CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

How to drive customer

engagement through
digital communication
Get the digital tools your business needs to adapt to the rise of the
digital consumer and effectively communicate with your customers
Contents

03 The rise of the digital consumer in Asia

Key benefits of digital

04
communications for businesses

06 Whispir x Itel International

07 Whispir use cases for business

CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
The rise of the digital consumer in Asia
The COVID-19 pandemic radically changed the face of online consumerism, with more customers using digital
technologies than ever before. According to a recent report from McKinsey1, the COVID-19 crisis accelerated the
digitisation of customer interactions in developed Asia by four years. This represented the highest digital adoption
acceleration rate in the world, with the global average sitting at three years.

This rapid increase in adoption has created a whole host of new and more evolved digital consumers who expect
seamless, frictionless, and intuitive experiences when they interact with businesses online.

While many organisations used the pandemic to pivot quickly into using more digital tools, the onus remains to keep
this momentum going. Without continuing to adapt to the digital economy, businesses risk being left behind.

Using digital communications to boost customer engagement

The key to boosting engagement, acquiring new customers, and retaining current customers is being able to
communicate effectively across multiple channels. Further studies from McKinsey2 show that businesses who make
bold moves towards adopting digital strategies are almost twice as likely to experience higher rates of organic growth.

Businesses with limited resources or time-poor employees also benefit from automated communications, which make
it easy to send out the right messages at the right time.

The digital tools businesses adopt must allow

for automation, two-way communication, and
messaging across various platforms - including
SMS, email and WhatsApp.

Whispir makes it easy for businesses to

revolutionise their communications within one
integrated platform.

In this guide, we speak to the unique challenges

that small to medium businesses are facing in
Asia, the key benefits of digital innovation, the
pillars for successful communication, and how
Whispir can help.

1 McKinsey: How COVID-19 has pushed companies over the technology tipping point—and transformed business forever
2 McKinsey: Digital strategy in a time of crisis
3
Key benefits of digital communications
for businesses
Over the past two decades, Whispir has worked with countless businesses across various industries to help improve
their communications and enable them to better engage with their customer base.

With the Whispir platform, our customers are able to leverage:

1 Improved engagement - up to 88% call-to-action and

response rates
According to a 2016 study from NASA3, approximately 44% of branded mail is thrown away
unopened. Relying solely on email no longer cuts it when it comes to engaging with customers,
either. SMS, on the other hand, has an incredibly high open rate of an estimated 98%4. When
combined with rich, personalised landing pages, call-to-action and response rates get up to as
high as 88%5. It’s a proven and effective method for communicating personalised offers and
time-sensitive promotions, booking appointments, confirming payments, sending reminders and
updates, and more.

2 Real-time structured two-way communication

Automating your communications and setting up ready-to-use templates means you can create
and send messages quickly and effectively across various digital mediums. Designing structured
two-way communication also makes it possible to collect answers from your customers - for
example, confirming a booking or purchase - and automate an appropriate response. Structured
response paths mean you can manage thousands of two-way communications without needing
more staff.

3 Single view of all communications

There are numerous tangible benefits to operating all of your communications from one
centralised hub. This includes saving a significant amount of time on creating and sending
messages, segmenting audiences according to what works best, and tracking the effectiveness of
past communications. You can gain a single view of your customer interactions regardless of the
channel you use.

3 NASA - Attribution of net carbon change by disturbance type across forest lands of the conterminous United States
4 Gartner - Tap Into The Marketing Power of SMS 4
5 Whispir Research March 2020
 4 Save time and lower costs
Many businesses are time-poor, and simply don’t have the software, staff, and resources to
commit to complex communication management. Digital communication tools with automation
and ready-to-use messaging templates can be used in minutes. That means businesses are
able to connect with customers and build their prospect base in a way that’s both time and
resource efficient. Send less messages, lower costs, and increase engagement and outcomes
simultaneously.

5 Make data-driven decisions

Use your data to create a personalised experience for your customers and automate customer
journeys based on responses. Automation of your communications workflows ensures your
customers get what they need, fast, and through their preferred medium.

Review your overall engagement score, channels used, message results,

and more on your Whispir dashboard

TOTAL SENDS RECIPIENTS CHANNELS ENGAGEMENT SCORE

10,000 5,000 54

WHATSAPP 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

Received 90%
Total WhatsApps Sent Replied 40%

2,000 Read 50%

Blocked 15%

SMS 0 1,250 2,500 3,750 5,000

Received 90%
Total SMS Sent
Replied 75%
5,000 Failed 20%

EMAIL 0 750 1,500 2,750 3,000

Received 80%
Total Emails Sent Replied 5%

3,000 Opened 90%

Failed 20%

5
CUSTOMER STORY

Whispir x Itel International

From their headquarters in Singapore, Itel International has been recruiting and providing exceptional placements of
mid to senior-level executives since 1996.

One of their key focusses is on assisting companies that are expanding or just getting started out in Asian markets.
To be successful in this, they need to be able to draw on an extensive database of talented personnel. With each
role Itel International seeks to fill, approximately 30-50 candidates need to be identified and processed. From there,
around 10 candidates will be contacted for an initial interview.

Before using Whispir, this process was high-touch and draining on resources. Using Whispir’s SMS to Web capability,
however, they’ve been able to create rich content landing pages that allow for:

• Customisable personal messages to be sent to each individual

• Links to web pages or microsites for further job descriptions and company overviews
• Embedded video content to convey information in an audible and digestible format
• Response components such as confirmation of interest and direct contact request

“Itel had driven innovation through the entire

recruitment cycle and we needed to automate the
way we get in touch with candidates. With Whispir’s
seamless integration we have revolutionized our way
of communicating with candidates, taking them on a
digitised recruitment journey.”

Mark Kearney
CEO & Founder, Itel International

6
Whispir use cases for businesses

Whispir capability

U SE CAS E

Personalised multi-channel communications

Communicate across multiple channels at scale
Ensure all customers are being engaged effectively by utilising email, SMS, rich messaging,
WhatsApp for business, and more. Build and manage multi-communication strategies at
scale that can be easily deployed.

U SE CAS E

Segmented audiences
Create tailored messages for each audience type
Segment your target audiences based on relevant demographics to truly connect and
engage with individuals. Utilise data from segmented groups to better understand what
is and isn’t working, and adapt your communications accordingly.

U SE CAS E

Automated customer journey workflows

Set up automated journeys for your customers to take
Set up workflows that are triggered by responses so you can automatically communicate
with people when it counts. For example, you may want to create a workflow that takes a
customer from promotion to offer redemption, purchase, or appointment for consultation.

U SE CAS E

Branded messaging templates

Simplify your communications with pre-approved templates
Whispir offers a range of professional templates that you can use or build upon. Our simple
drag-and-drop editor makes it easy to get up and running, tailoring the look and feel of your
communications to fit your brand.

7
About the Whispir platform
The Whispir platform is a multi-channel automated communication
workflow solution, designed to be robust, scalable and customisable
enough to meet the most stringent messaging security requirements.

Whispir’s low-code/no-code platform allows organisations to create workflows without design or

development resources. Our drag-and-drop templates enable businesses to automate personalised
two-way interactions for individual recipients at scale using smart logic and dynamic content.
The platform also facilitates customised actions based on certain real-time events or ‘triggers’ to
determine responses across multiple communications channels.

The Whispir platform integrates with pre-existing IT systems, enabling organisations to modernise
legacy systems including systems of record (databases), systems of intelligence (AI platforms) and
systems of engagement (communications channels such as SMS, voice and IoT).

Reporting and dashboard functionality improve situational awareness, speed up decision making and
increase critical responsiveness.

Whispir is the trusted communications provider for leading enterprises, including AIA Insurance, M1,
IBM, Itel International, and Changi Airport, as well as numerous government agencies around the
world. Customers use the platform for critical communications such as crisis response, emergency
management, community notifications and IT incident management as well as customer engagement
and general operational communications.

Learn more

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