OVERVIEW
Background
Business users had been using third party integrations within our CRM tool to engage with their customers on WhatsApp. However, this approach had lots of limitations, and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores reflected a considerable level of dissatisfaction with this service. To address users’ increasing demand for a more versatile and robust WhatsApp Business service, our team established a new squad dedicated to developing a native integration into our platform.
In this project, I worked as the lead product designer building and shipping the WhatsApp Business Template integration in a CRM tool called Kustomer from 0 to 1.
Impact
⭐️ General usage: 180k conversations created by templates within the platform in the first 30 days after it was released for General Availability.
⭐️ Free trial conversion rate: increased by 67% compared to the last quarter.
⭐ Overall customer satisfaction: 8 out of 10 according to the survey.
Learn more: https://www.kustomer.com/blog/native-whatsapp-integration/
PROBLEM
What is causing dissatisfaction among business users with the existing third-party WhatsApp integration?
We interviewed 20 current customers and sent out surveys to 100+ of them to learn about their frustrations using the third-party WhatsApp integration, as well as their goals of using the service. Based on the research synthesis, we pinpointed that the biggest pain point is that it's challenging to stay connected with consumers, because
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Drafting individual messages can be time consuming
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Inability to send initial outbound messages
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Restricted capability to keep the conversation going after 24 hours of no response.
GOAL
User Goal
Hypothesis - Message Template
Through external team communication, we decided to add What'sApp Message Templates, which are pre-approved templates that allows users to initiate outbound messages, follow up on conversations after the 24-hour period, and use them as shortcuts to draft bulk messages. A message template can be used for:
Some Constraints
Although businesses want to stay connected with consumers at all time, WhatsApp does have certain restrictions on its usage.
If the conversation hasn’t been active for 24 hours, businesses can only initiate messages to consumers using pre-approved message templates, which have to be created in WhatsApp Manager.
Define Success
EXPLORATIONS
User Flow
Some Challenges
Template List
Admin users need a list of templates to manage. How might we present this list clearly, efficiently, and comprehensively?
Variable Mapping
Editing message template has to follow certain rules pre-defined by WhatsApp Manager.
SOLUTION
NEXT STEPS
Given the broad scope of the project, which necessitated collaboration with external teams at Meta, a wide range of stakeholders became involved, presenting difficulties in maintaining consistent communication and keeping everyone informed throughout the entire process. Moreover, as the WhatsApp team regularly introduced updates to their product, WhatsApp Manager, there were instances where misalignment occurred, requiring additional efforts to address. Moving forward, our objective is to minimize communication gaps and optimize the product cycle to establish a more streamlined workflow.
Since the launch of the WhatsApp integration as an MVP version, our team has been diligently monitoring usage data and actively seeking customer feedback. Our goal is to enhance the workflow by minimizing any usage friction and ensuring a smooth experience as we expand our market presence into South America.
In parallel, we have engaged in discussions regarding the inclusion of several powerful features in our roadmap. These potential additions include enabling bulk messaging, implementing automated business rules, and creating in-app storefronts, among others. By considering these features, we aim to further empower our users and offer an enriched product experience.