We’re ecstatic that you’ve decided to use the simplest and most convenient chat software to communicate with your consumers. With WhatsApp Business API, you can take your company’s consumer involvement to the next level.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app on the planet, with a global user base of over 2 billion people. Using the app for consumer engagement and communicating with them on their preferred channel is a sensible business option.
We appreciate that there is a lot of information available on the subject, and that moving forward with the integration process can be intimidating. This post will answer all of your questions about using WhatsApp API Malaysia for your business. By the end of this post, you’ll understand what the WhatsApp Business API is, how to get it for your company, and what happens once you set it up.
What is WhatsApp Business API?
WhatsApp Business API is a computer interface that allows businesses to receive and respond to unlimited WhatsApp messages in real time. It was launched in August 2018 by Facebook to provide medium and big businesses with a bespoke solution for increasing their consumer engagement using WhatsApp.
Throughout Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia in 2017-18, small businesses abandoned email in favor of using their personal WhatsApp accounts as their major means of communication with consumers. These were WhatsApp-only businesses, not WhatsApp-first businesses. This was the point at which Facebook decided to make WhatsApp available to businesses.
Businesses have accepted and used WhatsApp business to communicate with their customers since its introduction, and why not? There are a number of compelling reasons why businesses are abandoning all other platforms in favor of WhatsApp.
Because the WhatsApp Business API is merely an interface, it necessitates the use of a separate CRM to interact with clients. This means that in order to take advantage of all of WhatsApp API’s functionality, organizations must use a dashboard supplied by WhatsApp business providers.
4 Reasons Why You Should Switch to WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp is a platform that allows businesses to meet and engage with their clients in a relaxed and friendly manner. Consider some of the reasons why companies should use WhatsApp for business.
- WhatsApp has become a go-to messaging medium due to its ease and comfort. We can only image how engaging on this platform has become a daily habit with over 1.1 million messages posted per second.
- WhatsApp messages have a far greater open rate than other communication mediums like emails. Businesses may cut out the middleman and reach out directly to their clients by using WhatsApp.
- Message automation allows firms to reply to client inquiries considerably more quickly. This can result in a higher conversion rate and more client satisfaction.
- Businesses may use WhatsApp to make talks more engaged and enjoyable. Customers may interact and stay connected with ease because to the usage of rich text, emoticons, stickers, and multimedia.
WhatsApp is essentially a platform where users are already present. It is the simplest way for organizations to drive consumer participation and give customer care. It guarantees seamless and quick interactions, as well as a better client experience.
Now that we know what WhatsApp business API is and why businesses should use it, let’s look at how to access it for your company.
Who is eligible to use the WhatsApp Business API?
Check to see if your business can gain approval from Facebook before diving deeper into the WhatsApp API and the process of applying for it. Before applying for the API, there are some business terms and conditions that must be met.
There are two variables to consider in addition to the terms and conditions. The size of your company and the industry in which it operates.
1. Company Size
The construction and integration of a WhatsApp chatbot is a lengthy and difficult procedure. WhatsApp presently approves medium and large-sized enterprises with ease. This is why the WhatsApp business API is also referred to as “WhatsApp Enterprise.”
Approval is quite unlikely for small firms. They can utilize the free WhatsApp Business App to send instant messages and use other features (non-interactive messages).
2. Business
WhatsApp has a stringent criteria in place for which sectors can utilize the WhatsApp Business API. The API is not allowed to be used by independent software suppliers, real-money sectors including gaming and gambling, adult content and entertainment, arms, alcohol, and tobacco, as well as supplements and other medical medications.
eCommerce, travel and hospitality, real estate, education, and telecommunications are all examples of other industries. WhatsApp API can give enterprises some industry-specific advantages.
However, in the next sections of this essay, we will go through some of the most prevalent WhatsApp API features.
The Top 10 Reasons to Use WhatsApp Business API
Now that you know how to get a WhatsApp API for your business, let’s look at the advantages you’ll experience once you start using a WhatsApp chatbot for your company.
1. Immediate replies
Businesses can use the WhatsApp API to automate customer answers. The responses can be interactive and leave clients interested and satisfied, even if they are not artificially intelligent. Welcome messages, OOO or away messages, and delayed response messages can all be set up by businesses.
Businesses may efficiently connect with their clients around the clock, including during off-hours or public holidays, thanks to features like WhatsApp auto-reply and WhatsApp notifications. Customers will find WhatsApp to be the most convenient communication medium because to dynamic reply buttons and interactive list messages.
2. Customize your experiences
Variables are used by WhatsApp to customise messages. It can pull information from your added contacts and insert it into your messages at specific points.
If you save a customer’s first name in column 1, for example, the message“Hi {{1}}” will retrieve the customer’s first name. Other client details from your existing data can also be utilized in WhatsApp chats.
Aside from that, WhatsApp presently supports ten other languages for communication. Businesses that offer multilingual service can communicate with their clients in their native tongue and earn their trust.
3. Provide answers to frequently asked questions
Simple self-serve queries can be readily automated by pre-programming responses to all frequently asked questions. Businesses can assist their clients with rapid responses to simple questions using WhatsApp. In the case of complex questions, however, agents must intervene.
Businesses can create up to 5 input messages to trigger a response because WhatsApp answers are only triggered when the keywords match exactly. Keywords like price, rate, charge, and cost, for example, might all elicit the same emotion when it comes to your product’s pricing.
4. For complex inquiries, seamless agent hand-off
You can add a team of customer care people to work on the issues that come in through WhatsApp using the WhatsApp CRM provided by the business solution supplier.
In the event of difficult responses, customer service representatives can quickly take the lead. This can be accomplished by allowing customers to contact a customer service agent or automating hand-offs in the event of a highly qualified lead or a complex query.
5. Make appointments.
The WhatsApp API can be used to integrate your calendar. You may schedule appointments for all of your leads without having to make any phone calls or send any emails.
Even if your sales crew is unavailable at a particular moment, you can send automatic notifications to your customers about when they will be accessible again. Businesses may save a lot of time for their staff and consumers by using the WhatsApp API.
6. Remind customers to pay.
WhatsApp can effectively help the banking industry or any firm with a subscription model reduce drop-offs. Customers have a tendency to forget about their payments, and you can use SMS to remind them of their obligations.
You can send messages regarding overdue payments using the WhatsApp API and the alert update template. Customers can now pay their bills using WhatsApp, thanks to the introduction of WhatsApp payments.
7. Gather documentation
Documents had to be submitted physically or by email before WhatsApp. Customers no longer choose to do paperwork in the old manner on this digitally altered day.
WhatsApp can assist you in gathering all of the necessary documents and saving them for later use. In the case of biometric scanning, however, the customer’s physical appearance is required.
8. Provide after-sale assistance
The primary purpose of using WhatsApp API is to provide customer care. Businesses can begin providing support across the channel as soon as the order is placed.
WhatsApp can handle everything from delivering shipment and delivery updates to resolving complex consumer issues. All that is required of businesses is to automate the chatbot with 100 percent accuracy and test it for the same. The client satisfaction rate will instantly rise if your WhatsApp chatbot is outstanding.
9. Change the way you market
WhatsApp API is what you need if you’re having trouble with result-driven marketing. With a 99 percent open rate, you can put your business in front of thousands of potential customers who are interested in your chatbot marketing efforts.
Businesses may take advantage of the increased number of eyes and attention by being proactive with their marketing and messaging. During this period, the right message delivered at the right moment can make or break your firm.
10. Conversations that are both powerful and safe
WhatsApp is the safest platform for consumer interactions since it uses end-to-end encryption. Customers have even begun to trust WhatsApp with payment and banking-related assistance.
Because WhatsApp complies with GDPR, businesses are unable to send messages on their own. Customers must first grant them permission or initiate a conversation before they may send messages.
As a result of this limitation, corporations are able to communicate incredibly effective statements that are free of ambiguity. As a result, the entire discourse is very powerful and user-friendly.
This article is posted on Article Ritz.