WhatsApp for business: how to connect and why you need it. WhatsApp creates a free messenger for small and medium businesses. Large companies will have to pay What is the difference between whatsapp and business
And web tools for business are evolving daily. And many services that have a strictly targeted direction (communication, entertainment) are gradually acquiring functionality for business.
Messengers are one of the relatively new areas, which, due to the growing relevance, is becoming an interesting solution for business. Technically, these are communication services that allow users to exchange text messages. Although, most of the most popular of them have long stepped onto new layers of functionality.
WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram are increasingly similar to social networks , acting not as additions to them, but as a full-fledged replacement. There is an opportunity to exchange audio and video messages, files, voice communication. Public channels are formed, which serve as a kind of analogue of groups in social networks. And the use of such groups as a channel for traffic, customer support and promotions is already the basics of modern Internet marketing.
Messenger features
Current research from RBC reports that WhatsApp is in first place in terms of user popularity. In fact, the Vkontakte service dominates, but it is not a messenger. In second place is Viber. Telegrame is far behind, but this relatively new brainchild of Pavel Durov has great prospects.
Integration of any commercial project with messengers is a few useful and completely new features.
First, all the TOP services: WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram This is an exclusively youth area. At the same time, these are often solvent users (taking into account at least the prices of advanced smartphones). If the contingent described above falls within the criteria of your target audience is an additional channel for attracting customers. Moreover, if the project itself does not have a marketing promotion among young people, then this can be corrected using instant messengers.
Secondly, instant messengers are constantly acquiring new business opportunities. Overgrown with functions literally daily. Telegram working groups are starting to be used to communicate with business partners, WhatsApp is creating group channels, Viber is starting to search for hashtags. Thus, integration with the messenger now is a reserve for promotion in the future. After all, the trend has already been determined, all services are aimed at commercial rails, at cooperation with business projects. And it is worth exploring such channels in advance.
Thirdly, this is a banal opportunity to reduce customer service costs. One operator who works, for example, through WhatsApp is able to interact with five or six public channels at the same time. That is, one person is able to take on a flow that, under other conditions, would fall on the shoulders of a whole team of managers and consultants.
Although each of these messengers has its own unique features, they are very similar in general functionality. And all are great for business.
Commercial use of these services can be as follows:
- Resource client consultation. That which suggests itself. And as already mentioned, such use of instant messengers can significantly save costs;
- Newsletter. We are talking about both cold and hot mailing. That is, cold offers, with competent selling content. And also, sending notifications about promotions, news, contests and other marketing events that may be of interest to a registered audience;
- Immediate promotion. All the described messengers currently already have the ability to advertise goods and services. This general chats, public channels and so on. A great springboard for launching an ad with a catchy headline or a contest with the condition of registration on the resource. In addition, given the development of services specifically in the direction of public communication, it is possible to predict the evolution into full-fledged social networks exclusively for smartphone owners.
How to invite clients to messengers?
The algorithm for attracting customers to messengers is simple. And it's simple because it's working with your users. Those who already use the services or, at least, got to the resource as a “target target”. A connected module is enough, which will ask which messenger to send notifications to, organize a consultation on services in Viber or WhatsApp. Technically, the integration of the resource with messengers is already working as a tool for attracting people to the service.
To invite users to subscribe to you in the messenger, you can put a link to the messenger in the section where you have a link to social networks.
The only difficulty is the choice of a specific service. If the opportunity allows, of course, it is worth organizing work with three at once. Otherwise, it is worth analyzing in detail the possibilities and conditions of each, as well as their popularity on a geographical basis.
An article about how WhatsApp messenger is used in business. Nikolai Piriankov, co-founder of the Rare Pink diamond ring company, and fashion designer Roberto Revilla shared their experience.
Both entrepreneurs use the app to communicate with their customers. This method of communication brought Revilla an income of more than £80,000.
According to the policy of the service, users are prohibited from using the application for commercial purposes, but they can share images, blog posts and communicate with customers without aggressive advertising.
Nikolai Piriankov, co-founder of diamond ring company Rare Pink, uses WhatsApp to communicate with customers.
We didn't plan to use WhatsApp. It was suggested to us by clients, and now all design consultants have a messenger attached to their work number. Each buyer has a personal consultant. The customer can communicate with him 24 hours a day.
One customer who ordered a £13,000 ring was unable to talk on the phone or communicate via e-mail while working, so Piriankov's company had to exchange messages with her only via WhatsApp.
“We are relaunching the site along with a mobile version that will integrate WhatsApp and its Chinese counterpart WeChat so that the customer can write a message directly from the product page. Whatsapp makes the job easier - a Rare Pink employee can send a video that shows the brilliance of the diamonds from all angles, which is likely to encourage the customer to buy, ”says Piriankov.
Chinese shoppers prefer the privacy and simplicity of their local WeChat service, through which I once made one of our largest wholesale sales. The deal amounted to £250,000.
For fashion designer Roberto Revilla, WhatsApp is a way to communicate with clients in his fine tailoring business. “Our customers are businessmen of the middle and high class. They are so busy that they cannot find time to respond to an email or voice message, so they are more comfortable using a messenger through which they can respond instantly.”
Together with WhatsApp, Revilla uses iMessage and regular SMS messages, but WhatsApp, unlike iMessage, also works under Android.
Over the past 12 months, we have received orders through messengers for more than 320 hours of work. This brought us an income of at least £80,000.
According to a study by the Cellular Telecommunications Manufacturers Association (CTIA), instant messengers are the fastest way to communicate with customers: the average time to read a message in a messenger is 90 seconds, and in email - 90 minutes. However, Revilla warns against using WhatsApp for cold calls, as it can annoy the client. For the same reason, GetTaxi App Marketing Director Rich Pleaf recommends not sending many messages in the app.
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum opposes the introduction of advertising in the messenger. Explaining his opinion on this matter, Koum quoted Tyler Durden, the hero of the novel "Fight Club": "Advertising forces things on us: we work at jobs we hate to buy things we don't need."
Revilla and Piriankov believe that WhatsApp should complement, not replace email, telephone and major social media. “This is an important communication channel, but it is not the only one. This is the key to give customers a choice,” says Piriankov.
WhatsApp was bought by Facebook for $19 billion last year. The audience of the application has exceeded 700 million users, more than 30 billion messages are sent through the messenger per day.
One of the most popular instant messengers in the world has been planning to launch a separate corporate application for small and medium-sized companies for a long time. In September, it became known about the launch of limited testing of WhatsApp for business, and now the corporate messenger is moving to a larger collection stage feedback. In a short overview, we will tell you how corporate WhatsApp works and how to manage personal and corporate contacts.
The APK file of the WhatsApp Business app is already available for free download, but only testers of the corporate messenger can download it. In the near future, the company owned by Facebook is going to release official app which will be available to a wide range of users.
The help section of the WhatsApp Business app explains how you can use the corporate version of the messenger and manage personal/work contacts within one service. There are three main use cases.
- We add only work contacts to corporate WhatsApp. The simplest and most understandable scheme of use. It is enough to download the WhatsApp Business application for free and go through the registration procedure, then transfer all work contact information to the application. The best option for those who wish to use the messenger exclusively in a corporate environment.
- We use WhatsApp both at work and for personal communication. In this case, for a corporate account, you will have to use a different phone number, to which all work contacts will be linked. Downloading to your phone, albeit for free, will have both versions of the messenger application - regular and corporate. We emphasize once again that you will need to create two accounts linked to two phone numbers (corporate / personal).
- WhatsApp on two phones - corporate and personal. The best option if you want to completely separate work from personal life. WhatsApp Business should be downloaded for free on a corporate smartphone, and regular WhatsApp on a personal smartphone. Each account has its own phone number.
Unlike personal use of the messenger, WhatsApp for business allows you to link an account not only to a number mobile phone, but also "normal", wired. In the traditional version of the messenger, there is no such possibility - create account You can only use your cell phone number.
Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, plans to introduce a small fee for using the corporate version of the messenger in the future. Details of monetization are not yet known. In the corporate version, the logo has changed - instead of a tube, the letter “B” (obviously, Business, i.e. business). Otherwise, the application interface is no different from the usual WhatsApp.
The corporate version of WhatsApp also contains such useful for business communication features like the ability to create a company profile, autoresponder, analytics tools, and chat migration.
Now messengers themselves are only taking the first steps towards business - for example, companies are beginning to master such tools as Telegram bots and channels. But the real potential of instant messengers is still far from being revealed, and this is primarily due to restrictions on the part of the programs themselves. So, for example, the standard WhatsApp or Viber applications are simply not designed for the simultaneous work of several employees: if you have several dozen calls per day, then you will not be able to work them out with high quality. Also, the applications do not provide tools for collaboration and some kind of minimal reporting. Only Telegram has an open API.
Now there are specialized solutions for working with clients through messengers, for example Sonar, Ongair, Wazapper. One such platform is our WhatsHelp service, which will launch in beta testing in November. We are launching closed pilot projects with companies from the US, Hong Kong, Holland, India and Poland, and in Russia there are about 150 companies in line for testing, including Beeline, Rostelecom, Megafon, Tele2, Euroset, Wikimart, Aviasales, HeadHunter, Promsvyazbank. During our work, we realized how to use the advantages of instant messengers for different types business, and also brought out several rules that will help you start effective communication with customers.
###What advantages do instant messengers have for communicating with customers compared to traditional communication channels?
Messengers do not completely replace any channel, but only provide a new, more functional way to communicate with customers. Their main advantages are as follows.
1) We know the mobile phone number - unlike e-mail, which is easy to change, the phone number provides a much more reliable and long-term contact with the client. 2) Instant push notifications - when we send messages, in almost 99.9% of cases we can be sure that it will be read as quickly as possible. 3) Privacy and personality - unlike correspondence with clients in social networks or in open areas, instant messengers provide a sufficient level of privacy to resolve personal requests. 4) A variety of content - messengers allow you to send not only text, but also photos, videos, geolocation. You can also call through the main messengers, and for free. 5) Real-time mode and delayed responses at the same time: on the one hand, instant messengers allow you to communicate with clients in real time, on the other hand, if you have been written to after hours, then it is quite acceptable for the client to respond with some delay.
###Who benefits from using instant messengers to communicate with customers?
In the first place is a small business selling goods and services - through instant messengers, it can advise customers, take orders and make an appointment. Most fall under this category individual entrepreneurs and small companies ranging from beauty salons to installation companies plastic windows. Moreover, the messenger can serve as a full-fledged channel for placing orders, as well as the first point of contact, followed by a call. Already, thousands of sellers on Avito indicate their WhatsApp number and ask to write there, and not call.
Retailers from e-commerce and offline can advise customers on products, inform them about the status of an order via messenger, and collect customer reviews. Many online stores spend hundreds of thousands of rubles monthly to send SMS with information about the status of orders, while through instant messengers this can be done almost free of charge (it is important to get consent for this from the client). It is also convenient to inform about promotions and special offers using a tool such as channels (Viber and Telegram have them).
Some banks and financial services in Russia (for example, Tochka and Alfa Bank) have implemented chats in their online applications and provide support via WhatsApp or FB Messenger. Not all problems can be solved through messenger correspondence due to security requirements, but common questions such as “What is the cash withdrawal limit?” or "Where is the nearest vending machine?" can be successfully processed. Also, companies can come up with many additional services using messengers: for example, when sending a message /usd to a chat, the messenger automatically sends in response the current rates of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the exchange rate in the bank.
Travel agencies, air carriers, hotels, travel services can use instant messengers as convenient channels for consultations and bookings. Also, companies can use push notifications to remind about flights or bookings and inform about upcoming promotions, hot tours and special offers. For example, the online service for booking tickets Aviasales.ru has a Viber channel with more than 21,000 subscribers, where company employees upload information about cheap air tickets and special offers from airlines.
Telecom companies and telecom operators can organize informing subscribers about the balance through instant messengers and save on SMS mailing. Moreover, with the help of messengers, you can organize customer self-service: when sending the /balance command to the chat, the messenger can send the current status personal account and payment link personal account. It is also a convenient channel for consultations and technical support subscribers.
FMCG brands and digital agencies can use messengers to organize contests, create game mechanics and collect consumer contacts. For buyers, taking a picture of their baby with a certain brand of baby food and sending the photo via WhatsApp to enter the competition is much easier than doing the same using a promo site. This approach will increase the activity of the audience tenfold and reduce the cost of contact.
How to start working with clients via messenger?
The main goal in the first stage is to inform your existing and potential customers about the convenient opportunity to contact you through your favorite messenger and ask them to add your number to the phone book. You can do this in the following ways.
1. Place a WhatsApp or Viber number on the site, a name in Telegram or contacts in other messengers. 2. Create a newsletter with information about new opportunity by SMS or e-mail. 3. Add messenger number to business cards, booklets, etc. 4. The most important thing is not to send spam mailings, your number will be instantly blocked.
You need to implement a new channel gradually to avoid a large stream of simultaneous calls from customers, as well as to understand the main topics of calls. You also need to integrate the process of communication through the messenger into the existing scheme of working with clients.
