Ramadan: An opportunity for brands to thrive with conversational messaging

Ramadan is a holy month of reflection for two billion Muslims around the world. And along with that comes the need for purposeful conversational connection – with friends, family, brands, the community, and charitable causes.

During this month, shopping habits shift and evolve significantly. As fasting from dawn to dusk influences consumer behavior, it’s crucial for businesses to adapt swiftly.

To do this, your brand needs to be present on the messaging channels that your customers are on, with campaigns that are personalized, coordinated, and automated to manage timings and volumes.

Read on to learn about the consumer shopping habits that normally occur during Ramadan and how conversational messaging through modern channels and chat apps helps build instant connections that lead to lasting loyalty.

Sales are usually high throughout Ramadan. While numbers differ by country/ region, the global trend is consistent. Whether it’s preparing for Suhoor (meal before daybreak) and Iftar (breaking of fast), shopping for Eid, or donating to charities – there has been a significant shift in customer behavior.

The week leading up to Eid al-Fitr, which falls on April 10th this year, is when sales peak. Food and apparel remain the most popular shopping categories during Ramadan, while travel purchases showed the most growth in 2022.

Keeping this in mind, Ramadan is the month for discovery – not just for consumers but brands as well. Therefore, it is crucial for brands to connect meaningfully with customers – to ensure they are understood and heard.

Ramadan, a time for reflection, connection, and communication is the perfect time for brands to create meaningful conversational experiences.

It’s not us just saying it. Customers are also looking for personalized shopping experiences over their preferred channels and chat apps.

In a recent study done by Meta on consumer behavior in Ramadan and Eid, the research found that 2 in 3 shoppers or observers enjoyed personalized shopping experiences through Meta technologies. It also found that:

Brands must show value in their messaging across all their communication channels. Customers want conversational experiences over their preferred chat apps such as WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger, Instagram and more.

On our platform too we saw an increase in mobile-first messaging during Eid. With the top three countries seeing an increase in mobile messaging year-on-year.

Unity and togetherness are two of the key pillars of Ramadan, with people looking to connect. Technology in the form of chat apps has empowered personalized conversational journeys. Brands who are looking to build meaningful connections must be present on their customers’ preferred messaging channels.

Messaging channels allow you reach and engage with a global audience through multi-country and multi-language personalized ads. The popularity, ease, immediacy, scalability, and personalization of messaging make it ideal for engaging customers.

And for Ramadan it is no different. Personalization is the number one key factor that influences Ramadan purchase decisions. Customers feel more connected to a business or a brand through conversational messaging.

With conversational messaging you can:

The power of conversational experiences during Ramadan and Eid cannot be overstated. It’s a dynamic blend of tradition and technology, where every message holds the potential to deepen connections and enrich experiences.

Whether customers are looking for traditional recipes, transferring money to charities or loved ones, or buying new clothes for Eid – social media, chat apps and native platforms such as WhatsApp and RCS have been a boon for brands. These modern channels enable businesses to interact with customers through meaningful, rich media that drives actions.

Now let’s take a look closer at how conversational experiences can be implemented across the entire customer journey.

Whether you’re in retail and eCommerce, finance, on-demand, or running a charity, we provide you with the technology and channels you need to create conversational experiences that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty during this month.

The journey begins with a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Instagram or Facebook featuring enticing recipe ideas for Iftar and Suhoor, the meals during Ramadan, tailored to catch the eye of your target audience. If your channel of choice is WhatsApp, allow customers to open a conversation with you over WhatsApp.

Having multiple entry points and allowing your customers to initiate the conversation is an excellent way to collect leads, inform potential buyers of your services and start a conversational experience that they are in control of.

Now that you have an open conversation with your customer, you can continue sending relevant and meaningful messages that can help guide them through the sales funnel. This could include a brief introduction to your brand and an invitation to explore more recipes.

The rich media features on WhatsApp allow you to enrich the conversational experience and deliver interactive customer engagement. This interactive experience educates customers about your recipes and allows you to recommend ingredients available for purchase in your retail stores.

Completing a purchase conversational chat apps has never been more efficient. WhatsApp allows customers to make a purchase directly through a secure payment option within the chat and provides immediate confirmation and receipts.

This makes finalizing a sale easier than ever because customers can browse products, choose what to purchase and complete the purchase all through a single conversation.

After purchase, your conversation shouldn’t die out. Make sure you continue to chat with customers to increase retention and encourage them to repurchase with you.

Keep the customer informed with regular order status updates, from preparation to delivery. Then collect feedback from them right in the chat with easy reply buttons for fast responses. Offer support for any queries or issues, reinforcing customer satisfaction.

However, your journey with this customer shouldn’t stop here. Utilize the data your extracted from previous interactions to gain insights into their behavior and preferences during Ramadan, helping to refine future marketing strategies and campaigns.

This is the time brands need to delve deeper into their customer insights and send messages based on:

You can loop their journey back to purchase by sending personalized promotional messages, time sensitive deals or loyalty point updates that encourage them to browse your products and make another purchase.

Family and cooking are usually the most popular topics discussed during Ramadan, but there is no “one-size-fits-all solution” for customer engagement. To make a meaningful difference and connection this Ramadan, brands should invest in:

Consumers value convenience, no matter how loyal they are, especially during unusual times. To stand out this Ramadan, track and attribute success within each marketing campaign and make sure you’re prepared for the spike in consumer demand.