- Success Stories
- Messenger API
- Carrefour
MESSENGER API & MESSENGER API FOR INSTAGRAM
Carrefour
Engaging customers through creative, consistent messaging over preferred channels
Carrefour
Brand
Alcméon
Partner
SUCCESS STORY
Carrefour adds marketing messages in Instagram and Ads that Click to Instagram to its robust omnichannel approach to customer outreach, building engaged customer communities through regular updates and immersive content while reducing paper-related costs and helping to grow its overall contact list.
increase in subscriber list growth attributable to Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp
average view rates through Messenger alone
net promoter score for receiving flyers over WhatsApp
*All results are self-reported and not identifiably repeatable. Generally expected individual results will differ.
THEIR STORY
Innovator in one-stop shopping
Carrefour is one of the original French hypermarkets and a multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The company operates hypermarkets, as well as grocery and convenience stores in over 30 countries.
THEIR GOAL
Customer outreach over modern channels
Carrefour wanted to reach increasing numbers of digitally savvy shoppers with its latest offers and promotions while transitioning away from its traditional reliance on printed mailers. With continued increases in paper costs and new French laws around sustainability, the company wanted to find faster, more creative, and sustainable ways to engage customers everywhere.
THEIR SOLUTION
Creative, cross-channel outreach
As one of the original hypermarkets in France, Carrefour has been a pioneer in providing customers with top-of-the-line groceries, home goods, apparel, and other products all in one location.
Like most French retailers, Carrefour traditionally relied on printed marketing materials to let customers know about the latest sales and new products. However, as more customers started engaging with their favorite brands online, many flyers were left unread. As the cost of paper has increased by roughly 50 percent over the past few years, France also underwent a massive shift toward sustainability, implementing new laws to limit paper waste.
After announcing a company-wide goal to dramatically reduce catalog distribution and become a national leader in supporting environmental sustainability, Carrefour worked with Alcméon, a SaaS messaging company, to develop a robust omnichannel approach to customer engagement that allows customers to receive regular content through marketing messages on Messenger and WhatsApp. After noting that Instagram is popular among its customers, especially younger shoppers, Carrefour expanded its outreach to include marketing messages in Instagram.
The company launched a campaign using QR codes in stores, ads on its website, as well as Ads that Click to Instagram to connect customers with a marketing bot directly designed in Alcméon's powerful bot building platform by Carrefour. When navigating through the bot, users are greeted with the option to subscribe to marketing messages, and are encouraged to choose their nearest store to personalize their experience and get informed about local deals. Each week, subscribers receive a new group of marketing messages and flyers, including the promotional offers of their favorite store.
When shoppers leave comments under Carrefour Instagram posts, the company also relies on the private replies feature to send a direct message inviting them to opt-in to marketing messages.
“We’re happy to be one of the first retailers in France to use marketing messages through a powerful combination of WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, delivering digital flyers to customers around the country while dramatically reducing paper-related costs,” says Arnaud Merzougui, Data and Social Media Project Manager, Carrefour. “Using marketing messages in Instagram, we have the flexibility to develop more immersive content such as videos, carousel-style ads, or even special promotions around holidays and recipes of the week.”
Marketing messages deliver weekly digital flyers to subscribers
Instagram ads encouraged Carrefour followers to subscribe to digital flyers
In addition to flyers for the current week’s specials, Carrefour sends marketing messages with next week’s deals, enabling customers to plan their grocery shopping in advance. When customers opt-in to marketing messages in Instagram, they also get updates whenever a live shopping event occurs – ensuring that they never have to miss the event as it happens.
“Adding marketing messages in Instagram to its popular Messenger and WhatsApp notifications allows Carrefour to build communities of engaged customers using the social media channels that people prefer,” says Charles Doxuan, CMO and Chief Evangelist, Alcméon. “By broadening the scope of their digital engagement, they emerge at the forefront of social messaging innovation and the promotion of a sustainable digitalization. ”
The company structured its approach to marketing messages in Instagram similar to its outreach through Messenger and WhatsApp, with customers accessing the virtual assistant through click-to ads and opting-in to regular messages. Offering shoppers a streamlined, unified experience across different channels allows Carrefour to target customers with different kinds of content, based on their preferred channel – such as sharing ads for contemporary fashion over marketing messages in Instagram or doing a holiday-themed “talking with Father Christmas” campaign via WhatsApp.
“Through Messenger and WhatsApp, we’ve grown our contact list fivefold in about six months. We’ve found that 45 percent of shoppers receiving marketing messages through Messenger will view that content, and customers receiving flyers on WhatsApp rate their experience with a high +53 net promoter score,” says Merzougui. “Customers receiving flyers through their preferred social media channel are more likely to stay engaged and spend more time – about four minutes – browsing our content.”
As Carrefour continues to develop customer communities over Instagram, the company wants to customize marketing messages that are most relevant to shoppers’ interests. When customers subscribe to marketing messages after commenting or clicking on specific Instagram ads, Carrefour can gain sharper insights into the products and offers they’re excited about and send appropriate marketing messages.
“Adding marketing messages in Instagram to our customer outreach gives us a versatile, highly scalable way of engaging shoppers while cutting costs and achieving our long-term goals for sustainability,” says Merzougui.
THEIR SUCCESS
Broader reach, more engagement
When Carrefour builds a successful omnichannel approach to customer outreach, including marketing messages in Instagram, the company grows its contact list while generating high average message view rates, subscription rates, and customer satisfaction rates.
- 5X increase in contact list attributable to Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp
- 45% average view rates through Messenger alone
- +53 net promoter score for receiving flyers over WhatsApp
We’re happy to be one of the first retailers in France to use marketing messages through a powerful combination of WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, delivering digital flyers to customers around the country while dramatically reducing paper-related costs. Using marketing messages in Instagram, we have the flexibility to develop more immersive content such as videos, carousel-style ads, or even special promotions around holidays and recipes of the week.
Arnaud Merzougui
Through Messenger and WhatsApp, we’ve grown our contact list fivefold in about six months. We’ve found that 45 percent of shoppers receiving marketing messages through Messenger will view that content, and customers receiving flyers on WhatsApp rate their experience with a high 53 percent net promoter score. Customers receiving flyers through their preferred social media channel are more likely to stay engaged and spend more time – about four minutes – browsing our content.
Arnaud Merzougui
Products used
Messenger
These are the building blocks of your Messenger experience. Whether you’re looking to generate leads, drive sales, or provide customer service, we have the solutions you need.
Messenger API for Instagram
Integrating with existing tools and data, the Messenger API for Instagram makes managing high volumes of customer messages easier--helping to turn conversations into business outcomes.
WhatsApp Business Platform
Connect with customers easily by using tools to automate and quickly respond to messages.