| dc.description.abstract | Companies in their growth phase use cold messaging strategies using emails and SMS to push their products and services. Cold leads drive the top of the funnel. Email marketing is used by thousands of businesses of all sizes across the world. It is a fast and cheap way of reaching new customers. Email marketing can allow you to create targeted and personalized messages. Also, it is a continuous process of turning your cold prospects into potential customers. With the increase in usage of smartphones and internet penetration, cold message marketing has shifted to different mediums such as social media (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn) and Mobile Instant Messaging (WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger). Presti (2021), in their study, found that around 66% of firms use Instant messaging platforms for their marketing purposes. One main reason is the direct interaction between business-customer and two-way communication. Hence, for this reason, social messenger applications are not only the venue for consumer engagement but also for online sales. As per Neodove (2022), approximately 98% of text messages are opened by customers within three minutes of message delivery on WhatsApp and Instagram, whereas the email open rate is only 22%. Due to WhatsApp's highest reach, companies are switching towards these messaging platforms to push their services. With the introduction of a Business account in WhatsApp, there is high flexibility for companies to use this as part of their outreach. Also, as WhatsApp is free to use, its usage increases every day to serve customers. | en_US |
