A definitive guide to WhatsApp chatbot for business
WhatsApp marketing is now one of the fastest-growing forms of digital marketing, and almost every brand has a certain percentage of its budget dedicated to this strategy.
Companies can interact with customers via greeting messages, quick replies, and business profiles by simply using WhatsApp Business. Some may even partner with one of the WhatsApp Business API providers to access bonus features such as chatbots and CRM integrations.
Further reading: A quick read for understanding the WhatsApp Business API
Interested in creating a WhatsApp Chatbot but don’t know where to start? In this tutorial, we are going to show you how easy it is.
What is WhatsApp Chatbot?
A WhatsApp Chatbot or Live Chat is a software program automated by artificial intelligence and baked-in data. It is specifically designed for businesses that are interested in adopting conversational commerce on the encrypted WhatsApp platform.
Given that 73% of businesses either use or plan to use AI-powered chatbots, integrating such technology into your business strategy can significantly enhance customer interactions and streamline communication processes
Other than being able to realistically mimic human conversational patterns, the chatbot WhatsApp is also capable of keeping a consistent tone and brand identity throughout the conversation. This is especially important in e-commerce as the bot can effectively engage with customers and save a lot of hassle in terms of customer support, marketing and sales.
Find out more about how you can use WhatsApp Business for e-commerce.
Why do you need your own WhatsApp Chatbot?
1. Enhance customer service
A chatbot using WhatsApp Business can help simplify the customer support process as it can automatically take over simple and repetitive tasks while transferring complicated questions to human agents smoothly.
2. Establish a strong brand identity
The WhatsApp Chatbot is, in fact, very flexible for customization. Businesses can design greeting messages, quick replies, and icons according to their unique persona. Unlike humans, bots don’t have any emotion or personality, meaning they can always stick to the brand personality under whatever circumstances.
By adding color and tone to the scripts, your WhatsApp Livechat bot will be able to leave customers with a positive impression, improving their loyalty towards your brand. More importantly, Emerald’s research discovered a clearly distinguishable brand identity can remarkably accelerate customer engagement as well as sales.
3. Improve marketing campaigns
With a “more leads, more sales” mindset, today’s businesses are all about lead generation. However, to be blunt, driving prospective audiences to follow you on social media and sign up for your email list is a tough game. It is of utmost importance for businesses to optimize each customer touchpoint of the target audience in the conversion funnel.
For example, when launching a “click to WhatsApp” campaign, you should never leave the customers hanging. According to ringDNA, the optimal lead response time is 5 minutes or less.
In other words, businesses should get back to the customers as soon as possible. Still, an instant response might be a bit difficult for a single person to handle or too pricey for live chat agents to achieve.
Fortunately, the WhatsApp Chatbot can shoot the senders a quick note easily, offering solutions to their queries in a flash, resulting in higher conversion rates.
Learn more about the best practices when creating a WhatsApp Chatbot.
Want to outcompete your peers with SleekFlow's help?
Book your personalised demo with SleekFlow today and unlock the potential of seamless communication
The ultimate WhatsApp Live Chat step-by-step guide
Step 1: Apply for WhatsApp Business API
The very first thing you need to do to create a WhatsApp chatbot is to apply for the official WhatsApp Business API.
You have to submit your company name, and website URL, together with the name and contact details of a company representative. The verification process might take up to 4 weeks, but once your application is approved, you can start to dig deeper into various functions of the official WhatsApp Business.
Step 2: Think about the dialogues in the live chat
To make sure the WhatsApp Chatbot can address your business needs, you then need to customize the conversation flow. Since a chatbot is supposed to give quick replies, it is recommended to include a list of responses to the frequently asked questions that are brief and cut to the chase. Don’t forget to prepare a smooth transition message in case a human agent needs to jump in and carry on the conversation thread.
There is no one perfect recipe for a chatbot with WhatsApp design as every business has its own style, so just keep your customer’s journey in mind when you map out your conversation elements and diagram.
Get samples of message replies from our templates for WhatsApp chatbot auto replies.
Step 3: Find a chatbot application
For inexperienced users, creating a WhatsApp Chatbot from scratch can be quite troublesome. Thus, to avoid unnecessary blockers, it is highly suggested to get help from a bot builder.
For instance, SleekFlow offers simple automation rules, or even better, the latest Flow Builder, that allows you to quickly set up the most effective conversation flows for your live chatbot.
Even with no programming skills, you can still manage to draw up a comprehensive roadmap for your customers. While automation is the ultimate goal, SleekFlow is also programmed to qualify leads and centralize information without the need for human staff.
Looking for AI? See how you can upload your knowledge base and get AI-generated responses tailored to your brand.
Step 4: Test your WhatsApp Chatbot
Never roll out a new feature until you have confirmed that everything works.
Test your WhatsApp Chatbot to see if it behaves well on WhatsApp. Remember to review it carefully as it affects your final customer experience, you can check up on integrations and catch possible errors before the official launch.
Of course, there is no such thing as a flawless chatbot. Thanks to useful tools like SleekFlow, editing and modifying your WhatsApp Business chatbot is no longer a daunting task. So let’s get your head down and keep exploring!
See how De'Longhi, the Italian home appliance brand, uses WhatsApp chatbot for 24/7 customer support.
WhatsApp empowers our customers to act upon their desires immediately, to secure a reservation for experiencing our products without delay. The WhatsApp Business solution has indeed played a significant role in our O2O operations.
Winnie Ho
Commercial Director, De'Longhi Hong Kong & Taiwan
What are some of the best practices for a successful WhatsApp chatbot?
Define clear objectives: Before implementation, identify the specific goals you want the chatbot to achieve, such as improving customer service, increasing sales, or enhancing user engagement.
Create a natural conversational flow: Design your chatbot to understand and respond to user queries in a way that feels natural. This includes using simple language, anticipating user needs, and offering relevant options.
Personalize the experience: Leverage user data to personalize interactions. For example, using the user's name or remembering past interactions can make the experience more engaging and tailored.
Provide quick and accurate responses: Ensure that the chatbot is equipped with accurate information and can provide responses quickly. If the query is beyond the chatbot's capabilities, make it easy for users to switch to a live agent.
Regularly update and train the chatbot: Continuously improve the chatbot's AI by feeding it new data and refining its responses based on user feedback and emerging trends.
Monitor performance: Use analytics to track the chatbot’s performance, such as response time, user satisfaction, and the resolution rate. This data will help you make necessary adjustments to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
WhatsApp Chatbot limitations
While WhatsApp Chatbot has been a great messaging solution for businesses in many countries across the world, it also has its limitations. For instance, WhatsApp for Business is not recommended in certain countries such as Germany. Based on the Data Protection Act being implemented in Germany, businesses must refrain from using WhatsApp Business Chatbot for transactions. Thus, if you are planning to extend your business there, you must assign a backup messaging solution.
Moreover, although WhatsApp can be a good messaging app for small businesses, using a single WhatsApp Business account can be difficult, especially for larger corporations with a whole department of customer service employees. To resolve this issue, you can use a shared inbox for teams for your WhatsApp Business account, where all employees can log in and reply to messages using the business account on any device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Summary: WhatsApp Chatbot
WhatsApp Chatbot and live chat solutions can do wonders for your online business. It helps many startups and small business owners to provide customer engagement even with a small company size. Therefore, understanding this software as well as learning its features and how to use it effectively will level up your online business in the long run.
Want to outcompete your peers with SleekFlow's help?
Book your personalised demo with SleekFlow today and unlock the potential of seamless communication
Further reading:
Do I need to pay for WhatsApp Business? Find out what you can do on the free WhatsApp Business App
WhatsApp Business API worldwide pricing & new 2024 pricing model
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