New to using WhatsApp for Business? This is your complete guide to WhatsApp Business. WhatsApp Business: Accounts & Features Overview. In this article, we'll cover the basics of using business WhatsApp, including WhatsApp Business account types, WhatsApp Business features, WhatsApp Business limitations, pricing, and how to get started depending on the business you have.
What is WhatsApp Business
So what is WhatsApp Business and how did it come about? There was a time when WhatsApp cost 99 ¢ before it was acquired by Facebook for $ $ 19 billion. After the acquisition, WhatsApp went free and pledged never to have advertisements.
However, Facebook needed a business model to monetize its giant new purchase. The answer? WhatsApp Business. Businesses were already using the regular app before corporate WhatsApp exists, especially the use of WhatsApp Groups among sellers.
For WhatsApp, it made sense to make companies pay to use the platform. And in January 2018, WhatsApp introduced WhatsApp Business.
Why WhatsApp Business is important
With so many users on WhatsApp, it's hard to ignore the platform. At the beginning of 2020, WhatsApp hit 2 billion users, by 1.5 billion users in the fourth quarter of 2017. This is an extraordinary feat considering it is approaching the number of Facebook at 2.7 billion users in Q2 2020.
But it's not just about the huge number of users - it's about engagement. WhatsApp users send around 65 billion messages per day, which is around 750,000 messages per second or 43 messages per day on average.
Compared to traditional methods of reaching your customers such as emails, 80% of messages sent to WhatsApp are seen within 5 minutes. In use cases where Business WhatsApp is used by universities, they have logged a 99% open rate for messages.
Today, more than 5 million businesses are on the Business App a and there are many others registered with an API account. For countries where WhatsApp is popular, it has become increasingly important for businesses to use the platform to reach their customers.
Where is WhatsApp Popular
With 2 billion users worldwide and being the most popular messaging app in 133 countries, WhatsApp is a great way to build relationships with your customers. But which regions actually benefit most from using the platform for business?
Here is a simple rule of thumb. For Europe, Africa, and Latin America you can expect WhatsApp to be a leader or have significant enough penetration to target WhatsApp users in those countries.
The countries with the highest number of WhatsApp users in descending order are India, Brazil, the United States, Indonesia and Mexico. In 2019, India has 340 million users and Brazil has 99 million users.
Despite its popularity, there are also regions where WhatsApp takes a back seat. For example, although the United States is the birthplace of WhatsApp and has the third largest number of users, the leading messaging app is Facebook Messenger.
While other countries like Thailand, Japan and South Korea are dominated by regional apps like LINE and KakaoTalk. And in China in particular, WhatsApp has been blocked since 2017 and we don't expect the block to be lifted anytime soon.
WhatsApp Business Basics
We have explained why WhatsApp Business is important, it's time to discuss the basics and how it affects the way businesses use the platform. To get started, there are three key questions to consider before signing up for a WhatsApp Business account:
- Do WhatsApp policies allow you to carry out the desired business activities?
- Which type of WhatsApp Business account best suits your messaging needs?
- Is the use of WhatsApp for Business within the desired budget?
In the following section we will answer these questions in detail. Let's start by understanding the basics of WhatsApp's corporate policy.
WhatsApp corporate policies
WhatsApp aims to provide a quality experience to its users. To ensure that the platform remains secure and spam-free, companies must comply with WhatsApp's corporate and commercial policy which protects user data and prohibits trade in illegal products and services.
In case you are wondering what happens if you are caught violating WhatsApp policies, they can limit or remove your access to any WhatsApp Business product indefinitely.
But let's assume that you have no intention of breaking any laws and that you can carry out all desired business transactions through WhatsApp. What's the next step? It's time to choose your WhatsApp Business account.
Types of WhatsApp Business accounts
This is where things get a little complicated. WhatsApp has created two types of corporate accounts on WhatsApp: the WhatsApp Business App for small businesses and the WhatsApp Business API for medium and large businesses.
Business App Account
The Business app helps small businesses separate their personal from business messages. Since it is an app, businesses can easily reply to messages wherever they are. Outside of opening hours, businesses can also set up automated greeting messages & away messages.
To create an account, download the app on a phone with a SIM card. Keep in mind that you will need a SIM card or a separate number for corporate WhatsApp. You cannot use the same SIM card as your personal WhatsApp account.
While getting started is as simple as downloading the app and purchasing a separate SIM, there is also a downside where only one user is allowed for one device. Although there is news that WhatsApp will soon allow up to 4 devices per app account.
Business API Account
The WhatsApp API is meant for medium to large companies who want use the platform with multiple users for customer service & sales. Applying for an API account is a complex process and businesses cannot apply for the account directly from WhatsApp.
Instead, businesses must first apply for an API account with Business Solution Providers (BSPs) or also known as WhatsApp Partners. Essentially, it is the middlemen who give you access to the WhatsApp API. Once approved, link the API to a file WhatsApp CRM such as SendApp to start messaging.
Since the account is just an API login, the full potential of your account depends on the BSP you choose. Also the price for an API account varies between different BSPs. We will discuss more about pricing below.
WhatsApp Business prices
As mentioned, there are two types of WhatsApp Business accounts: the Business app and the API. The amount you pay to use the business account depends on the account you create.
Business App Account
The pricing of the WhatsApp Business app is simple. WhatsApp does not charge for using the app, but there are some associated costs. You will need a dedicated phone number because it is not allowed to use the same number for personal and corporate WhatsApp.
If you have a dual SIM phone, you can purchase an additional SIM card to enter and assign that number the Business AppIf you don't have a dual SIM phone, you will need to buy a new phone for this purpose.
Remember, you can only install the app on a single device. In order for other users to have access, buy an additional phone that you can pass around or alternatively, use WhatsApp Web. If you have teams of users, go for a Account API.
Business API Account
Meanwhile, the WhatsApp API is a paid service. Now you may be wondering what the price of a WhatsApp API account is. The answer depends on the BSP you sign up with. These BSPs will charge you their price in addition to what WhatsApp charges them.
For example, WhatsApp does not charge BSP for messages sent in response to a customer's request within a 24-hour period (Session Messages). For messages sent after 24 hours (Messages Template), WhatsApp charges BSPs according to a rate card.
In return, some BSPs charge companies or end users for both session messages and template messages. There might also be other fees such as setup fees, monthly fees, or a monthly active user fee.
Interestingly, WhatsApp recently announced that they will experience a new pricing model in Mexico it is based on conversation. It is scheduled to go live in February 2021 and only users with a Mexican number will be affected. More details to come.
For a more detailed analysis and price comparison, our WhatsApp Partners & Pricing guide covers everything you need to know about choosing a BSP or partner, based on the cost and needs of your business.
WhatsApp Business Features: How to Use WhatsApp for Business
Now that you know the basics of WhatsApp Business, it's time to explore the features. Note that there are fundamental differences in how you can use messages, broadcasts, purchases and payments, depending on whether you are using the app or the API.
The following section will help you understand how to use corporate messaging with the app and API account, plus we'll explore other cool new features like the WhatsApp catalog and WhatsApp Pay.
WhatsApp Business Messaging
Messaging is a good starting point for discussing WhatsApp Business features and their limitations. Since WhatsApp designed the app and API with specific categories of business in mind, the limitations associated with these two account types reflect this.
Business App Account
The Business app is designed for small businesses to send messages to their customers. With the App, there are no messaging restrictions as long as your company respects WhatsApp Business Policy & Commerce Policy.
Companies can also send a unlimited number of free messages in any format. Once your inbox is busy, there is a Quick Reply is Automated Greeting & Away Messages feature to help you manage your chats.
Another flexibility with the Business app is the ability to send contacts the first message if you have their number. However, companies are responsible for not spamming their customers to prevent their accounts from being blocked or reported.
Since WhatsApp takes the customer experience on its platform very seriously, you will find that there are even more messaging rules for the API account than the Business app.
Business API Account
Since API users are generally larger companies with more resources, stricter rules exist to prevent spamming. To begin with, companies need to do this gain active consent from their contacts pay for messaging on the platform.
There are two classes of WhatsApp API messages - Session Messages is Messages Template. Whenever you reply to your contact within 24 hours, WhatsApp treats it as a session message, while anything outside 24 hours is a model message.
Template messages require prior approval of Whatsapp and must not contain promotional content. But since October 2020, WhatsApp has started allowing promotional templates in Indonesia & Mexico. We can expect other countries to follow soon. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features
Now that you know about corporate WhatsApp messages, we will go a step further and examine how broadcasting works on both WhatsApp Business accounts.
WhatsApp Business Broadcasts
By now you would have noticed that the app has more messaging freedom than the API. The trade-off was more freedom of messaging in the app, more automation possible via the API. When it comes to streaming, that app has a clear advantage.
Business App Account
Via the app, transmission is simple and straightforward. Companies are free to broadcast any form of content to 256 people per Broadcast List at the time. But only contacts who have saved your number can receive your broadcast.
To help you stay organized, use the labels provided in the Business App.
You will be able to organize people into groups on the fly and send compelling and targeted WhatsApp messages in bulk. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features.
While it's easy to broadcast with the Business app, you'll notice this isn't the case with API broadcasts.
Business API Account
To protect contacts from receiving spam and to ensure that WhatsApp becomes a premier customer service platform, WhatsApp does not really promote Broadcasts API. The only conceivable way to send a broadcast with the API is to use Messages Template.
With the rule of only sending non-promotional broadcasts for most countries, the most common use cases for WhatsApp API Broadcast include companies sending booking confirmations, shipping notices, appointment reminders, and so on.
Next, we will look at a new WhatsApp Business feature that was made available worldwide recently: the WhatsApp catalog. WhatsApp Business: Accounts & Features Overview
WhatsApp Shopping: WhatsApp Catalog & WhatsApp Cart
With chat and social media shopping on the rise, it's no surprise that the tech giants in the industry like them Facebook, WeChat, LINE is KakaoTalk they are all on the e-commerce bandwagon
Unsurprisingly, WhatsApp, which is part of the Facebook-owned company, has also started rolling out new WhatsApp Shopping features like the WhatsApp catalog and WhatsApp cart to make buying and selling on its platform easier. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features
As this is WhatsApp's first venture to integrate ecommerce features on its platform, it makes sense that they start with the business app which has a lower barrier to entry than the API.
Business App Account
So how does it work? The WhatsApp catalog is made for small businesses to showcase their products and services. Customers can scroll through the list, add items to their cart, and then send a message to the business to confirm the deal.
For businesses, setting up your Catalog it's a simple process. Simply upload your product photos, add descriptions and price. Once done, promote your business via sharing your Catalog link or product links in-app or websites.
As of July 2020, more than 40 million people view WhatsApp Catalogs every month. If it continues successfully, it may be a matter of time before WhatsApp adds this feature to their API as well.
Business API Account
In general, adding new features to an API is an expensive, complex and time-consuming process. We believe this may be one of the reasons why WhatsApp first launched the Catalog feature with the Business app.
If WhatsApp eventually brings this functionality to the API, we can expect large companies to benefit as well as the number of WhatsApp buyers grows. For example, even big brands like Chanel & Christian Dior have their own digital shop on KakaoTalk in Korea. WhatsApp Business: Accounts & Features Overview
Of course, this brings us to the next question: what about WhatsApp payment? If customers can view your product listing, the next logical step would be to allow them to pay in-app to complete the purchase cycle.
WhatsApp Pay
Unlike other features, the payment integration has been a tough battle for WhatsApp. It is mainly because setting up a payment service in any country involves some form of government legislation and obtaining permission from the Central Bank.
Things may not always go as planned and this is what happened WhatsApp Pay in Brazil.
It was first launched in June 2020, but was suspended only a week later in an attempt by the central bank to maintain an appropriate competitive environment.
However, things are a bit different in India. Although the start of WhatsApp Pay has not faced the same resistance from Indian authorities in 2018, they are facing a slow start in amassing user growth since their official phased launch in November 2020.
But this is not surprising WhatsApp which confirmed its development, citing that it was a conscious decision of the company to slow down with onboardings to enhance customer experience before gaining traction. WhatsApp Business: Accounts & Features Overview
As a result, WhatsApp Pay is only available for one maximum user base of 20 million users currently.
It is also not currently available in other countries, but it is likely to hit the international market later if WhatsApp Pay turns out to be a hit in India.
To understand how WhatsApp Pay works, we will set the parameters for the following discussion. Firstly, what we know about WhatsApp Pay is only relevant for India and secondly, it is only relevant available to both regular WhatsApp App and Business App users.
Regular WhatsApp & Business App Accounts
Sending and receiving money via WhatsApp Payment is based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) method, in collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
To use WhatsApp Payment successfully, users must first meet the following requirements:
- Download or update to the latest version of the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app on iPhone or Android
- It must have an Indian number associated with your WhatsApp account, an Indian bank account and an active debit card
- Set up a personal UPI PIN to authorize transfers between accounts
- Retrieve yours UPI ID or WhatsApp Payment QR code as it is required to receive payment
- Both the sender and the recipient must enable WhatsApp payment to use the feature
Once done, users can send and receive money free of charge from WhatsApp. However, there may be other fees involved such as overdraft fees from banks or fees given by mobile phone service providers. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features
While this solves the problem of allowing shoppers to pay in-app after browsing a catalog on WhatsApp, there are some issues with using WhatsApp Pay for business, especially in terms of data tracking, refunds, and transaction limits.
Business users will find that WhatsApp Pay lacks fundamental business analytics in the business app. Aside from the transaction history showing the sender's name and the amount paid, there are no details on daily earnings or turnover.
This means that companies have to manually track this data on a separate software or platform. Furthermore, the refund is also a problem as there is no card to issue a refund other than to manually send the agreed amount to the customer.
Ideally, there won't be many refunds as users are limited to just 10 transactions per day, no more than ₹ 1 Lakh (~ $ 1,400 USD) in total. however, the UPI limit varies according to your registered bank so it's best to find out in detail first. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features
While far from ideal, it's understandable that these are teething problems while the functionality is new. We expect to see more updates in the future. Now you might ask, what about the WhatsApp payment for API accounts?
Business API Account
As mentioned, implementing any new functionality in the app is easier than integrating it with the API. From a business perspective, it makes sense for WhatsApp to fix these issues in the app before adding the functionality to the API.
While there is no mention of this in Facebook's documentation, we expect WhatsApp Payment for API to only roll out in 2022 or even later, starting in India when the facility is well established.
WhatsApp Business App vs WhatsApp Business API
By now you should have an idea of which product is right for your business. In this section we will summarize and compare the features of both WhatsApp Business accounts. WhatsApp Business: Accounts & Features Overview.
Business App Account
The app is meant to help small businesses thrive. Here are some reasons to choose the Business app:
- Very easy to install and start, buy a new SIM and download the app
- Send messages to any contact at any time, without messaging limitations
- Send broadcasts up to 256 contacts, any content is allowed
- Support WhatsApp catalog and WhatsApp payment
Once your business starts growing and you start handling a larger volume of messages, the disadvantages of the App will become clear:
- Only one user on a device can use the account
- Automation is limited to greetings, away messages, and quick replies
Business API Account
An easy way to decide between the app and the API is how many messages your company receives. If only one or two users can't handle the message volume, choose the API account. For medium to large businesses, the API offers the following benefits:
- Allows unlimited users and devices
- It supports connecting to a WhatsApp CRM
- It supports programmatic messaging like notifications
All of the above features make the API a little more difficult to set up and run. WhatsApp Business: Overview of accounts and features. This is why:
- The features are paid, from creating an account to sending messages
- Creating a WhatsApp API account requires approval from a BSP
- The 24 hour messaging window applies
- Template messages require prior approval and non-promotional content is prohibited (except Indonesia and Mexico)
In summary, WhatsApp Business is a great solution for businesses serving consumers in countries where WhatsApp is key.
Infographic: WhatsApp for Business
whatsapp business
This article does a great job outlining the features of WhatsApp Business. I've been using it for a few months now, and the tools for customer interaction are quite helpful. Just wish there were more customization options for the automated messages.