Since then, Woodford has been on a mission to change the entire rental experience, resulting in an innovative solution for a seamless booking and management process.
Over the past year, Woodford Car Hire has been working in earnest to make car hire accessible to South Africans by opening branches in city centres and suburbs. The approach has been to bring car rental to where people are or where they need it most. Branches have been opened in Sandton, Hatfield, Umhlanga, and soon, in Cape Town’s CBD – with resounding success. People simply want convenience.
The experience allowed Woodford to dive deeper in seeing how best to provide added convenience to renters.
If branches were bringing car hire to South African physically, how could we bring car hire to people digitally?
Whatsapp is South Africa’s most used messaging platform, with close to 10 million active users, according to Statista. A further report showed that more than 41% of users preferred shopping and communicating with businesses via chat platforms, as opposed to 24% who preferred websites.
Woodford’s website has always been efficient and user-friendly, with customers able to book a vehicle in under 60 seconds, but what if car hire could be brought to where people were already spending their time?
The launch of Woodford’s Whatsapp Chatbot does exactly that.
The service – which began in March 2023 – allows customers to make and modify bookings in just a few ‘clicks’, without ever having to leave the Whatsapp platform.
Convenience is key. There’s no need to visit a website or speak to an agent, as customers can now book their rental anytime and from anywhere. The Chatbot also allows customers to get immediate responses to common queries, which makes the rental process much more transparent and user-friendly.
The ability to book via Whatsapp is an industry-first, but it represents more than just being a new way to book vehicles.
The launch of the Whatsapp Chatbot is a shift toward making life easier and better for customers in a space where they’re usually treated like a number.
Having a bot chatting to and handling a booking may seem like a step in the opposite direction, but it comes as a result of intense research and understanding of how people want to ‘shop’ and communicate. The Whatsapp service is also a clear sign that Woodford is dedicated to making car hire as smooth as possible for customers, by considering their respective lives and their ways of wanting to do things.
Woodford is just getting started when it comes to its mission of 'Better, every day'. They are fully committed to providing customers with service and experience that addresses all the hang-ups and gripes associated with the industry, with many more exciting initiatives still to come in the coming months.
Try out the Woodford Whatsapp Chatbot and book at your convenience. Click here to start chatting now or simply text HI to 071 732 9420.
