WhatsApp just got a lot better for businesses with the launch of WhatsApp Business API. With over 2 billion users and 65 billion messages sent per day on WhatsApp, with this, WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most successful messaging tool.

What drove WhatsApp to beat other messaging apps and become viral are the core values it sticks by (and of course, it’s an elegant interface).

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The mindset behind WhatsApp began with a simple onboarding process that integrates with the existing contacts network. The process and download of the app were almost frictionless.

Then came the ‘No ads, No games, and No gimmicks!’

Which gave rise to the much needed ad-free era. Such a decision gave customers the freedom to communicate without being interrupted by any unnecessary ads.

Years after Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion, it has finally made a move to make money from the new WhatsApp feature – WhatsApp Business.

The new application doesn’t restrict the app to only knit relationships with family, friends, and others but extends its reach to make it a marketing tool for businesses and brands.

Having done off with user subscription fees and ads, WhatsApp’s quest for monetization required a significant fix to the product, and that will be the Business feature that lets clients chat with the business and vice versa.

Strictly for enterprises, their business profile can be customized along with personalized messages for targeted customers.

Small businesses heavily rely on WhatsApp to communicate with their customers and to scale up the business. The app’s purpose is a two-way road that allows the users to reach out to brands of their choice seamlessly.

The team at WhatsApp released a statement that stated:

“People worldwide use WhatsApp to connect with small businesses they care about — from online clothing companies in India to auto parts stores in Brazil. But WhatsApp was built for people, and we want to improve the business experience. For example, by making it easier for businesses to respond to customers, separating customer and personal messages, and creating an official presence.”

Can We Automate Messaging on WhatsApp?

Yes, it is possible through WhatsApp Business API to automate WhatsApp messaging.

Is It Available To The Public?

Yes, you can do this in two ways either connecting directly through Facebook or through its official partners, who sell WhatsApp business APIs, including-

• ValueFirst
• Infobip
• Kaleyra
• Karix
• And many more. 

How to Apply to The WhatsApp Business API?

Directly Through Facebook

For businesses to create a WhatsApp business profile, it comes with a tad bit of approvals. To enable the WhatsApp Business API for your business, submit your industry profile for consideration using this link:  

https://www.facebook.com/business/m/whatsapp/business-api

To start with this, you need to sign up directly. Going with this process is somewhat technically challenging for small businesses. 

For example, to set up WhatsApp business API, you need a developer even though you can get the entire process details on the Facebook official support pages. 

Through Facebook Official Partners

You can find many official Facebook partners in the market such as-

• Edna,
• Message Bird,
• CM.com
• Infobip,
• Subtype,
• 360dialog,
• Wavecell,
• Accengage,
• Wati Brand Embassy and others.

These Facebook official partners’ part is to manage and handle the entire setup, get approval and get it ready to go. For this, you need to get your Facebook business account verified.

Once you get approval from the business manager, you can now apply for the WhatsApp business API through partners and access.

What to Do Once WhatsApp Business API Access is Granted?

After the approval, the business can communicate with clients over WhatsApp by Sending and Receiving Messages with multiple features, and the use cases are endless.

Although WhatsApp Business is enabling companies like BookMyShow and RedBus to send WhatsApp messages of booking confirmations. There’s still unexplored potential to increase the investment return from this feature. And also connect chatbots to this API and completely automate various business processes. 

Increase Efficiency Through Chatbots

The process to develop customized business cases with WhatsApp Business API is vast. Businesses on WhatsApp benefit further from chatbots like SmatBot by directly interacting with customers.

You can do this easily by connecting your registered WhatsApp business API account with SmatBot in just a few clicks. 

Log in with your SmatBot account, create a bot or use the existing bot on your dashboard. Select Setup, clicks on the WhatsApp installation option, click on Add New WhatsApp Account, fill up the details, and Save it. Your WhatsApp chatbot is ready to go. 

Here is its example-

Be Aware While Considering a Service Provider for Creating a WhatsApp Chatbot:

Every service provider claims to have WhatsApp chatbots with little to no experience, whereas most might not have valid permission to business APIs.

It is the primary reason why WhatsApp is taking severe steps to suppress the misuse of WhatsApp accounts.

The teams at WhatsApp are trying to prevent the spread of fake news via their messaging platform.

After several mob lynching’s occurred due to false incendiary messages, the company warned to curb false texts and provocative content.

In response, the messaging company has taken initial steps by limiting the number of people to whom a message can be forwarded.

Every month, several accounts get blocked due to bulk messaging and automated texts, which rules out the possibility of having a WhatsApp bot integration.

Accounts that act as chatbots for faster incremental numbers are a significant portion of the blocked accounts too.

The blocked WhatsApp accounts go up to as much as 2million in a month. The company has also encouraged users to deploy machine learning to pick out automated messages that fall under ‘Abnormal WhatsApp Behaviour.

So, the only route for businesses to send and receive notifications is through the WhatsApp Business API, which is intended to facilitate a customer-service strategy that allows customers to communicate on their terms.

Conclusion:

WhatsApp Business has already garnered an active base of over three million. This app is purely aimed at generating revenues for businesses and increasing their customer base.

As every business is turning to digital means, results will depend on how fast the company can judge the right apps/tools to deploy, along with an unprecedented mandate to pay attention to building trust.

Ever since WhatsApp has been founded, this has been their most progressive step towards monetization.

Therefore, the real challenge lies in how it sails smoothly past the existing intense competition and how it outpaces other providers?