WhatsApp for Business: The Key to Up Your Marketing Game

unning a business means your sales, CSAT score, and outreach directly affects growth and profit. One sure shot method to ensure your business only goes upwards is to hitch a ride on the growing wave of WhatsApp users. 

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A recent study published by Statista Research Department, on July 14, 2021 states, WhatsApp had two billion monthly active users as of March 2020 accounting for the highest number of users around the globe. 

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Naturally, the features provided by Whatsapp turned the tables for users and e-commerce companies. While Emails went unread for months, every single WhatsApp text was opened. Whatsapp marketing made instant interaction with prospects a reality. 

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The main updates which made Whatsapp ready for the market are ‘ WhatsApp Business’ and ‘ WhatsApp Business API’. However, is WhatsApp for business the next step for most companies? 

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Before we answer the question, it is important to understand why the scales began tipping to WhatsApp's side. This will enable us to draw a clearer picture of the future of marketing and customer experience. 

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When did the Scale Tip Over to Whatsapp’s Side? 

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Whatsapp’s many features make it the ideal platform for e-commerce and business. You can successfully conduct marketing campaigns, have personalized interaction with customers, and keep your loyal customers updated on new and upcoming services or products! 

The scales tipped over the moment WhatsApp became the new SMS and removed spam from the inbox forever.

Rajat Uppal, national marketing head, Red FM, says, “WhatsApp is the new SMS. We’ve realized that WhatsApp can be a very strong marketing tool. It is a good one-to-one platform for direct communication with our listeners"

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Why Are WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API Must-Haves? 

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Courtney Monroe, IDC’s Group VP of Worldwide Telecommunications Research, supports this sentiment, proclaiming that WhatsApp is a “powerful channel for businesses seeking to deliver an enhanced customer experience for their customers.”

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Let’s explore the features that make WhatsApp for Business a super attractive marketing channel.

WhatsApp for Business: Stay Connected and Organized!

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WhatsApp for business has made it easier for small and medium-sized businesses to cater to their customer needs. This feature is free for all and you can build a WhatsApp business account through the app with ease.

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Features accessible through WhatsApp for business are listed below. 

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Make a Business Profile 

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A Whatsapp business account enables you to build a brand business profile. It allows your customers to view basic brand information during interactions. A WhatsApp business profile typically contains Brand Trademark, physical address, contact details, short description, and a quick link to your website. 

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Quick Access Messaging Tools 

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Your business account has messaging tools which can make interaction with customers efficient and consistent. 

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Save texts 

These can be sent through a single click as and when required. For example, you can save a short thank you note and use it every time a transaction has ended with a customer. Polite texts will take your business a long mile. 

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Pre-set Greetings! 

You can generate a greeting note which will automatically be received when a prospect interacts with your profile. Imagine this pre-set message to play the role of a warm welcome to your prospects when they walk in. 

Your greeting note can entail a brief description of the kind of service your brand provides. 

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Schedule automated messages

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Automated messages on WhatsApp make using the app for business a lot easier. You can schedule texts to be sent at a later time when you are busy tending to other things. 

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Send notifications through broadcast lists

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You can send out important updates to individuals who have your profile saved. This notification will emerge as a one-to-one interaction by a receiver. Any response to the message cannot be seen by another individual other than you. However, broadcast lists have a 256 people limit. 

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Label Customers 

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Sometimes orders, feedback responses, and other inquiry-related interactions may get mixed up especially, during peak business hours. Whatsapp for business has an easy solution to it. 

You can label active customer chats as per your need. It allows you to prioritize customer interactions. You may choose to use pre-set labels or customize labels. 

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View Statistics For Better Insight 

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You can keep track of the number of messages that are delivered, received, and read. These basic statistics can help you monitor your outreach and customer interaction levels. 

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Use WhatsApp Web for Convenience 

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You can use your business profile on the desktop if preferred. It is often easier to send and receive our customer messages on a laptop than on a comparatively small mobile screen. 

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WhatsApp Business API: The Game Changer

Back in 2018, WhatsApp introduced a new feature called 'WhatsApp business API'. It made WhatsApp an e-commerce paradise. The feature is a game-changer that you must acquire. 

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WhatsApp Business API is yet to be adopted by every company. However, this means your business has the opportunity to leave its competitors behind in no time.

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This feature was built for medium and big-sized businesses. Getting access to WhatsApp business API has its due process and it requires professional help to set up but it is certainly worth it. 

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One must note that the WhatsApp Business API is built to funnel all interactions into a single channel. Whatsapp business API works as an intermediate between all your pre-existing APIs and customers.

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Listed below are features that make WhatsApp business API an E-commerce paradise.

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 Provide A-Class Customer Experience 

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Whatsapp business API comes with many advanced messaging features that make the entire process seamless and efficient. 

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Integrate existing CRM tools. 

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This feature allows large businesses to unite their pre-existing systems (such as intercoms, payment APIs, salesforce) under one umbrella: Whatsapp Business API. Channeling all your interactions through a single platform rapidly increases efficiency. It boosts consistency and offers a smooth customer experience. 

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Automate invoicing and delivery updates.

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Imagine the happiness on your customer’s faces when they wake up to an update that their order will be arriving today! 

Whatsapp business API allows you to put a smile on your customer’s face without much effort. All you need to do is pre-set some settings. After that, you can trust the system to provide essential information to concerned customers automatically. 

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This setup also sends automated order and billing details, invoice details, shipping details, and other reminders such as deadlines or event details. 

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Conduct transactions and online payments. 

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Whatsapp business API allows you to conduct transactions on the platform through your pre-existing API or third-party services like Gpay links. This makes the process quick and easy.

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Send Outbound Notifications when required.

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Once your interaction with a customer checks certain predefined conditions of the WhatsApp message templates, you can send out information-driven notifications. 

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It is important to note that message templates generate a 24-hour session with your customer. If they do not respond within the stipulated time, there cannot be further interaction. You can choose to resend the message template. However, to send out message templates WhatsApp levies a charge on it. 

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Note: WhatsApp Message Templates cannot be used to send out Promotions 

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WhatsApp session message.

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This feature allows a 24 hour and extended session which enables a seamless customer support service. Although, the unlimited message exchange session is activated only when the conversation is user-initiated. 

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Konverse AI has its very own Whatsapp for Business Solution! 

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All the buzz around WhatsApp business API is mainly because of its WhatsApp chatbot feature. This trustworthy assistant will help improve your CSAT score in a blink. 

Whatsapp Chatbot can be incorporated with an advanced technology called NLU( Natural Language Understanding). NLU gives this hardworking chatbot the capability to converse with your human customers! 

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You can easily set up a well-functioning and maintained WhatsApp with some help. At Konverse AI, we specialize in building the best conversational AI chatbots for brands. To know more about our services visit Konverse Platform. 

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Urgent: WhatsApp Chatbot Required!

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Most of us may wonder why companies are clamoring to get their hands on a personal Whatsapp Chatbot. BMW, MakeMyTrip, Nykaa are some companies that have already made the switch. To get ahead in the competition, your brand deserves the best too. 

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‘A global October 2019 survey of e-commerce decision-makers revealed that 24 percent of e-commerce companies worldwide planned on implementing AI chatbots on their sites in 2020. Additionally, 9 percent of respondents reported that their company had already implemented them, and 39 percent of companies did not have plans to implement AI chatbots in 2020.’ Published by Research expert, Stephanie Chevalier July 15, 2021. 

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Keep your customers hooked. WhatsApp chatbots enable brands to automate their communication channels without compromising customer experience quality. It makes chatbots a must-have advantage. It can be programmed to conduct tasks, solve customer problems, and collect data. 

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Today’s market demands speed, efficiency, and personalization. Chatbots can tackle all of the requirements. Not only that, a chatbot knows when to transfer the given situation to its human counterpart. 

Chatbots are excellent at lowering expenses for brands and boosting customer satisfaction. 

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24x7 Customer service. Through chatbots, your customer no longer needs to worry about operational hours. You can expect a chunk of standard customer inquiries to be resolved by the chatbot through conversation. 

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WhatsApp Marketing Success Stories Using AI Chatbots

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All the claims made regarding WhatsApp for business are no joke. Some companies have made remarkable growth in their field with the help of WhatsApp. 

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Cigna Hong Kong 

Cigma Hong Kong is one of the leading health care providers in Hong Kong. They decided to use WhatsApp Chatbot to provide post-purchase customer service. It resulted in Cigma Hong Kong improving their customer service and enabled a lower response time for each customer. Their response time is now 3X times faster than before. 

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Urbanic 

Urbanic worked with digital builder Sanuker to set up their WhatsApp Business API system. The system allowed Urbanic to serve over 67,000 customers within the first three months of its launch. Urbanic is now one of the leading E-commerce websites in India. 

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Saffola

Saffola began ‘ The Saffola beat the crave’ WhatsApp marketing campaign. It was conducted through WhatsApp audio to increase awareness about Saffola’s new Active slimming Nutri-shake. The WhatsApp campaign increased the product sales by 483% within the first month according to WATConsult in India. 

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Netflix UK

The idea of the WhatsApp marketing campaign conducted by Netflix was to reach out to their inactive members through non-spam updates via WhatsApp. The campaign successfully rolled out in the UK. It allowed Netflix to keep its viewers hooked to their content through WhatsApp updates of the latest show a viewer may be interested in. 

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Ready to Build an AI Chatbot for your Customers? 

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Build your brand’s AI Chatbot with Konverse!

Visit Konverse Platform to find the best solutions through our professionals. The first is on us! Schedule a tour and demo at Konverse AI today. 

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Additional Readings

Know WhatsApp Message Templates types with Examples

Boost Your Brand Sales with WhatsApp

Using WhatsApp for Business as a Marketing Channel