Whatsapp Business: what it is and how it works.

 

What “Whatsapp” is and how this useful messaging application works is known to all smartphone users.

We probably ignore useful information that will help us to understand the motivation behind the choice of “Whatsapp inc.” to enter into the “Business” market.

But let’s take a step back.

In the last decade, with the advent of new technologies and increasingly powerful devices, the Web has transformed marketing from an abstract and applied science using “magic” formulas without any measurable metrics, to a concrete, analyzable and measurable methodology.

Accessing user profiles and offering tailored solutions to perfectly identify targets has now become an exact science that uses complex analysis services and software techniques that apply cyclically and are optimized through results-based techniques (growth hacking).

Social media marketing is born and brings with it new ways of capturing the attention of the market profiling and cataloging the “big data” from the user offered through Social and Web browsing.

Nothing is left to chance.

In this sea of ​​Information, the forbidden dream of every successful marketer is to find out what his target audience is doing and being able to reach it.

Before the advent of messaging apps, the only channel that could be used to send a message to the user was the good-old email: the message was sent in the cosmic space with little hope of an answer.

 

Whatsapp application fits well in the context of user engagement because it allows you to reach the user everywhere (through his devices) using the well-known technique of “notification awareness” syndrome that statistically increases the rate of displaying  messages and consequently of response of 4-7x compared to traditional email techniques.

As shown below, we can notice that Whatsapp is a leader in the instant messaging app market, reaching 1.5 billion+ monthly users which is over 200 million more than its direct competitor “Messenger” in spite of the advantage offered by its older brother Facebook.

You can see the penetration of the app in the third quarter of 2017 in the world.

 

 

In this context of leadership, Whatsapp Business allows companies to use this famous messaging app for the Business channel, integrating the communication of the famous app into proprietary applications and websites.

The key to how everything is played is the free exposure of the API (Application Programming Interface) that allows a perfect integration of all the cutting edge technologies currently on the market.

Small and medium businesses can use the free app, which is downloadable for Android in the Google Play Store, by configuring your company profile directly from the terminal.

In general we can catalog the four major uses of Whatsapp for Business:

Whatsapp for Business Communication

The need to connect company employees together when working on a project is critical when they’re not located in the same physical location.   Real-time synchronization of information and data is vital and must be available through a direct and always connected channel.  Whatsapp business allows us to create a platform that connects people through a network, allowing them to receive information and images in a simple and granular way.

Whatsapp for communicating with the Customer to provide support and communication

Using Whatsapp to communicate with the customer to provide support on a product or service or simply for communication appears to be an optimal solution compared to the management of ticketing system and communication via web forms. This choice leaves the user in a moment of need, significantly reducing Brand Awareness and Customer Retention.
Knowing how to communicate with a company through chat is a formula that increasingly rewards the Customer Care Rating.
NowFloats is a forerunner in this industry using Whatsapp for business instead of the user form. (Http://nowfloats.com/)

Whatsapp for communication with the client for marketing and promotions

With 1.2 billion active users of which 70% are daily users and 55 billion messages sent every day, Whatsapp adds a new channel to reach a much wider audience than can be reached by email, bypassing many problems sadly known in this communication channel (mail reputation, spam, full mail, unknown email, etc).

Moreover, being able to insert images and links in messages, it is possible to connect the message to the installed App, to web pages or even to phone numbers to be called with a click.

Whatsapp for growth Hacking and creative communication methods

Medical Consultation:

Family doctors have now started offering advice using WhatsApp. Of course, it can not replace a visit in person, but you can always send a message to the doctor and ask for common medical information. In addition to this, the pharmacies now accept prescription photos and deliver the medication to the patient and also using medical study messages sent to the pharmacy via Whatsapp.

Government services:

The Delhi police last year launched dedicated support service provided by WhatsApp. On the day of the launch, they received more than 23,000 messages and complaints via this number. Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) provides the helpline service for Volvo buses via WhatsApp. The service is available for complaints and suggestions from Volvo bus passengers and provides bus information.

Concierge Service:

There is a home delivery service based in Mumbai, (Russsh) that uses WhatsApp as a booking platform. You can order a cake, a flower delivery service or a courier service via WhatsApp. Many local restaurants now offer their users an option to order food using a WhatsApp message. Customers can instantly communicate their preferences and chat with an operator in real time without going through a native App.

Security and Backup:

Given the large amount of data that can accumulate when using an application for business purposes, and given the importance of this data, we must certainly not forget the need to plan an automatic backup of Whatsapp, to be sure that all of our communications and work is protected and recoverable in case of breakdowns, theft or security breaches.

Making a backup of Whatsapp is very simple. Just follow these 5 steps:

• Open WhatsApp (Of course);
• From the Menu Select Settings> Chat> Backup chat;
• Choose to back up to Google Drive and select a timeframe other than Never;
• Select a Google account to back up your chat history;
• Run backup to choose the network (data or Wi-Fi only) you want to use

 

 

Our communications and all related data will be safe thanks to backup on Google Drive.

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