Getting in touch with your customers and potential buyers are the most crucial part of your marketing strategy. We all know that Instagram is the most critical platform for visual communication. You can buy real followers and increase your marketing strategy on Instagram. In this article, we’re going to focus on WhatsApp.
When it comes to answering questions from clients, you’re going to want to consider a platform like WhatsApp. In this article, we explain everything you need to know.
WhatsApp is used by around 1.3 billion people worldwide and is, therefore, the most popular online chat available. In 2014, Facebook bought the app, at that time it was only available for mobile. A lot has changed since then, including WhatsApp Web. And now also WhatsApp Business.
What is WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp Business makes the communication between companies and its customers much more comfortable, via the world’s most used chat app: WhatsApp. Companies can create their own company profile, displaying the most essential information such as opening hours, location, website, and e-mail address. With the WhatsApp Business API, there are even more ways in which customers can communicate with companies.
Getting started with WhatsApp Business
Is WhatsApp Business only interesting for large companies? Nonsense. Even for small organizations, it can be beneficial.
However, there is a big difference between the use of WhatsApp Business for small and medium to large organizations.
For medium and large organizations, the API may be more relevant. The Business app is an exciting solution for small organizations.
Advertisements in WhatsApp: can we expect them in the future?
Everyone has access to the WhatsApp Business app. But when WhatsApp becomes a critical communication channel for you, you quickly grow over one small app. Then the API comes into the picture. For the time being, you have to pass on some information to Facebook Business, after which they will assess whether you are eligible for the public test phase of the API.
As you can read in the official announcement, there are 3 improved options for companies using the API. These are they:
- Request information
Suppose you ordered something via a web shop, are about to board a plane or are going to a big conference. Then, as a consumer, you can choose to receive the most essential information via WhatsApp. Think of an order and shipping confirmation and other real-time updates of your order, the boarding pass for your flight, or your ticket for an event.
- Start a conversation with Click & chat
Click to chat – or just click and chat – is a feature that allows web users to send a message to you, without needing each other’s phone number. With one click on the link, the WhatsApp app of the user (or WhatsApp Web, if this person is active on the desktop) opens, and he or she can ask a question or send a message. You can give a pre-set message yourself so that the user does not even have to type anymore!
- Support
And finally, you can, of course, answer questions and comments from your customers, which they send to you via WhatsApp. You can also link the API with different customer service apps, such as Zendesk, MessageBird or OBI4wan, to respond to questions that come in.
The intention is that they send you a message – not the other way around. At least, to some extent. Because of the profit model of WhatsApp: Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp, wants to earn money. This is the revenue model that they invented according to TechCrunch:
Companies can respond to messages for free, provided that this is within 24 hours. If they send a message after 24 hours, they have to pay a fee.
That fee is not quite high, though. The expectation is that this is around $ 0.05 and $ 0.09. Not a lot – until you want to send hundreds or thousands of messages.
In any case, this is indeed the moment we are waiting for. Facebook is going to make money from WhatsApp.
The WhatsApp Business app: (especially) for small businesses
Are you a small organization? Then you can download the free app. The app is, according to the statement of WhatsApp itself on the official blog, “specially created for small businesses.” WhatsApp Business therefore only works on one phone. Fortunately, there is now WhatsApp Web, so we can also chat with companies via the web applications.
The app looks almost the same as the WhatsApp version that we are used to. Incidentally, other users, “consumers” actually do not have to download the app. They can “app” directly with your company when they have saved your phone number.
What can you do with the app?
Some great options make it easy for your (potential) customers to get in touch with you. These are the most important ones:
- Your company profile: you provide your contacts with useful information about your company, such as opening times, location, company description, website and e-mail address.
- Useful messaging tools: In WhatsApp Business, basically three handy tools are integrated for easier communication.
- Quick answers: you can answer frequently asked questions at lightning speed.
- Greetings: give your contacts an introduction to the company. A welcome, if activated, can be received by someone at the time of first talking to you, or after 14+ days of inactivity.
- Absence messages: are you offline? Then these messages will immediately inform your customers. Note: make sure you are continuously online via WhatsApp, for inactivity on your phone ensures that contacts receive the out-of-office message!
- Access to WhatsApp Web: no, fortunately, you do not have to monitor your phone when you are in the office regularly. You can merely respond to incoming messages via WhatsApp Web.
- Your chats with labels: is your contact person a prospect or customer? Is it a new order, or is the order complete? You organize this by tags.
- Understanding message statistics: Keep track of how many messages you have sent and received. You also see how many words have been received and read from you.
- Account type: have you confirmed the phone number of your account? Then you will receive a green check over time so that your contacts recognize that you are a verified, business account.
Conclusion
WhatsApp is a significant communication platform in 2019, but you want to avoid becoming dependent on it. Don’t forget about traditional emailing.