Conversion Delivered: How Can QSRs Up Their Conversion Game This IPL?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has not only propelled the game of cricket but has created a new avenue for brands to take their products to every nook and corner of the country, where cricket is played, watched, and loved. The 2023 IPL season alone saw millions of viewers (505 million, to be precise) tuning in on TV, with a record-breaking 32 million concurrent views (for IPL final) on digital platforms like JioCinema. It’s a testament to the cricket frenzy that grips nearly 1.1 billion Indians, for whom the IPL season is the ultimate feast for both the game and the palate​​​​; a wholesome way of life.

In this grand cricket fiesta, QSRs play an important role in crafting experiences that linger long after the last over. 

Notably, the trend of digital consumption has seen a significant shift, with 52% of IPL viewers watching on both TV and mobile and 30% watching exclusively on mobile, highlighting the importance of digital engagement in today’s viewing habits​​. With the majority of viewers now choosing digital platforms for watching the games, there’s an unprecedented opportunity for QSRs to leverage mobile platforms for advertising, promotions, and creating personalized experiences that resonate with cricket fans​​.

As the IPL 2024 pitches roar with action, QSRs can now blend the thrill of cricket with the joy of dining, turning every order into a celebration of the game that unites millions.

Conversation Cloud and Customer Engagement

Now that we understand the myriad opportunities the IPL presents for QSRs to up their conversion game, we need to know how. The answer is Conversation Cloud. 

Let’s dive deeper to understand how a cloud platform can completely revolutionize consumer experience on all levels.

The Conversation Cloud from Gupshup helps a business provide a more personalized, efficient, and satisfying delivery experience. This technology can enable QSRs to harness the power of conversational AI, integrations, and analytics to create smarter, more connected customer interactions.

At its core, the Conversation Cloud facilitates the orchestration of human agents, bots, and systems to accurately understand and fulfill consumer intents. Brands can design and scale personalized automation to meet customer needs, all while optimizing the effectiveness of these conversations. 

Gupshup’s Conversation Cloud is a unified customer engagement platform designed to convert conversations into growth opportunities. It engages customers on their favorite messaging channels. It also aims to simplify business-to-customer interactions through personalized, intelligent communications across various platforms like WhatsApp, SMS, RCS, and more. 

The platform, powered by AI and chatbots, allows for one-on-one customer interactions that drive growth. Additionally, it offers features for interactive digital advertising to generate new leads and improve conversions. Gupshup’s Conversation Cloud facilitates the creation of powerful solutions by integrating quickly with apps and platforms already in use, enhancing e-commerce, support, CRM, payments, and marketing automation efforts.

To illustrate how Gupshup’s solutions can enhance QSR operations, consider the success story of Wow! Momo – one of the country’s fastest-growing QSR brands. Gupshup’s Conversational Engagement Platform significantly boosted Wow! Momo’s customer engagement by enabling end-to-end food ordering directly through WhatsApp. This innovative approach resulted in 40% of business from repeat orders and a 55% share of direct orders. With nearly 2.9 million opted-in WhatsApp users, Wow! Momo’s strategy displays the effectiveness of integrating conversational AI to enhance customer experience and loyalty. This case exemplifies how leveraging messaging-first strategies can lead to substantial growth and customer satisfaction in the QSR industry.

By harnessing conversational AI and integrating diverse data sources, QSRs can offer more meaningful, effective, and personalized interactions, ensuring a memorable dining experience that resonates well beyond the IPL season.

How to Boost QSR Conversions During IPL with WhatsApp?

During the high-energy IPL season, QSRs can use WhatsApp services to enhance customer experience. Here’s how QSRs can utilize WhatsApp’s capabilities to create a seamless and engaging customer journey, from awareness to purchase.

Accelerating the Buying Journey: Utilizing WhatsApp’s high open rate (98% on average), QSRs can send media-rich messages at all stages of the customer funnel. From the top of the funnel, engaging potential customers with product awareness content, to the bottom of the funnel by sending reminders for abandoned carts and creating remarketing ads that lead to WhatsApp conversations. It can significantly make the journey seamless, from awareness to purchase.

Conversation-Enabled Personalization: WhatsApp’s integration capabilities allow for one-on-one customer communication, which is crucial as 83% of customers expect immediate engagement when reaching out to a company. QSRs can use WhatsApp to handle queries in real-time, engage in product or service-related conversations, and provide information on bookings, thereby enhancing personalization and customer satisfaction​​. 

For example, imagine a scenario where a customer inquires about a new menu item on WhatsApp, and the QSR responds with personalized recommendations based on their past orders. 

Assisting in Order Placing: By integrating AI chatbots, QSRs can automate the order placement process, offering quick responses to common queries such as menu options, pricing, and specials of the day. This not only improves efficiency but also ensures customers can easily place orders anytime without waiting for a human agent​​.

Addressing FAQs: Automated responses to frequently asked questions can be set up through WhatsApp, allowing customers to get instant answers on topics like restaurant locations, hours of operation, delivery areas, and more. This proactive approach ensures customers have all the information they need to make a decision, improving the overall service experience​​.

Rechurning Incomplete Orders: With the help of automated messages, QSRs can remind customers about their abandoned carts. Offering personalized discounts or simply reminding them of their incomplete order can significantly increase conversion rates. The personal touch of WhatsApp messages makes this approach more effective than traditional email reminders.

Improving Delivery Experience with Real-Time Interactions: Real-time updates on order status, estimated delivery times, and the ability to communicate directly with the delivery person can greatly enhance the delivery experience. This transparency and ease of communication can lead to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty​​.

Try Incorporating Click to WhatsApp Ads: By adopting WhatsApp for their conversational AI strategy, QSRs can leverage Click to WhatsApp ads to drive traffic from ads across Facebook and Instagram directly into WhatsApp conversations. This ensures a seamless transition from ad engagement to personalized conversation. It increases the reach and engagement of digital ads and also captures more qualified leads, driving conversions through personalized and interactive chat experiences​​.

WhatsApp’s programmable API and marketing-friendly features, like product lists and broadcast capability, enable easy integration into any business’s existing marketing stack. This allows for full-funnel interactions, from discovery to post-purchase engagement, keeping customers engaged and loyal​​.

Seizing this IPL Season for Better Customer Engagement

QSRs have the unique opportunity to further innovate and elevate the customer experience during the IPL season. By leveraging insights and successes from current strategies, businesses can explore new technologies and platforms to connect with customers in even more personalized and engaging ways. The future holds immense potential for those ready to embrace change and utilize digital advancements to captivate cricket fans, transforming every match into an opportunity for growth and customer delight. 

For future IPL seasons and events throughout the year, consider leveraging Gupshup’s capabilities to stay agile and responsive to emerging consumer trends. It will be key to increasing conversions! Book a Demo