Business Platform
Centaline Property
Deliver responsive customer services and help increase selling opportunities with WhatsApp Business Platform
Brand
WhatsApp Business Solution Provider
When one of the largest property agencies in Hong Kong offered more responsive customer services through WhatsApp, the agency qualified more leads faster, improved customer experience, optimized sales resources, and sold more homes.
137%
increase in leads after 1 month
57%
of new leads enter through WhatsApp
27%
increase in sales conversions
12.8%
more qualified calls to agency after chatbot interaction
*Results are unique and are provided by the featured business. Success story results will vary, as they depend on a variety of factors.
Their Story
Dream homes delivered
As one of the largest property agencies in Hong Kong, Centaline Property Agency Limited has nearly 40,000 employees and more than 2,000 offices in 39 cities in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao. The business has expanded to the Taipei and Singapore markets, and is gradually expanding to other areas around the world.
Their Goal
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Qualify leads quickly, connect and close
Centaline Property Agency needed to respond faster to the thousands of customer inquiries it receives per month across multiple channels. Automated lead qualification through WhatsApp enabled sales to prioritize and personalize customer outreach based on needs and preferences.
Their Solution
Virtual assistant obtains location information
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Faster, more personalized communication
As one of the largest real estate brokerages in Hong Kong, Centaline Property Agency wanted to adopt a services and communication channel that could enable teams to quickly respond to thousands of customer inquiries per month, as well as better personalize its sales outreach based on each home buyer’s needs. Though Centaline’s website offered multiple channels to contact the agency, delayed response times couldn’t deliver the immediate, personalized customer experience that home buyers expect.
Given the popularity of WhatsApp in Hong Kong, Centaline integrated WhatsApp Business Platform with its property recommendation engine. The company partnered with Sanuker to build a custom WhatsApp chatbot, which enables messaging and tracks communication history, collects customer information, and helps Centaline funnel leads to the appropriate agent.
Prior to Centaline’s launch of WhatsApp, customers would contact the agency through email, phone calls, text messages, or electronic forms directly through the website. The sheer number of varying channels led to delays in outreach, and potential customer disengagement or drop-off. It also required agents to enter sales conversations without the necessary customer information to offer options that fit their needs.
The WhatsApp chatbot uses interactive features like List Messages and Reply Buttons that deliver far more than a text message service, and enables Centaline to better customize and personalize the customer experience. The List Message feature offers a series of up to 10 options that make it easier to identify what a customer wants to do, while Reply Buttons offers a simple, three-option menu that quickly guides them to the next step.
“The WhatsApp automated chatbot is crucial to help identify the kind of property a buyer wants early on. Once customers are passed to our sales team, our agents are much better prepared to address each homebuyer’s unique needs and interests, helping us close more deals faster.”
Alex Shih
Chief Executive Officer, Centaline Group
Enabled by these interactive features, customers enjoy more consistent, responsive experiences that keep them engaged with the business. And if a customer needs to go back to a previous question or revisit the app later, information is saved so they can pick up where they left off.
Using the WhatsApp chatbot, customers can search for properties based on location, price, size, and other details, and that data is tracked directly in the app. List Messages and Reply Buttons enables the agency to identify which properties would be an ideal fit even before the first phone call or in-person conversation. When a customer is ready to be contacted, agents receive an immediate alert. They can quickly qualify leads based on buying interest and preference and customize personal outreach accordingly. “The WhatsApp automated chatbot is crucial to help identify the kind of property a buyer wants early on. Once customers are passed to our sales team, our agents are much better prepared to address each homebuyer’s unique needs and interests, helping us close more deals faster,” says Alex Shih, chief executive officer at the Centaline Group.
Just one month after launching the chatbot, 57 percent of the company’s new leads started coming through the WhatsApp Business Platform, resulting in a 12.8 percent increase in qualified calls to the agency, and a 27 percent increase in sales conversions. The initial interaction with the chatbot facilitates a better, more interactive connection with the agency and saves time, resulting in more homes purchased compared to traditional channels. “Real estate in Hong Kong is expensive, and customers investing large amounts want to feel confident in the property they’re buying. WhatsApp gives us the communication tools to attract customers and help transition them through the buying cycle so they can buy a property they love,” says Shih.
The app quantifies data usage, creates management reports, and helps refine metrics to better understand customer preferences, engagement, and buying behaviors. Going forward, Centaline will continue using WhatsApp Business Platform to help further customize the chatbot flow, and capture rich data analytics to help provide even greater experiences for its customers.
Example of a property available to view by appointment
Their Success
By integrating the WhatsApp Business Platform and using its new interactive tools, within nine months Centaline optimized agency resources, decreased customer response time, and increased lead volume.
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Time saved delivers immediate ROI
- 137% more leads in only one month after implementing WhatsApp
- 57% of news leads to the business come through WhatsApp
- 12.8% increase in qualified calls to agents after the interaction with the WhatsApp chatbot
- 27% more homes purchased since implementation
*Results are unique and are provided by the featured business. Success story results will vary, as they depend on a variety of factors.
“Real estate in Hong Kong is expensive, and customers investing large amounts want to feel confident in the property they’re buying. WhatsApp gives us the communication tools to attract customers and help transition them through the buying cycle so they can buy a property they love.”
Alex Shih
Chief Executive Officer, Centaline Group
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