Curious Case of WhatsApp API

WhatsApp, the most user-friendly chat platform, has 340.1Mn users in India. The app is used most by India for personal and business chats. Worldwide 100 billion messages float daily.

Businesses dealing in the B2C space always need communication channels for interaction; hence they look for platforms that are user friendly and widely used by their audience. WhatsApp Business API, a solution started approximately 3 years back, helps businesses send notifications/alerts/updates/offers to the consumers.

Moreover, WhatsApp Business API offers Rich communication messaging one can push attachments, video and audio files. Not only this brand can build WhatsApp chatbot flow and do two-way interactive communications with customers.

Use Case: Ecommerce companies are in constant need of sending promotional and transactional messages to customers on purchase. Points where they can integrate WhatsApp Business API for sending automated messages are-

1. Welcome message to new signups; one can also add video files in the Welcome message for further boosting brand visibility.?
2. Abandoned cart customers can be retargeted by sending new offers/discounts, which helps them pull back the customer to the platform.
3. Post-purchase updates like delivery status, invoice copy, order numbers can be sent.
4. New offers/discounts to non-active users can be done.
5. A customer support chatbot in order to log complaints related to services and other inquiries can be built.

Overall, WhatsApp users read 99% of the messages instantly on receiving the message. Also, the easy interface helps them to take further action like click to action button to connect to customer care or direct to a landing page.

Businesses receive 50% higher response from customers when a message is sent to the WhatsApp number of a customer. Therefore, the conversion percentage is found much higher when compared with other communication channels.

The onboarding process in order to get the services of WhatsApp API is simple and explained below-

1. Get an official FB business verified account.
2. Connect with a BSP or a reseller of WhatsApp Business API.
3. Fill WhatsApp Business API form with details like Company name, FB business id, Logo, company website URL.
4. Use a mobile number that was never used in the past on WhatsApp Business API.
5. Once all details are received and verified by the WhatsApp team, the account will be created, and BSP will provide RCM APIs to the enterprise.

The overall onboarding process may take 7-10 working days, depending on the accuracy of the information shared by a brand.

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