In an era where traffic dividends are gradually fading, the core of "efficient customer acquisition" is no longer "obtaining more customers," but "building a high-quality customer pool." However, many enterprises fall into the dilemma of "acquiring many customers but achieving few conversions." The root cause lies in their customer pools being filled with invalid numbers and non-target users, leading to low operational efficiency. WhatsApp number screening is precisely the key to solving this dilemma: through WhatsApp number screening, enterprises can filter out real, precise, and high-potential customers from the source, laying the foundation for a high-quality customer pool. Relying on the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening, enterprises can further realize full-process empowerment covering "accurate identification — tiered cultivation — dynamic optimization," turning the high-quality customer pool into the "core engine" of efficient customer acquisition. This article will uncover the underlying logic of efficient customer acquisition, explain in detail how WhatsApp number screening helps enterprises build a high-quality customer pool, and provide actionable customer acquisition solutions by combining practical methods from ITG Global Screening.
Many enterprises blindly pursue "customer quantity" during customer acquisition, while ignoring the quality of the customer pool. Eventually, they fall into 3 major "customer pool traps," which are also the biggest obstacles to efficient customer acquisition. These traps can only be completely avoided through WhatsApp number screening:
WhatsApp numbers obtained by enterprises from channels such as exhibitions, third-party purchases, and official website registrations often contain 30%-60% invalid resources:
- Empty/disconnected numbers: These numbers cannot receive messages and are equivalent to "dormant customers," accounting for over 25%.
- Virtual/temporary numbers: Such as U.S. Google Voice numbers and Indian temporary mobile numbers. Users of these numbers are mostly registered in batches, with a retention rate of less than 5%, accounting for over 15%.
- Cancelled accounts: WhatsApp accounts abandoned by users, accounting for over 10%.
Before conducting WhatsApp number screening, a cross-border e-commerce enterprise had a customer pool of 100,000 numbers, among which invalid numbers accounted for 52%. The operation team spent a lot of effort sending messages but could only reach 48,000 real users. The "water content" in the customer pool seriously diluted the operational effect.
Even if the numbers in the customer pool are valid, they will be difficult to convert if most are non-target users:
- Demand mismatch: Sending information to users with "no product demand" (e.g., promoting enterprise-level software to students) results in a conversion probability of less than 1%.
- Attribute mismatch: A customer pool for maternal and child products is mixed with a large number of male users and elderly users, with core target groups accounting for less than 30%.
- Low activity: "Inactive users" who have had no interaction in the past 90 days account for over 40%, and these users have extremely low responsiveness to marketing content.
An beauty brand did not conduct WhatsApp number screening. In its customer pool, "females aged 20-35" (the core target group) accounted for only 28%, and the rest were mostly non-target users. The conversion rate of new product promotions was only 0.8%, far lower than the industry average of 3%.
In traditional customer acquisition, enterprises often mix all customers into a single pool and conduct undifferentiated operations:
- High-potential customers are ignored: Failing to prioritize the cultivation of "highly active, in-demand" customers causes them to be lured by competitors.
- Low-intent customers are annoyed: Frequent delivery of conversion-oriented content to "low-active, non-demanding" customers triggers resentment and even reports.
- Customer value is hard to tap: Being unable to identify customers’ potential needs means missing opportunities for secondary customer acquisition and repurchases.
A foreign trade enterprise did not tier its customers and sent the same procurement festival discounts to all customers. The conversion rate of high-potential customers was only 2.5%, and the report rate of low-intent customers reached 7%, making it impossible to maximize the value of the customer pool.
The underlying logic of efficient customer acquisition is to "focus on a high-quality customer pool to achieve precise reach and conversion." The WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening lays the foundation for a high-quality customer pool through 3 core logics, which is also the key difference between it and traditional customer acquisition:
The foundation of a high-quality customer pool is "real validity." Through multi-dimensional identification, the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening eliminates invalid numbers from the source and retains real customers:
- Basic status verification: Connect to the WhatsApp Business API to real-time detect whether numbers are "empty, disconnected, or unregistered," eliminating 100% of invalid resources and ensuring the customer pool is "free of water."
- Precise virtual number filtering: Identify mainstream global virtual numbers (such as U.S. Google Voice, TextNow, and Indian Jio temporary numbers). Users of these numbers have low activity, and filtering them can reduce "invalid customers" by over 30%.
- High-risk account labeling: Synchronize global WhatsApp risk control data to label high-risk accounts that are "banned, frequently reported, or have abnormal devices," preventing these accounts from affecting the quality of the customer pool and reducing operational risks.
A cross-border 3C enterprise used ITG Global Screening for WhatsApp number screening to process 200,000 acquired numbers. It eliminated 85,000 invalid numbers, 23,000 virtual numbers, and 12,000 high-risk numbers, ultimately retaining 80,000 real valid customers. The validity rate of the customer pool increased from 48% to 100%, and the subsequent reach rate rose from 35% to 92%.
The core of a high-quality customer pool is "precise matching." Through multi-dimensional labels, the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening tiers valid customers to ensure the customer pool is highly aligned with the enterprise’s goals:
- Basic attribute tiering: Extract user labels such as gender, age, and region to screen customers matching the product (e.g., selecting "females aged 25-35 + Asian region" for maternal and child products).
- Interest and demand tiering: Based on the WhatsApp channels followed by users, group chat themes, and interaction content, screen customers with product demands (e.g., selecting users who "follow hiking and camping channels" for outdoor equipment).
- Activity tiering: Mark users’ activity frequency in the past 7/30 days to screen "highly active" (logged in ≥3 times in the past 7 days), "moderately active" (logged in 1-2 times in the past 7 days), and "low active" (not logged in in the past 7 days) customers, prioritizing the cultivation of highly active customers.
A cross-border e-commerce enterprise used ITG screening to tier 80,000 valid customers into "highly active with 3C demand (12,000), moderately active with home demand (25,000), and low active with general demand (39,000)." The accuracy of the customer pool increased by 60%, and subsequent targeted operations raised the overall conversion rate from 1.8% to 5.2%.
A high-quality customer pool is not "fixed"; it needs to be dynamically optimized through WhatsApp number screening to eliminate lost customers, add new customers, and maintain the activity of the customer pool. This is also a core advantage of ITG Global Screening:
- Regular screening of "dormant customers": Re-screen the customer pool with WhatsApp number screening every quarter to eliminate dormant customers who are "inactive for 90 days or have cancelled accounts," preventing the customer pool from "aging."
- Adding "new high-potential customers": Combine new customer acquisition channels, use WhatsApp number screening to filter newly acquired numbers, and add "real valid + target-matched" customers to the customer pool.
- Updating customer labels: Use the ITG number screening function to update customer labels (e.g., upgrading from "low demand" to "high demand") based on user interaction behaviors (such as clicking links and inquiring about products), and adjust operational strategies accordingly.
A SaaS enterprise optimized its customer pool quarterly through ITG screening, eliminating 15% of dormant customers and adding 20% of new high-potential customers. The activity of the customer pool was always maintained above 85%, and the monthly number of newly signed customers increased by 30%.
Enterprises can use the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening to build a high-quality customer pool without complex technology. The process can be implemented in the following 4 steps, and the initial customer pool can be built in 1-2 weeks:
First, based on the characteristics of products/services, clarify the core standards of a high-quality customer pool and determine the WhatsApp number screening dimensions:
- For cross-border e-commerce (3C products): Core dimensions include "region (target market) + age (18-40 years old) + interest (tech focus) + activity (active in the past 30 days)."
- For service industries (online education): Core dimensions include "region (target country) + identity (parent/student) + demand (language learning) + willingness to interact (high interaction)."
- For B2B enterprises (mechanical parts): Core dimensions include "region (industrial concentration area) + identity (procurement manager) + activity (active in the past 7 days) + risk status (low risk)."
Use the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening to conduct batch screening of initially acquired numbers and filter out customers that match the positioning:
- Upload the number list: Organize the collected WhatsApp numbers into Excel/CSV format (including country codes, no special characters) and upload them to the ITG Global Screening backend.
- Select screening dimensions: Check the identified core dimensions (e.g., "region screening + interest labels + activity detection"). Beginners are advised to select all basic dimensions (invalid number filtering, high-risk number labeling).
- Launch the screening task: The system automatically processes the numbers. 100,000 numbers can be screened in 1-2 hours, generating a "valid customer list" and marking labels for each type of customer (e.g., "U.S. + 18-40 years old + tech focus + highly active").
A B2B machinery enterprise uploaded 50,000 initial numbers and used ITG screening to filter out 12,000 customers who were "in German industrial concentration areas + procurement managers + active in the past 7 days + low risk" as the initial core users of the customer pool.
Tier the screened valid customers according to "value potential" and build a clear customer pool structure to facilitate subsequent differentiated operations:
- Core customer tier (10%-20%): Labeled as "highly active + high demand + target matched," such as "German procurement manager + inquired in the past 3 days + demand for mechanical parts." These customers require one-on-one exclusive operations.
- Potential customer tier (30%-40%): Labeled as "moderately active + medium demand + target matched," such as "U.S. procurement staff + browsed products in the past 7 days + no inquiry." These customers require targeted cultivation.
- Basic customer tier (40%-50%): Labeled as "low active + low demand + target matched," such as "Indian procurement staff + active in the past 30 days + no product interaction." These customers require lightweight activation.
A cross-border e-commerce enterprise tiered 80,000 valid customers into "15,000 core customers, 32,000 potential customers, and 33,000 basic customers." The customer pool structure was clear, and subsequent operations were more targeted.
Regularly optimize the customer pool using the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening to ensure its quality is sustained:
- Monthly minor optimization: Screen the activity of the customer pool, mark customers who are "inactive in the past 30 days" as "to be activated," send lightweight content (e.g., industry news), and reclassify them into corresponding tiers after activation.
- Quarterly major optimization: Conduct a comprehensive screening of the customer pool, eliminate customers who are "dormant for 90 days or have cancelled accounts," and add new high-quality customers obtained through screening after new customer acquisition to maintain a stable size of the customer pool.
- Real-time label update: Use the "dynamic label" function of ITG Global Screening to update customer labels in real time (e.g., updating a customer from "low demand" to "high demand" after they inquire about a product) and adjust customer tiers.
An online education enterprise optimized its customer pool quarterly, eliminating 8,000 dormant customers and adding 10,000 new screened customers. The size of the customer pool was stably maintained at 30,000, the proportion of core customers increased from 15% to 22%, and the sign-up rate grew by 45%.
If the customer pool targets global markets, use the "regional adaptation" function of ITG screening. For example, screen "GDPR-compliant accounts" for European customers and "main accounts" (avoiding temporary numbers) for Southeast Asian customers to ensure the customer pool adapts to regional characteristics.
Some customers are active but do not match the product demand (e.g., promoting industrial equipment to "maternal and child-focused" customers). Use the "interest label" function of ITG screening to avoid "highly active non-target customers" occupying customer pool resources.
Customer status changes over time (e.g., from "low demand" to "high demand"). Regularly update customer labels with ITG screening to prevent the customer pool from becoming "stagnant." An enterprise that failed to update dynamically saw the validity rate of its customer pool drop from 80% to 50% within half a year.
Free tools can only screen basic invalid numbers with an accuracy rate of less than 70% and cannot extract interest or demand labels. ITG Global Screening has an accuracy rate of 99.2% and provides multi-dimensional labels, which is more conducive to ensuring the quality of the customer pool in the long run.
The ultimate goal of WhatsApp number screening is to serve operations. Synchronize the screened customer pool to CRM and WhatsApp operation tools, and set up automated operation rules (e.g., automatically sending solutions to core customers after they inquire) to form a closed loop of "screening — operation — conversion."
The underlying logic of efficient customer acquisition has never been "blind customer acquisition," but "conducting precise operations around a high-quality customer pool." The higher the quality of the customer pool, the higher the customer acquisition efficiency and the lower the conversion cost. WhatsApp number screening is precisely the "core seedling raiser" for building a high-quality customer pool. Through the WhatsApp number screening function of ITG Global Screening, enterprises can filter out real, precise, and high-potential customers from the source, injecting "high-quality genes" into the customer pool.
Remember: In the current customer acquisition environment, "fewer but better" is far more valuable than "more but messy." Building a high-quality customer pool with WhatsApp number screening not only improves short-term conversions but also lays the foundation for long-term customer acquisition, turning efficient customer acquisition into a "normalized capability" of the enterprise. Choosing a professional WhatsApp number screening tool like ITG Global Screening is the starting point of all this.
If you need to adjust the expression of industry-specific terms (e.g., "B2B," "GDPR") in this translation to better align with the communication habits of your target markets (e.g., Europe, Southeast Asia), or if you want to export the English version as an editable document (such as Word), let me know. I can help you further polish the English translation of this article to meet your actual customer acquisition scenarios.
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