WhatsApp for Business: A Complete Guide on the Most Popular Messenger
How to create an account? How to use it? How to implement a bot? How long will it take? Answering the most essential questions
Victor Seleykov
People love messengers, today even business correspondence is taken to messengers. It’s quick, handy, and that’s why so many brands move beyond online chats and open a WhatsApp account. While putting messengers into business processes, these brands create prospects for further growth.
Now, since WhatsApp is at the center of coronavirus response, more and more people are installing it to get trustworthy information up to time, its audience rose to 2 billion people.
In 2018 a WhatsApp Business API was announced — a product that enables open client communication, bulk mailings, CRM integrations, chatbot implementation, and many other nice utilities.
We’ve gathered up all the information — whether you are looking for a helping hand from a provider, or planning to set it up all by yourself, or just considering whether you need this channel at all. First things first!
WhatsApp has a WhatsApp Business product
The first one, WhatsApp Business, is suited for smaller businesses and self-employed people, B2C for the most part — in case you have 50 clients tops. You simply install it on your personal phone and use it for automatic answering, notifications, and communication with clients. This is a very handy solution in case you are okay with the size of your business and you are not planning to expand.
WhatsApp Business API solution — is a solution for medium and large businesses. It can be used for blanket mailing and its automation. The mailing can be customized, so this solution gives you much more freedom in communication with your customers — it can be integrated with your CRM, ERP systems as well as with any other of your accounts. The most important thing is that clients can respond to you, so you may want to create a few communication scenarios and integrate a chatbot. Besides, media content is available — you can send audio, video, and pics.
Focus on the user’s needs
WhatsApp doesn’t allow for disturbing a user with promo or ads in your very first message. A high level of service is the priority to WhatsApp now, and the company invests heavily in user experience. So, the communication between a brand and a user should be rapidly accessible, seamless and pleasant.
And there is a reason for such courtesy. There was a bad experience with Viber when messenger lost hundreds of users because of the flood of spam from companies trying to get new clients. WhatsApp is giving a new opportunity to create a really nice and handy communication with customers — the company is willing to create a new marketing paradigm.
WhatsApp. You will benefit from it if:
- You are a B2C with a vast customer base or a great number of incoming customers that are constantly go through the channel to get help. According to WhatsApp, this number should be at least 20000 users, but most probably, things will change in the future.
- You send 2 or more messages to your clients in the context of 2 different events or during the 24-hour period (e.g., delivery status). In this case WhatsApp messages are cheaper than text ones. Besides, if the ordering process implies a dialog with a client (e.g., info clarification is needed) — a WhatsApp chatbot and a simple chat scenario will make it much easier than a call from a contact center.
- You are sharing the info that should be within easy reach for a customer. Like checks or booking confirmations — usually all that goes to the mailbox, although users find it unfavorable.
- Your contact center or live chat receives a huge incoming flow. Well, this communication can be easily automated with the new channel. Besides, you will increase conversion.
WhatsApp Account. What will you get
Once your brand taps into WhatsApp, you will get a branded account: a verified badge with a little checkmark next to your name that will be seen in an account’s profile, chat windows, and groups. Also, you get a short company profile text and easy access to the brand.
NB: one account goes for one organization!
Once you’re in, you can
- Provide service and information to your clients — sending messages on order status, sharing documents and collecting feedback
- Work with inbound traffic in a new channel — the chat history is saved, so, in case a user forgot something, they can easily get back to communication with you (opposed to website chat)
- Personalize your communication through CRM and other backend systems integrations
- Implement chatbots and employ a chatbot-agent or chatbot-call center alliance
Communication. Types of messages
HSM (Highly structured messages, or WhatsApp template messages)
These are the pre-approved message templates. You can’t use it for marketing or promotional purposes. Also, you won’t be able to change one symbol after the validation, so be maximum attentive when writing the text. A message has to be tailored to a client’s request, their order, account, or loyalty card. WhatsApp charges a fee for these messages.
Session Messages
These are any other messages sent and received in response to a user-initiated message to your application. A messaging session starts when a user sends your application a message and it lasts for 24 hours. WhatsApp does not charge any fee for sending these messages. But beware that WhatsApp is very attentive to spamming and user’s feedback — build a nice and meaningful communication.
Use cases
Service notifications
These might be notifications of account changes, order or delivery status. You can start a dialog with your client in case any alterations to the order should be made and agreed with the user. You can send files, tickets, and any other useful content. This is a great chance to decrease the burden on tech support staff — suggest your customers move to WhatsApp when dealing with order details.
Feedback and promo
When sending an order to your client, you can notify them of the delivery status. After that you can initiate a questionnaire on your service right in the WhatsApp dialog , and even share a discount for completing your feedback form. In this case you pay only for the first initiated message, and all the other ones will be free within the 24-hour period.
Inbound communications
People love new handy tech opportunities. Once a new channel like this emerges, it quickly facilitates great involvement. Try and experiment with this channel — add chatbots, share media files, links and promo materials.
Leads from an ad campaign
With WhatsApp you get a high conversion rate. One tap on a CTA button in your ad can bring a user to the chat with a brand. Usually, leads are sent to a landing page or a website, and only after that, they can resort to the brand via some channel. Here they can get all the info they need straightaway. And messages are free.
HR bot
In case your HR department spends too much time to round calls and introductory interview, consider HR chatbot that will undertake the primary elicitation. This works well both for incoming and outgoing traffic — you can initiate a job talk in a WhatsApp channel going through your base of applicants.
Service backup
Works well in case you couldn’t reach your customer. A great use case for service businesses. For instance, a client left their phone number on your website form and now they do not pick up. You can send a text reminder inviting them to WhatsApp chat. The incoming message is free.
WhatsApp is not a panacea — there’s no need to bring all your customer base to this channel. It depends on your goal and format of communication with clients. If you are sending alerts that do not imply further communication — there’s no point in WhatsApp relocation, save the money. Consider this channel as an additional interactive one.
The registration process and technical steps
With the provider
To tell the truth, WA registration is quite a dreary process, so you might want to seek assistance from an official partner that provides the framework to build a WhatsApp bot. They will take care of all the procedures, giving you a proper API for connection. Of course, they will be in touch with you during the whole process.
Apart from channel integration, a provider is responsible for integration with CRM and other backend systems. They adjust triggered emails, help with the message templates, incoming traffic processing, and customer base updating.
Tech steps:
1. Fill up a request to open a WA account and send it to the provider. When your application is accepted, the provider will send you a form of notification and guidelines for signing
2. Get a confirmed Business account in a Facebook business manager. Choose the mobile number you are going to use, and get verified (use your docs and certificates to ensure verification on the first try). Or you can transfer the administration rights of an account to your provider. This process might take up to 2 weeks.
3. Then you fill-up the form with the company info that will be shown in your account. After that you create template messages and send them for approval. You’ll have to wait for a couple of weeks, too.
Now you choose implementation variation, get to the WhatsApp channel and start a dialog with your clients!
Without provider
There are two options here — you can roll out a WhatsApp Business API Client via Docker or an Amazon AWS cloud solution. WhatsApp has a guide for both of these options.
OR
All the settings can be done via Facebook’s Business Manager. You create your company’s account, register with the Facebook business manager and import it. Here’s the process description.
After you’ve installed the client, there are authentication and registration processes. Both these actions require certificates, which you will get after the profile and phone number verification. You will be able to download the certificate in a Facebook Business Manager following the instruction.
After that goes the setup and testing. You will find the description of the most significant steps on the account setup as well as properties and testing here.
Incoming traffic
As in the case of our clients we know that business mostly cares for scenarios for HSM and avoids incoming traffic. This is a misstep. Because this traffic brings leads that you can convert into sales, and the most loyal and open to new ideas customers. All you have to do — is to make this communication exclusive.
In case you already use chatbots, things will be much easier — we suggest that you use already existing dialogs adjusted for the WhatsApp and the same scenarios that you have for WhatsApp Business. Go through these scenarios and draw up the menu to make it clear for your clients what queries they can address your new channel.
If you’ve never had a chatbot before, but you are chatting with your customers via a widget on a website, mail, or contact center, then we suggest that you analyze the dialogs, pick up the most frequent queries and create a few scenarios for chatbots.
In case you’ve never even had the expertise in chatbot development, we’d really suggest you find a professional company, so you won’t have to do it from scratch spending time and money. They will take you through the whole process — from scenario to programming. You will get a nice and smooth solution + experience you can use to build up bots by yourself further down the line.
Outgoing traffic
Since all the outgoing messages after the user’s first reply are free and do not require WA approval, make sure that your message will make them answer you. Thus, you’ll get a chance to build a dialog — offer services, loyalty program, special offers, etc. Refine your chatbot all the time: the better it talks to your customers — the more often they come back.
Seek to do personalized promo, that you can send right after the client answers you. At this first stage you can adapt your customer involvement mechanics built into your CRM to this new channel — this will make the whole process smooth and nice.
Getting the client’s consent
After you’ve done all of the above, start to form the client’s base you are planning to add to the WhatsApp channel. This consent to send messages in an application is obligatory. Keep in mind that the formulation should be clear — a user has to be well aware of what information will be used and sent via WhatsApp. This consent presumes an action — the user has to put a check or fill in the phone number.
Timescales
The whole process may take up to 2 months. Be aware that this is a relatively new solution and integration may run overtime due to the backend process in WhatsApp (e.g. last year, since mid-July and till the end of August the test access didn’t work, because API work was in hand). To step up process you can start the scenario, HSM templates and base development right after your application was accepted.
