1) WhatsApp has over 1 billion active users worldwide, many of whom are young social media users who engage with the app daily. 2) Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 and is working on monetizing the platform by allowing businesses to communicate with customers via rich content like order tracking. 3) A pilot program found that WhatsApp may be a suitable customer service channel for some companies, though response times and privacy concerns require consideration.

1. WhatsApp
PRIVATE INSTANT MESSENGERS IN THE CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTER
Trend report
arvato CRM Solutions

2. | Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 2
FACTS
→ 1 billion active users worldwide.
→ 67% is under 35 years old and is an active user of other
social media channels.
→ 57% uses WhatsApp more than once a day.
→ 2014: Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion.
→ Beginning of 2015: WhatsApp VOIP.

3. | Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 3
WHATSAPP & FACEBOOK
Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, and now
slowely reveils it‘s plans on how to monitize it:
let businesses pay for communicating with
customers through rich content like click-to-
buy, tracking parcels and making reservations.
As customers get used to this type of
communication with businesses, they will
become more dependent on this contact
channel.
Facebook is now focussing on developping
Messenger for Business, a platform worth
paying attention too. KLM, Zulily and Everlane,
amoungst others, have already started using
this for customer service.

4. | Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 4
IM MORE POPULAR THAN SOCIAL MEDIA?
Mobile messaging is the fastest growing and most
predominant digital vehicle. Private instant messengers,
like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Telegram, are
therefore expected to increase significantly in popularity to
contact companies, as an alternative to public
communication via social media.

5. | Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 5
ARVATO PILOT: IS WHATSAPP A SUITABLE CONTACT
CHANNEL?
To test if WhatsApp is a suitable contact channel, we
invited our employees to ask questions to our
Management Team, via WhatsApp. In addition,
employees could also report any defects such as a
broken toilet to our Facilities department.
LEARNINGS
→ Expectation management: When are you online?
What is the expected response time?
→ Privacy: both your profile picture and telephone
number are visible. For some, this is a reason
not to use WhatsApp as a contact channel.

6. » arvato pilot - ideal response time?
Within 5 –
15 minutes
23%
Within 15 –
30 minutes
22%Within 30
minutes - 1
hour
17%
Within 1
hour – 2
hours
12%
Within 4 hours – 8 hours
14%
Within 24
hours
12%
| Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 6
 Dutch respondents
Within 5 –
15 minutes
9%
Within 15 –
30 minutes
35%
Within 30
minutes - 1
hour
26%
Within 1
hour – 2
hours
22%
Within 4 hours – 8 hours
4%
Within 24 hours
4%
 English respondents

7. Market insights
| Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 7
COMPANIES USING WHATSAPP FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

8. Experiences from pioneers:
| Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 8
E-COMMERCE:
“When a friend apps you, you
also expect a quick response.
If he is online and doesn’t
respond within two minutes,
that’s weird. We are always
online and respond seven days
a week from eight in the
morning till midnight. We
want to commit to that
expectation.”
FASHION E-TAILER:
“The first results are positive.
We get almost exclusively
positive feedback from our
customers, resulting in a high
customer satisfaction score.
Besides that, our employees
see real added value in their
contact with our customers.
The NPS is higher than any
other channel.”
NICK LENTEN,
CHIEF
TECHNOLOGY
OFFICER
JAN PIETER HONKOOP,
MANAGER CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
TRAVEL INDUSTRY:
“We are continuously working
on improving information and
service to passengers, to make
their journey as comfortable
as possible. Our passengers
really appreciate fast and easy
access to support, and
WhatsApp offers this.”
VERA HOOGENDOORN,
MANAGER CONTRACT,
SAFETY & INFORMATION
MANAGEMENT
TRANSPORT:
“WhatsApp is more personal
than social media. We get
much closer to our customers
in these conversations. On top
of that, you reach a new,
larger target group: people
that watched your social
media, but did not participate.
They would rather
communicate in private. Tip:
clearly state that you only use
the telephone numbers for
WhatsApp and nothing else.”
MARCO LANGENDAM,
COMMUNICATION &
ONLINE MEDIA

9. | Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 9
CASE: AMSTERDAM AIRPORT SCHIPHOL
arvato and Schiphol offer customer
service via WhatsApp since the beginning
of August 2015.
WhatsApp service is integrated into the
Schiphol Customer Contact Center.
Learnings:
• Set clear targets to measure success,
for example interaction growth and
customer satisfaction.
• Start small, roll-out in phases to
manage volumes and resources.

10. Thank you for your attention!
| Estelle Wienk | WhatsApp in Customer Service 10
Contact: Estelle Wienk| arvato CRM Solutions| estelle.wienk@arvato.com