What is WhatsApp Business? And WhatsApp Business API?
In a nutshell it’s a separate app to the standard version of WhatsApp, it works exactly the same but with your business number connected rather than your personal number. The app is aimed at small to medium sized business owners.
WhatsApp Business is completely free, easy to set up and it’s also very user friendly. It allows your business to message your customers safely & securely within the WhatsApp messaging platform.
WhatsApp Business is available on iOS and Android. You can set your business profile with helpful information such as an image or your business logo, business description, your location, your website or email address and your contact details.
What is the difference between WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Business?
Whilst WhatsApp Business is great for one-person businesses, you can’t share an account between devices or users. You must also always have the mobile phone it is connected to turned on and with signal. So if you are looking for multiple people to handle your customer’s communication, what do you do? Enter WhatsApp Business API.
This product from WhatsApp allows you to connect your WhatsApp number to the cloud, and therefore enable multiple users to handle all your WhatsApp communication needs with products such as QContact. By moving your WhatsApp number from WhatsApp Business to WhatsApp Business API you no longer need to worry about losing battery on the phone, or who has the phone it is installed on – everything is run from the cloud.
Can I not keep using WhatsApp and WhatsApp Web for my business?
All businesses must use WhatsApp Business or WhatsApp Business if they are using the service for their business. You should not be using a personal WhatsApp number for commercial purposes.
Are there any restrictions on what businesses can use WhatsApp Business API?
WhatsApp do have certain restrictions in the types of businesses they accept on to the WhatsApp Business API. You can see a list of their restricted industries here
Do I have to pay for WhatsApp Business API?
It is against the terms and conditions of WhatsApp Business API for any partner to charge for access to WhatsApp. QContact provides all it’s customers free access to WhatsApp Business API.
Replying to customer initiated conversations is free provided you reply within 24 hours of their last message, however WhatsApp charge a small fee per message if you want to send messages outside of this 24-hour window.
Your service provider may also levy a small platform fee for their handling of your messages, however QContact do not levy any platform charges either for our customers providing their usage falls within our fair usage policy.
So with QContact you can have one number enabled for calls, texts and WhatsApp – and we don’t charge for your incoming calls, texts or WhatsApp! You can find out more about our 3-in-1 numbers here.
In Summary
If you are a business, then we definitely recommend using WhatsApp business as it makes sense to be able to instantly reply to your customers through their preferred communication channel. If you are a small to medium sized business than you will probably find that WhatsApp Business is more than enough however as your business grows you can always switch it to WhatsApp API providing you have an interface/system, it can connect too.
WhatsApp is simple to use & connects you globally to an actively engaged customer base. As its owned by Facebook its likely to continue to evolve with more sophisticated tools & integrations. Watch this space!