Whatsapp Business is the instant messaging app dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses: here's how it works and how to take advantage of its full potential.
Whatsapp Business allows your business to also be present on Whatsapp and be able to take advantage of instant messaging. Its interface is similar to the classic Whatsapp, you can share multimedia files, make free calls, create group chats and much more.
You'll find tools that will help you communicate more effectively with your customers and you'll also have the ability to use it from your computer through Whatsapp Web. Here's how it works and how to download it.
How to download Whatsapp Business
You can download the Whatsapp Business app on both devices with the Android operating system, as well as on iOS devices. The app's icon is represented by a cartoon symbol with a B in the middle and is easy to locate in your smartphone's store. After downloading the app you can proceed to the configuration.
How to configure Whatsapp Business
When you open the app, you will be asked to accept the terms and conditions of use of the service, click on "Accept and continue" to move on to the next step. First, you need to configure the app with the phone number to be associated with Whatsapp Business, which will be verified later. You should know that you can also associate your company's landline phone number and that you can avail yourself of the use of both Whatsapp and Whatsapp Business on your mobile device. In this case, however, each application will be linked to a different phone number.
The phone number associated with Whatsapp Business can be either the number you already use for the classic messaging app, or a new number. In this case, you'll first have to enter the international prefix, choosing it from the drop-down menu, and then enter the phone number. If you have an iPhone, you'll also be asked to accept that the app will send you notifications.
After a few seconds, a message will arrive containing the verification code to be entered. You'll have to click on "Allow" to consent to Whatsapp Business' requests to send you messages, access contacts from your address book, and access your photos and videos.
To finish configuring the app, you'll have to enter the name of your business in the "Business Info" section, where you can also specify which category the business belongs to, choosing it from a drop-down menu.
Once the configuration is complete, you can start using Whatsapp Business. The app is practically an identical copy of the classic Whatsapp. On the "Chat" screen, all of your previous conversations will appear and you'll have the exact same functions available: you can send and receive messages, photos, documents and more. Whatsapp Business has additional features compared to Whatsapp, which help you improve and make it easier to communicate with your customers.
How does it work Whatsapp Business
To take full advantage of all the features of Whatsapp Business for your company, you'll have to change some basic settings according to your preferences. In the "Profile" section you can edit all the data that refer to your company, by clicking on the pencil symbol: the fields that can be changed are the address, the category to which your business belongs and you will have a space in which to describe your company.
How to set up automatic messages
In order to always offer effective communication to customers who contact you, you can also fill out the sections of "Absence Message", "Welcome Message" and "Quick Reply", very useful features in case you are not always available. In fact, by filling out the section "Absence Message" you can set up an automatic message that will be sent to anyone who contacts you through Whatsapp Business when you are not available. To make the absence message active, you'll have to move the toggle from off to on and then to write the message.
A very useful option for the absence message is the choice of sending time: you'll be able to choose when to make this message start automatically, by editing the "Time" field. Among the different sending options you'll find "Always send", but also "Custom sending", to indicate a precise interval. If in the settings you have indicated the opening and closing hours of your business, the best solution could be "outside opening hours", so the automatic absence message will only be sent when your business is closed. Obviously, the absence messages will be sent only and exclusively if the phone remains with an active data connection.
As for the "Welcome Message", the procedure is identical and will allow you to customize the message to be sent to people who have never contacted you and who for the first time have to do with your business on Whatsapp Business.
If you want to make it faster, but above all easier to stay in touch with your customers through Whatsapp Business, you can set up "Quick Replies", which you will find in "Business Settings". Quick replies will allow you to send standard text messages as quickly as possible, for example a thank you to the customer or sending the store address or opening hours. Quick replies can be fully customized and added as you wish: by naming all replies, they will also be easier to recognize on the fly.
Whatsapp Web: also available for Business
Whatsapp Web, Whatsapp's desktop application, allows you to send messages from your computer when your phone and PC are simultaneously connected to a data network.
Whatsapp Web, desktop application, allows you to send messages from your computer when your phone and PC are connected to a data network at the same time.
Whatsapp Web, desktop application, allows you to send messages from your computer when your phone and PC are connected to a data network at the same time.