Messaging Support

May 27, 2022

Tamina Steil

WhatsApp Business API – All You Need to Know

With more than two billion users , WhatsApp is not only the most popular messenger app for talking to friends and family. Businesses are increasingly turning to WhatsApp as well to connect with their customers on their favorite channel.

There are many good reasons to use WhatsApp Business – for you and your customers.

• Most people open their messenger apps several times per day. WhatsApp is the easiest, most convenient way for your customers to get in touch with you because it’s already part of their daily habits .
• Mobile messages see open rates of 98 percent (compare that to email, which is just 20 percent ). Avoid crowded inboxes and establish a direct, long term connection with your customers.
• Messaging allows you to react faster to customer requests and solve questions before they put them off the purchase. That boosts your conversion rate and increases your customer satisfaction .
• Customer service has never been more convenient, efficient – and fun ! Share text messages, emoji, images and files of any kind with your customers.

Source: Statista

The WhatsApp Business API allows medium and large businesses to get in touch with their customers worldwide. While getting access to the API used to be complicated, there are now many solution providers who make it easy for any business and budget.

In this post you’ll learn what the WhatsApp API is, the features it offers and how you can get started with WhatsApp for business through Userlike in three simple steps.

1. What is WhatsApp Business
2. WhatsApp Business profile
3. Message tools
4. WhatsApp end-to-end encryption and data privacy
5. What does the WhatsApp API cost?
6. How to get access to the WhatsApp Business API
7. The easiest way to start with the WhatsApp Business API – Userlike

Aside from the popular app you know from your personal use, WhatsApp has two options for businesses. Although they have a similar name, they’re quite different from one another in their feature set, costs and the use cases they support.

The WhatsApp Business App is the right choice for small shops such as PetChef , a pet food delivery service. It’s available for free for Android and iPhone and comes with basic features for support, like fast replies, labels and a business profile.

The biggest downside is that the WhatsApp Business App was built for handling individual conversations. Customer requests need to be answered on one mobile phone where the app is installed. Only four devices can be added that all work under the same account name. You don't see who actually answered a message. It’s also controversial in terms of data privacy and is not compliant with the GDPR, which is an issue especially for European businesses and those who operate in the EU.

To give larger businesses a secure, scalable solution tailored to their needs, Facebook introduced the WhatsApp Business API in August 2018. This application programming interface (API) allows businesses to receive and answer unlimited WhatsApp messages from their customers.

In contrast to the WhatsApp Business App, the API itself comes without a user interface. You can picture it as a bridge that connects WhatsApp with a professional team messaging tool. Businesses integrate the WhatsApp API’s endpoint to an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, for example the customer messaging solution by Userlike.

Choosing the right platform to connect with the API is crucial because the features that are available for your WhatsApp support depend on it. We’ll take a look at how the integration works and what you should pay attention to in section six below.

KLM, Atletico de Madrid and Toyota are already using the WhatsApp Business API successfully in their customer communication.

With WhatsApp, we could boost our brand and keep customers informed about their flight details in a non-intrusive manner.

Martine van der Lee, Director of Social Media, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Learn more about the differences between the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business API – and which solution is the right fit for you – in our dedicated quick guide Your WhatsApp Business Account – From App to Z .

In this post, we’ll focus on the WhatsApp Business API. With features such as a business profile, message tools and high data privacy standards, it provides you with everything you need for using WhatsApp for business.

When you sign up for WhatsApp Business, your account is automatically listed as a business account . Unlike regular, private accounts, these come with a business profile for branding.

Customers starting a chat with you on WhatsApp will be able to see your company name and logo at the top of the conversation, even when they don’t have you saved as a contact.

When they click on your profile, they’ll see all relevant information at one glance: a cover photo, description, address, email, website and your business hours. This clearly connects your WhatsApp profile with your brand, explains the service you offer on this channel and presents customers alternative ways to reach you or learn more.

Another type of WhatsApp business account is an "official business account” These are verified by WhatsApp and adds a green tick next to your name as proof of authenticity. A verification adds more trust in your customer communication, however, only “notable brands” tend to receive it and the application process can’t be influenced.

Are you wondering why WhatsApp open rates are so much higher than for email? It's because the app is still free of spam and newsletters.

Keeping it that way is a priority for WhatsApp as opening the platform for businesses carries the risk of upsetting their user base – and losing the pole position as the most popular messaging app .

Opt-in

You can only send messages to people who (1) have already sent you a message or (2) have actively consented to receiving WhatsApp messages from your business (e.g. by entering their phone number or checking a box to indicate consent).

Reaching out to people who have opted-in works through template messages (more on that below).

Session Messages

Communication with Whatsapp Business works just like you know it from talking to your friends and family on the app. You can easily send text messages, emoji and stickers and share weblinks, images, videos and attachments such as PDFs.

What’s unique to the WhatsApp Business API, however, is the “service window.” You only have 24 hours to answer an incoming request. Customer messaging should create a direct mode of communication and this rule incentivizes resolving requests fast.

If you miss this window after 24 hours pass you’ll need to ask your customer for permission to contact them again with a predefined message template.

Automation (i.e. WhatsApp bots ) is allowed during the service window but a handover to a human service agent needs to be available.

Template Messages

Template Messages play a major role in communication over the WhatsApp Business API. They allow you to automate large parts of your service process by sending out predefined messages in large volumes, for example order confirmations, appointment reminders or shipping updates.

These types of messages are strings of text and placeholders for automatic personalization (e.g. the name or date). WhatsApp Business provides a selection of pre-approved template messages for common service scenarios.

Template messages make WhatsApp support scalable and more efficient.

You can also create your own template messages for individual use cases. WhatsApp wants to prevent businesses from using templates messages to send promotional bulk content to customers. That’s why all template messages need to be approved by WhatsApp before you can start using them. This process typically takes one to two hours.

Since 2021, it is also possible to send your customers promotional content through message templates, like newsletters or product suggestions. WhatsApp will only approve messages that seem relevant and provide value to avoid spammy content. Our messenger marketing guide gives you some inspiration for successful WhatsApp campaigns.

WhatsApp Business: Privacy, examples and first steps

In this guide, you'll find all the important info you need for using WhatsApp in business.

Download for free

Data privacy is a crucial topic in customer communication and a must when introducing a new contact channel.

The WhatsApp Business API’s secure setup enables companies to use WhatsApp in their customer communication. Messages are end-to-end encrypted, which means WhatsApp or other third-party providers can’t read them – making this solution more secure than a conventional email.

When you’re working with a provider such as Userlike, all data will be hosted in data centers in Germany . This guarantees a GDPR-compliant setup for your customer communication via WhatsApp.

5

What does the WhatsApp API cost?

Unlike the WhatsApp Business App, which is free, the API is a more advanced solution that comes with a paid model. However, the costs vary considerably by provider so make sure to compare providers first. These are the different costs you can expect:

• Monthly fees. Access to the API is available through official WhatsApp business solution providers. At Userlike, you can get access to the WhatsApp Channel from $90/month .
• Setup costs. Because the API integration is technically more complex than other channels, many providers charge a one-time setup fee in addition to the monthly fee. The service provider Vonage, for example, charges €1,000 per number. Userlike doesn't charge a setup fee.
• Costs per conversation. According to the new pricing model (effective as of February 2022), WhatsApp now charges a fee per conversation and no longer per message template.

What counts as a “conversation”?

A conversation is a single 24-hour session that starts as soon as a business contacts a customer or responds to a customer’s initial message. All messages that are sent or received within the 24-hour service window are covered by the conversation fee.

Example:

1. Shoe store Kicks initiates the conversation with a message template.

2. The customer replies shortly after with a message. Kicks thanks the customer with a session message. WhatsApp charges for all three messages as one conversation.

If the customer answers 24 hours later, the business won’t be charged since they’re the only ones who can initiate a new 24-hour window. If Kicks thanks the customer the next day at 9 am, the company is charged for a new conversation.

For more examples, download the PDF at the bottom of Facebook’s pricing page.

How much does WhatsApp charge for a conversation?

Conversation charges vary by country and by who starts the conversation. User-initiated conversations are cheaper than business-initiated messages. In North America (Canada & USA) costs are around 1.5 cents for company-initiated messages and less than one cent for client-initiated messages.

Price list for all countries on the official Facebook website

Please note: “User-initiated” doesn’t mean that you have to pay for messages from clients. It only counts as a “user-initiated message” if you reply.

Receiving messages from customers is always free with the WhatsApp API.

Userlike covers your WhatsApp bill and transfers the fees to you without additional charges. You can find pricing for all countries on Facebook’s website by clicking on a currency rate card.

6

How to get access to the WhatsApp Business API

As the world's most popular messenger app and with end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp is poised to become the most powerful channel for customer communication as well.

But there’s a lot at stake for WhatsApp. If they open their platform too freely for business use, the app might just turn into the next crowded inbox, frustrating users who’d then switch to an alternative .

Who can use WhatsApp Business

To protect users and prevent unwanted trading on its platform, WhatsApp follows a strict commerce policy . Some of these restrictions are evident (e.g. weapons, drugs, gambling). Others are somewhat surprising (e.g. contact lenses, wigs, food supplements). So check the list carefully and make sure that your product or service is compliant.

Get started in three steps

1. Choose a solution provider. You can apply for access to the WhatsApp Business API through various business solution providers (BSP). Note that many of these are digital agencies that only give you access to the API but don’t come with the customer messaging interface that you need to receive and reply to WhatsApp messages.
   
   A customer messaging software like Userlike provides convenient access to the WhatsApp Business API for any business. With Userlike, you'll get an all-in-one solution for successful WhatsApp support, so you can get started in no time. We’ll look at all benefits of using the WhatsApp API with Userlike at the end of this post.
2. Create your Whatsapp Business Account. After you decided for a solution provider, you will need to approve a “messaging on behalf of” request and verify your business within Facebook Business Manager. Find a step-by-step manual on how to do that here .
3. Let your customers know they can reach you on WhatsApp. Unlike other messenger apps such as Facebook or Telegram, people can’t search for your brand on WhatsApp. And unlike website chat, it's not an organic part of the customer journey either. How your customers respond to WhatsApp Business strongly depends on how well you promote this new contact channel.
   
   But there are many ways for you to guide your customers to the WhatsApp channel . For example, by using an icon in the contact bar on your website, like BMW Zurich does. When a website visitor clicks on the button, they are navigated to a page showing the WhatsApp number they can contact.
   
   BMW highlights the WhatsApp channel directly on their website.
   
   Another option is to tie WhatsApp opt-in to a specific stage in the customer journey such as the check-out process. Customers making a purchase can actively agree to receive information about their order via WhatsApp.
   
   Or you could use WhatsApp’s feature “Click to WhatsApp” . This allows customers to connect with your business on WhatsApp after clicking the “Send Message” button on your Facebook or Instagram ad. Linking to WhatsApp through a QR code also gives people a quick and convenient way to reach you.

The easiest way to start with the WhatsApp Business API – Userlike

Connecting the WhatsApp API with Userlike offers several benefits.

• We got your back. Userlike takes over the technical implementation and make sure it’s always up to date – so you can focus on talking to your customers on WhatsApp.
• Data privacy is our top priority. As a German business, data privacy is our top priority. When you connect the WhatsApp API with Userlike, all data will be end-to-end encrypted and securely stored on servers in Germany.
• Built for professional service. Smart routing, chatbots , analytics and more. Userlike was built for digital customer communication and offers the features you need for efficient WhatsApp support. Get your whole service team on board and engage in unlimited customer interactions. And if you’re already using the live chat by Userlike, we’ll just add the WhatsApp channel to your account. No need to introduce a new software or user interface.
• Omni messaging in one solution. Most people are using WhatsApp but it’s not the only relevant contact channel. Bring your customer interactions from all channels together in one hub – Userlike is your platform for web chat, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Threema and SMS.
• Best value for money. With Userlike, you get access to the WhatsApp Business API for only $90 per month. Website chat and many more powerful service features included. There are no additional costs, no setup fee and we even cover the costs for your message templates.

Leave your competition behind and be among the first businesses to support their customers on WhatsApp. Userlike is one of the leading customer communication solutions that brands like BMW and Merck swear by .

Reach out to us through this form if you’re interested. We’re looking forward to hearing from you and getting you started with the WhatsApp Business API!