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With more than 2 billion people using WhatsApp, there’s a lot of potential for businesses interested in WhatsApp marketing. Anyone can use WhatsApp Business, but is it right for you? Is it worth using a WhatsApp Business account if you’re on other platforms? In this blog, we’ll answer that and more. Learn what it is, what the WhatsApp Business account benefits are and how to get started.
Turn conversations into customers with respond.io's official WhatsApp API. ✨
Manage WhatsApp calls and chats in one place!
The WhatsApp App was designed for personal use with standard messaging features for chatting and staying in touch with people, especially friends and family.
On the other hand, WhatsApp Business is a suite of WhatsApp products that enable businesses to communicate with their customers on the channel. They have tools specifically designed for customer interaction.
For example, these tools can help you send broadcast messages, schedule WhatsApp messages, set auto replies, send WhatsApp bulk messages, have multiple users reply to customers and more. Today, more than 50 million businesses around the world use WhatsApp Business to communicate with customers.
Now that we've taken a look at what a WhatsApp Business account is, let's explore its benefits.
It has been established that a WhatsApp Business Account is different from a personal account. The significant differences between them account for why businesses choose the former over the latter. Below are a few reasons for this decision.
Provides professional features: The business account comes packed with many professional features that support business growth. These features include the ability to create a business profile, catalogs, automated messaging, broadcast lists and more.
Improves communication: It enables businesses to be more responsive to customers and prospect queries without keeping them waiting.
Serves as a cost-effective marketing channel: It provides businesses with an affordable avenue for promoting their product and services.
If you are a business owner still using a personal WhatsApp account, here are 14 advantages of switching to a WhatsApp Business Account.
Using a WhatsApp business account has a ton of benefits to businesses looking to sell, grow and expand. Here are 14 reasons why you should have one:
WhatsApp is a globally recognized communication channel with 2.96 billion unique users and the second most downloaded messaging app. These records are powerful, making it a gold mine of opportunities for business owners.
Not to mention that it is a product of Meta, one of the leading technology conglomerates in the world. With billions of users across the globe using WhatsApp, it has made it a lot easier for businesses to reach more prospects irrespective of location.
As mentioned earlier, the WhatsApp Business Account caters to businesses of different sizes since it provides features that aim to help them connect with their customers, manage communication effectively and promote their products and services.
Small-scale businesses can leverage the basic features of WhatsApp Business Account like catalogs, automated messaging, professional profile setup and more to scale their businesses.
While medium to large-scale businesses looking to do a lot more with WhatsApp Business, can upgrade to WhatsApp API to leverage its features. Keep in mind that the API does not have a front-end interface and must be connected to a messaging platform to send and receive messages.
WhatsApp Business App is quite easy to set up. All you have to do is download the app from the Play Store or Apple App Store and fill out vital information.
If you want to upgrade to WhatsApp API, then you need to partner with a Business Service Provider like respond.io to access the API and software that manages your conversations and workflow. Thankfully, the process of getting WhatsApp API is also straightforward.
Using a WhatsApp Business Account allows you to set up a professional profile for your business. This feature provides you the opportunity to display your business’s unique selling point.
You can set your business name, choose your business's category, specify your location, add a website, add a business email address, write a description for your business and display your open hours and days.
When new leads interact with you on WhatsApp, your profile gives them a quick insight into your business and what to expect. It also eliminates the need to ask certain questions like open hours, business location and more.
One of the major factors that sets a business account apart from a personal account is the ability to get a verification badge, also known as the WhatsApp Blue Tick. This badge shows authenticity and serves as proof that you are a real business.
When customers see your verified badge, it tells them that they can trust your account, since WhatsApp conducts proper background checks before granting an account a verified badge.
Whatsapp Business App allows you to manage one account from up to 5 devices. That is 1 phone and 4 desktops. Whereas WhatsApp API makes your account accessible to more devices and users at the same time.
This feature is helpful if you own a large-scale business and have a team of agents handling conversations from one phone number. This way, you can respond to customers' queries and take orders faster, leading to a boost in your business growth.
Privacy is crucial in business, especially for online businesses. Your customers want to know that their conversation and personal details like home address, email address and phone number are safe in your inbox.
WhatsApp provides a secure communication line between you and your customers. It uses an encryption protocol to protect messages as they move from the sender to the receiver.
WhatsApp Business allows you to create catalogs of your products and services. Showing what you have to offer upfront lets customers browse your products and services regardless of your availability, enabling them to make quicker decisions about what to purchase.
Basically, a product catalog addresses common concerns like pricing, size, color of available items and more, eliminating unnecessary back-and-forth.
As a business owner, it is almost impossible to be available at all times to quickly respond to your all messages. Not to mention that sending repetitive text over and over can be tiring. This is where automated replies come in.
WhatsApp Business App allows you to set automated messages such as welcome and away messages. On the other hand, using WhatsApp Business API can take this feature a step forward by enabling you to set automated replies to any type of customer message like product-related questions, FAQs and more.
Since the WhatsApp API allows you to choose a powerful messaging platform of your choice, you can create a workflow for your WhatsApp conversations using the platform you have chosen.
Creating a workflow simplifies the steps and processes of handling prospects from the inquiry stage to becoming paying customers. Thankfully, respond.io provides an automation builder called Workflows for automating conversations and tasks of any complexity. For example, you can automate answering FAQ inquiries, allowing your agents to focus on more important tasks.
The WhatsApp Business Account provides more than just a messaging platform but an avenue for businesses to scale without breaking the bank. The global reach WhatsApp enjoys stands as a great advantage.
You can leverage WhatsApp marketing capabilities to run ads promoting your products and services without spending too much. Unlike conventional advertising which costs an arm and a leg. WhatsApp business account is a great first touch point for leads that come from ads.
The WhatsApp Broadcast enables you to send personalized bulk messages. It’s an effective tool at your fingertips for retargeting prospects who have already shown interest in your business and retaining existing customers.
Keep in mind of the limitations for sending broadcasts on the WhatsApp Business App. Also note that on WhatsApp API, you’ll need to get a customer’s opt-in before sending them template messages.
WhatsApp analytics provides valuable metrics such as the number of conversations started, catalog views, status views, messages read, messages delivered and more. These metrics give you an insight into your business performance.
Armed with accurate information, you can make better choices and decisions for your business going forward.
We have already mentioned how a business account enables you to streamline order processing, automate workflow, provide swift and secured messaging, display vital details about your business that inform your customers upfront and so on.
A combination of these benefits can help improve customers' experience with your business. Ensuring that your customers are satisfied can improve your revenue generation. A study suggests that 61% of customers are willing to spend 5% more if they know they will get a good customer experience.
Still not convinced about the potential of a WhatsApp business account? Then take a look at how 3 businesses achieved success with one.
Turn conversations into customers with respond.io's official WhatsApp API. ✨
Manage WhatsApp calls and chats in one place!
Now that you know the benefits a WhatsApp Business Account brings, let's look at how businesses are using it to improve lead generation and qualification as well as conversions.
Sharwa, an Egyptian social commerce platform launched in 2022, aimed to expand nationwide while improving communication with customers, suppliers, and drivers. The company needed a scalable solution to streamline interactions across its growing team and prevent missed messages, ensuring seamless operations and exceptional customer experiences.
To solve this, it connected a WhatsApp business account to respond.io.
Automation features enabled efficient routing, order management, and re-engagement campaigns. These efforts reduced response times by 60%, sped up issue resolution by 40%, and improved customer satisfaction from 70% to 85%. Additionally, WhatsApp retargeting campaigns boosted conversion rates by 40%, turning many customers into loyal shoppers.
800 Storage, a Dubai-based storage company managing 15,000 square feet of storage space for customers, faced challenges in handling a growing volume of messages from inquiries and quotations as the business expanded. To maintain efficiency and provide better customer experiences, it needed a enhance their WhatsApp messaging capabilities
By upgrading to the WhatsApp Business API and integrating it with respond.io, 800 Storage reduced first response times by 30% and resolution times by 60%, boosting conversions by 30%. Impressed by the results, CEO Malek Barghout extended the solution to another business, Colour My Plate, underscoring its impact on operational success.
Sleek, a Singapore-based platform offering administrative services for startups and SMEs, faced challenges with a confusing web chat interface and poor lead generation, particularly as it expanded to Australia, Hong Kong, and the UK. To improve engagement and capture more qualified leads, it needed a more efficient communication solution.
By transitioning sales conversations to a WhatsApp business account and leveraging a respond.io, Sleek set up market-specific workspaces, automated inquiry routing, and added WhatsApp links and QR codes to its website. These efforts boosted efficiency and lead generation, resulting in a 3.5x increase in sales inquiries and 3x more qualified leads in Singapore and Hong Kong. Agents responded within 2–3 minutes, improving customer satisfaction and raising Sleek’s NPS to 68%.
With 15 amazing benefits, it’s clear why businesses around the world are turning to WhatsApp Business. Whether you want to automate replies, showcase products, or organize conversations, WhatsApp Business App has the features you need to grow. However, some of these feature have limited capabilities.
This is why you need respond.io, a leading WhatsApp API provider. With respond.io on your side, you can streamline communication, automate workflows, route customers to dedicated agents, track business performance and so much more.
Get started with a free respond.io account today!
Turn conversations into customers with respond.io's official WhatsApp API. ✨
Manage WhatsApp calls and chats in one place!
A WhatsApp Business Account helps businesses chat with customers more efficiently. It allows you to create a professional profile, automate messages, showcase products or services with a catalog and more.
The regular WhatsApp app is for personal use, while WhatsApp Business is designed for businesses. It’s perfect for improving customer experience and sales and keeping everything organized.
Yes, you can integrate WhatsApp Business with a CRM tool, but you’ll need the WhatsApp Business API. Respond.io can help you transform your business account into Whatsapp API.
Yes. The WhatsApp Business App allows you to automate messages like welcome and thank you texts. While WhatsApp API provides messaging templates that support advanced messaging capabilities.
Yes. For the WhatsApp Business app, 4 users can access one account from their desktop. However, with the WhatsApp Business API, more team members can access one account and use it simultaneously across devices, making it ideal for larger teams managing customer inquiries.
Are you interested in learning how WhatsApp can benefit your business? Read these articles to find out:
Benjamin Steve Richard joined respond.io as a Content Writer in 2023. Holding a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London, Benjamin provides invaluable resources on messaging apps for businesses to help them leverage customer conversations successfully.
Everything you need to know about Instagram Sales and how to sell on Instagram DM. Increase your business sales by selling on Instagram with respond.io.