With a presence on virtually every cell phone in Brazil, WhatsApp has established itself as a work tool for small and medium-sized businesses across the country. The app is installed on 99% of cell phones in Brazil and has 147 million users, according to the Digital 2024: Brazil .
For customer service channel specialists, what was once just an informal means of contact is now taking on a strategic role: more and more companies are automating processes, organizing their operations, and selling directly through the app.
According to a report by Opinion Box, 82% of Brazilians already use WhatsApp to communicate with businesses, and 60% say they have already made purchases through the app. It's no wonder that the number of businesses using the business version—WhatsApp Business—has also grown: Brazil is one of the world's largest markets for this solution. Around 70% of Brazilian companies already use the app as part of their marketing, sales, and relationship strategies, according to the 2024 Marketing and Sales Panorama by RD Station.
“Before, everything was manual. Today, I can talk to dozens of customers at the same time, without keeping anyone waiting,” says Gabriel Sávio, director of a furniture store in Goiás. After automating customer service and sales through WhatsApp, he claims to have multiplied his revenue sixfold. “Organization and agility made all the difference.” He uses the Poli Digital customer service platform in his operations; Poli Digital is also a company from Goiás and offers chatbots, automation, and CRM for customer service.
“The platform linked to automation can be a real sales engine for a company. There is a big difference between fulfilling an order and operating an intelligent, scalable, and efficient sales process,” says Alberto Filho, CEO of Poli Digital.
Cases like Gabriel's are not isolated. A survey by Meta (2023) polled 6,500 adults from 13 countries, including Brazil, and showed that 81% of Brazilians said they find it easier to message a company than to access a website to make that contact, and 78% say they are more likely to make a purchase when they can resolve everything there — from the first contact to payment.
Alessandra Bona, from Burntech Caldeiras Equipamentos Industriais, also a Poli Digital client, mentions that the ability to respond to customers on the same screen, attending to various channels simultaneously, has greatly facilitated daily operations. "Being able to have everything recorded in a pre-sales funnel (messages and calls) was a deciding factor."
In addition to improving conversations, WhatsApp also boosts sales with integrated features. One of the most used is Click-to-WhatsApp, which transforms ads on Instagram and Facebook into direct conversations on the customer service platform. According to Meta, more than 40% of Brazilian advertisers have already adopted this functionality — a sign that WhatsApp has become a central point in the buyer's journey.
Another highlight is Poli Pay , a tool developed by Poli Digital that functions as an order management system directly through WhatsApp and Instagram. It allows companies to send and receive payment requests directly through the chat, with an integrated product catalog and shopping cart. This feature has generated approximately R$7 million in transactions since its launch in 2020. The conversion rate achieved with Poli Pay was 46%, double the average of traditional e-commerce platforms.
"In other words, with support and organization, we were able to grow even with a lean team. WhatsApp is the app that's already in your pocket; it's agile, direct, and convenient—a huge competitive advantage," says Alessandra Bona.
Unlike robust solutions created for large companies, which are often expensive and difficult to implement, WhatsApp Business offers an accessible gateway to the digitalization of SMEs. “Automating customer service, recording conversation histories, training teams, and integrating direct payment through chat. All of this is already possible, and it doesn't require large investments,” says Alberto Filho.
