WhatsApp Business API for Marketing and Customer Service

Did you know that WhatsApp, with over 2.7 billion users worldwide, is among the top five most downloaded apps? In fact, it’s poised to claim the number one spot soon! With its presence in over 180 out of the 195 countries around the globe, WhatsApp dominates the communication market in more than 25 nations.

Recently, at an in-house conference, META CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg revealed that business messaging is set to become the next key pillar of their business. This highlights the crucial role corporate communications will play in the future.

As businesses realize the importance of the conversational side, WhatsApp Business API emerges as a powerful tool to assist them. Whether it’s managing a large clientele, addressing concerns with automated responses, or handling critical issues with human interaction, WhatsApp Business API has got you covered.💪

Before we delve into its unique features, let’s take a closer look at what WhatsApp Business API has to offer. These features will take your marketing experience to a whole new level! 🔝🚀

Verified Business Profiles:

Customers are no longer just buyers; they are partners in the entire value chain. Establishing trust is crucial for any organization, and WhatsApp Business API allows you to stand out with a verified badge. This badge is not merely a cosmetic adjustment; it symbolizes genuineness and professionalism. 🏢💼🔒

If you’re interested in having your WhatsApp Business account verified, Wati can assist you. As a META-approved WhatsApp API partner, they have the expertise to guide you through the process.

With a verified WhatsApp business account, your messages are less likely to end up in spam folders. Additionally, WhatsApp boasts an unprecedented 98% Open Rate, which is five times higher than that of emails and SMS.

By leveraging WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption and privacy features, businesses are encouraged to focus more on their marketing strategy, sparking conversations that initiate from the customer’s side.

The WhatsApp Business app offers other noteworthy features that businesses should consider:

✨ Business Profile: A business profile allows customers to view essential information, including email, website, address, business hours, and brand details. This helps businesses appear more authentic and trustworthy.

✨ Quick Replies: Save time and provide prompt responses by using pre-written answers to common questions. With numerous use cases and customization options, you can streamline your customer interactions.

✨ Catalogs: Promote your offerings through catalogs, enabling customers to create a shopping list by adding multiple items to their cart and easily submitting it to your company.

These are just a few examples of the incredible features that make WhatsApp a valuable tool for businesses. But wait, there’s more!

How to set up a WhatsApp Business account?

To set up a WhatsApp business account, all you need is an active SIM card or eSim and an Android or iOS device. Now that you have all of the requirements, let’s get started on the setup process.

•  Install the WhatsApp Business app from Google Play for Android or the App Store for iPhone.
• After installing the app, input your phone number for verification, and after being verified, you can enter more information about your business
•  If you want to convert your previous WhatsApp number to a WhatsApp business account, you can do so, but you can’t go back to a regular WhatsApp account. You can also back up your previous chats and contacts before migrating.

WhatsApp Business API

So far, our discussions have focused on small businesses with limited capacities. But WhatsApp Business API is a capable tool for all sizes of businesses. With WhatsApp API, organisations can leverage WhatsApp’s full potential to handle multiple communications at once with the assistance of multiple user access.

Using the WhatsApp API is equivalent to using WhatsApp Business on steroids. WhatsApp API allows access to WhatsApp functionalities that were previously unavailable to the platform, such as bot integration for automated chats, chat agent dashboard, and CRM to automate sales and support.

Pricing

WhatsApp business is as free as the air we breathe. However, if you use Business API, it has some fixed charges.

• The first 1,000 conversations per month are free for all Whatsapp Business API registered accounts.
• Conversations initiated via Facebook and Instagram advertisements with a CTA button that sends clients to your Whatsapp business accounts are free.

With its new pricing model, WhatsApp encourages business accounts to respond faster and spam less to save money, because each 24-hour session from the start of a chat (Clients or businesses initiated) counts as a session with your client.

What if you are a medium to large-sized business with a vast clientele to manage? WhatsApp Business API, with its shared team inbox, offers significant advantages over the WhatsApp business app. You must use a third-party WhatsApp-verified Business service provider (BSP), as WhatsApp API access is still limited.

Wati is a top-rated premium META WhatsApp BSP specialising in unique WhatsApp Business marketing strategies. Wati is all your organisation needs to handle sales and support while enhancing productivity.

Here’s a video about how Wati is helping SMBs with WhatsApp marketing and support:

Tips for marketing and customer service:

Always respond within 24 hours:

Faster responses demonstrate a brand’s professionalism and responsibility. It promotes connection while encouraging the client’s desire to come back. Because the timeframe for a session is 24 hours from the first initiated message, brands will save costs as well.

Use chatbots

 If you use WhatsApp Business API, using a chatbot can help you save a lot of time and energy. You can construct many predetermined templates to answer typical queries while still having human assistance available if a less common inquiry arises. Those who do not use API can use away messages to reach out to their consumers promptly.

Rich messaging support capabilities

WhatsApp offers multi-format support in its chat functions for customers and businesses, allowing users to send location, gifs, pdfs, images, and voice recordings. For example, if a complex problem arrives, you can send a relevant pdf document, links related to the customer query, or a video tutorial.

Use CTW ads to get your client on WhatsApp

As a business becomes more focused on providing better customer service, it must announce and publicise its presence on WhatsApp. There are various methods for integrating WhatsApp links on various social media platforms. Facebook and Instagram offer ad support with a click-to-WhatsApp button.

Utilise benefits of WhatsApp cross-platform compatibility

Because of WhatsApp’s cross-platform compatibility, you can use it both on your phone and in your browser via WhatsApp Web. For WhatsApp business users and those who use its Business API function, relying solely on smartphones would be unsustainable and impractical.

Now that you are here….

WhatsApp is adding more features and increasing capped limits to its app regularly. Now is the time to strengthen your WhatsApp marketing strategy because there is less competition and more opportunities to grow quickly. If you’re thinking about leveraging the benefits of WhatsApp API to improve your customer service and productivity, consider Wati as a partner to take your performance to new heights.