How To Use WhatsApp For Business
Are you planning to use WhatsApp for business? It can be done with WhatsApp marketing.
WhatsApp has over 1.5 billion monthly active users in 180 countries and is one of the most popular messaging apps.
It is no surprise that corporations are vying for the attention of this massive audience. WhatsApp isn’t just for simple everyday use. WhatsApp Company expands much further than that, having been designed with the sole purpose of assisting small business owners.
It can also be utilised for business purposes. It can assist you in connecting with your consumers and providing them with prompt, personalised service.
So, how can we use WhatsApp for business?
Let’s look at some creative ways to implement WhatsApp into your business.
What is WhatsApp Business, and what makes it a stand-out application?
WhatsApp Business enables businesses to communicate with their consumers safely and securely right within the WhatsApp messaging platform. One benefit WhatsApp has over SMS is that it is directly associated with a specific phone number and gives a branded company profile rather than a random string of digits.
This enables customers to quickly identify who they are conversing with or sending them communications. WhatsApp also provides trustworthy delivery information, enabling businesses to determine which messages have been sent and viewed.
Generally, there is a growing trend toward using business messaging for conversational commerce purposes. Business messaging enables sales and support teams to respond to product or customer service inquiries with rich, contextual messages that ultimately facilitate a new transaction or keep an existing customer happy.
Since WhatsApp is pre-installed on many devices globally, user engagement has exploded and continues to expand. This indicates that your consumers are already familiar with the app.
To establish a good client rapport, creating a WhatsApp Company profile and linking it to your business phone number is an excellent place to start. Your company presence is attached to a single phone number (no shortcodes necessary!), which means that you can effortlessly include it in your marketing initiatives to persuade more people to engage directly with you.
Why Should You Use WhatsApp Business for business?
There are several reasons to utilise WhatsApp Business in 2022, ranging from customer interaction and brand recognition to commerce prospects for products and services.
Numerous social networks began by highlighting personal ties and connections centred on lifestyles. However, firms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat recognised the need to encourage businesses and brands to join their social networks to interact with customers.
WhatsApp has joined this cohort of business-innovated social media platforms with the inauguration of WhatsApp Business. For small business owners and startup founders, free software is available on Android and iOS mobile devices. The software enables direct, personal, and targeted interaction and customer engagement.
For enterprises with more extensive client bases, the WhatsApp Business API program can optimise replies based on the nature of the customer’s inquiry. Businesses may engage clients by making ideas that encourage engagement.
When brands create a business profile on WhatsApp, they may also receive marketing information from Facebook IQ. Messages may be effectively disseminated to a more extensive consumer base with the WhatsApp Business API.
Customers may be notified in real-time, which ultimately becomes a product launch or press release, but on a more intimate scale.
How to Use WhatsApp for Business?
Within the world’s population, 4 billion individuals have a smartphone. Two billion people use WhatsApp, and 68% feel that it is the simplest method to interact with businesses.
Here are some simple ways to use WhatsApp for business;
Download and set up the WhatsApp for Business app
To begin utilising WhatsApp to build your business, you must first install the WhatsApp Business App on your smartphone.
Create your business profile and include all of your business’s information, including the business’s name, hours of operation, website link, business type, short business description, and address.
When people access your profile, they will see your business details. This makes it simple for prospective consumers to contact you or engage in conversion activities.
1. Download the WhatsApp Business app from the Google Play Store App Store
2. Verify your business phone number.
3. Set your business name and category. To add a description and address, click “Show more options”.
4. Build your profile: You can enter all these details while setting up your WhatsApp business account or go to settings to fill it in later.
Once you click on the edit (pencil) icon, you can add/edit your business details. You can update your Profile image, WhatsApp business phone number, and your business’s description and location.
Create Broadcasts and Groups Effectively
Creating broadcasts and groups depending on characteristics such as hobbies, gender, and so on can be beneficial.
For example, if you own an e-commerce clothing company, you may establish broadcast lists for male and female customers. Using it to deliver product links based on the group might be enticing.
It is a time-saving strategy that enables you to reach many potential consumers simultaneously!
WhatsApp Integration in an online store
WhatsApp is a very user-friendly application. Allowing web users to contact you over WhatsApp with queries or share a product with friends or family may improve the customer experience and drive more traffic.
You may encourage visitors to share items with their friends and family using WhatsApp. Individuals place a higher premium on friendship and family than on merchants.
You may utilise solutions such as the Magento 2 WhatsApp Share extension, enabling visitors to share items instantaneously on the world’s most popular messaging app WhatsApp and its online version with a single click!
Greet Customers with a Welcome Message
It is always lovely to greet customers with a warm, welcoming message.
WhatsApp has a feature to send a greeting message to customers who send you a message for the first time or after 14 days of no activity.
To do this, follow these easy steps:
- Open your WhatsApp Business Application
- Go to settings
- Now visit Business tools
Enable “Send greeting message” and write your greeting message.
Create a Catalogue
Catalogues are mobile storefronts for businesses to showcase and share their goods, so people can easily browse and discover something they want to buy. Previously, businesses had to send product photos one at a time and repeatedly provide information – now, customers can see their entire catalogue right on the WhatsApp app.
The catalogue is one of the best features of WhatsApp Business as it allows businesses to create a catalogue of products.
Product code. The catalogue feature is currently available to businesses using the WhatsApp Business app on Android and iPhone in Brazil, Germany, India, Indonesia, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S.
To do this;
- Open the WhatsApp Business app > More options ⋮ > Business tools > Catalog. If creating a new catalogue, tap “Add Item”.
- Tap the plus icon, then Add Images.
- Tap “Gallery” to upload images from your Photos or Camera to take new images. You can upload up to 10 images.
- Provide a product or service name. You can also provide optional details such as price, description, website link, and product or service code for the uploaded product.
- Tap on “Save”.
Fig: As an Example
Ask for feedback
Unbelievably, WhatsApp messages have a 99 % open rate. Following the sale of the items, soliciting feedback via WhatsApp messaging strengthens brand loyalty, trust, and reputation.
Additionally, soliciting feedback to enhance your products and company services builds trust and brand recognition.
Demo Your Product
You can either manufacture your own items or work as a retailer. You may demo them on Status and notify your group when a new item is added to your inventory.
Even though the consumer does not require that particular product at the moment, it nevertheless plays an important role. Knowing that it is available, what it does, and how to use it will keep the product and your business at the forefront of your mind when purchasing.
Giveaways
Give something away for free with a purchase to enhance consumer involvement. Weekly, monthly, or even daily giveaways can help drive foot traffic to your business or online.
Because WhatsApp and Status are both free, the only expense associated with such advertisements is distributing promotional items or services. Sending a gift message or publishing a Story Status may significantly improve your business. Additionally, companies use WhatsApp Stories for promotional purposes.
This significantly reduces the overhead associated with any marketing activity.
Collaborations with Businesses and Influencers
By engaging with local businesses and influencers, you may broaden your network.
They do not need to work in the same field. However, with Status, you may participate in all of these conversations.
Even if members of other groups are uninterested in your product or service, they might mention you in WhatsApp or other social media chats.
WhatsApp Marketing Tips
Here are a few tricks for building a WhatsApp marketing strategy. Now it’s time to explore some more specific techniques.
Create listings of broadcasts
In its simplest form, a broadcast list is a collection of recipients. Because contacts cannot see one another and receive messages independently, they are analogous to segments in your email lists.
Due to these characteristics, broadcast lists are ideal for launching targeted advertisements. For example, you may compile a list of your VIP customers and give them special offers or solicit recommendations from existing customers. You can utilise this tool to keep your audience engaged.
Consider group messaging
At first glance, this feature appears to be similar to the preceding one; however, they are not similar. In contrast to broadcast lists, group chats enable participants to view and communicate with one another.
Thus, group chats may be advantageous if you wish to promote consumer interaction. For example, you may create a group to acclimate individuals before attending an offline event or webinar.
Another instance would be when your clients make purchase decisions together. This is a frequent strategy among organisations that sell complex and expensive items, such as information technology solutions or industrial equipment. Although retailers of consumer goods — recall the Agent Provocateur example – may also gain from this technique.
Make use of WhatsApp status updates.
You might recognise WhatsApp statuses if you are acquainted with Facebook or Instagram stories. This tool enables you to share text and multimedia items with your contacts. You may also post updates on Facebook. In 24 hours, the status will expire.
Stories are a highly successful strategy for Instagram promotion, and WhatsApp updates also perform well. They may be used to distribute special offers, product updates, and promotional coupons, among other things. You might, for example, host a one-day flash sale only for WhatsApp subscribers.
FAQ’s
How are WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business different?
On WhatsApp Business, you may display your business’s name, logo, category, and website URL, exhibit your product catalogue, add a company description, update your location, and specify your business hours of operation.
Meanwhile, the profile portion of the WhatsApp personal app contains merely an about section, a name, a display photo, and a phone number.
Does WhatsApp business charge money?
Meta finally dropped the $1 price and made WhatsApp a free service, hoping that consumers would use it to interact with companies and businesses would cover the cost.
Conclusion
WhatsApp is a very effective communication tool. It has gained widespread popularity as a result of its simplicity. Besides personal communication, WhatsApp may be used for commercial purposes in various ways.
If you are a micro business that has recently begun utilising a messaging channel to take orders and respond to customer inquiries and have a limited client base, WhatsApp Business is for you.
Apply current features to engage your audience in meaningful ways that help you spread the news about your business and learn more about your clients’ requirements.
