“In some countries, WhatsApp is like oxygen.» – Ian Kum.
And WhatsApp chatbots have become nothing less than oxygen for businesses, both big and small. Let’s explore the what and how of WhatsApp Business, the benefits of WhatsApp chatbot and why your business should be on the most popular messaging app.
With more than 1.5 billion monthly active users in 180 countries, WhatsApp has become the global leader in messaging. While it originally started as a platform for users to connect with friends and family, one segment has slowly evolved into a potential way for businesses to communicate with customers.
The rise of Facebook Messenger and chatbots to facilitate business-to-customer interactions gave birth to the idea of WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Business App. WhatsApp Business is an app developed by WhatsApp for small business owners that enables them to connect with their customers. On the other hand, the WhatsApp Business API is designed for medium and large enterprises, helping them connect with customers around the world and send quick automated responses at scale.
Announced in 2018, WhatsApp Business is the business version of the popular messaging app. It allows small businesses to freely connect with their customers using the regular WhatsApp app. It is important to note that customers are not required to install any specific application to join or contact the business. Furthermore, since WhatsApp Business accounts are listed as businesses, users will know that they are being contacted through a business account rather than a regular one.
According to the WhatsApp team, “WhatsApp Business app was built with the small business owner in mind.” It has features to help small business owners reach their customers and showcase their products. Let’s look at some of the features.
1. Availability of a business profile
Your business can easily provide customers with important information through a WhatsApp Business profile, such as:
- Working hours,
- Shop/business address,
- A matching location pin,
- Email ID,
- Site Links,
- Contact information and:
- Brief description of the business
Not only does this make your business highly accessible and discoverable, it also adds transparency.
How to add a business profile.
- Open the WhatsApp Business app.
- Navigate to Settings and click on Business Settings.
- Click on “Profile” and add the required details in the available fields.
2. Smart replies and messages
Save frequently sent messages as templates and save time with Quick Replies. These messages can be customized according to your preference. For example, typing “/thanks” will display “Thank you for your business. We look forward to working with you again.” to your customer.
You can even set up an automated “away” message if customers contact you outside of business hours. Along the same lines, you can also create a welcome message that introduces a customer to your products or services when they start chatting with your business.
How to set up quick responses.
- Enter your WhatsApp Business app settings.
- Click on Business Settings and select Quick Replies.
- Click on the “+” symbol in the lower right corner.
- Type a message or select media and enter its corresponding shortcut and keywords (keywords are optional).
How to configure the “Here” message:
- Open your WhatsApp Business settings.
- Click “I saw a message”.
- Turn on Send Message and edit or create your remote message.
- Set a schedule during which the outgoing message will be sent.
- You can also choose which contacts will receive the leave message.
How to configure greetings.
- Navigate to the Settings of your WhatsApp Business app.
- Select “Welcome message”.
- Edit an existing greeting message or create a new one.
3. Labels
The WhatsApp Business app allows businesses to create and assign tags to active conversations. As a result, you can categorize different customers and sort conversations using tags as filters to respond to their requests.
How to create and add a customer tag:
- Open the client’s chat page.
- Tap on the more options marked with three vertical dots⋮.
- Select “Label Chat” and select the label.
- If the required tag does not exist, click “New Tag” and create it.
4. Statistics of vital messages
Message statistics is a handy feature of WhatsApp Business. It provides insight into how many messages have been sent, successfully delivered and read by clients. Studying these metrics can dramatically improve your business behavior.
How to view message statistics.
- Navigate to WhatsApp Business Settings and select Business Settings.
- Select “Statistics”.
5. WhatsApp Web:
With WhatsApp Web, you can make your WhatsApp Business account accessible on browsers on other devices, such as desktops and laptops. As a result, if multiple teams maintain a single account, they can quickly work in coordination without competing for resources.
How to access WhatsApp web.
- Click on the More menu (as shown by the three vertical dots on your home screen).
- Select “WhatsApp Web” to open the QR scanner.
- Open the WhatsApp web link in your browser to access the QR code.
- Scan the QR code.
WhatsApp’s popularity as the most used messaging app in the world is reflected in its huge user base. Let’s look at the numbers.
- WhatsApp daily active users: 1 billion
- WhatsApp’s biggest markets: India (200 million users) and Brazil (120 million users)
- Highest penetration rates: Netherlands (85%), Spain (83.1%) and Italy (83%)
- WhatsApp business users: 3 million
- WhatsApp messages sent (per day): 65 billion (29 million messages per minute)
WhatsApp Business API is available for medium and large business owners to reach customers worldwide. Powered by the WhatsApp Business API, WhatsApp business chatbots are built to instantly address customer inquiries at scale and increase your brand’s reach.
WhatsApp’s business chatbot involves conducting an automated customer conversation, mimicking regular human interaction. With well-developed NLP algorithms and training, it captures user behavior and can offer a richer customer experience.
Businesses are increasingly using WhatsApp chatbots to increase engagement, brand visibility and customer service.
Read the article in full. Why Your Business Should Take the WhatsApp Chatbot Dive
