In today’s digital world, it is important for companies to create a superior customer ecosystem that can help them maintain an edge over their competitors. To do that, they need to use a communication tool that will help them interact with customers across the globe efficiently and easily. In addition, they should be able to do that at a fraction of their business expenses.
WhatsApp and its global dominance
With the world being more connected through its social networks and instant messaging apps than ever before, the popularity of WhatsApp (one of the most popular apps worldwide) cannot be denied. WhatsApp can be used in more than 200 countries worldwide and it is available on both iOS and Android. Since it is free, WhatsApp is fast becoming the choice for both personal and professional communications. The app has more than 3 billion users worldwide and it is the most popular app in over 100 countries. It has also been downloaded over 5 billion times (both Android & iOS).
In India, WhatsApp is the most used mobile communication app with over 75% of smartphone users having the app installed on their device according to research from Pew Research Center. This is the highest market penetration among its competitors (including Facebook Messenger and WeChat).
WhatsApp Business: What is it and why do companies love it
WhatsApp Business is the business communication platform that was created by WhatsApp to help company owners communicate better with their customers. The main goal of WhatsApp Business is to provide companies with the means and tools to provide a flawless customer experience. Since WhatsApp allows companies to reach a global audience of over 3 billion. This allows companies to grow exponentially. In addition, WhatsApp also has one of the highest message open rates. So, companies can rest assured that there will be a high level of customer interaction when using the app.
All in all, WhatsApp Business gives companies the means to communicate with their customers and maintain a unified conversation with their audience. With features like away & greeting messages, WhatsApp Business also allows companies to automate their customer experience. All of these features combine to give companies a superior edge over their competition. If you’d like to know about how WhatsApp is different from WhatsApp Business, you can read more at Differences between Whatsapp and Whatsapp Business.
How to convert WhatsApp account to WhatsApp Business account: A step-by-step guide!
If you are a WhatsApp user, then it’s very easy to convert your existing account into a WhatsApp Business account. Simply follow these steps
For Android Users
- Backup Your WhatsApp Account
Before starting the migration process, it is important to back up your current WhatsApp data. To start backup, you need to go to SETTINGS > CHATS & CALLS > CHAT BACKUP and then click on Backup.
Note: You can also choose if you want to backup your photos and videos on this screen.
- Download WhatsApp Business
The first step is to download the WhatsApp Business application from Google Play and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- Transfer Data
Once you accept the terms, you can enter your current registered mobile number and initiate the transfer. You also need to give permission to add chat & media to your business account.
Note: If you are using the same device to migrate, WhatsApp will identify the registered mobile number.
If you are migrating from one device to another, this process might take some time as you need to wait till all the data is transferred.
- Create Your Profile
Once the transfer is complete, you can restart the application and start creating your business profile. In addition to your business name and profile picture, you can also add your business category.
- Add Additional Information
You can also add additional business information like address, sub-category, office hours and e-mail address to help educate your customers by clicking on Explore > Business Profile.
For IOS Users
- Backup Your WhatsApp Account
As mentioned earlier, it is important to back up your WhatsApp data. To start backup on iOS, you need to go to SETTINGS > CHATS > CHAT BACKUP > BACKUP or BACKUP NOW.
- Download WhatsApp Business
Go to the Apple App Store and search for WhatsApp Business. Then, download the app and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- Transfer Data
Once you accept the terms, you can enter your current registered mobile number and initiate the transfer. You also need to give permission to add chat & media to your business account.
Note: If you are using the same device to migrate, WhatsApp will identify the registered mobile number.
If migrating from one device to another, this process might take some time as you need to wait till all the data is transferred.
- Build Your Profile
Once the transfer is complete, you can restart the application and start building your business profile. In addition to your business name and profile picture, you can also add your business category.
- Add Additional Information
Click on Explore > Business Profile to add additional business information like address, sub-category, office hours and e-mail address to help educate your customers.
Learn how to create a new WhatsApp Business account.
Benefits of using a WhatsApp Business Account
A WhatsApp Business account provides several benefits to companies. In this section, we will outline some of the most important ones to provide an overview of how WhatsApp Business can help your company grow beyond borders:
Easy Create Custom Message Templates
Interacting with customers using a WhatsApp profile will be tough when you start growing. As your customer base grows, you might be forced to either limit the conversations or increase your staffing to cope with the increased demand. By choosing to migrate to a WhatsApp Business profile, you will be able to create and use template messages that are already pre-configured. Templates allow companies to quickly send automated messages to their customers. This also ensures consistency in your messaging, helps reduce the amount of effort spent on each individual message and reduces the potential of mistakes.
To know how you could use template messages to engage with both new and existing customers, you can check out our WhatsApp template blog.
WhatsApp Business Supports Automated Messages
With WhatsApp Business, your company can easily automate its customer communication by creating Away and Greeting messages. These automated communication strategies by creating customized message templates help create a more personalized customer experience by allowing your company to stay in constant touch with your customer base. Automating business communications and notifications using message templates also helps cut down your business costs as you can operate your communication channels with less manpower. Away and Greeting messages that can automatically initiate customer conversations can also be a great way to streamline the process of customer feedback and improve customer retention.
Read more: How WhatsApp Business helps automate your business process
Quick Replies
With WhatsApp Business, your company can also create customized messages that can be sent as Quick Replies to their customers. Moreover, WhatsApp Business even suggests replies based on information like location, business hours, etc. These quick replies can be instantly sent to the customers by pressing the default key ‘/’ or any other keyboard shortcut that you set. There is a limitation, however, because Quick Replies cannot be used to send media like photos and videos. Even so, it provides a massive advantage to companies as it allows them to provide a more personalized customer experience.
Further reading: How to set-up WhatsApp Automated Notifications.
Easy Add Labels to the Conversations.
This is perhaps one of the best advantages for companies in the growth phase. The rapid influx of new customers and the rising demand of existing ones might make it tedious for companies to respond to messages and escalate them to the right team. Because of this, they might miss important opportunities to resolve customer issues and increase their brand reputation. WhatsApp Business enables companies to add custom labels that can be used to organize and sort customer conversations automatically. As an added benefit, it allows teams to quickly sort through conversations and identify the ones that need urgent attention. This allows them to resolve customer issues quickly and increase customer satisfaction. It is also a great way to create and maintain a unified communication structure across the board.
Whatsapp Business allows you to set the business location.
Unlike WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business allows company owners to add additional profile information like location, business hours, website address, etc. This allows them to build trust with new customers and add additional avenues of communication with existing customers. Information like address would drive more customers to your physical store and increase your company's overall revenue. Furthermore, companies can also get verified from WhatsApp to get the Trusted Business badge, which can help in increasing customer trust, and make customers more likely to make purchases.
Interested to know the detailed benefits of a WhatsApp business account? Read here.
WhatsApp Business API: Going beyond WhatsApp for Business
Ultimately, WhatsApp Business allows companies to communicate with their customers efficiently by offering a variety of features. It offers companies an edge over others in their same domain in today's competitive environment and helps them increase their brand value and revenue. While there is no denying that the platform offers excellent assistance to companies, it is also not the ultimate communication tool. This is simply because of the fact that WhatsApp Business is designed for small and medium business. Much like how outgrow WhatsApp and incorporate WhatsApp Business to maximize their opportunities, they would feel the need to use other platforms and communication channels to supplement and go beyond WhatsApp Business.
That's where WhatsApp Business API comes in. Unlike the business app, the API is an application interface created by WhatsApp to help growing companies unify their business communication. The API, which can be incorporated into any existing CRM platform, offers a host of automation and analytic tools/features that go beyond what the regular WhatsApp Business app offers. To know more about the benefits of WhatsApp API and how to quickly incorporate it into your workflow, check out our complete WhatsApp Business API guide.
Supercharge your WhatsApp Business Account with Gallabox!
If you are looking to grow your brand with WhatsApp Business, then you could partner with Gallabox. Gallabox can help guide you on all things WhatsApp. With years of experience in helping businesses create customized WhatsApp Business and API strategies to grow their revenues, Gallabox can help your company maximize its growth potential. Sign up for a free trial now!
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