What is WhatsApp Business?

WhatsApp’s popularity outside the business sector made it clear to everyone that the app is an important asset, especially for forward-thinking businesses. The pandemic has emphasized that businesses need an efficient messaging platform to service their customers and make sales. Because of this, immediate, personal, and global interactions between the company and the customer have turn out to be the key asset most businesses should have. 

In 2018, WhatsApp released WhatsApp Business—a version that only caters to local small businesses instead of using it for personal use. This genre provides companies a common messaging platform with customers who are also on the app and it allows them to use two accounts on the same phone instead of making another standard WhatsApp account. 

WhatsApp Business is packed with special features. One of them is the “Quick Reply” feature which allows employees to send pre-made replies regarding customer’s most commonly asked questions. Aside from this, WhatsApp Business also comes with automated welcoming messages and away messages to inform the customer, and more.

Countless companies are convinced that WhatsApp Business is by far the best platform to use since it allows them to send messages directly to their customers exclusively and free of charge—as long as they’re connected to the internet. The app is so popular that in 2019, WhatsApp announced a milestone: on average, there are about 650 billion messages were being sent using its app in just a single day. In addition, there are over 5 million businesses around the world that use the WhatsApp Business App as their main messaging platform and they still continue to use it today.

WhatsApp Business API?

While the WhatsApp Business is tailored for local small businesses, the WhatsApp Business API is specifically made for larger companies and enterprises that cater to various customers all over the world.  

The WhatsApp Business API is built for large, established companies that receive an immense amount of messages which the average Business App can no longer handle. One downside to this version is that the WhatsApp Business API can only be used on one phone or desktop per user. Although, the standard WhatsApp Business App is also limited in terms of automation. 

There is no question that the WhatsApp Business API is more robust than the WhatsApp Business App. It’s more useful to more prominent companies and a wiser investment for fast-paced international corporations. 

WhatsApp Customer Service: How are businesses using this channel?

Almost immediately, WhatsApp’s audience size makes it appealing for marketers. This is especially true if the business has outlets and a massive demand in countries like India or Brazil which have a whopping 150 million active users combined. But how exactly does a business maximize this channel? There are two ways: live chat and automation.

• Live Chat through Whatsapp

The modern business competition is no longer limited between which company has the best product—the generation of customers today also look at the reply rate of each business. There are about 42% of people who message brands expect a reply in less than an hour. Additionally, a recent study found that the faster a business replies to a customer’s query, the higher the chance the customer will pay for their products. 

WhatsApp allows you to reply to a customer service request as quickly as possible; even if the person you’re talking to isn’t from the same state or country. Using WhatsApp provides a quick and easy messaging platform for the business; not to mention that it doesn’t require customers to be stuck on hold for hours. This makes WhatsApp a great partner tool for brands.

• Automation through Whatsapp

There is also an option to add a chatbot to WhatsApp to boost a business’ customer service efficiency to potentially increase sales. Millions of companies around the world integrate chatbots into their WhatsApp app to answer the most commonly asked questions like: “What are your payment options?” or “How long will it take before I receive my order?” 

Installing a chatbot in your WhatsApp Business App or WhatsApp Business API App will provide your customers a 24/7 bot that answers their queries. With this, it can save you and your team time and energy in the long run. 

Examples of WhatsApp Customer Service In Action

AirAsia is one of the largest airlines in the world. As a global leader in customer service who catered to more than 100 million travellers to over 140 destinations every year, the demand for an automated messaging solution has become a business need instead of just an afterthought. 

AirAsia needed an easy self-service app that enables its customers around the world to stay connected with them 24/7. Aside from utilizing WhatsApps’s services, they also teamed up with Ada to implement a new strategy to scale an automated support system across several channels. 

Ada helped AirAsia to build and launch a 24/7 multilingual chatbot that is designed to guide customers with different nationalities across the brand’s website and app. In just a month, with the help of Ada, AirAsia was able to improve its customer service by 98%. 

Today, AirAsia’s guests can use the chatbot to access real-time flight status, update passenger information, book flights, and add ancillary products to a booking on their own.