Perhaps you are considering using WhatsApp for your organization, but what are the benefits of WhatsApp Business? To see that, you must first familiarize yourself with all the ways you can use WhatsApp.
You yourself probably use the regular WhatsApp app. But did you know that in addition there is WhatsApp Business, specifically for businesses, and that there is a WhatsApp API? After reading this article, you’ll know exactly what the difference is between WhatsApp’s business options. Moreover, you are completely up to speed on the benefits of WhatsApp Business:
Before we get to the benefits, what is WhatsApp Business?
WhatsApp business is an app you can download on your phone. The mobile app is made specifically for small businesses. You can easily communicate with customers using the app and can do everything you normally do with WhatsApp. There are also the following additional features:
The WhatsApp Business app is specifically designed for small and medium-sized organizations. For larger, but really also for those small and medium-sized organizations, there is the WhatsApp API.
WhatsApp Business we just explained in a nutshell, but what then is the WhatsApp API? The API is tailored for medium to large businesses, but actually excellent for small businesses as well. Because you’re not using WhatsApp’s standard application, WhatsApp Business, the possibilities are endless. You can choose your preferred platform for integration.
This makes it possible to outsource the management of WhatsApp! Now we have already revealed a specific benefit of the WhatsApp API. Fast forward to the list of benefits of WhatsApp Business in general.
When we talk about WhatsApp Business here, we are talking about the business use of WhatsApp in general. So both the WhatsApp Business app as well as the API. We have listed the benefits for you!
The first and one of the most important benefits of WhatsApp Business is that you increase your reachability. You do that in three ways: have wider opening hours, be accessible on different devices, be accessible on the world’s largest social media platform. You realize it all with WhatsApp Business.
Now your business is (probably) primarily open during the day. A logical consideration, since evening site visits are lower. If you keep your business open for those visitors, it will cost you more than it brings in. With WhatsApp Business, you can simply be reached at night without having to physically open. Just at home, from the couch, or by outsourcing it to an outside party.
Because while the number of physical visits is disappointing, the same cannot be said of the number of people online at night. Indeed, the period between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. is called the proverbial “rush hour” on the Internet. That’s when most people are online. And before you say these people are just scrolling on Facebook, research shows that 89% of Dutch people use the Internet to research products and services.
By using WhatsApp Business, you will reach this group. Count them on WhatsApp, because with 2 billion users, WhatsApp is the largest social media platform in the world. As icing on the cake, you reach them on every device. After all, WhatsApp can be used on mobile, tablet and computer.
If you extend your reach with WhatsApp Business, more conversations will logically be started. These conversations should then be taken up. You can’t save that with one employee. From our own experience, we can tell you that one trained operator can make a maximum of 5 to 7 calls at the same time. Untrained, that number is much lower still. So you have to engage multiple colleagues. Something that cannot be done with the standard version of WhatsApp, but fortunately with WhatsApp Business you can!
You can use WhatsApp Business to manage the account with multiple colleagues, making the number of conversations manageable. The WhatsApp Business app lets you log in on one mobile device and then connect it to 4 computers. Are you using the WhatsApp API? Then the number of colleagues who can manage the WhatsApp is endless!
Privacy is a hot topic these days. There are no hard figures for it, but it seems that it also affects people’s willingness to share data. That while that data is so important for you as an organization to follow up on a contact moment and turn a lead into a deal. That’s the beauty of WhatsApp: the first contact detail is already in!
Because WhatsApp is paired with a phone number, as soon as someone starts a conversation with you, you already have the phone number inside. So you can focus on helping the customer further and only have to ask for a few additional details at the end. Instant hot lead.
A proactive attitude toward your visitors delivers results. This was evident back in 2016, from an article by Emerce. In it, they write about being proactive on social media. Schiphol is an excellent example of a company taking a proactive approach. And with success, according to the Emerce article, “The number of interactions on social media grew by over 250 percent, reaching more than 25 million people in 2015.
“As an airport, we find it important that travelers feel at home with us. That is why we want to approach them in a personal and proactive way,” said Martje van de Kamp, social media consultant at Schiphol Group.
Fortunately, WhatsApp Business also allows you to be proactive as an organization. This can be done in two ways. The first is by sending a message to someone you spoke to briefly on WhatsApp. As long as you are within a 24-hour period of receiving the last message, you may send unlimited messages to this person.
Outside of these 24 hours, it can be done the second way. Then you can use templates to reach users who have signed up for them. Often these templates are used to send notifications, for example. Since these are outside the 24-hour window, they must always be neatly structured and approved by WhatsApp. Is your template approved? Then you can send these when you want!
Do you recognize that? That you have asked a question and received an answer or even had an entire conversation, and after that conversation you still want to ask or add something. It happens to all of us from time to time. You then want to continue your conversation. Or at least add something to that earlier conversation. Something that doesn’t work when you call, nor through the live chat. After all, these conversations are concluded. You then start a new conversation.
That’s the nice thing about WhatsApp; you don’t have to do that there. No, the call is saved and whether or not it continues does not depend on whether you are online or haven’t thrown the handset out yet. Would you like to resume your conversation later or add nothing yet? No problem!
WhatsApp (Business) has end-to-end encryption, which ensures that the message can only be read by (you and) the recipient. So you can communicate with customers without fear of someone watching. It’s all completely automatic, you don’t need to change anything in your settings for this. Thus, sending messages via WhatsApp is safe for both businesses and private individuals. We leave out the technical aspect. By the way, you can see that in the WhatsApp Encryption Overview, which has 27 pages. An Encryption Overview of 27 pages; that should be good!
Are you already using business WhatsApp?
So, those are quite a few benefits and we’ve only explained the most important ones! Want to know all the other benefits or just spar about WhatsApp for your business? Feel free to get in touch!
That was an awful lot to deal with. What does the article say in brief?
