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CM.com

Learn how to use the WhatsApp Business solution, grow conversations, reduce pressure on customer service and minimize friction on the path to purchase.

Optimise Customer Care with the WhatsApp Business API

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WhatsApp is indispensable to the customer journey. In each step, consumers turn to

messaging. With over 1.5 billion consumers on WhatsApp in 180 countries, WhatsApp now

opens up a world of opportunities to communicate with customers. Reduce pressure on

customer service, and minimise friction on the path the purchase. The WhatsApp Business

API allows you to communicate with customers on the channel they prefer. In this White

paper, you’ll learn just how to optimise customer care with the WhatsApp Business solution.

It all starts with the rising consumer expectations.

• 89% of consumers expect brands to respond within 24 hours.

• 80% of consumers consider customer experience as crucial as goods or services.

• 52% of consumers switched brands because of poor customer service.

• The ability to message a business on WhatsApp boosts customer confidence.

• 74% of consumers have repeatedly used WhatsApp to message a company.

WhatsApp will help you exceed customer expectations. With a WhatsApp Business account,

brands can connect with customers worldwide and build personal relationships.

Learn how to use the WhatsApp Business solution, grow conversations, reduce pressure on customer service and minimize friction on the path to purchase.

Optimise Customer Care with the WhatsApp Business API

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The WhatsApp Business Solution’s Reach

WhatsApp’s global reach is probably the most obvious benefit for

many companies. With over 1.5 billion users in over 180 countries, it

is no wonder many companies have long anticipated the launch of

the WhatsApp Business API. What better channel is there to reach

customers than on the channel they’re already using to communicate

each day? By disclosing the WhatsApp Business solution, your (global)

reach as well as reachability could sky-rocket.

Unprecedented engagement

Because of the popularity of this messaging channel, the use of the

WhatsApp Business solution will help drive higher delivery and open

rates than other channels. Consumers frequently open their WhatsApp

app to check for messages from their friends or send out messages

themselves. This means your message won’t be overlooked. And

because they are used to WhatsApp, sending a reply to you is quick

and easy.

It’s what your customers prefer

In addition to the beforementioned benefits of the WhatsApp Business

solution for businesses, being available on WhatsApp is what your

customers prefer. People prefer to communicate with businesses via

WhatsApp. No long and formal emails, no waiting by the phone, but

easy, simple chatting via the channel they’re accustomed to.

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From the data mentioned here, the added value of messaging channels to consumers is clear.

WhatsApp is the one messaging channel most companies couldn’t wait to use to get in touch

with their customers. Why is that? When talking about the WhatsApp Business solution for

companies, we’re talking about 3 main benefits: Reach, Engagement and Preference.

Why were businesses worldwide waiting for the WhatsApp Business API?

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Optimise customer care: better service while saving timeThroughout each step of the customer journey, customers may want to contact you for all

kinds of questions. WhatsApp can help grow your reach and make it easier for customers to

get in contact with you.

But won’t your reachability put extra stress on your customer care team? Connecting to the

WhatsApp Business solution actually promises to help save them time. How is that?

Discovery

• Too much or too little

information online

• No price information

• Difficult to compare

product/price

• Can’t chat or ask for help

Purchase

• Problems during

checkout process

• Unable to identify the

correct item

• Not able to find the store

• Don’t know where to buy

product

Post Purchase

• Item doesn’t meet

expectations

• Need to change size/

model

• No channel for feedback

• No advice available on

set up/installation

• No updates on delivery

What type of questions can you answer with WhatsApp Business? To help you identify the

customer journey and common frictions in each phase, we’re sharing some of the typical

pain points WhatsApp Business can help you solve. By identifying the pain points of your

customers in their path to purchase and beyond, you can request Message Templates and

setup quick replies to help them on their way as quickly and successfully as possible. Here,

we’ll share some common pain points within the customer journey that are easily solved with

WhatsApp.

Identify the consumer’s pain points

The following example might give some ideas on how to solve these problems via WhatsApp.

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ExampleMap out your customers’ journey and identify pain points

Identify opportunities to reduce frictions with notifications and customer care

Email or call hotel to share feedback

Inquire on status of crediting hotel points

Find directions and transportation options to and from airport to hotel

Plan activities at travel destination

Make booking amendments

Retrieve booking details/tickets Pack for tripBook hotel online

Opt for additional services (e.g.breakfast, special needs ect.)

Select type of room

Read Hotel Reviews

Search and shortlist hotels online

Share photos on social media

ii Too much or unclear information

i Track emails, SMS etc for confirmations, transaction detailsi Time consuming to find prior saved emails/SMSes

i Unclear or complicated online process / long waiting queues on helpline, need to explain prior context

i Find time to call / email hotel

i Tedious process

Find time to call/email hotel or unavailability of online forums for feedback sharing

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. Eng

agem

ent

1. Discovery & Consideration 2. Booking

3. Act

ivatio

n

Email or call hotel to share feedback

Inquire on status of crediting hotel points

Find directions and transportation options to and from airport to hotel

Plan activities at travel destination

Make booking amendments

Retrieve booking details/tickets Pack for tripBook hotel online

Opt for additional services (e.g.breakfast, special needs ect.)

Select type of room

Read Hotel Reviews

Search and shortlist hotels online

Share photos on social media

Customer care- prospect can easily initiate conversation and specify individual needs

Notifications – all transaction details, booking summaries shared proactively under one chat

All communication housed under one conversation for easy reference

Customer care – Easy and smooth process for making changes

Notifications – Updates on crediting of hotel points

Customer care & Business profile – easily available location information or business

profile and ability to chat for directions

Notifications – to request for feedbackCustomer care – to resolve any issues

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. Eng

agem

ent

1. Discovery & Consideration 2. Booking

3. Act

ivatio

n

Notifications – proactive reminders to prepare for trip, share document or preparation checklist

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Message Templates

One of the main benefits of the WhatsApp Business solution is the use of

Message Templates. Though many consider the main benefit of Message

Templates to be able to proactively reach out to customers once they have

opted in, these text templates can also be used to answer the most common

questions more quickly.

With the pre-set custom fields, each message will feel highly personalised.

But this time, it didn’t take any effort from your customer care team. We’ll get

into more detail on Message Templates later.

Quick replies

Also, with the WhatsApp Business solution you’re able to setup quick replies,

for example when a customer reaches out to you with a question about a

lost package. The sense of being helped quickly is an important factor in

customer satisfaction. Quick replies help you accomplish that.

Also, if the customer knows he’ll get a response via WhatsApp quickly, he will

not feel the need to pick up the phone and call you to speed up the process.

That means a happier customer, and a few minutes saved on a phone call that

doesn’t have to take place.

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How to reduce pressure on customer care with the WhatsApp Business API?

Make calling unnecessary

Being reachable via the consumer’s favourite messaging channel (did I

already mention WhatsApp has 1.5 billion users?) will drastically reduce the

amounts of phone calls coming in. That easily saves you – on average – 3 to 5

minutes per customer question, as phone calls are the most time consuming

of all channels used in customer care.

Not to mention the ability to handle several chats at once. I don’t reckon

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Customer contact tool

If you connect to the WhatsApp Business solution via the CM.com platform,

you can choose to implement the API in your existing software, or you can

use our Customer Contact tool, designed especially to make life of the

customer care agent easier. Combine SMS, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram,

Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Email and Voice in one customer contact

dashboard.

This dashboard creates order in the overload of communication channels

and saves valuable time from your employees. Handle 1-on-1 conversations,

shielded and secured. Integrate customer profiles in your own CRM and

use quick replies, virtual assistants and out-of-office notifications for happy

customers. Need another team to handle this question? Seamlessly transfer

chats to other departments.

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that’s quite so easy in a call. And even the consumer is given some more

freedom, as he doesn’t have to sit and wait till his phone gets answered, but

he can just pose his questions and reply at his own convenience.

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Customer care via the WhatsApp Business API: inbound and outbound

So, the main reason for consumers to contact you on WhatsApp, is the quality of the service

you offer. The WhatsApp Business API can be used both for reactive and proactive customer

care. There are some important differences between customer or company initiated chats.

Inbound customer care: reactive customer care window

With the WhatsApp Business solution, there are two ways to chat with your customer. With

the rich features of the WhatsApp Business API, you can easily send personalised auto-replies

so the majority of your customers will have an answer quickly. For those questions that need

a bit more explaining, or if action is needed, the WhatsApp Business API allows you to attach

rich media to your messages. Within a 24 hour customer care window, you can add videos,

pictures, locations, and date pickers for appointments.

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The customer can initiate a conversation with your business. Whenever your customer

contacts or replies to you, a customer care window is opened. This customer care window

creates more opportunities for you to benefit from the WhatsApp Business solution. Or

- once a customer opts-in to receiving messages from your business - you can initiate a

conversation by sending notifications via so-called Messages Templates. But more about that

later.

The Customer Care Window is a 24-hour time frame during which you can communicate with

customers in a rich conversation using so-called Session Messages, reacting to them in a real-

time and interactive chat with rich media capabilities. This means your message is not limited

to the pre-approved Message Templates, though Message Templates are possible within

a Customer Care Window as well. Moreover, chatting with your customer in this 24- hour

Customer Care Window will not be charged the WhatsApp fee.

The Customer Care Window ends 24 hours after the last message is sent by the end-user.

After 24 hours, you will only be able to send a notification via Message Templates. Each time

the customer sends you a message, whether this is the conversation initiating message or

another reply in the conversation, the 24-hour Customer Care Window will restart. So, from

the last message your customer has sent you, you have 24 hours to send custom messages,

free of charge.

Outbound Customer Care: Proactive with Message Templates

But next to this responsive customer care with so-called session messages within the

Customer Care Window, the WhatsApp Business Solutions allows you to send out messages

for active customer care. Remind your customer of deliveries, orders, and appointments.

Use WhatsApp notifications and implement SMS fallback to make sure your notifications are

delivered. These notification messages are called Message Templates.

What is a Message Template?

Pre-approved messages that can be sent both in and outside the 24-hour Customer Care

Window. These messages can be used to send notifications with an active opt-in in your

conversation. Approval of Message Templates is done by WhatsApp and CM.com. You

can enter your own Templates for approval or use the existing Message Templates your

WhatsApp Business solution provider (CM.com) offers.

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Hello {1}, thanks for your

order! We will let you

know when your order

is ready to be shipped.

You can track your order

with number {2} here {3}.

Enjoy your day!

Hi {1} Your order with

number {2} has been

shipped. You can track

your package here {3}.

Hi {1}, we received your

return in good order. You

can expect your refund

within 3 working days.

Hi {1} Good news, the

{2} you liked are back in

stock in size {3}. Shop

them here!

A Message Template may consist of text, emoji or WhatsApp-specific formatting. A Message

Template can consist of a maximum of 4096 characters. To personalize the message, you

can use the numbered placeholders {x}. Each of those placeholders can be filled with letters,

digits, special characters and spaces. This is best explained with some examples.

If you wish to communicate with your customers outside this 24-hour Customer Care

Window, meaning you want to initiate a conversation with a notification (after you have

received opt-in from the customer), you may only send Message Templates. This is to prevent

customers being spammed by companies, and to maintain the high value of WhatsApp as

a channel for customers to interact with businesses. This is the reason Message Templates

need to be pre-approved. Obviously, also receiving an opt-in for your customers needs to be

covered before sending Message Templates as well.

As stated earlier, you need an opt-in before you’re allowed to send out Message Templates

for outbound Customer Care. Here, we’ll explain just what requirements these opt-ins should

meet.

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How to get opt-ins for WhatsApp Business

Before you may send messages to your customer, he must first consent to receiving

WhatsApp messages with an active opt-in. This opt-in must be done via a third-party

channel. This can be any channel you already use to communicate with your customer, for

example your company website, app, email, SMS, store, etc.

The opt-in must be an active one. This means the opt-in is done by a user action, for example

when the customer enters his phone number or checks a box to give consent to you using

his number for WhatsApp messaging. Also, you need to clearly inform the customer on what

exactly he is opting in for. So, what type of messages will the customer receive? This doesn’t

mean ‘WhatsApp message’, but what type of content you will be sharing.

To make the opt-in requirements a bit clearer, I’ll share the Third-Party Requirements as

stated by WhatsApp itself. The opt-in must have a visual element (check box or similar) next

to the WhatsApp name + logo. The user should be able to enter or edit the phone number

used for opt-in, meaning he has control over what number is used. Also, it must be explained

clearly what information will be received and that this will be shared via WhatsApp.

Note: A customer sending a message to a company is therefore strictly not an opt-in. If a customer sends you a message, you may send him replies for the duration of the customer care window. If you want to send notifications, an opt-in is required.

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Improve customer care with the WhatsApp Business API

By requesting a WhatsApp Business account for API integration, you’ll get to create your

business profile and start using WhatsApp. But there’s more to the WhatsApp Business

solution than getting your account filled in the right way. You will need people to reach you,

and to want to contact you. Part of that is, of course, offering valuable customer care. But

creating easy access to your WhatsApp channel is crucial as well.

WhatsApp has an engagement rate of over 70%. This makes WhatsApp an exceptionally

valuable channel to build a relationship with your customers. But how do you make sure

people know you’re available on this popular messaging channel? So, we’re sharing some tips

on how to generate an audience on WhatsApp and optimise the customer experience.

Share your WhatsApp number on

your web shop customer contact

page.

Print QR codes to your WhatsApp

channel on your receipts.

Ask consumers to opt-in for order-

notifications by sharing an opt-in

link in your order confirmation

email. (You can only send them

notifications once they have opted

in to receive them.)

Offer discount for next purchase by

opting in for notifications.

Attach QR codes to opt-in for

notifications in your brick and

mortar store.

Show the WhatsApp logo on your

website, directing customers in

need of help to this channel first.

Offer WhatsApp-exclusive content.

Most importantly: truly help your

customers with personalized and

timely answers to any question

with which they may turn to your

customer care team via WhatsApp.

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8 tips to grow your audience on WhatsApp

Note: before you can initiate a conversation with a customer (outbound customer care), you need an opt-in from that

customer. On the previous page, we explain how to get opt-ins.

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Get started with the WhatsApp Business API

If you’re looking to get started with the WhatsApp Business solution, you need an authorized

distributor to connect you to the WhatsApp Business API. By connecting to the CM.com

platform, you can request a WhatsApp Business account to use via API or our Customer

Contact tool.

The CM.com platform connects brands and enterprises to mobile phones worldwide. Amongst our Messaging, Voice,

Payments and Identity solutions, we provide a smart combination of messaging channels, interactive voice solutions,

and Europe’s most innovative payments solutions. By connecting to our platform for the WhatsApp Business solution,

you’re opening the world of opportunities for Conversational Commerce.

Our communications platform (CPaaS) can be used via API and Web app. Our services are used by 20.000+

businesses for better marketing, better sales and better service.

Find us at CM.com – Since 1999

CM.com offers more than just the WhatsApp Business solution. We can help you set up

and manage a complete, multi-channel platform to support your customers and send them

notifications globally. We are specialized in handling large loads of messages. We make sure

you can have secure conversations and use and analyze the data you need to improve your

own services.

Now, you know the basics of improving customer care with the WhatsApp Business solution.

Creating a presence with a WhatsApp Business account, worldwide brands can connect with

customers and build personal relationships. As an authorized distributor of the WhatsApp

Business API, CM.com can connect you to this and all other messaging channels for a

seamless and rich customer experience. Request your WhatsApp Business account today!

Register now