Whatsapp. Social media networks and messaging apps have changed the way we communicate, and for businesses, it can mean adopting these innovative instant messaging technologies to reach their audiences.
So, what does this mean for businesses worldwide and what kind of benefits does WhatsApp offer as a communication tool to keep ahead of the game and enrich your customer care?
In this article, we are going to discover what kind of benefits WhatsApp offers the world of commerce and some great tips on planning and growing your WhatsApp channels.
Before we delve into detail, let’s discover the short answer as to why you should use WhatsApp within your business to enhance your customer care.
Why should I use WhatsApp in my business? Using WhatsApp in your business will enable you to engage and relate to your customers using an instant messaging service they are familiar with. Easily send rich content, such as images, gifs, and even product brochures. WhatsApp for business takes your customer support offering up a level.
Ok, so with the short answer covered, in order to help us more easily understand WhatsApp in the workplace, let’s start by looking in a little more detail as to what exactly WhatsApp is.
What is WhatsApp for business?
WhatsApp Business is a free app you can download which is available on Android and iPhone and also desktop.
Its intention is to look and feel just like WhatsApp Messenger. Businesses can use all the features that customers have been using on the app during their daily lives. It was set up for businesses to
WhatsApp Business makes interacting with customers easy by providing tools to sort, automate and respond quickly to your customer base.
It’s mainly targeted to small and medium-sized businesses, although larger companies such have used some of its elements to great advantage, offering access to real-time flight information and documentation via the app.
Some of the features it currently offers are:
- Messaging tools to quickly respond to customers
- A business profile that can include important information, such as a company’s address, email, and website.
- A wealth of statistics and analytics, including those which will tell you how many messages were successfully sent, delivered, and read.
So now we can understand a little more about WhatsApp’s features, let’s look into who is already using it.
Who is using Whatsapp?
WhatsApp is the largest messaging application and according to Forbes, WhatsApp has more than 1.2 billion users globally, with over 23 million in the US and many more in Europe. Not to mention the fact that it’s available in 60 different languages and already being used in over 180 countries.
So, it stands to reason this popular communication channel is making an impact in the world of work, at home and right across the globe.
WhatsApp is also currently testing its Business app with Uber drivers allowing them to connect more easily to members of its team and Netflix is sending account messages and suggestions as a part of its test.
WhatsApp says there are now around 100 companies globally on the API platform, one of them you guess right is CommBox.
You might be wondering what the API platform is, so let’s take a look below and find out.
What is WhatsApp’s API platform?
Facebook-owned WhatsApp is turning the original messaging criteria of family and friends on its head by making a significant shift into the business arena.
So, in an attempt to grab the business world. WhatsApp introduces its business app at the beginning of 2018 which is a solution more geared towards smaller business operators.
Once this had been successfully rolled out, the attention was turned to larger businesses with the launch of the API program.
WhatsApp has now abandoned its subscription fee and the API platform is currently how income is generated. They are also offering Facebook newsfeed ads whereby customers can be launched directly into WhatsApp conversations.
What can the API do?
This API platform is allowing businesses to directly respond to customers’ inquiries or alternatively give them other kinds of information. For example, banks can fire over bank statements, online stores can send receipts via the channel and an airline may send important documents such as boarding passes directly to customers.
WhatsApp is also looking into offering other types of business interactions too such as two-factor authentication requests for businesses, rather than the traditional SMS platforms.
Although with the API platform still in relative infancy, WhatsApp plans to onboard many other businesses directly to its API channel. Including banks, e-commerce, and retailers, along with airlines and wealth of other businesses in the coming months.
Within the API model, businesses are able to respond to messages from their WhatsApp users free for up to 24 hours. Following that deadline, there is a charge per message.
So now we’ve understood a little about the API platform, let’s take a look at what benefits it offers customers both large and small.
“Within the API model, businesses are able to respond to messages from their WhatsApp users free for up to 24 hours.”
What can WhatsApp offer my business?
One of the chief advantages of using WhatsApp for business is that currently, it’s free.
There’s a number of great features using the WhatsApp feature to really help you increase your customer offering, giving them a well-known and user-friendly platform for them to reach out to you.
WhatsApp delivers a seamless customer experience that allows you to share rich content with your clients and customers such as images, videos, locations and much more.
One of the chief benefits of using the WhatsApp platform within your customer service strategy is the ability to set up quick replies to your customers. This can include messages which give details of your opening hours, links to websites and show your physical location, etc.
If your customers still haven’t pressed the ‘buy’ button. You can encourage them via instant messaging to purchase by giving them extra information and other kinds of support. Below is just some of the ways Whatsapp can bring a new slant to your customer journey.
- Customer support Connecting with your customers on a platform they already use personally and understand while also be available to swiftly offer important customer support
- Alerts Keep your clients and customers in the loop by sharing reminders, updates, or any other kind of change, driving your customer support offering.
- Notifications Easily send out delivery reminders, orders, and appointment setting
- Super rich content Keep your customers close and engaged by sending out rich content such as videos, images or even create a catalog to showcase your products
“WhatsApp delivers a seamless customer experience which allows you to share rich content with your clients and customers such as images, videos, locations and much more.”
So now we’ve seen what benefits WhatsApp can bring your customers and your business as a whole, let’s drill down a little into ways to include WhatsApp in your support strategy.
How to grow your WhatsApp customer care strategy
It’s time to benefit from the new updated WhatsApp business communication. Take advantage of a platform already used by has modernized itself with the huge variations related to business communication.
WhatsApp has 300 million daily active users worldwide. Reaching out to your clients to provide support and care on a platform they are using daily is a great way of connecting and offering them instant vital customer information.
To value your customers in the digital era is the ultimate goal of every marketer and customer service department. With the arrival of real-time messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, personalization has reached new heights.
By including WhatsApp into your business marketing plan, you can respond quickly to any issues from your loyal customers speedily and efficiently. Let’s take a look below at ways to use WhatsApp.
- Group chat Use the group chat feature for your teams to work together more efficiently. Helping cohesive communication with support and marketing teams will benefit the customer.
- Brand authenticity Take advantage of the WhatsApp authority in the marketplace with the adoption of their Green Tick, which allows companies to work alongside genuine companies, keeping more fraudulent ones at bay.
- Keep your customers loyal Ensure customer loyalty. By using group chats and broadcast lists, you can win and retain important customer’s trust. Using a well-known brand such as WhatsApp can also help to develop the persona of your brand and build a solid reputation with your customers.
- Cross-platform WhatsApp is a cross-platform app, which makes it easier to target specific audiences. Use traffic analytics to give your marketing and support teams greater insight. You may even consider dropping social media strategies, as WhatsApp has the capacity to give increased data. Also, add your WhatsApp number to your website details to allow easy access for customers to get in touch.
- Brand promotion It’s easy with WhatsApp to promote your brand. Easily create offers to the audience by providing them links to your website. Alongside your offers, it’s easy to engage your customers with appealing offers. Also, take advantage of the WhatsApp status feature to promote your brand.
- Create great content It’s easy with WhatsApp to create content-rich material such as images and gifs, to help promote the company and also communicate with them in the kind of instant messaging format which customers are familiar with in our modern world.
- Improve your customer service offering WhatsApp allows you to take your customer care and support to the next level. Provide vital information your clients need on both mobile and desktop devices. Take advantage of the instant day you can make sure your customers have the answers to the questions and issues quickly and efficiently. Use the app to let your customers reach out to ask for a sales rep or talk directly to a live agent.
“To value your customers in the digital era is the ultimate goal of every marketer and customer service department.”
So now we’ve seen ways in which you can integrate WhatsApp into your marketing and support strategies, let’s take a look at the finer details of getting started.
How do I start using WhatsApp for business?
WhatsApp Business gives companies the ability to set up their profiles with a description, location, image, URL and also contact details. The primary goal is to enable companies to keep in touch with their customers and answer questions and queries in real-time.
You might be wondering if you can simply use your private WhatsApp account. Let’s take a look below.
It’s not recommended to use your private account for business purposes as you will not have access to the integrations and features available on the business platform.
Simply download the WhatsApp Business app, or Alternatively, as a larger company, you can use the WhatsApp API to discover the benefits.
The WhatsApp API allows businesses to tap into the WhatsApp code and create a more customized business account with features and integrations to fit their own individual needs whilst keeping the integrity of their brand.
You can get in touch with WhatsApp to ask for access to the code in order to customize your app yourself.
Once you’ve downloaded the app you’ll be asked if you want to use your existing number for your WhatsApp Business account.
However, it’s not possible to have both a WhatsApp personal account and a WhatsApp Business account associated with the same number. Once you’ve entered your business number, you’ll be sent a verification code.
Finally, set up your business name and fill out your profile using:
- More Options >
- Settings >
- Business settings >
- Profile.
Make sure you get your business name right as once you’ve completed the setup, you can’t go back to change your name.
When you’ve completed your name, logo, phone, email address, and status message, you’re ready to go.
To conclude…
We hope this article has given you some useful information on how to reap the benefits of including fast, instant and content-rich messaging into your customer support and marketing strategies.
Harness the power of this flexible and data-rich app to bring insights about your customers while allowing you to instantly respond to them, connect this medium, and others using CommBox the official WhatsApp business API partner to enhance their customer journey and create a loyal and engaged client base.
