WhatsApp isn't just for chatting anymore: what BCG and Meta found about how businesses win customers

If you run a restaurant, a cabin, or a small venture in Patagonia, there's something you almost certainly already do: handle inquiries over WhatsApp. Prices, availability, bookings, the day's menu. All of it through the green app.

But there's a huge difference between having WhatsApp and using WhatsApp well. And that difference, according to a study just published by BCG (the global consulting firm) and Meta, is becoming a real competitive advantage for the businesses that get it.

We'll summarize the key points, and what it means for a business like yours.

The study that confirms it

In February 2026, Boston Consulting Group and Meta published research on the use of messaging in companies around the world. They studied how businesses are using WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger to engage with their customers.

The most relevant finding: companies that use WhatsApp strategically, not just to reply but to accompany the customer through the entire process, report up to double the improvement in retention and in the cost of acquiring new customers.

Double. That's not minor.

What does "using WhatsApp well" mean?

The study identifies a clear gap between businesses that simply have WhatsApp and those that genuinely make the most of it. The difference lies in moving from answering scattered inquiries to having complete conversations with the customer: from the first question to the confirmed booking, the after sale, and the reminder for the next visit.

For a Patagonian business, that might look like this:

• Cabin: A tourist asks about availability in January. You reply with availability, price, and a link to photos. When they confirm the booking, you send a welcome message with directions to get there. Three days before check in, you remind them of the details. At checkout, you ask for a review. All from the same WhatsApp thread.

• Restaurant: A customer asks if there's a table for Saturday night. You confirm, you remind them on Friday. After dinner, you ask how it was. You let them know when there's a new special menu.

• Craft venture: Someone asks about a product. You send photos, price, options. You confirm the order. You let them know when it's ready. You thank them for the purchase.

It seems simple. But most businesses only do the first part, replying, and miss the rest.

The problem with "I'll get to it when I can"

We all know the story: the business WhatsApp gets checked by whoever's available, whenever they can. Sometimes they reply fast, sometimes it takes a day. Sometimes the customer already went elsewhere.

The BCG and Meta study confirms it with numbers: only 35% of companies manage to have genuine, back and forth conversations with their customers. The rest just push information in one direction.

That means most businesses are leaving money on the table.

What you can do today

You don't have to become a multinational to improve this. There are three concrete steps any business can take:

1. Have a dedicated number for the business. Separating your personal WhatsApp from your work one seems basic, but it makes a difference in how the customer perceives the seriousness of the business.

2. Reply fast and with useful information. Response time matters. A customer who asks about availability at 10 PM and gets a reply at 2 PM the next day has probably already booked somewhere else.

3. Have a minimal follow up sequence. Booking confirmed → reminder before → thank you after. Three messages. They make all the difference in how the service is perceived.

The next step: doing it without it eating your time

This is where technology comes in. Today there are tools that let you automate parts of that conversation, common replies, confirmations, reminders, without the business losing the personal tone that makes it unique.

At Manivela we work with hospitality businesses, tourism, and local shops in the region to integrate these tools into their website and their daily operation. It's not about losing the warmth of direct service: it's about that warmth reaching the customer at 11 PM too, when they're looking for somewhere to book for the weekend.

In short

WhatsApp is already the main contact channel between businesses and customers in Argentina. The question isn't whether to use it, it's whether to use it well.

The businesses winning loyalty and lowering the effort of acquiring new customers are the ones that turned their WhatsApp conversations into a complete experience, not a chat of scattered replies.

If you want to know how to apply this to your specific business, write to us. We do a free assessment for businesses in the region. If the conversion side interests you, keep reading: humanizing your company converts more customers.