What Is the WhatsApp Business API [Complete Guide 2024]

Is your sales team drowning in WhatsApp messages, missing leads, and losing context between different tools? You’re not alone!

As teams grow and operations scale, many businesses struggle to manage customer interactions and keep track of leads on WhatsApp Business efficiently.

If that’s you, then the WhatsApp Business API might just be what you need to regain control and stop sales from slipping through the cracks.

It improves internal and customer communication, integrates with your CRM for better visibility over customer interactions, and increases conversions with automated lead qualification and nurturing workflows.

In this guide, we’ll help you decide whether the WhatsApp API is the right fit for your business by walking you through its benefits, use cases, and how it stacks up against other alternatives.

What is the WhatsApp Business API? #

Application Programming Interface (API) is a software interface that lets two software interact, communicate and exchange data. WhatsApp Business API is an interface that lets you connect your WhatsApp Business account to almost any other software that your business uses, such as your CRM.

Suppose that you’re using a CRM that allows you to collect insights about your prospects’ preferences and usage patterns to improve your sales cycle over WhatsApp. You can use WhatsApp Business API to connect the CRM with your WhatsApp Business account and empower your sales reps with customer insights that help them deliver personalized experiences without having to go back and forth between WhatsApp and the CRM.

On top of that, you can:

• Connect the WhatsApp Business API to a shared team inbox and your entire team can talk to customers from a single account
• Assign sales agents to specific conversations
• Run campaigns and integrate with other tools in your tech stack

And much more!

At the heart of it, it’s a tool that helps you keep customers engaged, increase sales, and provide a better customer acquisition and support experience over WhatsApp.

Is WhatsApp API the right choice for your business? #

While any brand can use the WhatsApp Business app, not all types of businesses are eligible for WhatsApp Business API. If you want to check whether your business is qualified to use the platform, you can review the WhatsApp Business Terms of Service.

Understanding the following criteria will help you determine if your company is a perfect fit for leveraging the WhatsApp Business API to enhance customer interactions and support:

Business size #

The WhatsApp Business API is particularly well-suited for businesses that require advanced communication capabilities. While some businesses might find the WhatsApp Business app sufficient for their needs, the API offers scalability and automation that benefit larger organizations.

However, SMEs may still benefit from integrating the WhatsApp API if they have a sizable sales team. In other words, It’s not just about the sheer size of your organization, but the complexity of your customer and team interactions.

A small business with a 15-person sales team that handles hundreds of customer inquiries daily might find the WhatsApp Business API more effective than the basic Business app.

For example, a B2B software provider that uses WhatsApp to sell agent-assistance contact center solutions could use the API to send automated demo offers to Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) to prevent deals from slipping through.

Additionally, with the WhatsApp Business API, you can automate customer service messages and notifications, and manage multiple customer service agents. If your business is expanding and you’re looking to scale your customer communication effectively, the WhatsApp Business Platform might be a suitable option.

Industry #

Certain industries stand to benefit more from the WhatsApp Business API due to the nature of their customer interactions. Industries like retail, e-commerce, finance, banking, travel, hospitality, and health services thrive on frequent, personalized customer communication.

For instance, cloud solution providers could use the API to send details about their plans depending on the lead’s use case, as well as send automated plan renewal reminders for existing customers to reduce churn.

In healthcare, facilities use the API to automate appointment reminders and follow-up messages while maintaining the confidentiality of their patients’ health records.

If you run a travel agency, the WhatsApp Business API could automate flight booking confirmations and send real-time alerts about itinerary changes, offering your customers a seamless experience.

However, industries like alcohol, tobacco, drugs, gambling, or weapons are restricted from using WhatsApp Business API due to WhatsApp’s policies on regulated products. You can find the full list here.

Volume of messages #

The WhatsApp Business API is ideal for businesses managing a large volume of customer interactions daily. If your sales team is struggling to convert a good percentage of leads into customers, the API allows you to scale efficiently.

Even small or mid-sized businesses can benefit if they experience peaks in message volume during certain periods. For example, an HR software provider handling a large number of leads after a Google Ads campaign could use the WhatsApp Business API to qualify leads automatically and send interactive messages that help them take the following steps until they’re connected to one of your reps.

Also, with a unified team inbox, it’s easier to assign and reassign conversations to different agents, all while maintaining an efficient workflow that reduces human error and enable reps to focus their efforts.

CRM integrations #

A key advantage of the WhatsApp Business API is its ability to integrate with existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) like HubSpot.

With CRM integration, you can hyper-personalize your customer interactions and increase conversions.

For example, when a customer reaches out to you via WhatsApp, your sales team will have real-time access to their purchase history, preferences, and previous communication through your CRM. This can help them provide a more personalized experience by understanding the customer’s problems and needs.

What makes WhatsApp API different from WhatsApp Business? #

“We already use the WhatsApp Business App—why would we need to integrate the WhatsApp API?”

This is something that we’ve heard countless times.

Not many business leaders know about the WhatsApp Business API or realize the distinction between using it vs the WhatsApp Business App.

To make things clearer for you, here’s a quick comparison between the two:

Check out our guide on the differences between the WA app and the API to learn more.

Benefits of using WhatsApp API for business #

The WhatsApp Business Platform offers the benefits of the WhatsApp Business app while bypassing its limitations. Here’s how you can make the most out of it:

Create an authentic business profile to boost trust #

With the WhatsApp API, you can set up a business profile with your business name, business description, website, and profile picture. Customers can see this information and know that they are talking to a business, which increases trust and leads to better sales performance. This is especially important in B2B industries.

Unify customer interactions in one collaborative space #

Use the WhatsApp Business API to create a shared inbox for your sales team to send and receive messages, collaborate, follow-up on customer interactions, and handover discussions.

Different WhatsApp inboxes have different features—generally speaking, you should be able to use them to do the following:

• Centralize all customer conversations in a single pane of glass to improve team collaboration and visibility
• Manage multiple users and devices without limitations
• Organize conversations with advanced filters, folders, and inbox views
• Assign specific conversations to the right teams, ensuring no lead is missed
• Control access with roles and permissions to maintain compliance and security
• Increase efficiency with built-in shortcuts and speed up actions like tagging or starting new chats
• Scale back or up depending on your changing business needs and your sales team’s size

Facilitate team collaboration #

If you use the WhatsApp Business API with a shared team inbox, you are no longer limited to one user at a time, or a limited number of devices connected to your account.

You can talk to customers as a team, assign each other to different customers, leave notes, and tag conversations based on the criteria you define.

Easily reach all customers, without restriction #

While the WhatsApp Business app limits you to 256 contacts (who also must have your number saved) in a broadcast list, you can use the WhatsApp API to send bulk messages to your prospects and leads.

The WhatsApp Business Platform allows sending messages to an unlimited number of contacts, enabling broad communication for sales promotions and lead nurturing. It’s crucial to make sure WhatsApp approves your message templates to start conversations, including bulk messaging.

In addition, the WA Business Platform supports advanced integrations, such as connecting with CRM systems like HubSpot and Salesforce for automated workflows that make it easier to interact and engage with customers.

Increase productivity with automation #

Your WhatsApp tool automation can be as simple as sending an auto-responder to new customer inquiries or as complex as a chatbot that helps customers find what they are looking for.

If you use a WhatsApp Business inbox, you can use a CRM like Zapier to create all kinds of automation.

For instance, if Slack is the app for your internal communications, you can create an automation that allows your reps to receive a Slack notification every time one of their teammates mentions them in a WhatsApp chat.

Boost sales #

A sales platform for WhatsApp API can help your sales team close more deals and drive revenue growth.

For example, Qoyod, an accounting software provider based in Saudi Arabia, doubled their sales within 3 months by integrating the WhatsApp Business Management API for managing customer interactions on WhatsApp.

They were able to centralize communication, automate redundant tasks, and send personalized messages to their customers, leading to a 70% time-saving on routine activities.

The WhatsApp API platform also helped them improve lead tracking, increase customer engagement, and provide a clearer view of conversations for managers.

Qoyod’s utilization of the API resulted in a 40% increase in customer satisfaction, thanks to its powerful automation capabilities that enabled their sales team to focus on more meaningful interactions, increase productivity, and improve conversion rates.

Check out the full case study here: How Qoyod’s Sales Teams 2X Their Sales

‍How to get started with WhatsApp Business API #

If you want to utilize the WhatsApp Business API for customer engagement and sales, you can use Rasayel.

Rasayel is a customer communication platform that provides you with full visibility and control over your sales efforts on WhatsApp through a shared team inbox and an intuitive user interface.

As a Meta Business Partner, Rasayel can onboard your business on WhatsApp in just a few minutes. Here’s what you need to prepare:

Step 1: create a Facebook Business account #

If your business doesn’t have a Facebook Business account, you need to create one using Facebook Business Manager.

Step 2: verify your Facebook Business account #

Verifying your Facebook Business Account is optional but we highly recommend it. This process can take weeks, but during that time, you can use the WhatsApp Business Platform.

You must upload official documents to verify your business such as business bank statements, certificates of formation, utility bills, or similar documents as proof of your business’s legitimacy.

Step 3: connect WhatsApp Business API to Rasayel #

You can connect your WhatsApp number to Rasayel in just a few minutes by following these steps:

• Log into your Facebook account
• Select your Facebook Business Account
• Choose or set up a WhatsApp Business Account
• Open your Rasayel dashboard
• Select channels and choose WhatsApp to complete the registration

Now you can start sending WhatsApp messages from your WhatsApp Business API account.

Common WhatsApp Business API use cases #

Let’s check out how you can make the most out of the API in different situations and use cases:

Use interactive messages to sell #

Imagine if you could display your software solutions to customers on such a high-reaching app! This is possible with WhatsApp Business API. You can set up single-product or multi-product messages to send and show your products and subscription tiers to your customers in the chat.

They can then pick the product that best matches their use case and business needs and select the tier that aligns with their business size and objectives. The ease of buying with interactive messages gives customers more incentive to make a purchase.‍

Collect customer feedback & manage customer reply rate #

Ever been frustrated by a low customer reply rate when you asked them a question?

With interactive message templates, you provide your customers with up to three options of answers to choose from. Customers can simply click on their desired response rather than typing out a reply.

Let’s say after customers buy products or services from you, you’d like to learn about what they think of their experience. You can send a message asking them about their opinion and offer them various options like “I loved it.”, “It’s ok.” and “I didn’t like it.”. You can define further steps to take depending on what each customer replies.

For example, you can guide happy customers to leave a review for you or ask unhappy customers further questions to learn about why they didn’t like your product.

Create chatbots for customer self-service #

With WhatsApp Business API, it is possible to create simple or sophisticated chatbots to help customers self-serve before a human agent attends to them.

For example, you can automate a chatbot that asks leads a series of questions to narrow down what they need. From there, the chatbot can either offer them blogs from your help center or notify one of your sales agents to take the conversation to the next step.

‍WhatsApp Business API costs #

There are several factors you need to take into consideration when you plan your budget for WhatsApp Business API.

1. Meta Pricing: Familiarize yourself with Meta’s pricing for business-initiated customer interactions. For detailed information about WhatsApp Business pricing, check out this article.
2. Shared team inbox price: Since the WhatsApp API doesn’t have a user interface, you’d have to create it yourself or use a third-party tool for a ****shared WhatsApp team inbox. Depending on your team size and the features you want to utilize, you’ll need to pick a third-party tool for team collaboration on WhatsApp.

If you’re wondering what value you can get for your money, head over to Rasayel’s pricing page and see all available plans and features included.

Final words #

We hope that by now, you’ve gained a better understanding of the WhatsApp Business API and how it supports your sales team.

From our experience, the WhatsApp API integration is a great tool for businesses that want to provide better, more personalized customer interactions, improve their sales team’s efficiency, and gain a higher level of visibility and control over their WhatsApp communications.

If you don’t have a sales team or are still building one, the WhatsApp Business App might be enough for the time being.

However, as your team expands and your customer interactions increase in complexity, making the switch to the WhatsApp API through a Meta-Certified WhatsApp Business Provider can offer numerous benefits for your business.

Frequently Asked Questions #

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About the author

Ahmed Yasser

Yasser is a content editor and writer who enjoys exploring innovative tech ideas in B2B SaaS and writing about them. When he’s not writing stories, you’ll find him gaming, traveling, binge watching some random series, or just relaxing by the beach in Alexandria.

@Ahmed Yasser on LinkedIn