Unleash the Power of WhatsApp Business Features and Benefits

Given the ubiquity of smartphones, messaging apps are a smart choice for businesses striving to meet evolving customer needs. WhatsApp is a popular channel for customer communication, with more than 175 million people using WhatsApp business to send messages every day.  By leveraging the rich WhatsApp business features and benefits, you can ensure convenience, round-the-clock customer service, and personalized interactions, which are some of the top customer priorities in 2023. Read on to learn more about the advantages of using WhatsApp for business communication and the advanced features that make customer interactions effortless. 

What are the WhatsApp Business Solutions Available 

The WhatsApp Messaging ecosystem comprises the following three solutions –

WhatsApp Messenger App 
As the name implies, the consumer app is for personal use and is not to be used for businesses. It is more for 1:1 conversations between family and friends.

WhatsApp Business App 
The WhatsApp Business app is a free app that allows small businesses to connect with hundreds of customers. In addition to sending photos and videos like in the Messenger app, you can sort messages and send quick replies. 

WhatsApp Business Platform
The WhatsApp Business platform is an API-based messaging solution ideal for medium, large, and enterprise businesses. It enables businesses to achieve business outcomes through meaningful conversations. You can provide stellar communication experiences by sending customized messages that are relevant to customers. Learn more about the key differences between WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Business Platform here. 

WhatsApp Business Features and Benefits

Understanding the different features of WhatsApp Business products will help you make the most of the instant messaging channel. Let’s look at a few significant WhatsApp Business features that simplify communication and enhance the end-to-end customer experience. 

Key Features of WhatsApp for  Business  

Business Profile 

A business profile is a powerful tool that helps customers easily learn about your brand and offerings. It serves as the face of your business, allowing customers to see essential information, such as business name, opening hours, website address, location, and a brief description of your services or products. The profile can also include a business category, email, and contact details. 

You can attract potential customers by showcasing your brand and displaying important details you would like them to know in your business profile. A profile that contains all the vital information improves brand identity and helps show your potential customers that you are trustworthy. 

Multi-Agents

You can link many devices to your WhatsApp business account, enabling multiple agents from your team to respond to customers. You can link up to four devices and one phone with the Business app.  

For businesses that want customer interactions at scale, the WhatsApp Business Platform is a better choice. The API-based platform connects with thousands of agents, allowing you to provide prompt customer service to a large customer base.

Autoresponses

Initial interactions can leave a lasting impression on potential customers or customers reaching out to you for the first time. It may be impossible to respond immediately to every message when you have customers across time zones and/or a small support team. Automatic messages ensure your customers are not left without a response when they connect with you.  

The WhatsApp Business app supports customized welcome messages that you can automatically send to customers who reach out to you. Greeting messages increase customer engagement and boost loyalty. 

Similar to Welcome messages, you can also automatically send away messages to customers who connect with you beyond business hours. Automated away messages notify your customers when you will be available. You can choose when to send the away messages and select the contacts you want to send them to.  

The WhatsApp Business Platform offers more advanced automation features with which you can send a variety of messages to customers. Moreover, with automated messages, you can engage with your customers 24/7 without increasing agent overload. 

Broadcast Messages  

If you want to send targeted messages to customers in bulk, you can do so with broadcast messages using the WhatsApp Business app. You can send messages to 256 people per Broadcast list.  

However, the Business app has a few limitations when it comes to broadcast messages. You must manually add contacts to your phone before sending broadcasts. Moreover, only contacts who have saved your number can receive your broadcast messages. 

With the WhatsApp Business Platform, on the other hand, you can increase your messaging limit based on your phone number status, quality rating, and how often you initiate conversations with unique contacts. It is possible to scale conversations and send business-initiated messages to unlimited unique contacts in a rolling 24-hour period.

Advanced Features of the WhatsApp Business Platform

WhatsApp Automation  

Customers unfamiliar with your business can have recurring queries, such as business hours, shipping costs, and pricing. By building an interactive FAQ bot, businesses can automate the process of responding to common questions. By providing instant answers, WhatsApp bots can drive engagement and free up agents’ time for more critical tasks. 

With a FAQ bot, customers need not browse various website pages to find answers to questions they have at different points in their buying journey. Instead, the bot provides accurate answers, speeding up resolution. Thus, WhatsApp automation reduces drop-offs and ensures every customer receives a relevant response.

Similarly, you can automate the collection of customer data to provide customized product recommendations. For example, an insurance provider can automatically gather information such as age, income, and the plan the customer is interested in. In that case, they can easily share the available insurance options, maximizing the chances of conversions. Similarly, a WhatsApp banking bot can use transaction history and spending patterns to offer specific financial advice.

WhatsApp Integrations  

One of WhatsApp Business API’s useful features is integration with backend systems and third-party applications. Integrating with tools, such as Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM), marketing automation tools, analytics software, payment portals, and eCommerce platforms, helps create seamless workflows across departments. Moreover, since all the business systems are in sync with WhatsApp, it helps businesses leverage customer data to devise informed CX strategies.

For example, integrations allow businesses to route conversations to the right department intelligently. If the data suggests low purchase intent, the conversation can be routed to marketing tools for lead nurture campaigns. 

The ability to integrate with business tools also makes sure you can send instant transactional notifications, such as order confirmations, payment updates, and delivery information. By automating these notifications to be triggered when a customer makes a purchase or a payment, you can drive engagement across the customer journey.

Message Templates  

WhatsApp has strict policies for content quality and response times so that users don’t get spam or irrelevant messages. Customers must collect WhatsApp opt-in before your business can initiate conversations. Moreover, they require the use of message templates that need approval before using them in a business-initiated conversation. 

With templates, businesses can use pre-created structured messages for one-one conversations or bulk notifications. You can send appointment or payment reminders, delivery updates, flight alerts, or payment confirmations using templates.

Template messages help in boosting engagement as they ensure relevant customer conversations and clear communication. For example, if your business faces the issue of a high Abandoned Cart Rate, you can use well-crafted template messages to send an Abandoned Cart Recovery notification automatically.

WhatsApp Buttons  

WhatsApp’s Interactive buttons help simplify communication flows and enable customers to perform the desired action quickly.

The two interactive buttons available for business-initiated conversations with the WhatsApp Business Platform are the Call-to-Action (CTA) and Quick Reply buttons. With the CTA button, customers can call your phone number or visit a website. The Quick Reply allows your customers to tap and return a text message as a response.

Interactive WhatsApp buttons can be at the bottom of messages with a mix of text and rich media. They are helpful for customers who want to connect with your support team, reschedule an appointment, or provide feedback. You can add WhatsApp buttons as part of pre-approved interactive message templates to guide customers through a logical chat flow.

WhatsApp Business Account Verification  

You can establish a solid professional presence and brand identity by getting a green tick verification with the API-based WhatsApp platform. Account verification is based on several factors and is provided solely at the discretion of WhatsApp.   

The WhatsApp Green Tick serves as an indicator of your business’s reliability. When a customer sees the Green tick on your Profile, they have confidence in your business. Moreover, your contact will show your name even to users who haven’t added you to their contact with account verification. 

One of the verified WhatsApp business account benefits is credibility which can result in more conversations and conversions.

6 Advantages of the WhatsApp Business Platform

Here are the top WhatsApp Business Account Benefits – 
Security  
87% of people prioritize trust and will switch brands if they have security concerns. WhatsApp understands the significance of security, and business messages are encrypted by the Signal protocol. With data protection laws such as GDPR, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, CCPA, and  IT Act, and by choosing reputed Business Solution Providers (BSP), such as Kaleyra, you can ensure that your WhatsApp communication is private and secure. 

Wide Reach  
WhatsApp Business platform supports two-way communication on an application users already use for everyday conversation. With more than 2 billion Monthly Active Users, WhatsApp is a convenient way to reach a vast audience.

Streamlined Workflows  
WhatsApp automation and interactive message templates streamline conversations. Moreover, integration with business systems ensures all your teams are aligned and have accurate customer information.

Personalization  
Mass marketing messages are no longer effective in the era of hyper-personalization. With WhatsApp, you can send customized messages to customers based on their browsing patterns, preferences, and past purchases. For example, you can send personalized offers on accessories to customers who recently bought a laptop. Personalization increases the chances of conversions and improves customer retention rates.

Improved sales  
For businesses handling huge volumes of customer calls or requests, it may be impossible to answer each of them personally. The inability to respond promptly may result in missed sales opportunities. Thanks to WhatsApp Business API, you can automatically respond to customers at scale and use tailor-made messages to guide customers down the sales funnel with minimal agent input. Intelligent routing ensures only qualified leads reach the sales team. 
Moreover, WhatsApp has a 98% open rate, which increases the likelihood of conversions. Moreover, clickable buttons reduce friction and make it easy to complete a purchase.

Exceptional Customer Support   

WhatsApp Business API solution enables businesses to provide top-notch customer support. 

FAQ bots help customers easily learn more about a product/ service without having to spend time going through the website or calling an agent. Similarly, interactive buttons are easy to comprehend and help customers continue a conversation without confusion due to mistyping.

Since the WhatsApp Business Platform supports connecting with thousands of agents, you can make sure your customers get prompt responses. Moreover, integration with business tools ensures that customers get timely reminders so that they don’t miss their payments or flights. Thus, WhatsApp can provide proactive customer support and deliver exceptional messaging experiences. 

Deliver Outstanding Conversational Experiences with Kaleyra

Kaleyra’s powerful platform helps you take advantage of WhatsApp Business features and benefits to improve your bottom lines. Connect with millions of customers at a time. You can quickly get access to the WhatsApp Business Platform with a Business Solution Provider (BSP), such as Kaleyra. Seamlessly integrate WhatsApp with your existing technology stack, such as ticketing systems, wallet solutions, or knowledge base, and deliver engaging communication experiences.