WhatsApp has over two billion users, it is not only the most popular messenger app for communicating with friends and family. But businesses are increasingly turning to WhatsApp to connect with their customers on their preferred channel.
Why wouldn’t you boost your conversations and efficiency?
Source: statista ‘Chart of the Day’
Retrieved from: Chart: WhatsApp Reaches 2 Billion Active Users | Statista
There are numerous reasons to use WhatsApp Business – both for you and your customers.
The WhatsApp Business API enables medium and big enterprises to communicate with their consumers all over the globe. While gaining API access used to be difficult, there are now several solution providers that make it simple for every organisation and budget.
Throughout this blog, you’ll learn about the WhatsApp API, the functionality it provides, and how to get started with WhatsApp for your business using stitch.
Aside from the popular app you’re already familiar with from personal usage, WhatsApp provides two choices for companies. Despite having a same name, they are extremely distinct in terms of feature set, pricing, and use cases supported.
The WhatsApp Business App is ideal for small businesses
The main disadvantage is that the WhatsApp Business App was designed to handle individual discussions. Customer requests must be handled on a single mobile phone that has the app loaded. As a result, employing the app in a bigger service team is impractical. It is also contentious in terms of data protection and may not be GDPR compliant, which is a problem for European organisations and anyone doing business in the EU.
In August 2018, Facebook launched the WhatsApp Business API to provide bigger enterprises with a secure, scalable solution suited to their requirements. This application programming interface (API) enables companies to receive and respond to an infinite number of WhatsApp messages from consumers.
Within this blog we will focus on WhatsApp business API. This including features such as message tools, high data privacy and business profiles.
You will be instantly classified as a business account when signing up for the WhatsApp Business. These come with a company profile for branding, as opposed to typical private accounts.
WhatsApp will allow clients to view their business name and logo at the top of the chat with you even if they haven’t saved you as a contact.
If you click on your profile, you will get all the information you need at a single glance: picture cover, description, email address, website, business hours and more. This ties your WhatsApp profile to your brand, describes your service on this channel and provides alternative channels for people to approach and learn more.
Do you ever wonder why WhatsApp open rates are so much greater than email open rates? This is due to the fact that the app is still free of spam and newsletters.
Technology is changing every day, so should your company.
Maintaining this status quo is a priority for WhatsApp, since extending the platform to company’s risks offending their user base — and losing the top spot as the most popular messaging app.
On general, communications, promotional, spam, and broadcasting (sending mass messages, such as newsletters) are not permitted in WhatsApp Business. This includes discount codes, upselling, gifts and cold call messages, but it may also contain specific words or phrases that make a message seem too promotional.
However, there are certain additional standards in place to guarantee that consumers enjoy a meaningful and valuable experience.
You may only send messages to people who have either (1) previously given you a message or (2) have actively accepted to receive WhatsApp messages from your company.
Communication with WhatsApp Business operates in the same way that it does when you communicate to your friends and family on the app. You can send text messages, emoji, and stickers, as well as exchange weblinks, photos, videos, and documents such as PDFs, with ease.
The “service window,” on the other hand, is exclusive to the WhatsApp Business API. You have just 24 hours to respond to an incoming request. Customer communications should foster a more direct way of contact, and this guideline encourages quick resolution of demands.
If you miss this time after 24 hours, you must request permission from your client to contact them again using a prepared message template. For example …
During the services window, automation (i.e., WhatsApp bots), but a transfer to a human service representative must be accessible.
The WhatsApp Business API is used to communicate template messages. You may automatically send pre-defined messages, including confirmation of orders, appointment reminders, or transmit changes to major areas of your service process.
Such messages are text strings and automated personalization placeholder (e.g. the name or date). A variety of pre-approved template messages are provided by WhatsApp Business.
In customer communication, data privacy is a critical issue that must be used when launching a new contact channel.
The safe deployment of the WhatsApp Business API allows firms to communicate with WhatsApp. Messages are encrypted end-to-end and can thus not be read by WhatsApp or other third-party providers — making this solution safer than regular emails.
Connecting WhatsApp API with stitch offers many benefits…
Leave behind your competition and be a company to stand out from the others by supporting your clients on WhatsApp. Get in touch today to increase your customer satisfaction and get fast and efficient reactions.