Introductory guide to WhatsApp for customer success and support

Introductory guide to WhatsApp for customer success and support

Nowadays everyone uses WhatsApp. It’s the most popular messaging app in the world. No wonder businesses explore different ways to leverage its advantages, including using WhatsApp as a tool for customer success and support.

From handling customer queries to building personalized one-on-one communication experiences, companies focusing on their omnichannel strategy use WhatsApp as a customer service channel to establish meaningful and long-lasting relationships with their clients.

The importance of customer experience

Customer experience encompasses every touchpoint a customer has with a business, from the first time they hear about the company to the moment they make a purchase. The importance of customer experience cannot be overstated, as it can significantly impact a business’s success. Here are some reasons why customer experience is important:

  • Customer loyalty: When customers have a positive experience with a brand, they are more likely to return and become loyal customers. This can result in repeat business and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
  • Differentiation: In today’s competitive market, businesses need to stand out from their competitors. Providing an exceptional customer experience can be a key differentiator and help a business stand out.
  • Increased revenue: Satisfied customers are more likely to spend more money with a business and are also more likely to recommend the brand to others, leading to increased revenue.
  • Brand reputation: A positive customer experience can enhance a brand’s reputation and help build customer trust. This can result in a strong brand image and increased customer confidence in the brand.
  • Customer feedback: Customer feedback is essential for businesses to improve their products, services, and overall customer experience. By providing an exceptional experience, businesses can encourage customers to provide feedback, which can help to improve the brand.

Why you should use WhatsApp for customer service

Two billion people worldwide use WhatsApp in their everyday life. The app’s popularity makes it perfect for businesses that want personalized interactions with their customers. The fact is, people trust WhatsApp and find it convenient to use, not just to chat with friends but to interact with their favorite brands too.

If you are just starting to explore the possibilities of interacting with your customers over the messaging app, you might begin by downloading the free WhatsApp Business mobile app.

The business version of the mobile app is very similar to the regular version, with a few additional tools and features, such as:

You can use the WhatsApp Business app on your mobile phone, and you can add four additional devices to use the same account. However, only one device can be a phone. The rest will have to log on through WhatsApp Business Web.

It’s important to know what the limitations of the WhatsApp Business app are, and to ensure that they are not going to impact your business, workflow, or image:

  1. Only five devices can be connected to the WhatsApp Business account, and only one of them at a time can be a mobile phone.
  2. If you use the WhatsApp Business app to send a broadcast message, only customers who have saved your business number in their phone’s address book will receive the message.
  3. Broadcast lists are limited to only 256 contacts.
  4. No analytics and reports.
  5. No integrations.
  6. Basic automation.

If you want to use advanced WhatsApp Business features, you’ll need to consider the WhatsApp Business Platform/API. You can subscribe through one of Meta’s official partners, or Business Solution Providers (BSP), to access the WhatsApp Business Platform/API. Once you have done that, you can integrate your CRM with your WhatsApp Business and/or connect it with a customer communication platform, such as Rasayel.‍

How to use the WhatsApp Business app for customer support?

WhatsApp conversations have a high rate of engagement. The app supports exchanging of text messages, rich media formats, documents, voice features, and broadcast messages.

Here are some tips to help you manage customer relationships on WhatsApp Business:

Help your customers reach you on WhatsApp

Let your customers know you are available on WhatsApp and make it as easy as possible to contact your business. Many brands advertise QR codes on social media, websites, or even in brick-and-mortar stores, inviting people to start a chat over WhatsApp.

The code opens up a direct chat with your business. You can add a predefined question about the products or services you offer so that your customers wouldn’t have to type it out themselves.

You can generate a QR code or chat link using our website’s free chat link generator.

Here’s how it works. Scan this QR code and chat with the Rasayel team on WhatsApp:

QR code for opening a WhatsApp chat

Install a WhatsApp Chat Button

Add your WhatsApp Business number in the contact section on your website, and install a WhatsApp chat button so that your customers can start a chat with you.

If you want to go the extra mile, add a sticky WhatsApp icon in the bottom corner of every page on your website. The sticky icon floats along as your customers scroll and remains visible no matter where they are on the page.

You can create your own WhatsApp chat widget using the free widget generator on our website.‍

WhatsApp widget on a website

Set up automated messages

Use autoresponders that activate when someone writes you a message on WhatsApp. You can set up a welcome message and an away message to be sent when someone’s trying to reach you after business hours.

Make sure your automated messages don’t sound like something a robot would say. Add an extra touch of a human voice to make them more engaging.

Check these examples of automated welcome and away messages and get ideas on how to write yours:‍

WhatsApp away message

Hello, welcome to BMZ Solutions! 👋 We’re glad you’re here, how can we help you?

WhatsApp away message

We’d love to help, but we’re currently closed 🕦. We’ll come back to you first thing Monday morning⏰. In the meantime, did you know we have a Help Center that answers our most frequently asked questions? Perhaps you’ll find your answer without the help of our agents 😱.

Cheers, Team BMZ Solutions

Create quick replies for frequent consumer inquiries

WhatsApp Business allows you to create quick replies with predefined answers to the most common questions. This will save you and your customers time, and your customer support team will be able to focus on more important tasks.‍

Use WhatsApp’s multimedia format options

You can use the WhatsApp Business app for more than chatting with your customers. Exchanging images, audio and video files, documents, and all common file types is convenient with WhatsApp. Whether it’s a video tutorial, an image of a product, or an invoice in .PDF format, there are plenty of options to take advantage of.

Additionally, WhatsApp allows you to call your customers when you feel it would be more efficient and convenient for both parties instead of exchanging messages. Make sure to ask for permission before calling.‍

How to use WhatsApp Business Platform/API for Customer Support

If your business is picking up speed and the volume of messages is increasing, it’s time to step up your game by migrating your business to WhatsApp Business Platform/API. Not only will you be able to take advantage of the advanced WhatsApp Business tools and features, but you’ll also be able to manage customer service in a better organized and structured way.‍

Features available with WhatsApp Business Platform/API

This is a whole new level of customer relationship management. With WhatsApp Business Platform/API, there’s an arsenal of advanced tools and features that you can leverage to grow your business and scale your customer communications:‍

Shared Team Inbox

Your team can collaborate with a centralized inbox, where you can assign conversations to team members, tag each other, use private notes to discuss customer queries, and more.

Example of Team Inbox for WhatsApp

Complex automation

The API provides you with complete access to WhatsApp’s Business features. The programmable nature of the channel gives you unlimited options to manage your communications. From setting up welcoming messages to building high-level chatbots to handle the most common customer queries, WhatsApp Business API offers you a vast number of possibilities. If you are a technical person or have a tech team, you can build automation yourself or, if you don’t have technical knowledge, simply do it through the existing third-party customer communication platforms, such as Rasayel, and set up an automation that fits your needs.‍

Chatbot builder in Rasayel

Unlimited broadcasts

Once you start using WhatsApp Business API, you no longer have to create multiple broadcast lists with a maximum of 256 contacts. Now you can create lists with unlimited customers and leads; the best part is you can import contacts saved in an Excel sheet.‍

Message templates

WhatsApp doesn’t allow businesses to initiate a conversation with customers with a regular message. Instead, you’d have to use message templates, which must be pre-approved by WhatsApp before you can send them. It takes anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours for a template to be approved.

Message templates are a great way to make bulk messaging more personalized, as templates have variables or parameters that you can fill in to customize your message for each customer.‍

Interactive messages

These templates give your customers the possibility to interact with your messages, by choosing a list of predefined answers. With interactive messages, customers can click a button to visit a landing page or website, view single or multiple products from your catalog, add products to a shopping cart, and more.

With these messages, you can ensure better customer support, faster conversion, and higher engagement.‍

Integrations

The WhatsApp Business API can be connected to your own app, your CRM, your eCommerce store, your customer communication platform, or any other tool you use to automate your work and support your customers.

As an example, Rasayel integrates with Zapier, allowing you to connect WhatsApp to over 2000 online apps and platforms.‍

Analytics and reports

With WhatsApp Business API you can get metrics about messages and conversations associated with your WhatsApp Business account, such as the number of messages sent and delivered as well as conversation and cost information for a given period.

Analytics are important for tracking critical KPIs that help you determine how you are doing. Without these insights, you can’t really know if your customers are happy with your service, if your team is performing, or if they can handle the current workload.‍

Final thoughts

Using WhatsApp for customer support lets you connect seamlessly and interact with your customers. The most popular messaging app allows you to boost customer engagement and redefine customer support.

Even if you’re just starting to use the WhatsApp Business mobile app to provide customer support, it offers many advantages over traditional communication tools, such as email and phone.

Leveraging WhatsApp Business API to scale your communications adds tremendous value to your customer service strategy. Anything from powerful automation to CRM integrations and access to customer communication platforms - you can do it with WhatsApp.

‍If you already have WhatsApp Business API, try Rasayel for free.

‍If you’d like to learn more about how WhatsApp can help you grow your Shopify store, please reach out to us on WhatsApp at:

We also offer a free consultation session where we go through your use case, answer any questions you have about WhatsApp, and help you build a strategy to make the best out of the platform. Book a call with us here. We’d love to speak to you:

For Europe, Middle East, and Africa

For North and South America

Further reading

How to reduce friction in the customer journey with WhatsApp (coming soon)

About the author
Miodrag Magyar

Miodrag Magyar brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in content writing and marketing, with a special talent for making even the trickiest topics clear and interesting. His true passion lies in guiding businesses to effectively utilize WhatsApp to build stronger customer relationships and drive results. With an eye for detail and a heart for storytelling, he’s here to show how effective WhatsApp communication can boost sales and enhance customer engagement.

@Miodrag Magyar