All your WhatsApp Business FAQs answered

From what is WhatsApp Business Platform, its features, and how to start using it to privacy settings, entry points, and opt-ins, we’ve answered all your WhatsApp Business frequently asked questions (FAQs).

As an official WhatsApp Business solution provider for over 2000 brands, we know the channel inside out. Whether you are just starting with WhatsApp Business Platform or are a seasoned user, read on to get all your WhatsApp FAQs answered.

WhatsApp Business Platform is a messaging channel that allows businesses to communicate with their customers using rich features, automated messages, templates, multiple entry points, and more.

It can easily be integrated into any communication platform your business is using.

For example, WhatsApp Business Platform can help eCommerce retailers provide timely and relevant interactions. Telcos can improve retention rates and CSAT scores, and financial providers can elevate the entire banking customer journey. WhatsApp is effective for all business types.

The difference between WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, and WhatsApp Business Platform lies in their target audience and functionality.

WhatsApp Business Platform is a feature-rich platform that offers various tools and features to help businesses communicate and engage with their customers more effectively.

Some of the key features of the platform include the ability to create a business profile with important information like business description, contact details, and opening hours.

It also allows businesses to send automated messages, such as greeting messages or quick replies, to provide instant and efficient customer support.

The platform provides access to messaging statistics and analytics, allowing businesses to track and measure the effectiveness of their communication efforts.

Additionally, it supports integration with third-party services, enabling businesses to integrate their existing CRM systems or other business tools for seamless workflow management.

WhatsApp Business Platform helps you engage your customers with:

You can collaborate with an official WhatsApp Business partner to start using WhatsApp Business Platform, like Infobip.

At Infobip, our team will check if your business meets the requirements, helps setting up an account, using a compatible phone number, registering your phone number, verifying your account, ensuring adherence to guidelines and polices, and advising on the best pricing plan.

In addition, our CX consultancy team is on hand to develop the right WhatsApp strategy and help with designing the right communications with a customer engagement solution, chatbot, and contact center capabilities.

To register a phone number on WhatsApp Business Platform, the following rules apply:

You can migrate a number already registered with WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business App to WhatsApp Business Platform.

You may register up to 20 phone numbers for a single WhatsApp Business account if your business is verified.

If not, you may register up to two phone numbers. Note that you may be limited to two phone numbers even if you are verified but have a low message quality and engagement.

The following rules apply:

Before working with Infobip, you must follow these instructions:

To migrate your sender ID there is a simple three-step process:

After the business verification process is completed, the display name review is initiated. The display name can be changed anytime but must be reviewed again. You can initiate the change over WhatsApp Manager or contact our support team.

Effective June 1^st, 2023, Meta changed WhatsApp conversation categorization and pricing.

Conversation charges are based on the conversation category. The conversation-based pricing model is expanded from two conversational categories to four. Previously known business-initiated conversations are unbundled into three categories: Marketing, Utility, and Authentication.

At the same time, user-initiated conversations are now called Service conversations.

To ensure safe and high-quality content and conversations on WhatsApp, you must be aligned with WhatsApp’s terms of use and commerce policy.

These regulations include everything from setting up your account, communication preferences, devices, fees, and availability to acceptable use, feedback, restrictions, and more.

To collect customer opt-ins, businesses can utilize specific opt-in tools provided by WhatsApp, such as the Click to Chat feature or the WhatsApp Business API.

These tools allow businesses to generate links or QR codes that customers can use to initiate a conversation with the business on WhatsApp.

Additionally, businesses can also promote their WhatsApp presence through various marketing channels to encourage customers to opt-in and engage with them on the platform.

Entry points can be online organic, online paid, or offline. A good starting point would be to include your WhatsApp number on your company website, your social media profile description, and your emails. Moreover, you can include ads that click to WhatsApp, call-to-WhatsApp action buttons, or QR codes in ads, emails, and social media or websites.

Designing and building a WhatsApp chatbot involves several steps.

First, you need to define the purpose and functionality of the chatbot, such as whether it will provide customer support or deliver specific information.

Then, you can design the conversation flow and the types of responses the chatbot will provide.

Once the design is complete, you can choose a chatbot development platform or framework that supports WhatsApp integration. This could involve using APIs or third-party tools that enable the chatbot to interact with WhatsApp’s messaging platform.

Finally, you will need to code and test the chatbot, ensuring it functions properly and meets the desired objectives.

It is also important to regularly update and optimize the chatbot based on user feedback and evolving needs.

Infobip can greatly assist in designing and building a WhatsApp chatbot by providing the necessary tools and resources.

As a leading global cloud communications platform, Infobip offers a range of solutions for businesses, including Answers, our chatbot building platform. Answers is a user-friendly platform that allows you to easily create and customize chatbots for WhatsApp.

We also provide comprehensive documentation and technical support to help navigate the chatbot development process. Additionally, we offer features such as AI-powered natural language processing and sentiment analysis, which can enhance the functionality and effectiveness of the chatbot.

With our CX Consultancy team’s expertise and support, you can efficiently design and build a WhatsApp chatbot that meets your specific needs and objectives.

Check out how:

You can build simple rule-based or keyword chatbots, NLP chatbots or more advanced conversational AI chatbots over WhatsApp, depending on your specific needs and goals.

Some common types of chatbots include customer support chatbots, which can handle frequently asked questions and provide assistance to customers; sales chatbots, which can generate leads, qualify prospects, and even complete transactions; and informational chatbots, which can provide users with news updates, weather forecasts, or other relevant information.

Additionally, WhatsApp allows for the integration of AI chatbots, which can provide more advanced and personalized interactions with users.

Overall, the possibilities for chatbot development on WhatsApp are vast and can be tailored to suit the needs of businesses across various industries.

You can now build end-to-end journeys on WhatsApp, covering use cases for marketing, support, and commerce.

Infobip’s conversational experience platform leverages a customer engagement solution, customer data platform, contact center solution, and chatbot building platform to ensure your consumers can cover entire journey over the chat app.

You can use WhatsApp Business Platform to send messages for sales, marketing, and support, including product details and recommendations, order confirmation and tracking, delivery queries, important documents, loyalty programs, collect payments, customer support and more.

All messages must be in line with WhatsApp business and commerce policies.

Build WhatsApp journeys across industries:

To use WhatsApp with Infobip’s solutions, you must go through the registration. This process can be divided into three steps:

*Optional, but recommended

There are two different hosting options – WhatsApp’s Cloud solution and Infobip’s Hosted solution.

The server location is the main difference between the two. The WhatsApp Cloud solution is hosted on a remote server which Meta manages, while Hosted solution is a local server hosted and maintained by WhatsApp Business solution providers, like Infobip.