WhatsApp Business API has a special way of working that is different from your personal WhatsApp account. It takes some adaptation that must be made in order to operate it properly. This article lists the things you should know before using the WhatsApp Business API for the first time.
We have heard that the WhatsApp Business API is able to bring convenience to businesses, particularly in communicating with consumers. However, this won’t work optimally if you do not understand the guidelines to use it comprehensively. Moreover, there are several special terms that you need to know. Let us examine this more deeply
Messaging on WhatsApp Business API
When you want to communicate with consumers via WhatsApp Business API, you must define the type of message to use as each message type on the WhatsApp Business API works differently.
Inbound Vs Outbound Messages
The most basic terms are Inbound and Outbound Message. In short, an Inbound Message is a message from a consumer that is received through a business account. Meanwhile, the Outbound Message is a message initiated by a business to its consumers.
In an Inbound Message, there is a Messaging Session that businesses should pay attention to. In the WhatsApp Business API, businesses can only reply to messages, both in the form of regular text messages and media messages (i.e. all forms of Non-Template Messages), no later than 24 hours after the last message was sent by consumers.
Talking about Outbound Messages, WhatsApp Business API does not accommodate to businesses directly initiating chats with consumers. To get around this, businesses can take advantage of the Message Template feature which allows businesses to be able send short messages addressed to their customers outside the Messaging Session.
Message Template
Message Template allows the business to send Outbound Messages to consumers through a Messaging Template but there are several conditions that must be fulfilled.
Firstly, a Message Template is a pre-approved message that requires approval from WhatsApp before it is sent out. Approvals can be obtained by fulfilling the criteria for the Message Template by WhatsApp, such as containing no typing errors in the message, is not promotional (i
e. containing elements of upselling, cold call messages, discount code offers and free gifts) and does not contain messages that seems to be forcing consumers. For further explanation, you can visit this page.
Message Templates can be used by businesses to send various updates to consumers, such as delivery updates, payment confirmation, transportation, issue resolutions and various other types of alerts. To be able use a Message Template, businesses will be charged a fee depending on the WhatsApp Business API provider, the delivery location and the destination for the message to be sent.
WhatsApp Business API x Qiscus
WhatsApp Business API is not freely available and can only be subscribed through official partners who have collaborated with WhatsApp, otherwise known as WhatsApp Global Business Solution Providers. Qiscus is a WhatsApp BSP which provides this service through Qiscus Multichannel Chat.
Here are some features that businesses can take advantage of when accessing WhatsApp Business API through the Qiscus Multichannel Chat system:
1. Manage accounts with three different roles
With three roles available in Qiscus Multichannel Chat (Admin, Supervisor, and Agent), businesses can allocate work more efficiently. Businesses can also control the allocation of incoming chats, thereby reducing the number of existing chat queues.
Admin will be able to have full control of all existing activities while the Supervisor can only observe all incoming chats while the Agent plays the role of interacting directly with the customer.
In order to create an efficient Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, businesses can take advantage of the Agent Allocation feature so that the number of incoming chats can be organized and allocated proportionately based on the available Agents’ workload.
2. Manage messages with Reserved Feature
The Reserved Feature allows businesses to separate chats whose inquiries have been completed from those that need to be followed up with. This feature will make it easier for the Agent to sort out the various existing chats and manage the allocation of Admin assignments to focus more on unfinished business.
3. Filter by Tag Feature
Every day, businesses will be faced with a variety of different enquiries from consumers, especially during peak seasons.
Manually, it will take a long time to classify chats into the right category. However, with the Filter by Tag feature, businesses will be able to find and sort chats based on tags easily, quickly and precisely.
4. Insight Evaluation with Analytics
The Analytics feature will help businesses obtaining consumer insights and related customer service agent performances. Therefore, you can further utilize it for the formulation of an accurate business strategy. You also no longer need to spend on a separate analytics software, which saves operational costs and time.
5. Take advantage of Auto-Reply
Often receive incoming chats from consumers outside your business hours? This is no longer a worry because the Auto-Reply feature will allow consumers to receive an automatic reply which can be customized to their needs. This can help create a better level of customer satisfaction.
6. Bot-Human Collaboration
Increase business engagement with consumers through bot-human collaboration. Not only does this allow businesses to leave an instant impression and improve the consumer experience by providing a faster response without being tied to working hours, using bots can also save customer service cost efficiency by up to 30%.
However, depending on the bot alone is not enough. The use of bots alone does not mean eliminating the role of humans because there are many complexities of chat that bots cannot respond to immediately. So there is a need for collaboration between bots and humans in order for businesses to provide the best customer experience.
With bot-human collaboration, businesses can customize chat bots to respond to easier types of enquiries while more complex chats can be allocated to human agents immediately.
As reported by Harvard Business Review of a survey of 1,075 companies in 12 industries, businesses which optimize bot-human collaboration will be able to receive better AI performances in terms of speed, cost savings, revenue, and other operational measures.
Interested in Trying it Out?
The above illustrates how the WhatsApp Business API features obtained through Qiscus Multichannel Chat can improve business communication performance from a consumer’s point-of-view. These features also serve to create a more interactive customer experience. If you want to understand more, contact us here!