhatsApp gives us a highly responsive service channel that lets our fans know how much we value their time and care about the quality of every interaction with them. We cut our costs of doing business and increased sales while delivering rich, personalized experiences, even in the middle of a pandemic.
Álvaro Alonso, General Manager at Club Atlético Peñarol
5. From first contact to booking in Messenger from Meta – Cinépolis cinema
The Mexican cinema chain Cinépolis demonstrates how Messenger communication can achieve significantly higher conversion rates. With over 600 cinemas, it is the largest cinema chain in Latin America. The objective was to offer its more than 16 million followers on Facebook a better user experience via the connected Messenger from Meta.
Services such as the movie’s playing times and information or the final booking process were implemented in Facebook’s Messenger with a chatbot and can be used by the user in a more natural chat thanks to Natural Language Processing (NLP) – a successful example of conversational messaging in combination with automation with AI chatbots.
Cinépolis
Increasing customer satisfaction and driving sales with Messenger / source: Meta
In addition to successful conversational commerce and the associated increased sales, as well as the significantly improved conversion rates, the collected data can now also be used to make more accurate predictions about the volume of visitors. This also enables better planning of human resources and thus more effective management.
In numbers, the company’s benefits look like this:
- 8.7 times higher conversion rate via Messenger compared to email
- 90% of the conversations were solved automatically
- 95% less cost per acquired customer for Cinépolis subscriptions, compared to other social media or or search engine marketing (SEA)
We knew there was going to be great potential in the chatbot built on Messenger because of the high engagement with our audience.
Carlos Carreño, Omni-Channel Senior Marketing Manager at Cinépolis
6. Ticket notification and customer loyalty via Messenger from Meta – ticket platform eticket
eticket is a ticketing platform in Latin America. Fans have been able to buy their tickets for the next concert or soccer match via the online portal for over 15 years. To simplify the ordering process for its users, keep them informed and build a closer relationship, eticket decided to integrate Login Connect via Facebook Messenger (Messenger from Meta) into the process.
eticket using Login Connect with Messenger to foster closer connections
Especially customers who do not yet have an account on the platform can use Login Connect to quickly create a new account and receive automatic notifications about their booked events via opt-in. For eticket, this opens up new ways to build a better connection with its customers through follow-up chats and to better understand their needs.
Benefits for the company:
- Reduced absences at online events
- 85% of new customers allow eticket to continue contacting them via Messenger
- 87% of new customers use Messenger to contact eticket (compared to other channels)
- 60% of requests are resolved automatically via the chatbot – about one in five users continues the conversation in Messenger after receiving the first message
By implementing Facebook Login and integrating Messenger with our existing digital assistant, we are now able to help customers create an account seamlessly and can provide customers with fast and efficient communication that answers questions, sends reminders about purchases and events, and provides information our customers need in a much more efficient way.
Adrián Contreras Orezza, Co-founder and CTO, eticket
Disclaimer: The examples presented here are not direct MessengerPeople customers. However, MessengerPeople is part of the cloud communications provider Sinch.
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