JU Productions Chose Respond.io Over Manychat for 718% More WhatsApp Sales

JU Productions is a Singapore-based business that provides professional product photography and digital marketing services. Its flagship offering, the Scheduled Lookbook™, is a shared economy product photography model where multiple brands join a single professional photoshoot session with models.

The problem

JU Productions relied on the WhatsApp Business App to engage leads and clients, but the platform quickly proved too limited. It lacked automation, making it difficult to manage conversations at scale or follow up with leads efficiently. Many leads opted out when they received promotional messages for photoshoot sessions as they didn’t fully understand what was on offer and didn’t hear back from the company quickly.

The business was running click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram but lacked visibility into campaign performance. That made it challenging to optimize ads for conversions, which led to wasted ad spend.

The company also struggled with spam and inappropriate messages. Ads showcasing their portfolio of professional model shoots often attracted irrelevant inquiries, forcing sales staff to spend time filtering out bad leads while being exposed to offensive content.

When considering an upgrade, the team trialed both ManyChat and respond.io. While ManyChat was strong in automating replies to social post comments, it fell short in areas JU Productions considered critical. ManyChat’s automation focused mainly on keywords and posts rather than providing full end-to-end workflows for lead qualification, routing and segmentation. Difficulty assigning conversations hindered team collaboration, and reporting gaps made it hard to track response times and measure team performance.

The respond.io solution

The business decided on respond.io as the best WhatsApp API provider to scale its marketing efforts and get more sign ups for its photoshoot sessions. Respond.io enabled it to optimize ads, send WhatsApp broadcasts in higher volumes along with quick follow-ups, and filter spam to protect staff from offensive content.

Optimize ads with CAPI

JU Productions connected WhatsApp API to respond.io to handle all conversations in a team inbox. This allowed it to see which Meta ads were driving enquiries and enabled agents to give contextual replies for faster conversions.

The business then set up Meta Conversions API (CAPI) to send conversion events, such as Scheduled Lookbook™ session bookings, back to Meta. This helped Meta improve its ad targeting by learning which types of users were likely to convert, leading to higher-quality leads and better ad performance.

Automate broadcasts and workflows

The company sends WhatsApp broadcasts twice a month to inform leads about the upcoming Scheduled Lookbook™ calendar. Before using respond.io, this was a manual process as broadcast lists are limited on the WhatsApp Business App. Lack of follow-up led many potential customers to drop off.

Now with respond.io, JU Productions schedules broadcasts in higher volumes and handles follow-ups with an automated workflow. If prospects indicate they want to opt-out after receiving the broadcast, they receive one follow-up message letting them know what they’ll be missing out on and asking them to confirm if they’re sure they want to opt-out. Taking advantage of FOMO (fear of missing out) has been amazingly effective and led to a dramatic reduction in opt-outs.

After these leads indicate they’re still interested, they automatically receive an explainer deck and are instantly routed to a sales rep for a personalized follow-up.

This approach boosted sales from WhatsApp marketing messages by an incredible 718% compared to the Business App, while eliminating the manual effort of contacting each potential client one by one.

Filter spam with AI agents

To reduce spam, the business began to qualify leads with respond.io’s AI agents. An AI agent collects information such as brand name and service interest to filter out irrelevant contacts and route only high-intent customers to the team. This eliminated the need for staff to engage with inappropriate messages directly. Spam conversations are reviewed just once a day before being blocked, protecting employees while reducing operational overhead.

And without the need to deal with spam, analytics showed improvement in response and resolution times for real customers

“We’re grateful to have chosen respond.io — the platform has been a huge part of our growth, and the team consistently rolls out new features and resolves issues quickly, which gives us confidence we made the right decision.”

— Jefferson Liew, CEO, JU Productions

The results

By using WhatsApp API with respond.io, JU Productions has transformed the way it engages leads and customers. The integration with Meta’s CAPI allowed the company to optimize advertising spend with real conversion data, resulting in a 47.2% lower cost per qualified lead.

Automated broadcasts and workflows around the Scheduled Lookbook™ not only eliminated manual follow-ups but also dramatically improved campaign performance. Opt-outs dropped by 98% thanks to the confirmation workflows, while sales from WhatsApp marketing messages soared by 718% compared to the Business App.

Finally, spam filtering workflows ensured that employees were no longer exposed to irrelevant or offensive messages. This not only safeguarded staff but also reduced operational overhead, as spam is now filtered automatically and reviewed in bulk only once per day.

With respond.io powering its WhatsApp communications, JU Productions has achieved scalable, efficient sales and marketing operations while protecting its team and driving sustainable growth.