The popular instant messaging app, WhatsApp, officially launched its app for businesses in January 2018 – WhatsApp Business.

What is WhatsApp Business?

WhatsApp Business is an instant messaging app aimed at small business owners, allowing them to easily connect and interact with customers by using tools to automate, sort, and quickly respond to messages.

How can I use WhatsApp Business?

WhatsApp Business can be used by businesses, to connect and interact with existing and potential customers, which allows them to personally and directly promote their products, services and more.

What are the Benefits of WhatsApp Business?

• • Using a separate messaging app for business.
  • Building trust through the Business profile.
  • Easily respond to customers with auto-replies.
  • Organise your customer contact list.

• • Promote your product or service personally and directly.

How to use WhatsApp Business?

These are some of the features of WhatsApp Business:

1. Business Profile

Business profiles will be listed as a ‘Business Account’ which will contain helpful information for your customers, like a description, address, email address, website, and trading hours.

How to: (Tap) Menu button (3 vertical dots in the top right-hand corner) > Settings > Business Settings > Profile

2. Labels

You can create and assign customers to labels, which allows you to organise your contacts and easily find them again using filter functions.

How to: (Tap) Menu button > Labels

3. Greeting Messages

A Greeting Message can be used to introduce customers to your business when they message you for the first time or after 14 days of no activity.

How to: (Tap) Menu button > Settings > Business Settings > Greeting Message

4. Quick Replies

Quick Replies are frequently sent messages that you can create, save and reuse. They can be used to easily answer commonly asked questions.

How to: (Tap) Menu button > Settings > Business Settings > Quick Replies

5. Automated Responses

With Automated Responses, you’re able to set an away message when you’re unable to respond immediately to your customers and let them know when they can expect a response.

How to: (Tap) Menu button > Settings > Business Settings > Away Messages

6. Message Statistics

Message Statistics gives you access to important metrics, allowing you view how many messages were successfully sent, delivered and read.

How to: (Tap) Menu button > Settings > Business Settings > Statistics

What do I need to know before setting up WhatsApp Business?

Before you create a WhatsApp Business profile, please be aware that it’s a separate entity and that there’s no connection between your personal account and the business account.

You can register an account with a business number or your existing personal WhatsApp number. Note that if you use your personal number for Business registration, your personal WhatsApp profile will convert to the Business and all contacts will import to your Business profile.

Users are unable to search for businesses on neither WhatsApp nor WhatApps Business. For this reason, business owners using WhatsApp Business will need to find a way for customers to connect with their brand via WhatsApp. This can be done by adding a WhatsApp chat button or phone number to the website, traditional advertising, or word of mouth.

At the time of writing this post (April 2018), WhatsApp Business is only available in selected countries and on Android devices (Google Play Store).

How to implement WhatsApp Business:

1. 1. Ensure that WhatsApp Business is available in your location and for your mobile device.
   2. Select the number you want to use for the Business profile.
   3. Download and install WhatsApp Business on your mobile from its app store.
   4. Once you open WhatsApp Business, you will need to verify your business phone number.
   5. Set your business name.
   6. Tap on the menu button and head to profile settings, where you can complete a variety of fields that you want to share with your customers.

And voila! You have a WhatsApp Business profile.

While WhatsApp Business may not be feasible for all businesses, it’s an app that could be useful for many small business owners; especially for those who are always on the move. It gives them extra features that are not present in the conventional app.

If you have any more questions about WhatsApp Business, get in touch.

 

Tags: WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business