WhatsApp business works in the same manner of the standard version of WhatsApp, which has over 2.5 billion active users, however it is purely meant for business. Instead of connecting family and friends, it connects businesses to their customers.
Solely used by business owners, it offers a concierge-like service for customers and provides a platform for businesses to interact easier with their customers. It uses tools to provide updates, customer support, and automate, sort and quickly respond to messages from the customer. It basically gives businesses the option to run their business on WhatsApp, rather than anywhere else online, and one of the best parts about it is that the customer can still use their regular WhatsApp app, while the business uses the WhatsApp Business app.
Some of the features currently offered in the business app include:
Business profile
Whatsapp business allows you to create a business profile with helpful information for your customers, like your address, business description, email address, and website. Business profiles help brands to gain a user’s loyalty and give the company a familiar face and sense of identity.
Speedy replies
Messaging tools can allow for quick replies which let you save and reuse messages you frequently send so you can easily respond to customers and answer common questions in a short space of time.
Automatic greeting
Messaging tools can also give your virtual business a reception desk by setting up greeting messages that introduce customers to your business. By sending an instant message, the company can welcome new potential customers with no delays and waiting time.
Interactive business messages
This type of message allows you to include interactive and more appealing buttons to your messages, which are great for the smooth customer journey and customer experience. These buttons can be of 2 types:
- CTA: by clicking this button, the user would be redirected to a particular webpage or make a call
- Quick reply: allows users to answer with the predefined options without having to type in the answer manually
Whatsapp data
Something that really stands out are the messaging statistics – a feature that provides business owners with simple metrics about the number of messages that were sent, delivered and read so that they can tweak the content of quick replies or their strategy of contacting their customers. A small, but useful feature for all businesses on the app.
What are the benefits of using WhatsApp business?
1. It is already the most popular messaging app
First and foremost, whatsapp is already the most popular messaging app in the world, with over 2 billion active users sending 65 billion messages each day and available in 180 countries. This is great for businesses because as well as being completely free for consumers, your audience is already there.
There are currently more than 5 million business users taking advantage of this popular messaging platform today – an indispensable element of their successful omnichannel marketing strategy.
2. Reach customers anytime, anywhere
WhatsApp for business is a real-time communication channel, with 80% of WhatsApp messages being read in the first five minutes. In fact, WhatsApp messages get an unbeatable 98% open rate and 45-60% click rate.
While people often put off reading emails, they usually check incoming messages right away, even on the go. This gives you a much larger time window to send marketing messages.
There are also no issues when it comes to reaching international customers as WhatsApp makes it easy to reach people regardless of their country code.
3. It helps you improve your marketing campaigns
Via a number of features, WhatsApp Business can add value to your marketing campaigns. Engagement metrics show if your messages have been read, clicked or reported, and there are easy-to-use labels for managing your contacts in groups like Loyal customers, WhatsApp newsletter subscribers, Leads from trade shows, etc. The WhatsApp Business API can also be connected to a CRM and use the customer data from there for even more targeted campaigns.
4. It is secure
Users enjoy the fact that all WhatsApp chats are encrypted and for businesses, it’s secure enough to exchange sensitive information like password resets.
5. It provides diverse and interactive content formats
One of the biggest benefits of the WhatsApp Business app is that it offers a wide range of formats and interactive content options for business messaging. There are lists, CTAs, links, images, video, attachments, and products so recipients can interact with the campaign, not just read it.
WhatsApp business features also include autoresponders, shareable product catalogues, chatbots, and contact management.
6. It is a great way to scale your multichannel strategy
If you’re looking for an easy way to expand your multichannel strategy and increase customer engagement in new markets, WhatsApp business is the perfect solution. WhatsApp doubles as both a support channel and a marketing one. You can answer inquiries, take orders, resolve issues, and send updates while running marketing campaigns via direct messages.
We are MobileSquared: mobile engagement specialists delivering the very best independent mobile market intelligence to our clients. We are the established #1 global authority on business messaging and CPaaS, with our data shaping business plans, strategy, and customer engagement modelling, for some of the world’s leading brands, mobile operators, and messaging providers.
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Written by Kate, for Mobilesquared.