Everybody today uses WhatsApp; it has a massive 2 billion users worldwide. It is a way for family and friends to communicate and stay in touch and for upcoming businesses to start connecting with their customers and keep them updated on their new launches and services. WhatsApp API is a business channel through WhatsApp that allows businesses to communicate with customers worldwide in a much safer and reliable way.
WhatsApp Business API has gained significant popularity due to the following reasons:
- The number of people who are on their phone in a day is over a thousand every minute. Guaranteed, most of these users use WhatsApp for their communication. It has become as common as brushing teeth.
- An open notification rate for a messaging app is 98%, far more than other apps such as emails which constitutes only 20%.
- Messages allow the user to reach the other party faster, as inboxes are avoided in the process.
- Customer service has gotten more efficient due to messaging services such as WhatsApp. Earlier, customers had to install a specific business app to contact customer service. The API for businesses has gotten much more accessible for consumers to reach the business’s CS team.
The API has gotten more prominent as more and more small scale businesses are adopting its concepts worldwide. Earlier, gaining access to WhatsApp business API was far more complex, but now it has certainly gotten easier.
Steps to get access to WhatsApp business API:
One can follow the following three simple steps to gain access to the API:
- Finding an ideal solutions provider: WhatsApp business API can be applied via a vast selection of BSPs (Business Solution Providers). One point to note is that these solution providers / digital agencies may not develop custom messaging interfaces despite giving access to the API. These interfaces are usually needed by businesses to receive and reply to messages sent by customers.
- WhatsApp accounts for business: After the first crucial step of the process is taken care of, finding a suitable business solution provider, the next step is to create a business account. In this step, the business will have to approve a request that allows them to “message on behalf” of their business. This request is to verify the business credentials with the Business Management team at Facebook. Once this step is completed, the company will have an established WhatsApp business API.
- Spread the word of being reachable on WhatsApp: If noticed, other social media platforms have one advantage over WhatsApp, the power to advertise and make businesses available to promote. Hence a company should make sure their consumer base knows that they are available on WhatsApp for their customer base to reach them at any given point in time. It is a very crucial step because customers usually do not interact organically with businesses on WhatsApp. Hence the company needs to promote the news that they are available on the platform for any queries and customer support.
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Advantages of investing in WhatsApp business API:
- The API built on WhatsApp has a lot of features to offer businesses. One of these features is that it provides a standard dashboard for all business lines in the company and has a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and an inbox for a chat.
- There is an option for more than one team member to access the dashboard with multiple user access/ login enablement. They all can access the same dashboard simultaneously.
- They also allow the integration of third-party chatbots and also Shopify integration to enable customers to access these functions with ease.
- Similar to the way businesses are verified on most social media platforms with a blue checkmark, WhatsApp business API allows for verification. It indicates the business accounts with a green checkmark. This way, customers, when approached by the business on WhatsApp, can be assured by the green checkmark that the account is not spam or trying to scam them; it is a genuine business account.
- In terms of business and from their point of view, the API is beneficial and essential in a way, especially in today’s world of information over text. Companies can certainly use the API to communicate with customers and assess their KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) and other business-related analytics. It simplifies the process for businesses too!
This article offers insight into the world of WhatsApp and its APIs and everything in between. Businesses deserve to have clarity over topics as such, which can help them grow. All the best for the upcoming business venture in the space of API!
