Salesforce and Meta-owned WhatsApp have sealed a strategic partnership allowing brand owners to connect directly with their customers on their mobile phones and build new messaging experiences, with L’Oréal one of the first to sign up.
The scheme will be activated through the new Salesforce Genie, a data platform supporting real-time CRM that it is claimed will deliver seamless, highly personalised experiences across sales, service, marketing, and commerce.
This enables companies to target those audiences with real-time data that informs Click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram to drive customers to a one-to-one messaging experience.
It is claimed the partnership offers brands the opportunity to elevate their customer experience through personalisation and a seamless experience that uses encryption technology.
The two tech giants are banking on recent research which revealed that two-thirds (66%) of adults say mobile messaging is their preferred way of communicating with brands. Customers expect timely and personal interactions, conveniently within their preferred channel, that deliver richer, personalised experiences that seamlessly connect the full brand relationship.
Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, and Commerce Cloud applications will integrate with WhatsApp to support promotional and customer service messaging. Transactional conversational commerce capabilities are also planned.
Salesforce’s clients include top brands such as Adidas, Amazon, Asda, Amex, Barclays, BT, Co-op, Coca-Cola, eBay, Mattel, Procter & Gamble, Shell, Yamaha and Unilever.
L’Oréal has already piloted the scheme. The global beauty brand’s chief digital and marketing officer Asmita Dubey said: “We are on a mission to invent the future of beauty. This also requires us to revolutionise how we connect with our customers around the world.
“Our customers move fast – we not only have to keep up but exceed their expectations across every interaction. Increasingly, our customers use their mobile devices as their primary way to engage our brand.
“We needed a single messaging solution that pulls in information across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and IT. To help us deliver personalised customer service, deliver product recommendations, and increase sales.
“Being able to do all the above on WhatsApp as a single messaging platform could have a tremendous opportunity in beauty. To drive conversational commerce and build greater engagement.”
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