How To Double Your Sales During The IPL Season Using WhatsApp Commerce

The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 16th season is in full swing, and we all know what that means – a total of 74 nail biting matches between 10 teams. But, it’s also a season of incredible opportunities for businesses to ride the wave of excitement and skyrocket their sales using different channels including WhatsApp Commerce.

With a massive fan following not just in India but across the globe, IPL is truly a goldmine for brands looking to make a mark.

In IPL 2023, during the recent Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings match, over eight crore unique visitors tuned in. And, the viewership peaked during the last five overs of the first innings till the match ended. Nearly 2.4 crore viewers were glued to their television screens to see whether Faf or MS would take the game home. Mind you, this viewership count was only for JioCinema. Numbers go way higher if we include people who watched the match on Start Sports Network and other channels across the globe.

If you think that IPL is a great channel of advertising and promotion only for brands that have partnered with the 10 teams and Jio, you’re absolutely wrong. While these brands may have secured screen time, you can leverage other modes to make the most of IPL and increase your sales.

To give you an example, passionate IPL fans are not only watching the games but also having animated conversations about them on WhatsApp. That’s precisely where your business needs to be to make the most of this opportunity.

WhatsApp gives you the leverage to go above and beyond and capture the attention of prospects when they’re most interested or vulnerable. If you’ve already started running promotions on WhatsApp, you know what we’re talking about. But if you’ve not, this blog is meant for you.

Here are some practical tips on how to use WhatsApp commerce to double your sales during the IPL season.

Why?

Because all the IPL conversations are happening on messages now!

Here are five simple things you can do on WhatsApp to significantly boost your sales during the IPL:

Before diving into the IPL madness, let’s take a step back and talk about the foundation of WhatsApp commerce – your product catalog.

Having a well-organized and appealing product catalog on WhatsApp is crucial for showcasing your products effectively and driving sales. It’s like setting the stage for a fantastic shopping experience for your customers.

Now, if you happen to sell IPL-related products too, it’s crucial to give your catalog a timely update.

Make sure to put your IPL-themed items in front and center so they’re the first things your customers see when browsing your catalog. By doing so, you’re directly catering to their interests and making it super easy for them to find the perfect merchandise to show support to their favorite teams and shop easily.

Highlighting IPL-related products at the top of your catalog demonstrates that your business is in tune with the latest trends, which helps capture customers’ attention right away.

With the IPL excitement running high, fans are eager to get their hands on anything that connects them to the event, and your WhatsApp catalog could be their one-stop shop for all things IPL.

But, manually updating your catalog can be highly daunting. Here, availing the services of Kwik Chat powered by GoKwik can help streamline these things. Kwik Chat allows you to bulk upload items on your WhatsApp Business account and make products available faster.

Next thing on the list is using WhatsApp to spread the word among your target audience. A powerful way to achieve this is by creating a WhatsApp broadcast. However, generic messages won’t cut – you must stand out from the crowd. For instance, check how this online gaming platform is prompting people to participate in IPL leagues by sending them catchy broadcast messages.

To make your WhatsApp broadcast truly IPL-centric and engaging, consider the following tips:

This well-thought-out, contextual, and engaging broadcast campaign via WhatsApp Commerce can help you effectively promote your IPL collection. It will also show your customers that you share their excitement and passion for the game. This genuine connection can further help build brand loyalty and drive sales even after the IPL is over.

Time-sensitive deals are an excellent way to create urgency and encourage customers to act quickly to grab a great deal. You can design creative promotions that align with matches and events to make the most of these discounts during the IPL season. In fact, Swiggy is a great example here. Although it runs discounts and promotions via its app, what’s the harm in deriving inspiration? 😀

You can consider offering limited-time discounts during specific match events, such as a team scoring a century or a wicket falling. This strategy helps to keep customers engaged and excited as they watch the match unfold.

Moreover, you could tie discounts to the performance of popular players, such as offering a discount on a player’s merchandise when they achieve a significant milestone.

Integrating time-sensitive discounts with the excitement of the IPL season allows you to boost sales and make the shopping experience more enjoyable and thrilling for your customers.

Indian cricket fans adore the big guns of the sport, and they can’t help but get excited when their favorite players step up to bat.

As we discussed earlier, the RCB v CSK match saw a spike in viewership when MD Dhoni came to the crease, and Faf and Glenn Maxwell started hitting back-to-back sixes. During the break before these thrilling moments, fans often take to WhatsApp to share their excitement in groups or with their friends.

To capitalize on this enthusiasm, you can time your broadcast campaigns to coincide with these high-energy moments.

For example, when a fan-favorite player like Dhoni steps up to bat, send a message saying, “If Dhoni hits two sixes, we’ll give x% discount on his merchandise.” This creates anticipation and keeps your audience engaged.

If he achieves the feat, you can send a follow-up message with a discount coupon, like “DHONI66.”

However, if the event doesn’t occur, avoid offering a consolation discount right away. Instead, send a message saying, “Oopse! He couldn’t hit those two maximums. But we’ll be back again with another offer.”

By not providing a discount, you pique their interest and build excitement for your next promotional message. This psychological approach can effectively increase the number of conversions and keep your customers engaged throughout the IPL season.

BTL campaigns are targeted to audience segments who have the highest potential to be converted into customers. During the IPL season, you might run promotions to drive traffic to your website through retargeting and remarketing ad campaigns.

But with the audience getting busy keeping up with the matches and the scores, completing a buyer journey on your website may not happen. This is where you can use a WhatsApp widget or a QR code to easily let the visitor switch to WhatsApp to continue browsing through your IPL promotions or collection. In fact, Kwik Chat powered by GoKwik enables you to offer headless checkout (end-to-end checkout) on WhatsApp itself. Fans can complete the purchase while staying right on WhatsApp.

Quick and seamless checkout is key to tapping into impulse purchases during the IPL season. When fans are eagerly supporting their favorite teams, you need to make the buying process as frictionless as possible to minimise drop-offs.

Frictionless checkout greatly supports impulse buying because it capitalizes on customers’ emotions and their sense of urgency. When customers see a product they desire or an enticing limited-time offer, they’re more likely to make an impulsive decision to purchase.

To do this, enable easy payments on WhatsApp itself. By integrating a payment solution like Gokwik, you can allow customers to complete their transactions without leaving the app. This streamlines the shopping experience, making it more convenient and efficient for your customers.

Offering easy payments on WhatsApp not only simplifies the purchasing process but also helps to build trust with your customers. They’ll appreciate the convenience and security of shopping within the familiar WhatsApp environment, which can boost your sales and customer satisfaction during the IPL season.