For Jessica dos Santos Pizzo, to read is to “travel without moving.”
To share her joy of reading with others, in 2017, she started Book in Box, a book subscription service in Maringá, Brazil which curates, packages, and delivers thematic book boxes to customers across the country.
Jessica’s first two years of business were very difficult. Growth was slow, some clients grumbled about emails getting lost, and others did not follow through on payments for their subscriptions.
In January 2019, Book in Box turned to the WhatsApp Business app to help address these challenges.
Within a month, the business experienced a 300 percent increase in subscribers, which Jessica credits entirely to the WhatsApp Business app. “We started getting compliments for our quick customer service,” she says.
Splitting her time between a PhD in chemistry, working at her father’s butcher shop, teaching yoga and reading, Jessica relies on the WhatsApp Business app to maximize efficiency with her hectic schedule. The labels feature makes it easier for Jessica to respond to around 15 clients on-the-go every day, and the quick replies feature is also a big time-saver because many customers have similar questions.
Customers also enjoy connecting with Book in Box via WhatsApp.
A customer and fellow bookworm says using WhatsApp is “more practical.” Living in Paulo Afonso, Bahia, a small, remote city which does not have a bookstore, she was thrilled when her books were delivered. “Jessica first contacted me on WhatsApp with the tracking information, which I loved. I’m a bibliophile!”
As a child, Jessica’s mother would take her to a quaint, second-hand bookstore where she would explore the shelves and choose her own books. Today, supported by the WhatsApp Business app, she is helping others “travel” to new worlds, page by page.