Business Platform
Mannings
Engage customers with more personalized service, from pharmacy consults to customized marketing
Brand
WhatsApp Business Solution Provider
Mannings develops three communication channels over WhatsApp, building customer relationships with one-on-one consults with pharmacists and customer service agents, while engaging shoppers with more customized marketing messages.
95%
improvement in internal response efficiency attributable to WhatsApp
3X
message open rates in WhatsApp compared to SMS
8X
message click-through rates in WhatsApp compared to email
40%
increase in ROI via WhatsApp compared to SMS
*All results are self-reported and not identifiably repeatable. Generally expected individual results will differ.
Their Story
Quality products at affordable prices
One of the largest health, personal care, and beauty product retailers in Hong Kong, Mannings is known for providing high-quality household goods at affordable prices. Operating an online store, as well as over 300 storefronts, the company focuses on personalized customer service – including individual consultations from its expert pharmacy teams.
Their Goal
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A personal touch for every shopper
Mannings faced increasing numbers of enquiries and related costs during the onset of the pandemic, as well as lower engagement with marketing content sent over channels including SMS and email. The retailer needed a more dynamic communications channel to build relationships with customers wanting to consult with pharmacists and customer care agents, while also sharing the latest promotions.
Their Solution
Mannings employed electronic coupons to encourage WhatsApp channel
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An adaptable communication channel
Mannings is one of the largest health, personal care, and beauty retailers in Hong Kong, known for offering high-quality products at good prices. It’s also popular for the expertise of its on-site pharmacy teams. Traditionally, the company also enabled customers to connect with pharmacists and customer care agents over the phone. The retailer also delivered promotional materials primarily through SMS and email.
To reach shoppers who are increasingly online, the company needed a digital channel powerful enough to support customer care and outreach. During the onset of the pandemic, there was a particular drive for remote consultations with pharmacists. After observing that WhatsApp is popular in Hong Kong, Mannings partnered with Omnichat, an ecommerce messaging platform, to develop more dynamic customer engagement through WhatsApp Business Platform.
Mannings promoted its pharmacy consults via WhatsApp by displaying QR codes on every point-of-sale system at pharmacy counters. These codes route customers to a chatbot with a quick menu of options – inquiring if customers need advice about ailments or medications or want information about available products – before a live pharmacist takes over to answer questions directly. Even offline, away from the store, customers can access WhatsApp or resume their conversation with a pharmacist.
At the same time, the retailer added a button allowing customers to connect to the chatbot in WhatsApp on its main website, as well as Ads that Click to WhatsApp on its social media. Customers are greeted with an offer to join the membership rewards program before choosing between pharmacy consults or customer service. If a shopper selects the service option, they jump to an automated menu of topics that helps live agents respond more effectively to that customer’s needs, from details about the latest promotions to order and delivery status.
“Using WhatsApp, we give small customer service teams a large reach, improving our response efficiency by 95 percent in less than a year. By showing our customers that we’re there for them whenever they need us, no matter how they’re feeling we enhance service quality and build brand loyalty, while lowering call center operating costs,” says Jammy Chiu, Head of Digital Business, Mannings.
The company made WhatsApp the foundation of a marketing channel, offering customers a special gift for subscribing to the channel. With integrations between WhatsApp and the Omnichat platform, Mannings can send special e-coupons and branded stickers to thousands of customers at once. Customers can easily redeem their coupons online and receive savings.
“Using WhatsApp, we give small customer service teams a large reach, improving our response efficiency by 95 percent in less than a year. By showing our customers that we’re there for them whenever they need us, no matter how they’re feeling we enhance service quality and build brand loyalty, while lowering call center operating costs.”
Jammy Chiu
Head of Digital Business, Mannings
“With the ability to easily develop and send campaigns in WhatsApp, Mannings engages customers more creatively using e-coupons with a ticking ‘countdown’ until expiration and other offers, encouraging shoppers to redeem them quickly,” says Alan Chan, CEO & Founder, Omnichat.
With tracking capabilities in the Omnichat platform, Mannings can learn more about customers’ interests—using their journeys through the chatbot to see if a shopper is interested in cosmetics or searches for health products. Equipped with information about customer preferences, Mannings can deliver marketing messages more tailored toward their needs.
“From unique marketing promotions to one-on-one consultations with experts, using WhatsApp helps us build personal connections with customers. Message open rates in WhatsApp are three times higher than SMS, and message click-through rates in WhatsApp are eight times higher than email messages,” says Chiu. “Adopting WhatsApp has been transformative for sales, with our ROI for WhatsApp exceeding SMS by 40 percent.”
Inspired by their success, the Mannings team plans to refine automation in the chatbot and further improve internal productivity. The team is eager to broaden the range of campaigns it can deliver over WhatsApp, including in-store promotions.
Through WhatsApp, we’ve deepened our customer engagement, creating an end-to-end experience tailor-made for every shopper,” says Chiu.
Subscription data informs personalized offers to enhance customer satisfaction
Their Success
When Mannings develops three unique customer engagement channels through WhatsApp, internal message response efficiency for customer inquiries improves while open and click-through rates for marketing messages increase.
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Increased engagement
- 95% improvement in message response efficiency attributable to WhatsApp
- 3X message open rates in WhatsApp compared to SMS
- 8X message click-through rates in WhatsApp compared to email
- 40% increase in ROI via WhatsApp compared to SMS
*All results are self-reported and not identifiably repeatable. Generally expected individual results will differ.
“From unique marketing promotions to one-on-one consultations with experts, using WhatsApp helps us build personal connections with customers. Message open rates in WhatsApp are three times higher than SMS, and message click-through rates in WhatsApp are eight times higher than email messages. Adopting WhatsApp has been transformative for sales, with our ROI for WhatsApp exceeding SMS by 40 percent.”
Jammy Chiu
Head of Digital Business, Mannings
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