How to Use and Download Whatsapp for Business
As a business owner, doing business is not such an easy task. It takes your time, whether it is a side hustle or a full-time job, for a business to flourish it needs a certain level of dedication and commitment. While it’s important to give your business time, doing business needs a little bit of innovation every now and then, it could be tools that can help you run your business smoothly.
Getting Started with Whatsapp For Business
WhatsApp is a free mobile app that uses your phone’s internet connection to let you chat with other WhatsApp users, without SMS text message charges. The app also lets you share files and images, and supports free voice and video calls.
Whatsapp is a social messaging service that was acquired by Facebook for $19bn in 2014 and is arguably the world’s fastest-growing communication app. Whatsapp has 1.5 billion monthly active users and processes around 60 billion messages each day. And this makes it a great platform for anyone offering a service, selling a product or wants to deliver customer support over the mobile.
The WhatsApp for business is similar to the regular WhatsApp but it’s more business-focused. It comes with a number of features that enable businesses to effectively communicate with their customers. Its support for a wide range of phones has made it popular in areas with high SMS charges. In fact, it’s the most popular alternative to SMS in 109 countries or 55.6 percent of the world.
Here’s how to set up WhatsApp for Business:
• To get started, simply download the WhatsApp Business app from the Google Play Store
• Sign up using your mobile phone number. Ideally, you should be using your business phone number because that will make verification much easier later on.
• Create your profile by entering your business details under Settings > Business Settings > Profile. Make sure you accurately enter details like your business name, address, contact details, etc.
• Once you are done with creating your business profile. Then, you setup the messaging tools available on the Whatsapp For Business, simply go to Settings > Business Settings and check the messaging options available there.
• You’ll see three available options: Away message, Greeting message, and Quick replies. You can set each of these depending on your requirements.
• You can set up an automated away message when you’re unable to reply to your customers. You can also set it up to send the away message at all times, on a customized schedule, or outside of business hours. A greeting message is sent out automatically when a customer messages you for the first time or after 14 days of inactivity. For quick replies, you can set up a basic message, pick a shortcut, and select keywords (optional). These come in handy when you’re answering frequently asked questions, or want to exchange pleasantries.
How You Can Use Whatsapp For Business as a Business Owner?
Increasingly, messenger apps are being used for marketing. And one of such apps is Whatsapp topping the list, and with its new features shows how it is more than just a texting app. The best reason to use WhatsApp for business is that many of your customers are probably already using it.
Surprisingly, users of WhatsApp and similar services are willing to engage with businesses. According to Nielsen’s Facebook Messaging Survey, 67 percent of mobile messaging app users said they expect to use chat more for communicating with businesses over the next two years. What’s more, 53 percent of respondents say they’re more likely to shop with a business they can message directly.
Messaging apps like WhatsApp have incredible engagement rates: 98 percent of mobile messages are opened and read, with 90 percent of them getting opened within three seconds of being received. WhatsApp may already be a key way to reach your customers with ease. In fact, a huge majority of sharing online—84 percent—now takes place on private channels like messaging apps, so even if you’re not using WhatsApp to market your business, your competitors are likely using it to grab the attention of your potential customers already. Here are ways to use WhatsApp for business:
For Internal Communications:
Just like Slack, a business communication tool, where teams can share ideas and information, Whatsapp For Business can also double as a tool for internal communications between the managers and team members. It’s more than a personal messaging app, and the best thing about it is that almost everyone is familiar with it and does not require any training. When you want to pass on important business information, WhatsApp will be easily accessed by your employees.
There would be no need to explicitly ask the team to check Whatsapp for new messages because it’s an everyday app for them. It also gives you the chance to create different group chats for each department currently available in your company, where you can share specific instant messages.
To Communicate with Your Customers:
Another way to effectively use Whatsapp for Business is to reach your customers. For instance, you want to follow up on a customer, Whatsapp is the best way to do that, instead of direct phone calls, you are more likely to get 40% response messaging with Whatsapp. People respond to personal messages more than strange unknown calls.
Whatsapp For Business is the best communication tool to get a better response or engagement from your customers. It also gives you the opportunity to communicate with your customers the informal way, and in a tone, they are relaxed with. If you decide to send a quotation to your customers via Whatsapp than a phone call or an email, you might get a quick response. Other than that, you can also announce product offers or services or send birthday or holiday wishes through Whatsapp.
As a Customer Support Tool:
Whatsapp has a wide reach, and is a great tool for customer support. If you use Whatsapp For Business as a customer support tool, most of your customers are more likely to use it than a dialing helpdesk number or sending an email. Although, it’s not advisable for all types of businesses and depends on how many customers call requests your business gets every day.
An Effective Tool for Marketing and Promotion:
Whatsapp can be a strong marketing tool, a good one-to-one platform for direct communications tool with your customers. Whatsapp for Business allows you to send images, audio files, short video clips of your product to users across the city. Unlike like Sms and Email, there are fewer restrictions on the format or content delivery on Whatsapp.
It’s an effective way to connect with your existing loyal customers and also for lead generation, to create awareness for your brand or business.
Conclusion:
Most business owners have built their businesses using Whatsapp as a platform both as a communication or a cost-effective marketing tool. Other than the few than that, there are other creative ways to use Whatsapp for Business. For instance, a concierge service can use it as a booking app, where customers can book a courier service or a flower delivery. Or used for a food ordering purpose where customers can communicate their preferences instantly. Whatsapp For Business is a multi-purpose app, and a powerful business tool for small businesses who are looking for a cost-effective tool to manage customers, create brand awareness and communicate.
