Unlocking conversion potentials: Leaders converge for a deep dive into WhatsApp's performance marketing secrets

As a global messaging giant with two billion monthly active users, WhatsApp has transcended personal conversations to become a pivotal player in the realm of performance marketing. From innovative ad formats to interactive features, WhatsApp presents businesses with a powerful tool to not only reach their audience but to also establish lasting connections and drive impactful conversions.

This focal point paved the way for a series of engaging sessions and insightful discussions at the recently concluded 'Ads that Click to WhatsApp: Unlocking the Conversion Code' event, hosted by 360dialog in collaboration with Meta, WhatsApp, and YourStory.

The stage was set for an immersive dive into the dynamic world of business communication, where industry leaders, visionaries, and innovators converged to unravel the secrets behind leveraging WhatsApp as a potent tool for unlocking unparalleled conversion potential.

The event commenced with a warm welcome by Gerrit Rode, Managing Director and Founder, 360 Dialog, and Pratik Malhotra, Business Development Lead India, 360dialog, setting the tone for the discussions ahead. Gerrit Rode's enthusiasm for the surge in WhatsApp performance marketing resonated with the crowd, acknowledging the unique challenges of the Indian market. Malhotra highlighted the pivotal role of the audience in shaping the future of communication. He celebrated the profound impact of WhatsApp on people's lives and recognised the audience as pioneers, innovators, and visionaries in this space.

The keynote address by Arzan Singpurwalla, Partnerships Lead at Meta, provided a strategic perspective on the importance of WhatsApp in the business landscape. He also shed light on the significance of ads that click to WhatsApp in marketing. The statistics presented showcased a threefold increase in business potential, with a projected $1 billion business in India alone by 2025. The session featured compelling use cases and success stories, illustrating the effectiveness of ads that click to WhatsApp across various industries. From lead generation to conversational commerce, businesses witnessed remarkable results, underlining WhatsApp's role in reshaping the business communication landscape.

The session delved into the strategic shift businesses are making towards WhatsApp for customer engagement, recognising it as a platform where users spend a significant portion of their daily screen time. The partner-first approach and implementation insights shared by Singpurwalla underlined the collaboration with top solution providers like 360dialog, ensuring a seamless integration of solutions with businesses' back-end systems.

The fireside chat featuring Gerrit Rode and Arzan Singpurwalla provided an in-depth exploration of the current landscape and future prospects of WhatsApp in the business ecosystem. Arzan Singpurwalla offered a nuanced comparison between Click to Messenger and Click to WhatsApp.

The conversation delved into the intricacies of performance marketing, emphasising optimisation as the cornerstone of success. Arzan Singpurwalla elucidated the significance of measurement and return on ad spend (ROI) in the advertising realm. He also shed light on the nascent stage of business messaging on WhatsApp, expressing ambitious goals for Meta's growth in India and the challenges involved in servicing the escalating demand for business messaging.

Gerrit Rode projected a bold statement about WhatsApp will claim the highest stake in digital advertising budgets in the next three to five years, sparking a nuanced exploration of the challenges and opportunities within the WhatsApp ecosystem.

Ekta Agarwal, Strategic Business Partner – WhatsApp for Business at Meta, provided valuable insights during her session titled ‘How to accelerate growth in the WhatsApp ecosystem with new partner programs and initiatives’, focusing on the Tech Provider Program and new launches within the WhatsApp ecosystem. Stressing upon the need for businesses to scale using advanced features on WhatsApp, she introduced the Tech Provider Programme as a means to collaborate with existing Business Solution Providers (BSPs) and bring in specialised expertise. The presentation outlined the Northstar vision of the programme, offering multiple tracks for tech providers to collaborate with BSPs and create integrated solutions.

In a session by Nikesh Ghosh, Co-founder and CEO of Chatveda, the transformative role of AI chat solutions in shaping the communication landscape was explored. Ghosh highlighted the pivotal role of chat interfaces in unleashing the potential of generative AI, emphasising the simplicity and effectiveness of chat as a gateway to communicate with machines.

Aniket Bajpai, Co-founder and Head of Growth at LimeChat, spoke about the need for a thoughtful and optimised customer journey on WhatsApp, breaking it down into three key components: the buying journey, retargeting journey, and calling journey. LimeChat's approach revolves around maintaining a conversational and interactive atmosphere on WhatsApp, aligning with the natural way users engage with the platform.

The event concluded with an awards ceremony hosted by 360dialog, honouring key partners for their outstanding achievements. Engati received the Growth Partner of the Year award, Gallabox was celebrated as the C2WA Partner of the Year, Double Tick secured the Scaled Partner of the Year award, and LimeChat received accolades for the Best Marketing Use Case. These awards symbolised individual excellence and collaborative efforts within the AI and messaging ecosystem, concluding the event on a high note. The collective knowledge shared and recognised achievements showcased the vibrant landscape and promising future of WhatsApp marketing in the business domain.

The session concluded with a call to action, urging businesses to explore the vast opportunities presented by WhatsApp marketing. As the event wrapped up, the audience left armed with valuable insights, ready to navigate the dynamic world of WhatsApp marketing in the evolving digital era.