Brand
The Mexican macramé jewelry and decorations business primarily relied on sales through local shops and flea markets before testing business AI on WhatsApp, which resulted in an estimated 10% increase in sales and encouraged owner Vanessa Ugalde to prioritize selling via WhatsApp Business app.
Their Story
Hand-crafted artisanal jewelry
Piedra Nómada is a Playa del Carmen, Mexico-based macramé jewelry and decorations business. In addition to creating Piedra Nómada’s products by hand, owner Vanessa Ugalde manages the business’ marketing, customer service and sales herself.
Their Goal
Maximizing the most valuable commodity: time
As a small business owner who also crafts the company’s macramé jewelry and decorations by hand, Ugalde doesn’t have much time to spend on promotions and customer service. She used to respond manually to questions from customers on WhatsApp, but found that it often took time away from the critical work of creating new products. Ugalde viewed online sales as important, but felt it made more sense to prioritize selling Piedra Nómada products at local shops and flea markets given her busy schedule.
“Interacting with AI is something I never thought I could do before. But I like working with it and it’s fun. It’s motivated me to step out of my comfort zone and helped me lose the fear of these types of tools.”
Vanessa Ugalde
Owner, Piedra Nómada
Their Solution
AI-assisted customer service
In order to reduce the time burden of responding to customers manually, Ugalde decided to test business AI on WhatsApp for customer service. This was a big step: Ugalde had previously used WhatsApp to respond to incoming customer questions, but hadn’t experimented much with WhatsApp Business app beyond that. Across a two-month trial period (February 1-March 31,2025), she delivered a campaign of ads that click to WhatsApp promoting her products, targeted to people ages 13-65+.
After clicking the WhatsApp button in the ads, interested customers entered into a conversation with Piedra Nómada on WhatsApp, serviced by a business AI agent. The AI agent responded right away, which Ugalde credits with helping customers feel valued, and she was able to join the conversation at any time if needed. Ugalde found that by using the coaching button and providing the relevant business and product information, she could train the agent to respond to her customers in a way that matched her voice and tone.
Their Success
Increased sales and more time for other tasks
At the end of the trial period, Ugalde reported an increase in sales for the business and more time saved to focus on other important tasks:
- 10% estimated increase in sales, attributed to business AI on WhatsApp*
*Results are self-reported and not identifiably repeatable. Generally expected individual results will differ.
“I found myself in a limbo with the business because I wasn’t sure how to increase our online sales. Since I also make our products, I don’t have time to handle everything. Before business AI, when customers messaged me with questions, it took a lot of time away from being able to get other things done. Now, business AI responds to provide immediate customer service, and I follow up as needed.”
Vanessa Ugalde
Owner, Piedra Nómada
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