Have you considered how WhatsApp could fit into your company’s customer communication? Instant messaging has become part of our daily activities. Instant messaging channels such as SMS, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger are used for communication between consumers, and a considerable amount of time may be spent on them daily. For businesses, the growing popularity of instant messaging channels, such as WhatsApp, creates new opportunities for serving customers and engaging potential buyers.
The Use of Instant Messaging Applications Is Growing in Corporate Customer Communication
Until now, customer communication has primarily been one-way communication from the company, or at most offering a one-time response option in the form of feedback or an order, for example. This is no longer sufficient—customers must be offered more versatile and easier ways to interact with the company.
Consumers value effortless communication and contact. The versatile use of instant messaging channels makes it possible to serve each customer where they prefer or where it is easiest and most natural for them.
WhatsApp Provides a Platform for Interaction Between Company and Customer
One of the most popular instant messaging channels is WhatsApp, which is no longer just a channel for communication between consumers. In addition to traditional yet highly effective text messages, companies can send and receive messages via the WhatsApp application. The WhatsApp application referred to here is the standard WhatsApp application we all use.
A major advantage of WhatsApp is that it enables free-form conversation in text format, but also through voice messages, images, and action buttons. It offers customers the opportunity, for example, to modify a booking or order by replying directly to the confirmation message.
WhatsApp in Customer Communication—Implementation Is Easy
How is WhatsApp implemented for business customer communication? A company establishes its own official WhatsApp business identity and receives its own dedicated WhatsApp phone number. After this, predefined message templates are configured, which can be used to initiate conversations with customers or send notifications about specific matters, for example.
There can be several hundred predefined message templates, meaning they can be reserved for a wide variety of use cases. Message templates are only used for sending messages. If a company receives messages to its account from the WhatsApp application and responds to them, the communication is as free-form as in normal consumer-to-consumer messaging. 
WhatsApp conversations can be initiated with customers in three ways:
- Replying to a company message in the WhatsApp application (B2C)
- Sending a message to the company’s WhatsApp account/number (C2B)
- Starting a conversation from a web form, after which the conversation continues in the WhatsApp application (C2B)
WhatsApp in Customer Communication—How Do I Get Started?
Conducting conversations across multiple instant messaging channels simultaneously is possible, but requires a significant amount of development work and resources from companies. Alternatively, conversations and connections to different instant messaging channels can be conveniently managed on a single service platform, SmartDialog.
You can leverage the service platform’s modern API interfaces and/or the web administration interface’s chat tool according to your needs. We handle the connection and maintenance of messaging channels on a turnkey basis and support the use of the service platform 24/7.