BUSINESS
The peer-reviewed research found that customers who interacted with businesses via WhatsApp reported significantly higher satisfaction and loyalty. The case studies examined in the report demonstrated clear growth in customer numbers and repeat business. The study concluded that WhatsApp Business is not merely a communication tool but a strategic catalyst for longterm business growth, enabling more personalised, responsive, and effective customer engagement.
“ These findings should serve as a wake-up call,” says Jonathan Elcock, Cofounder and CEO of rather. chat.“ Our own audits for South African businesses have echoed the findings of this study, but we’ re taking it a step further.
It’ s not just about being on WhatsApp; it’ s about being intelligent on WhatsApp.
“ A basic Business profile offers convenience, but an AI-powered smartbot transforms it into a real growth engine. Once automation and intelligence are layered in, we see measurable impact: higher conversion rates, faster response times, and consistently stronger customer satisfaction over time.”
The study aligns with the Forrester / Gupshup Total Economic Impact report, which found that WhatsApp campaigns driven by conversational AI can deliver a 270 % return on investment over three years. To support South African businesses in realising this potential, rather. chat has introduced an end-to-end, AI-powered WhatsApp automation solution.
Designed to minimise friction at every stage of the sales funnel, the system delivers measurable improvements while remaining adaptable and scalable. Its five modular automation tools can be gradually implemented, allowing businesses to test, learn, and optimise performance while tracking ROI and managing costs.
Each solution is customised following a detailed Omnichannel audit conducted by rather. chat, which maps an organisation’ s customer journey to identify inefficiencies and points of friction that hinder conversions.
“ We’ ve conducted hundreds of omnichannel audits for South African companies and locally owned businesses. Our data and findings consistently indicate that outdated communication platforms, such as call-back queues and web contact forms, contribute to significant drop-offs,” adds Elcock.
“ WhatsApp is the most widely used communication platform in South Africa. We cannot ignore this fact, and any company that does will face an uncomfortable drop in sales compared to competitors who embrace it.
Customers want and expect to engage with your business on WhatsApp. The only question for business executives is how fast they’ ll move to formalise this for their customers.”
Across various sectors, from finance and insurance to retail and travel, companies that strategically integrate WhatsApp into their omnichannel approach consistently outperform their competitors. They are more relevant, adaptable, and better positioned to meet customers on their terms, rather than waiting for customers to come to them.
“ The future of customer engagement in South Africa is conversational and automated: WhatsApp is the tool that sits right at the centre of this evolution,” Elcock concludes. IB
December 2025 / INBOUND SA 11