Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A Bengaluru-based founder triggered a discussion around aggressive marketing practices after alleging that he was repeatedly spammed on WhatsApp by official accounts of Bombay Shaving Company, eventually leading him to block multiple business numbers.
The post was shared on LinkedIn by Debajyoti Jena, who claimed that he had been receiving frequent promotional messages from three different official WhatsApp business accounts linked to the brand.
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In his detailed post, he said the messages were recurring multiple times a day and added up to nearly nine communications daily.
Jena described the experience as excessive, stating that he felt “forced” to block the accounts after repeated outreach. While acknowledging his long-standing admiration for the company’s founder, he said the volume and frequency of messages had become intrusive and raised questions about customer communication practices.
He also directly addressed Bombay Shaving Company CEO Shantanu Deshpande, asking whether such messaging frequency was intentional, whether leadership was aware of it, and whether repeated outreach was truly an effective strategy for driving revenue.
He also tagged several members of the company’s leadership team, urging accountability for what he described as overly aggressive marketing.
The post included screenshots as proof of the messaging activity and ended with a strong request to stop what he called intrusive communication.
Take a look at the post here:
Shantanu Deshpande responded in the comments, acknowledging the concern and apologising for the experience. He said the situation “should not have happened” and wrote that the company was trying to strike a balance between meaningful outreach and avoiding customer annoyance, adding that improvements would be made.
The post triggered a wider conversation around WhatsApp-based marketing strategies used by consumer brands, with many users sharing mixed experiences.
Some users said they had faced similar frequent promotional messages after engaging with the brand, and described the communication as overwhelming, especially when multiple messages arrived within short time spans. They argued that while direct messaging could be effective, excessive frequency often led to customers disengaging entirely or blocking the brand.
Others defended structured outreach, saying that WhatsApp has become a key customer engagement channel for D2C brands and that repeated messaging was sometimes part of automated marketing funnels. However, even among these views, several users acknowledged that frequency control is critical to avoid turning engagement into irritation.
A number of commenters also pointed out that modern consumers are increasingly sensitive to intrusive marketing, and that over-communication can damage brand perception more than it helps conversions. Some said that even loyal customers may react negatively when they feel “tracked” or repeatedly targeted across channels.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
