WhatsApp Business Messaging: A high-converting marketing channel for your business

WhatsApp Business is widely known for its seamless customer service functionality, facilitated by chatbots that provide 24/7 instant responses, complemented by a live chat system. But this invaluable feature of the WhatsApp Business Platform is just a small part of its value. In recent times, an increasing number of companies have been leveraging WhatsApp for a myriad of pivotal business communications. In this article, we’ll provide an overview of WhatsApp Business Messaging, offering companies a holistic insight into its advantages and applications.

 

WhatsApp Business Platform provides four distinct conversation types. The most familiar and widely utilized by businesses is the ‘service conversations’ previously recognized as ‘user-initiated conversations,’ assisting customers with their queries. The other three, all initiated by businesses, cater to utility, authentication, and marketing needs. Notably, WhatsApp Marketing is a special category among these. So, what drives companies to embrace WhatsApp Business Messaging for marketing purposes?

 

How can you boost customer engagement and elevate conversion rates using WhatsApp Business Messaging?

Boasting an impressive 98% open rate, WhatsApp facilitates meaningful dialogues with customers across all stages of the sales funnel. Whether it’s for promoting offers, giving relevant information, or spotlighting special events, WhatsApp emerges as a potent tool. Not only does it keep your existing customers engaged, but it also transforms these interactions into sales via strategic WhatsApp Business Messaging campaigns. Let’s dive into an illustrative example:

• – Initiate dialogue through a targeted WhatsApp campaign, prompting customers to engage
• – Upon receiving a customer’s response, deploy an AI-driven virtual assistant to address their queries
• – Maintain seamless engagement with the AI, guiding the customer throughout the sales journey within the same interaction
• – If the situation requires a personal touch, effortlessly transfer the conversation to a human representative

This whole process seamlessly integrates within the CBOT Platform, which encompasses all the essential modules – firstly, secure a WhatsApp Business Account, couple it with a WhatsApp Business Messaging Tool, an AI-driven Virtual Assistant, and a robust Live Chat system. For optimal results, it’s crucial to utilize these components within a unified platform, rather than sourcing them from disparate systems in a piecemeal manner. By crafting coherent and intelligent conversations, you not only enhance the customer experience but also bolster sales in a cost-effective manner.

By initiating the interactive campaigns outlined above you will:

• – Enhance engagement through pinpoint targeting
• – Track campaign efficacy using real-time data on click-through rates and conversion pathways
• – Refine your marketing approach with forward-looking insights
• – Integrate effortlessly with various eCommerce platforms, CRMs, support tools, and more, allowing for bespoke campaign designs
• – Drive conversions by showcasing product catalogs, automating order and shipping updates, promoting special discounts, or notifying customers when their cherished products are back in stock.

 

What Do I need to send WhatsApp Messages to my clients?

WhatsApp Business Messaging stands as a powerful way for turning marketing initiatives into tangible sales. Wondering how to kickstart this process and the essential elements you’ll need? Here’s a quick guide to getting started with WhatsApp Business Messaging. You have to take 2 significant steps:

 

1- Create Your WhatsApp Business Account

While smaller companies might use standard WhatsApp app for their messaging needs, its limitations in terms of recipient volume and functionality are notable.In WhatsApp App you can only send to 256 contacts whereas,  Whatsapp Business API allows you to do WhatsApp messaging to a much larger audience without the 256-contact limitation. It also boasts superior features, including multi-user access and robust integration capabilities. As a preliminary step, you need to partner with a WhatsApp Business Service Provider (BSP), such as CBOT. With CBOT’s assistance, you can secure your WhatsApp Business Account within a single day.

 

2- Use a WhatsApp Messaging Platform

Once you’ve established your official WhatsApp account, the next step involves procuring a robust WhatsApp Business Messaging software or platform to manage and optimize your messaging activities. This tool should encompass vital features, including crafting message templates, effortless uploading of recipient lists, and in-depth tracking capabilities. It’s essential to have insights on metrics like delivery rates, read statuses, and more to monitor the effectiveness of your outreach.

 

Basic Concepts of WhatsApp Business Messaging

Before starting messaging you need to consider these concepts:

 

WhatsApp Template Message

To dispatch bulk messages via the WhatsApp API, businesses must employ a Message Template. While you have the flexibility to send utility, authentication, or marketing content, you have to ensure that these align with WhatsApp’s Business and Commerce guidelines. Violation of these policies may affect your ability to send messages. Upon crafting a template, WhatsApp classifies it in accordance with predefined category guidelines. Should your chosen category align with WhatsApp’s assessment, it gets assigned accordingly. If there is a mismatch, you will see a warning in WhatsApp Manager. As mentioned above, WhatsApp defines the 3 types of template messages as follows:

• Authentication templates enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes (usually 4-8 digit alphanumeric codes). 

• Utility templates relate to a specific, agreed-upon transaction and accomplish one of the following: Confirm, suspend, or change a transaction or subscription.

• Marketing templates are flexible. They do not relate to a specific, agreed-upon transaction and instead may relate to the business and/or its products/services. These templates may include promotions or offers; welcoming or closing messages; updates, invitations or recommendations; or requests to respond or complete a new transaction.

 

Businesses are able to create WhatsApp messages that involve Call-To-Action or Quick Reply buttons, and support text, images, videos and PDF files.

In CBOT’s WhatsApp Tool, you can create and submit Message Templates for approval directly, making the process easier and more convenient. On the tool, you can view the status of your Message Templates. There are three statuses: Pending, Approved and Rejected. If a Message Template is rejected, you can edit and resubmit rejected Message Templates for approval.

 

The Contact List

For WhatsApp messaging, you must first upload your contact list to the messaging platform. By importing and categorising your contacts, you’ll maximise the chances of your message landing with the intended audience. Ensure you compile a precise list of phone numbers, each formatted internationally with the respective country codes.

Once these steps are undertaken, you’re positioned to seamlessly send the approved template message to your curated audience via the CBOT Platform. Nonetheless, there are certain considerations to bear in mind prior to initiating your messaging campaign.

 

WhatsApp Business Message Sending Measures

To protect its users from spam and encourage high-quality bulk messages, WhatsApp has introduced opt-in policy, messaging limits, phone number statuses and phone number quality ratings. Let’s briefly explore them below.

Whatsapp Business Messages Opt-ins

For an optimal customer experience, WhatsApp mandates businesses to secure opt-ins from customers before initiating chats using message templates. According to WhatsApp’s Opt-in Policy, these consents can be procured both within and outside the WhatsApp environment. The platform provides businesses with an array of methods to obtain user consent, ranging from interactive voice responses (IVR), website forms, and WhatsApp-centric approaches like ads, links, QR codes, or direct WhatsApp threads initiated by customers.

A valuable way to facilitate easier opt-ins is to ensure that users get the tangible benefits of providing their consent. It’s pivotal to solicit opt-ins at opportune moments and in relevant contexts. For example, prompt users to opt-in for real-time updates or WhatsApp newsletters during their account registration process on your platform.

Messaging Limits

The number of recipients you can send messages to with WhatsApp API depends on your messaging limit. The higher your messaging limit, the more unique contacts you can message in a rolling 24-hour period. Business phone numbers without a connected status and an approved display name are limited to 250 business-initiated conversations in a rolling 24-hour period. Business phone numbers with a connected status and approved display name can initiate conversations with the following number of unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period: 1.000 unique customers, 10.000 unique customers, 100.000 unique customers, or an unlimited number of unique customers.

To send WhatsApp messages to a large audience, you need to upgrade your WhatsApp messaging limit. In order to do so, you need to send half the number of messages allowed in your current phone number tier within seven days. In addition to this, your phone number status should be Connected and your phone number quality rating should be Medium or High. If you meet all conditions, WhatsApp increases your messaging limit by one level in 24 hours.

But the reverse is possible, each time you initiate a new conversation with a unique customer WhatsApp checks your phone number quality rating. If the rating has been Flagged for the last 7 days, WhatsApp will immediately decrease your messaging limit by one level. So, let’s have a look at the quality rating? 

Phone Number Status and Quality Rating

Phone number status and quality rating can affect your ability to send messages on WhatsApp. To send WhatsApp bulk messages without restriction, a phone number’s status must be Connected.

When your phone number is reported or blocked, its rating will drop to Low. Subsequently, its status will turn to Flagged. While in the Flagged status, you can’t upgrade your number’s messaging tier. If the quality rating doesn’t improve in seven days, the status will return to Connected but a lower messaging limit will be imposed.

Your number will get a Restricted status if it reaches its messaging limit while having a poor quality rating. A Restricted phone number can only respond to inbound conversations – it won’t be able to send WhatsApp bulk messages to new unique Contacts.

To ensure a good quality rating, you should only send high-quality WhatsApp bulk messages that are of interest to your Contacts. Providing valuable and relevant content will also improve your engagement rates and create great customer experiences that increase brand loyalty and revenue.

 

Conclusion

To sum up, leveraging WhatsApp messaging is definitely a powerful tool for businesses to deeply engage with their clientele and harness AI-driven virtual assistants to convert these dialogues into sales. By staying with the freshest advancements in the WhatsApp Business API, adhering to best practices, and analysing your campaign’s trajectory, you can maximise the impact of your messaging efforts. But it is crucial to keep in mind that WhatsApp messaging is not just doing mass messaging but designing tailored conversations where an AI- based assistant welcomes the customers and smoothly converts the chat to sales.. In addition, the possibility of directly transfering the conversation to a human live chat agent is an important feature to ensure customer satisfaction. Therefore, WhatsApp messaging is a way to create engaging dialogues to existing and new customers going beyond just sending bulk messages.

The CBOT Platform, as a comprehensive conversational AI solution, furnishes every ingredient needed for a sophisticated and impactful conversational journey on WhatsApp. Here, streamlining the creation of your WhatsApp Business Account and orchestrating, managing, and fine-tuning your messaging campaigns becomes an effortless endeavour.

Please click here to contact us to get your WhatsApp Business Account and design high-converting conversations triggered by WhatsApp Business Messaging.