If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur, WhatsApp is probably high on your list of channels that can fuel business growth.
When it comes to communication with customers directly, user retention, increasing sales rate, and building a strong relationship with each other, WhatsApp is an extremely versatile and powerful marketing tool among social networks. We are not saying that companies worldwide prefer this app for social media marketing.
This popular instant messaging app currently has over 2 billion active users, and more interestingly, more than 100 billion messages are sent daily on this platform. The number may surprise you, won’t it?
Back then, WhatsApp was used only for personal use and interaction, but since its business version launched, brands can now spice up their marketing strategy and support system.
In this article, you will learn the most significant benefits of WhatsApp Business account, its latest features, how to set up a profile, and more.
So let’s dive into the deeper.
What is WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp Business is powered by Meta, a free app for companies that enables them to have a business presence on WhatsApp, communicate around the globe more efficiently with their customers, and increase productivity.
From small startups to large enterprises, this app is designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a range of features and tools, such as messaging automation, running marketing campaigns, broadcasting, setting up quick replies, showcasing products and services, and more, which makes this app a more powerful and convenient communication channel.
If we look at history, WhatsApp Business was introduced in 2018 as a separate app because the company realized that businesses were using the personal app for marketing and customer communication service.
WhatsApp vs. WhatsApp Business Account
This is the most asked question in the debate on WhatsApp marketing. The main difference when comparing both is that normal WhatsApp is an app for personal messaging or chatting, where people can send messages, photos, videos, and documents to their friends and family.
Moreover, it also offers additional useful features like video calling and voice calling that can only be accessed via the Internet.
On the other side, WhatsApp Business is designed for businesses to communicate with customers and clients on their contact lists and serve specific business needs. It comes with advanced features, including creating a product or service catalog, running promotional campaigns, optimizing user purchasing journeys, utilizing automated messages, etc.
Take note that your business account can’t use the same phone number as your normal account if you have one. Both apps can be run on the same device but require a unique phone number for your business.
If we look at the data, more than 50 million businesses already use WhatsApp Business as a customer communication channel.
Did you know that Chatix is the ultimate tool that turns WhatsApp into a sales machine? It helps you get to every message, respond, or reach out on time and enrich your customer relationship.
The top 10 benefits of using WhatsApp Business
As technology is rapidly evolving, customers are changing the way they used to communicate with companies. They want to feel comfortable, secure, and valued; therefore, they prefer WhatsApp for direct communication.
No queue on the phone and no days of waiting for problem solutions—the benefits of WhatsApp Business account for companies are numerous, and some of them are listed here.
1. The most popular and large audience base
Many chatting apps come and go, but WhatsApp has stayed permanent because of its functionality, user interface, and support. With more than 2 billion active users, it has become the leading instant messaging app.
With the help of building groups or communities, WhatsApp Business allows businesses to engage with customers in direct and real-time conversations with potential customers. This can help spread more awareness about products or services.
Moreover, WhatsApp Business is available in 180 countries, including Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries like the United States, Germany, France, South Africa, India, and more, which means connecting with international clients is easier and faster.
2. Cost-effective
Sometimes, it becomes harder for small start-ups to afford expensive software and tools for communication with shoppers. On the other hand, the WhatsApp Business App costs zero, and you won’t have to spend a dime on it. That’s cool!
Where giant tech companies spend millions of dollars on building AI chatbots, WhatsApp allows you to set up an automated messaging workflow through its API.
3. Secure, private, and personalized
WhatsApp is a personal chatting app where users connect with their loved ones and share their thoughts in real-time in the form of messages and calls.
If you choose WhatsApp Business as your primary customer support channel, you will also have to add a more human touch, making the content readable and professional.
Providing high-quality support is a key thing for any kind of business. WhatsApp allows businesses to personalize their interactions with customers. Using the customer’s name and previous conversation history to provide a more personalized experience can make customers feel more friendly and valued.
Not just that, when you send the same message to multiple contacts at the same time. Messages appear in the private chats of your clients. Messages are end-to-end encrypted so that nobody can read them, resulting in sustaining security and trustability.
4. Set up automated replies
What is the new deal, what products do you offer, and what are your opening hours? These are the most common questions that shoppers ask when starting a conversation.
Answering the same questions often makes support agents feel frustrated and overwhelmed, which is why social media giants like Meta (formerly Facebook) and Instagram introduced these predefined messages that can be set up to respond to frequently asked queries.
Setting up quick responses or auto-replies for these common questions can lower the response time, enhance the customer experience, and free up a support team to focus on important operations.
5. Track performance
One of the best advantages of using WhatsApp Business is that you can track the performance, results, and efforts you put into the marketing campaign.
Data and insights are like fuel that keeps the engine of an organization running smoothly and efficiently. Just like with a WhatsApp Business account, you gain access to insightful metrics and keep an eye on the number of messages sent, received, read, and average response time, etc.
This valuable data helps you measure the effectiveness of your communications and devise strategies that truly resonate with your target audience.🎯
Based on performance and analysis, you can also optimize your marketing strategy.
6. higher open rate and less response time
One of the most common reasons companies and customers prefer WhatsApp for support service is that people read 80% of messages in the first five minutes. Besides that, WhatsApp messages have a 98% open rate, which is higher than email.
Additionally, with the best WhatsApp automation tools, you can speed up your customer support process, lessen your workload, and lower your response time.
7. Sell your products or services directly.
When you set up a WhatsApp business profile, you also get the option to create a product. When you set up a WhatsApp business profile, you also get the option to create a product catalog where you can list all your products or services.
Creating an online catalog for your brand lets your customers easily view and select your products. You can sell directly from your catalog in WhatsApp chats by integrating your online shop catalog with the WhatsApp Business API.
Other features include sending pre-filled carts with WhatsApp Shopping Cart, checking availability, and viewing customer buying habits.
8. Improve user retention
The study suggests that selling products to existing customers is much easier than selling to new customers.
WhatsApp Business offers a broadcasting feature that enables companies to send promotional messages to a large number of customers to help them get a chance at conversion and customer retention.
The personal connections you form through WhatsApp will help you create a higher customer lifetime value.
9. Streamline customer support
As we described above, WhatsApp Business is specially designed for companies, helping them streamline customer engagement workflows and solve customer queries instantly.
This instant messaging app is enough to replace all traditional communication channels, like emails, phone calls, and you name it.
Provide customer service through WhatsApp Business by responding to customer inquiries and resolving customer complaints. Build trust and loyalty with your customers by providing a fast, convenient way for them to get the help they need.
Remember, better support provides satisfaction for users, which leads them to make a purchase.
Latest WhatsApp Business account features
We’ve looked at some advantages of WhatsApp for business, and now it’s time to check out some of the latest features of this application that may blow your mind. Some features come with certain limitations, but they can be overcome using the official WhatsApp Business API.
Set up a business profile
WhatsApp’s business version app lets you create an attractive profile that guides users more about your business, which includes a professional description, address with a map, website, working hours, and more. This helps customers easily find and connect with your business.
Auto-replies
Where technologies are being involved, WhatsApp is also involving new features, and bringing advanced features for businesses and auto-replies is one of them.
They maintain efficient customer communication by providing timely responses, even outside of working hours, and setting the right conversation tone. As a result, improving the customer experience builds trust and saves time.
Greetings and away message
When a customer sends a message to you for the first time, they need to be welcomed, and when you’re not available to respond, they need to be informed that you’ll reply to them soon.
This is where automated greetings and away messages come into play.
Showcase the product catalog
Organize products and services into categories with labels and make them easily accessible for your customers through catalogs. You can improve the customer experience and increase sales by making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for within the app. This is one of the most popular WhatsApp business features.
Interactive business messages
One of the top-notch features of the WhatsApp Business app is that you can create interactive messages. Engage customers with interactive messages that include buttons for quick actions.
For example, you can send a message with options like “yes” or “no” for customers to easily respond or make choices.
Labels and Segments
If you’re gathering audiences from multiple sources and want to manage them effectively on WhatsApp, you can organize your contacts by adding labels to categorize them based on different criteria, such as retaining customers, WhatsApp newsletter subscribers, leads from ads, etc.
Analytical tools
Gain insights into your messaging performance with message statistics. You can track the number of messages sent, delivered, received, and read. This data helps you evaluate the effectiveness of your communication and make improvements if needed.
Broadcast and marketing campaigns
Business WhatsApp lets you reach your customers and send promotional messages to contact up to 256 users at the same time.
Thanks to the Broadcasts feature, you can run multiple marketing campaigns, like launching new products and deals, announcing special events, and sending bulk messages privately.
✨ Read about how to send broadcast message on WhatsApp.
End-to-end encryption
As mentioned, communication between users and brands is end-to-end inception and provides two-factor authentication so nobody can easily access someone’s account or chat.
Customizable Templates
Did you know that one of the amazing features of a WhatsApp business account is that you can use customizable messaging templates?
There are many types of templates available, including welcome messages, away messages, and more, that improve the customer experience and save time by providing quick, consistent responses to common customer questions.
You can easily customize these templates, add personalization, and make them more professional.
Unlock all the potential of WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business lets you maximize productivity, manage support systems, engage with customers, and more but when it comes to marketing, things aren’t the same as they seem.
It has various benefits and features but also has certain limitations that may make you disappointed.
To overcome these problems and make your business stand out from the crowd, you need a custom solution like Chatix, an abandoned checkout recovery app for Shopify which provides tens of functionalities including, automated messaging workflow, broadcasting, performance tracking, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API different?
- WhatsApp Business: Designed for small businesses and individual owners. It allows businesses to create a complete business profile, display essential details, set up automated welcome and away messages, and communicate with customers one-on-one.
- WhatsApp Business API: It is designed for medium and large businesses with larger teams and complex requirements. It provides more advanced features and allows businesses to integrate with third-party tools to extend the functionality of WhatsApp. You have to follow certain criteria to get approval for the API.
Can I use a WhatsApp Business account for personal use?
WhatsApp Business is free for everyone and technically possible for personal use; it is not recommended.
But to avoid mixing up data, it is better to create a separate account to keep personal and business communication separate.
This is all about the benefits of WhatsApp Business account and its latest features.
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