WhatsApp to WhatsApp Business to WhatsApp API: Everything you need to know as a business owner

The rise of WhatsApp

What's Up?

What comes to your mind when you listen to this?

An app or a pickup line that is used to initiate a conversation?

Well, both go hand-in-hand these days!

We have been using a super-awesome instant messaging app for over a decade now, named WhatsApp, and who doesn't like this old yet cool pickup line "what's up?"

Brian Acton and Jan Koum; the duo who left their job at Yahoo and founded WhatsApp in 2009.

The idea was not to develop an application like that. They wanted to travel around the globe, for which they quit their job.?

Money is a thing today and for obvious reasons was a thing at that time too! Their pockets started shrinking and they happened to apply for a job at Facebook, which didn’t work out as planned.

Who could have thought that this failure would result in greater success later?

Jan Koum happened to buy an iPhone in January 2009 and was astonished to realize the potential of the app industry. The idea shot up his brain and he discussed it with Acton, this was the beginning.

Jan Koum with the help of a small team was successful in developing the basic version of the app but it had flaws like battery draining and app crash.

Jan was convinced to give up but Acton didn’t let him lose hope.?

In June 2009, Apple launched their PUSH notification update which gave an immense uplift to WhatsApp. With the increasing popularity, WhatsApp then developed support for Symbian OS, Android, and Windows OS.

Later, in February 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion. All in all, it was a great move by Mark Zuckerberg as he sensed WhatsApp to be a potential competitor soon.?

Facebook back then was gaining great momentum as a marketing platform and data from a messaging platform like WhatsApp was an absolute treasure for them.?

Today, The acquisition did pay off, by all means.?

Facebook retouched the look and feel of the application and made it more business-friendly.

Let's explore how Facebook added the business outlook to WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Business App

In 2017, the WhatsApp Business App was launched. By now, the application had become fully encrypted and now it was available on Mac PCs and Windows PCs.

WhatsApp Business, an advancement made to align businesses with the famous messaging app was a great move indeed.

It allowed business owners to create a free WhatsApp Business Profile which could be linked to their Facebook Profiles or Business Websites.

The autoreply mechanism was the heart of the whole setup as it boosted the customer relationships to grow even stronger.?

Today, businesses are driven more by emotions than the actual product/service.?

May it be an effective utility to converse with your customers and resolve their queries on the go, or may it be providing a brief about your business just like Business Website, Working hours, or product catalog WhatsApp Business has you covered.?

Customer satisfaction is the ultimate win for businesses today. Let's understand how WhatsApp business is advantageous for business owners.??

1.Meet your customers where they are?

Have you ever been left wondering: Just what can WhatsApp Business do for your customers in terms of convenience??

?You need only to let the data tell the story.

?First off, here are some general numbers.

• Three out of every four customers get annoyed at not being able to respond or act on a text message they receive.
• 43 percent of customers have taken it upon themselves to text a business.
• Nearly six in ten customers prefer to not have to communicate with businesses via a separate app.

And here’s how that ties into WhatsApp.

• Two billion people worldwide use WhatsApp every month.
• Over 175 million people text a WhatsApp Business account daily.

You see, the numbers do all the talking.?

?The demand for effective customer communication with businesses via texts has increased and there is no better platform than WhatsApp Business that can do justice with it.?

?By reaching out to your customers on WhatsApp, a platform that they’re much more likely to be on than any other, you’re meeting them in a territory that they’re familiar with.

?This makes things convenient for them as it keeps them from having to switch back and forth between different channels to communicate with your business.

?2. Handling Customer Queries

Problem-solving with businesses can be frustrating, especially when it takes a long time to reach a live customer service agent. But WhatsApp offers efficiency, which is why three out of four customers think it’s a good idea.

?As a business owner or marketing professional, you know that everyone’s a global consumer. It can be frustrating when you have a slow and inefficient problem-solving experience with a business.?

?But there’s some good news: Three out of four customers think it takes too long to reach a live customer service agent.?

?However, customers see the advantages of WhatsApp Business as two-way and swift communication and quick replies.

?Gone are the days when you would call customer service and be made to wait for hours with an irritating music record. WhatsApp Business has revolutionized the whole scenario.

?Now, the customer no longer has to wait. Just a simple message to the registered WhatsApp business number counts with an assurance of getting a reply, the customer can walk out of the chat and won’t mind doing their own business.??

?That’s the beauty of the WhatsApp Business App.

?3. Liberty to share anything

One of the most underrated features of the WhatsApp business is multimedia sharing.

Besides just the text messages, you can share images, videos, live locations, documents, and whatnot?

What can be more delightful for a bakery owner than seeing the happy face of the customer after sending a picture of the cake that he just baked?

What can be more satisfying for a hungry customer than tracking the location of the delivery agent?

?These small features go unnoticed but serve a great purpose when it comes to extending a great customer experience.?

Well, not for a greater surprise, things didn't stop here.?

WhatsApp Business API

Gauging the incline towards a great customer experience Facebook had it figured out and launched WhatsApp Business API for businesses.

I know the next question is, What differentiates WhatsApp Business from WhatsApp Business API??

Coming to that point, as the name itself reads, it's an Application Programming interface that connects the user and server responses and channels a conversation.

In plain words, it simply enabled the messaging automation alongside the standard messaging feature that WhatsApp primarily had to offer.

And believe me, when I say this, it has taken the whole customer support game to the next level.

With the standard setup, WhatsApp Business App allows you to set up Greeting messages, Quick Replies, and Away messages to make your customers feel appreciated and connected.

WhatsApp Business API enhanced the game and allowed the businesses to send and receive programmatic messages and not only this, it allows you to integrate CRM, Chatbots, and analytical tools to support the customer queries.?

Imagine the level of automation a chatbot deployed using WhatsApp Business API can bring to your business.?You can sell 24 x 7 x 365 and if not, your customers would at least be satisfied with getting responses for their queries, even at the odd hours.?

For a business owner, nothing is more precious than a happy customer.

From a personal instant messaging application to a complete package empowering customer support, WhatsApp has risen to be a game-changer.?

Link to the originally published article.