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Did you know there’s plenty of built-in automation in off-the-shelf (and free) WhatsApp Business account? You can use quick replies to easily respond to common questions, labels to organise chats and prioritise them more easily, automatic greetings to message new customers (or existing contacts after they’ve been quiet for a while), and away messages for auto-responses when you can’t get to messages right away. These functions easily cover off most needs for small to medium businesses, and if you’re a bigger company that wants to do more complicated automation, there are third party tools that can help with that, too.
Why use automation on WhatsApp Business?
Still relying on old-fashioned email or phone conversations to update your customers? You’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to streamline your comms strategy. WhatsApp Business Automation allows you to deliver fast, accurate and consistent customer communication while saving you time and effort.
The best part? Your customers are likely to be already using the platform, and they probably even prefer it over other forms of communication. Boasting over 2 billion users globally, WhatsApp has evolved from a simple messaging app to a vital business platform in recent years. Studies show that 85% of people choose to message brands directly, and WhatsApp boasts an average open rate of 98%, with 80% of messages read in the first five minutes.
When you harness automation, you can really make the most of the incredible benefits of WhatsApp Business. Let’s take a look at the in-built automation options that are available on the WhatsApp Business app, plus use cases, benefits and third-party tools that you can use to enhance automation.
What is automation on WhatsApp Business?
Put simply, WhatsApp Business Automation allows you to send messages and manage workflows automatically, without the need to complete these tasks manually.
This could include setting up automatic responses to customer enquiries, sending notifications or managing workflows.
WhatsApp Automation can range from simple automated greetings to complex chatbots that handle a wide range of customer queries.
Some forms of WhatsApp Automation can handle the task from start to finish, while others may speed up the process by automating a part of the task.
For example, Away Messages are customisable, pre-written messages that will automatically be sent if a customer gets in touch outside of office hours. This is an example of an automated feature that, once set up and activated, will automatically complete without any manual intervention.
On the other hand, Quick Replies are customisable, pre-written messages that can be easily selected by a team member in response to commonly asked questions. This is an example of an automated feature that can be set up ahead of time, and will speed up the process of replying by providing pre-written text that doesn’t need to be written out by hand. However, this feature still requires some level of manual intervention to complete.
What are the benefits of WhatsApp Business Automation?
There are plenty of advantages to using automation on WhatsApp Business. Let’s take a look at some of the most useful benefits of this form of automation.
Respond quickly to customers
By automating some of your WhatsApp Business strategy, you can deliver immediate responses to your customers. This reduces the amount of time that they are left waiting for a response and improves the overall experience for your customers.
Save money by automating tasks
WhatsApp Business Automation limits the need for a large customer service team, helping you to cut operational costs without compromising on the quality of customer service that your business provides.
Maintain a consistent brand tone of voice
It’s difficult to maintain a consistent tone of voice and keep the quality of your messages high when dealing with a large volume of queries every day. Automated responses ensure consistent communication, which is crucial for maintaining your hard-won reputation.
Enhance customer engagement and satisfaction
Quick responses, follow-ups and accurate, timely notifications all add up to a stellar experience for your customers. Keeping your clients engaged and informed helps to foster stronger relationships and enhance brand loyalty over time.
Scale up your business more easily
If you’re planning to scale up your operations, either now or in the future, WhatsApp Business Automation is essential. Use automated responses to handle a large volume of messages easily, without the need for additional staff or extra stress.
Example use cases for WhatsApp Business Automation
No matter what service or product your business provides, you’ll benefit from WhatsApp Business Automation in more than one way. Here are the most common use cases that automated messages can enhance for companies.
Customer support
Use automated responses to handle all your most common FAQs, such as order statuses, return policies, opening hours enquiries and delivery updates. This means you or your customer service team can focus on handling only the more complex queries that land in your inbox.
Marketing and promotions
Automated messages can be used to send promotional offers, discounts and new product announcements, making sure that you generate the biggest buzz around key sales periods or special events.
Appointment scheduling
Automation is great for helping to avoid awkward no-shows, misunderstandings or forgotten appointments. Use automated messages to send appointment confirmations and reminders, allowing your customers to cancel or reschedule if necessary and freeing up your staff to use their time more efficiently.
Order updates and delivery notifications
Use automation to communicate order status and the whereabouts of products as they make their way through the delivery system, without needing the customer to chase up manually with your team. The result? Customers who are well informed, less anxious and more likely to re-purchase with you in the future.
Feedback collection
Timely feedback is crucial to help your business level up and improve. Automated surveys can effortlessly gather customer feedback after a purchase, providing valuable insights for business improvement.
In-built automation features on WhatsApp Business
The WhatsApp Business app offers several built-in automation features that are easy to set up and use.
Quick Replies
Quick Replies are pre-written responses to frequently asked questions. They can be easily accessed and sent, saving time and ensuring consistency. For instance, a Quick Reply for a common question, such as, ‘What are your opening hours?’, can be set up to provide an instant, consistent response.
While the ability to access pre-written messages does speed up the time and reduce the effort involved in responding to queries, Quick Replies still need to be manually selected and sent by you or your customer service team.
Find out more about Quick Replies in our guide.
Labels
Labels help organise and manage conversations by categorising them into different segments, such as new orders, pending payments or completed orders. This makes it easier to prioritise and respond to messages quickly and easily.
Find out more about Labels in our guide.
Automated Greetings
Automated Greeting Messages are sent when a customer contacts the business for the first time or after a period of inactivity. These messages make customers feel acknowledged and provide basic information, such as the estimated response time.
Find out more about Automatic Greeting Messages in our guide.
Away Messages
Away Messages are automated replies that inform customers that the business is currently unavailable but will respond soon. These are useful for setting expectations and managing customer patience during your customer service team’s out-of-office hours.
Find out more about Away Messages in our guide.
Will WhatsApp Business announce more AI automation tools in the future?
Although a timeline hasn’t yet been announced, WhatsApp Business is likely to add more AI-assisted automation tools in the near future. We anticipate that these could include dynamic message writing, image creation and more powerful automation tools for businesses.
WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, has already announced WhatsApp Stickers. This is an AI-generated sticker tool which converts manually entered text into a visual sticker that can be saved and shared with contacts. At the moment, this feature is only available in selected countries and in a handful of languages, including English, Indonesian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Meta has also shared that they are currently exploring various possibilities using generative AI, including AI-powered chat experiences for use in customer service settings.
We don’t have a timeline yet for these new features, but we’ll keep an eye out for new developments and update this page when we hear more. Watch this space!
Third-party tools for WhatsApp Business Automation
WhatsApp Business offers robust in-built automation features which can easily meet the needs of most small-to-medium businesses. However, much larger companies who want to automate tasks that extend beyond the scope of WhatsApp Business may be interested in considering some third party tools for more complex solutions.
WATI
WATI integrates with the WhatsApp Business API to provide advanced automation features including chatbots, automated workflows and customer segmentation. It helps businesses manage high volumes of customer queries and provides detailed analytics.
Tidio
Tidio offers chatbot solutions that can be integrated with WhatsApp Business to automate customer service and marketing tasks. It supports automated responses to common queries and can initiate conversations based on a range of customer actions.
Trengo
Trengo allows businesses to automate various tasks such as labelling messages, assigning them to the right team member and sending automated follow-ups. It also supports round-robin assignment to distribute tasks evenly among team members.
Gallabox
Gallabox helps automate customer interactions by using chatbots to manage order tracking, answer delivery questions and provide product recommendations. It also supports automated feedback collection and appointment confirmations.
Note: YourBusinessNumber has not tested these third-party apps, and is not affiliated with them. You are advised to carry out your own research to check that these solutions meet your requirements before using these apps.
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Author:
George Lineker
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