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Do you want to use WhatsApp Business as a sales channel for your startup or as a communication channel with your customers? As a small company, it's worth focusing on new forms of communication right from the start, because WhatsApp has an immense reach and can be found on almost every smartphone. This makes customer communication not only fast and accessible, but also more efficient and productive. Multi-channeling is the buzzword here, because the application gives the community another option for contacting the company when needed.
How you can use WhatsApp Business for your company
Table of contents
WhatsApp Business for small businesses
Chat bots with Whatsapp Business
Set up a Whatsapp Business account
Is Whatsapp Business privacy compliant?
Clickt to message ads for Whatsapp
WhatsApp Business for small businesses
For several years now, e-commerce has been gaining ground in various industries and shifting communication with customers to digital spaces - social media, email or various messenger services. Telephone contact is being used less and less. To make communication easier, you can use WhatsApp Business to your advantage. For example, as a service provider, you can present your opening hours, make appointments and take reservations or start a survey about your customer service.
For larger companies, the paid WhatsApp Business platform is an exciting option, which can be set up quickly and easily via an interface that is connected to the WhatsApp Business platform, the former WhatsApp Business API. Different employees can start or continue a conversation with a customer as soon as a solution to the request has been found.
Costs for WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business was developed by Meta and is both an extension of the classic WhatsApp Messenger and the WhatsApp Business platform, which is helpful for larger companies in B2C and B2B communication.
The WhatsApp Business app is free of charge and can be downloaded and used in the app store. The WhatsApp Business platform is not free of charge and prices vary depending on the country and region. As it is installed via a business solution provider, the costs depend on those of the provider. The lowest tariff from MessengerPeople, for example, starts at 49 euros per month, while Userlike charges from 100 euros per month.
On top of this, there are the costs for the Business API, where you pay per conversation. A distinction is made between two types of conversations:
- Customer starts the conversation: As soon as the company responds, the conversation begins. The price is 0.0679 euros per chat.
- Pro-active conversation from the company: The cost is 0.1131 euros per chat. (as of July 2022)
A conversation starts from the first message for 24 hours and the first 1000 conversations are free for every business account.
Chatbots for WhatsApp Business
A major advantage of integrating a chatbot via WhatsApp is that frequently asked questions can be answered automatically and immediately. This massively reduces the volume of inquiries and customer inquiries are processed quickly and efficiently. Only those cases that need to be dealt with personally and cannot be resolved with a simple reply are sent to customer service. The result: customers quickly receive the information they are looking for and are consequently more satisfied. This is how BMW Munich, for example has 60 percent fewer calls and a higher recommendation rate thanks to the integration of the WhatsApp service alone.
Practical example: How Hessnatur reduces returns with Whatsapp customer service
Hessnatur uses WhatsApp communication with customers to process returns, thereby reducing the number of returns and saving costs. Communicating via WhatsApp simplifies and speeds up the handling process and creates personal communication. This has advantages for both sides: Customers are not stuck on hold and customer service can process the case as soon as capacity is available. Hessnatur draws a positive conclusion: the conversations are friendly and the customers are very satisfied.
Set up a Whatsapp Business account
1. download the WhatsApp Business app: The WhatsApp Business app can be downloaded free of charge from theGoogle Play Store and Apple App Store. After downloading, start the app.
2. read & accept the terms of use.
3. register: Select your country in the drop-down list to add your country code and then enter your phone number, starting with +49 for Germany. TapDone or Next and thenOK to receive your six-digit registration code via SMS or phone call. Enter your six-digit registration code to complete the registration.
4. create account: Enter your company name, select a company category and then a profile picture.
6. create company profile: Now go toDISCOVER > Company profile. There you can add all relevant information about your company.
8. add Whatsapp account in Meta Business Manager: Go to the WhatsApp accounts section in your Business Manager company settings.
9. click on Add Whatsap account: Enter the phone number of the Whatsapp Business account.
10. make the following settings:
- Time zone: Select the time zone in which your company is located.
- Currency: Select the local currency of your company. The currency you select must match the currency in which you want to pay your invoice.
- Payment method (optional): Choose a payment method for your ads. If you do not have a current credit line for the payment, you can set one up.
- PO number (optional): Enter the purchase order (PO) number you want to appear on your invoices.
- Click Done.
11. go to Add people and set permissions in the Business Manager:
a) Search for the people you want to add to the Whatsapp account and select them from the list.
b) Select the permission level you want to assign to each person.
12) Click on Assign: And you're done 🎉
WhatsApp Business: Data protection compliant?
When implementing a messenger service and/or a chatbot in customer service, the question of data security naturally arises. First things first: The free WhatsApp app and WhatsApp Business are not data protection compliant, but the WhatsApp Business platform is. To shed some light on this, here is an overview:
|
Function |
WhatsApp app |
WhatsApp Business |
WhatsApp Business platform |
|
free of charge |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
DSGVO / Data protection |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Company profile |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
WhatsApp Commerce Policy |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Status updates |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
Product catalogs |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Employee roles & rights |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Multi Messenger Inbox |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Multi Device |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Interfaces |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Newsletter |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Chatbots |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Verification |
No |
No |
Yes |
Source for the table.
We hold:
- WhatsApp App: is exclusively for private use and cannot be used by companies. This is indicated in the terms of use.
- WhatsApp Business: The free app can be worthwhile for start-ups and smaller companies to display a product catalog or share opening hours. The disadvantage: the tool can only be used by one person, it does not allow chatbots or sending newsletters and it is not GDPR-compliant.
- WhatsApp Business platform: The all-in-one solution for medium-sized and large companies, with all the functions and options to use WhatsApp as a scalable channel for your own business goals and to track KPIs.
WhatsApp Business for click-to-message ads
Click-to-message is already one of the fastest growing advertising formats on Meta and holds great potential for start-ups and companies. With click-to-message, users come to WhatsApp by clicking on a Facebook or Instagram ad and can thus start a conversation with the company. The format is particularly exciting for them because, in our experience, it is a cost-effective way to communicate with consumers on a personal level. Click-to-message also gives smaller companies the opportunity to increase their advertising sales and generate additional customer contacts. What's more, no additional data is collected when a product is purchased via WhatsApp, as the communication takes place directly between the company and the consumer - outside of the platform.
By the way, if your WhatsApp Business account is linked to a Facebook Shop and you have activated WhatsApp as a sales channel, your WhatsApp catalog will be replaced by your Facebook Shop by default. This will not delete or change your WhatsApp catalog, but your customers will not see it.
Whatsapp as a yellow pages
After an initial test in Brazil in 2021, Meta is starting to make the Yellow Pages feature ("Business Directory") available for other countries. Users can either search for business categories (such as travel or banking) or directly for companies that can be contacted via the service. Companies that use the Business Directory function have their own profiles there. From your profile, customers can select the "show more businesses of this type" option to discover similar businesses. Customers can also discover your business by selecting this option when viewing other profiles. The more information you list about your business, the easier it is for potential customers to find you.
Businesses must apply for inclusion in the business directory and comply with all applicable terms and guidelines. Each application is reviewed internally for possible violations of Meta's terms and policies.
You can find the company directory in the menu under "Business tools".
1. on the Chats screen, tap on More options > Business tools > Business directory
2. Follow the steps there to complete your application
You can then update your business location and coverage area in the business profile. Once your application has been reviewed, you will receive a WhatsApp notification if your business has been added to the directory, if further information is required or if your application has not been approved.
In India and Brazil, Meta is already testing the direct purchase of products via WhatsApp, including payment.
Conclusion on WhatsApp Business for startups
The WhatsApp Business app is a very good solution for small and medium-sized companies that want to stay in touch with their customers and establish professional contact with them and turn a blind eye to the issue of data protection. It makes the brand more approachable and accessible, because the conversation takes place between chats between friends and family.
The WhatsApp Business platform is very suitable for larger companies that want to use WhatsApp professionally. The possible embedding does not stop at customer service, as there are additional functions to use the tool for your own brand. For example, broadcast messages, statistics or a regular newsletter can be sent via the messenger service - from the company directly to the customer's smartphone.
Whatsapp is also constantly developing its checkout functions. In the future, it will be possible to sell products directly via Whatsapp and use it to handle the associated customer communication - as is already being tested in India and Brazil.
Incidentally, I believe that much more needs to be done to protect the climate.
