Does Your Business Need Whatsapp Customer Service?

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Many customer service teams around the world are asking themselves the same question: Is WhatsApp the future of customer support? And they’re doing so for good reason.

WhatsApp has more than 2 billion monthly users across 180 countries, and the ability to make free messages, phone calls, and video chats from anywhere in the world without ads is as appealing as ever. 

Like other social media and messaging platforms – WhatsApp Instagram, and Facebook, among others – companies are starting to meet their customers on the platforms and apps that they use on a day-to-day basis. And the potential for WhatsApp as the messaging platform to engage with customers is becoming a real possibility moving forward. 

WhatsApp vs WhatsApp business vs WhatsApp Business API

Before you can decide on whether or not WhatsApp is right for your customer service needs, it’s important to understand the differences between the types of WhatsApp services.

• WhatsApp – WhatsApp is the general messaging app that allows customers to enjoy free calls, messages, and video calls so long as they have a phone number and access to the internet. 
• WhatsApp Business – Because WhatsApp is tied directly to the user’s phone number, WhatsApp business allows users to have two accounts on a single number – their own, personal account and their WhatsApp business account. WhatsApp Business accounts come with a different logo and a host of additional features, like “quick reply” (premade replies) as well as automated greeting and away messages. Like the general app, it is also a free service. 
• WhatsApp Business API – Business API is essentially WhatsApp Business “plus”. WhatsApp Business API is designed for larger companies and allows them to connect their API to their WhatsApp Business solution or WhatsApp CRM. WhatsApp API can also support an unlimited number of users at the same time. WhatsApp Business API messages must be responded to within 24 hours or businesses will incur a charge per message.

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WhatsApp Business and Business API benefits

There are a lot of good reasons why businesses should be utilizing WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API’s services. It’s free, allows you to connect to your customers, and is a growing platform that will likely be around for many years to come.

With a WhatsApp Business/API customer service account, you can:

• Benefit from globalized encryption and reliability
• Build trust with your customers by providing great support on a platform they rely on
• Bolster your brand recognition by reaching out to customers through the app
• Enjoy the sleek, easy-to-use WhatsApp layout and send images and videos at optimal quality regardless of whether your customer is an Android or iOS user
• Easily reach out to customers at any location in the world

Part of what makes WhatsApp so popular and widely used is its ability to connect people from anywhere with the same quality and reliability. With a free service that comes with a host of user-friendly benefits, implementing a WhatsApp support strategy should be a no-brainer for most customer service teams out there.
 

WhatsApp Business/API features for customer service

There are also a number of benefits specifically catered to businesses and customer service representatives. WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API will allow customer service members to enjoy: 

• Pre-made quick replies that allow you to respond quickly to multiple customers at the same time
• Automated messages that can improve several customer service metrics, including Customer Satisfaction, First Response Time, and Support Ticket Resolution Time, among others
• Media messages, including videos, images, emojis, documents, and even a catalog that you can showcase your products and services with. 
• Outbound notifications 
• WhatsApp  AI-powered chatbots that simulate human conversation
• Ability to connect WhatsApp Business API to your CRM, which can give you key customer insights and a centralized approach to the various solutions utilized in your system 
• Send instant notifications to multiple users at the same time, allowing you to set reminders, exciting event notifications, and new product announcements to all your customers at once 
• Seamless booking capabilities by allowing customers to manage and check in on all of their booking details from WhatsApp

WhatsApp Business and WWhatsApp Business API offer a ton of benefits, services, and capabilities that are essentially free. Businesses looking to expand their support capabilities, provide better support, expand their brand awareness, or improve the customer experience for existing customers should strongly consider WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API as a platform to connect with their customers and clients. 

Make your customer service experience more human with Gladly 

At Gladly, we believe that the center of the customer service experience should revolve around the people that matter: the customer and their customer service heroes. That’s why Gladly was designed to provide seamless support that radically personalizes the way you do customer service, regardless of what platform or technologies you’re using. 

Treat your customers like people, not tickets, and try the Gladly demo today.