How to Create a WhatsApp Product Recommendation Chatbot for Your Ecommerce Store

Ecommerce businesses are constantly looking for innovative ways to create an engaging and personalized shopping experience for their customer. One powerful tool that’s gaining traction is the WhatsApp chatbot. 

Whatsapp chatbots open up a world of possibilities for ecommerce and D2C businesses. It helps them tap the full customer purchasing journey from shopping assistance to product recommendations, covering various ecommerce use cases and applications.

So, let’s dig into what product recommendation chatbots are and how they act as WhatsApp shopping assistants for your customers.

‍What is an Ecommerce Product Recommendation Chatbot?

Whatsapp product recommendation bots act as virtual shopping assistants, guiding customers through their purchase journey, offering personalized product recommendations, and making the entire shopping process as seamless as possible.

Imagine your customers being able to discover products, ask questions, and complete purchases—all with WhatsApp - their go-to messaging app. That’s what you can achieve by creating an engaging product recommendations chatbot on WhatsApp. 

Not just this, with the help of The Convertway, you can easily build a conversational Whatsapp chatbot to cover various customer touchpoints and customer queries for your ecommerce businesses. 

Let’s explore how you can create your own WhatsApp shopping assistant bot for ecommerce and transform the way customers interact with your brand. ‍

‍How to Create a Product Recommendations Whatsapp Chatbot using The Convertway

Here’s how you can easily make a product recommendations chatbot on Whatsapp with The Convertway: 

1. Pre-requisites: 

Before building your chatbot, please ensure that your WhatsApp Business Account is approved and you have subscribed to The Convertway’s growth plan or higher.

2. Designing a WhatsApp Chatbot for Ecommerce Store:

To design a product recommendation chatbot for ecommerce brands follow these steps written below:

1. Navigate to the Chatbot Menu:

Log into The Convertway app and head over to the "Chatbot" section.

You can either personalize or customize our default chatbot flow provided in the chatbot library or create your WhatsApp chatbot from scratch.

2. Set your chatbot trigger keywords

Once the chatbot builder opens, click on the bot trigger to define the keywords that will activate your bot. For example - you can consider “hi”, “hello”, “browse products”, and “shop products” as your keywords for the product recommendations bot.

3. Send a welcome message 

Once the chatbot is triggered, you can send a warm welcome message to greet the customers and begin the flow. To do this, click on the "Send Message" node and choose the "Button Message" option.

To set up a WhatsApp button message:

• Select the header type: You can include text, video, image, document, or audio in the message header.

• Craft your message: Write your WhatsApp message copy and personalize it using variables. Enhance your message with emojis for a more engaging experience.
• Customize buttons: Add, delete, or rename buttons as needed (up to 3 buttons are allowed).

• Save your settings: Use the attribute settings to save the response, then click "Save."
  

4. Set up a list message  

Similarly, to set up recommendations for various product categories create a list message, by selecting the "Send Message" node and choosing the "List Message" option.

• Customize your message: Use variables for targeted messaging to create a more engaging customer experience.
• Create your list:  Create a list using sections and rows. Sections can be used to create multiple product categories like T-shirts, Jeans, Dresses, etc and rows can be used as sub-categories like best sellers, summer collections, etc. 

• Customize sections and rows: You can create up to 9 sections and 10 rows per section, each with a short description (up to 72 characters).

After setting up, click "Save."

5. Send media messages with images, videos and documents

Once your product categories are set up, you can send a media message including images, videos or documents to showcase all the products available in the category and include a link to redirect users to the website. 

• Select media type: Choose your desired media type like image, video, or document from the drop-down menu, upload your media, and customize the message body.

6. Set up your fallback settings

It’s essential to set up a fallback message for when the chatbot encounters errors. This message will prompt the customer to respond again. After setting it up, click "Save."

3. Test, Refine, and Optimize:

Before launching, make sure to test your bot in various scenarios. Gather feedback, monitor performance, and continuously optimize the bot to ensure it meets customer expectations.

How does the Product Recommendation Whatsapp Chatbot help ecommerce businesses?

1. Enhanced Product Discovery: With a product recommendation chatbot for ecommerce, a customer searching for the perfect gift could interact with your bot, which then suggests top-selling products.
   
   
2. 24/7 Assistance: With a WhatsApp bot, your business is always open. The bot serves as a round-the-clock shopping assistance, ensuring you never miss a potential sale—even outside regular business hours.
   
   
3. Streamlined Purchase Journey: From product discovery to checkout, your shopping bot guides customers through every step of their journey. This not only enhances their shopping experience but also boosts conversion rates by reducing friction.

Best Practices for Implementing Your WhatsApp Shopping Assistant Bot

• Use Eye-catching Images: Enhance the shopping experience by using images, videos, and buttons in your bot’s automated responses. For example, when recommending a product, include a high-quality image or a short video showcasing its features.

• Automate Common Queries: Your bot should be able to handle frequently asked questions such as “What’s your return policy?” or “How long does shipping take?” Automating these responses ensures quick and consistent customer service.

• Use Approved Message Templates: WhatsApp requires certain messages, like order confirmations, to use pre-approved templates. Ensure you have these in place to maintain compliance and provide a professional experience.

• Offer a Human Handoff: While bots are incredibly effective, there will be times when a human touch is needed. Make sure your bot can seamlessly hand off the conversation to a human agent if the customer requires more detailed assistance.

Conclusion

Creating a WhatsApp shopping assistant bot can transform the way your customers shop online. By offering personalized product recommendations, simplifying the purchase journey, and being available 24/7, your bot can drive higher engagement and sales for your eCommerce store. 

With The Convertway’s Whatsapp automation tool building your WhatsApp shopping bot is easier than ever. You can not just design a no-code chatbot within minutes but also provide customers with a unique and memorable shopping experience. So, transform your Whatsapp chatbot into a powerful sales engine today!