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WhatsApp Business Account: Top tips from Meta 2023

Unlocking the Potential of WhatsApp Business: Top Tips for 2023 from Meta

WhatsApp is a top player in business messaging with over 2.5 billion active monthly users in 180 countries, sending over 100 million messages every day. With more than 100% penetration in some markets, WhatsApp is the second most popular messaging app worldwide, making it a valuable tool for businesses to engage with customers and build relationships through messaging. 

In this article, we'll explore the reasons why incorporating WhatsApp into your business's messaging strategy is worth considering, and discuss top WhatsApp Business tips from SleekFlow's Founder and CEO, Henson Tsai, and Meta's Regional Strategic Partner Manager, Norman Kuo, to help businesses stay ahead.

WhatsApp Business App vs WhatsApp Business API: What’s the difference?

First, before diving deeper, it's important to note that there are three types of WhatsApp accounts: 

WhatsAppWhatsApp Business AppWhatsApp Business API / WhatsApp Business Platform
Verified Business Profile (green tick)XX
Multi-agent accessX up to four linked devicesUnlimited
Broadcast messagingXAt risk of suspensionUnlimited
Managing multiple number in one viewXX
Integration with other softwareXXCRM, e-commerce softwares softwares
Application methodDownload from Apple App Store / Google Play StoreDownload from Apple App Store / Google Play Storevia SleekFlow
  • Personal WhatsApp: The standard type of account that individuals use for personal communication. It's meant for chatting with friends, family, and acquaintances.

  • WhatsApp Business App: Specifically designed for small-medium businesses, this account type provides additional features for business-related interactions such as creating business profiles, displaying product catalogs, setting automated messages, and labeling chats.

WhatsApp Business features
  • WhatsApp Business Platform:  (It is referred to as WhatsApp API in the B2B SaaS solution.) This is intended for medium and large companies to connect with customers at a large scale with thousands of agents and bots. It provides more advanced integrations and capabilities but requires technical setup and approval from WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Business App vs. WhatsApp Business API: which one is right for your company?

When considering options for your company, it's essential to compare WhatsApp Business App with WhatsApp Business Platform to determine the best fit:

Table comparing WhatsApp Business vs. WhatsApp Business Platform: Which One is Right for Your Company?

Image Courtesy: WhatsApp

  • Green Tick verification

WhatsApp Business App– Not available.

WhatsApp Business API – Official green tick verification from Meta to help with branding and prevents spam, giving businesses a trusted and secure way to communicate with their customers.

  • Multiple users

WhatsApp Business App – Maximum number of 4 agents from different devices.

WhatsApp Business API – Unlimited simultaneous logins via individual phone numbers.

Wondering how to set up multiple users for your WhatsApp Business account? Check out A step-by-step guide to use WhatsApp Business with multiple users!

  • Broadcast limitation

WhatsApp Business App–  Limited to sending broadcasts to a maximum of 256 recipients who have saved your phone number.

WhatsApp Business API – Able to send broadcasts to as many as 100,000 customers per day, even if they haven't saved your phone number for drip marketing campaigns and lead nurturing. This is especially beneficial for effectively managing large numbers of contacts without manual messaging.

  • Automated messages and chatbot

WhatsApp Business App –  Automated greeting and away messages for new customer engagement and absence notifications only.

WhatsApp Business API – Supports diverse automated messaging tasks like order updates or delivery reminders. You can set up chatbots with interactive buttons to encourage user engagement. 

  • Integration with existing CRM platform

WhatsApp Business App –  No integration options.

WhatsApp Business API – Offers extensive CRM and e-commerce website integration capabilities for seamless communication and data management.

  • Messages flexibility

WhatsApp Business App –  Send text messages, audio clips, multimedia, location, files, and documents with a 100MB limit

WhatsApp Business API – Send messages through session and template messaging including interactive messages. Template messaging must first be approved by WhatsApp

  • In-chat payment links

WhatsApp Business App –  Required customers to make payments through a third-party payment platform.

WhatsApp Business API – Generate a payment link in chat for your customers to pay directly to provide seamless shopping experiences.

  • Cost

WhatsApp Business App –  Free of charge.

WhatsApp Business API – Charged according to the number of conversations, depending on if the message is business-initiated or user-initiated.

Explore WhatsApp Business API worldwide pricing & new 2023 pricing model, for a comprehensive breakdown of WhatsApp Business API pricing.

[New] SleekFlow for developers: Messaging API for WhatsApp

Drive business success with WhatsApp API through SleekFlow: connecting meaningfully at every stage of the customer lifecycle 

How WhatsApp create a holistic customer journey

Image Courtesy: WhatsApp

Meta's holistic user experience approach centers around four major stages: discovery, consideration, purchase, and retention, and how everything can be seamlessly completed within the WhatsApp platform.

  • Discover: The first stage of Meta's vision for WhatsApp is discovery. Imagine a customer receives an ad from a popular clothing brand and clicks on it to discover a catalog of products. This allows customers to browse through and find products they like, all within the WhatsApp platform.

  • Consideration: The next stage is consideration. Once the customer has found a product they like, they can consider it by asking the brand questions or viewing additional product information within the thread in WhatsApp.

  • Purchase: After consideration, the customer can make a purchase with ease, all within the WhatsApp platform. This creates a seamless and convenient shopping experience for customers.

  • Retention: The final stage is retention. After the purchase, the brand can offer delivery services, provide reminders for shipping updates, and even suggest similar products with promotions. All of these personalized interactions can be communicated within the thread in WhatsApp, making it easy for the customer to stay engaged with the brand.

By using WhatsApp for e-commerce, businesses can offer a convenient and personalized shopping experience for their customers, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty. For example, a popular clothing brand can offer a catalog of products, allowing customers to browse, purchase, and even receive delivery updates and personalized suggestions within the thread on WhatsApp. With this approach, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers by providing personalized support and recommendations, ultimately driving long-term success.

Meta's vision for WhatsApp offers a revolutionary approach to e-commerce and shopping. By covering the entire customer journey within the platform, businesses can provide a seamless and convenient shopping experience, ultimately driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

SleekFlow is one of the most agile companies I have seen so far. It offers very good user experience and we do look forward to work with SleekFlow more often and on a longer term to bring in more partners and then grow the business together.

Norman Kuo

Regional Strategic Partner Manager, Meta

Get started with WhatsApp API: why choosing the right BSP is crucial

Conversational commerce journey with WhatsApp

The content provided in the above image is provided by WhatsApp

Working with a BSP is crucial for businesses that want to build a successful enterprise business on WhatsApp. As a BSP, our trusted partnership with Meta enables us to provide additional features and functionality to supplement the overall user experience and offer go-to-market support, resources, and programs co-curated with Meta to drive new user acquisition. 

On the other hand, Meta leverages its BSPs to add more value to the platform and recommends enterprises work with a trusted BSP directly. SleekFlow is one of the most agile companies in the market, offering an excellent user experience, and Meta looks forward to working closely with them for a longer-term partnership to grow the business together. 

One of the ways we do this is by providing a powerful Omnichannel Inbox that allows businesses to manage different types of channels, including WhatsApp, in a single view. This makes it easier for businesses to stay on top of customer inquiries and conversations, regardless of the platform they're on.

We also offer multi-agent workflow access, which means that based on the type of inquiry, we can route the conversation to the appropriate agent, support, or sales team to handle it. This ensures that each customer inquiry is handled by the right person, leading to a more efficient and effective customer experience.

But it's not just about handling customer inquiries - we believe that automation is key to building effective marketing campaigns. That's why we've developed features that allow businesses to build a full customer journey to engage with customers at different points in time. For example, businesses can send abandoned cart messages on WhatsApp to boost conversions or engage with customers with a festive campaign with a 20% off Christmas promotion.

Finally, we offer features like payment links, commerce, and check out that are integrated with platforms like Shopify and Salesforce. This allows businesses to track orders while chatting with customers and even allows customers to check out right away on WhatsApp.

At SleekFlow, we're committed to helping businesses leverage the power of WhatsApp to engage with customers in a more personalized and efficient way. Whether it's for sales, marketing, or customer support, we've got you covered.

Need help applying for WhatsApp Business API? Get a consultation and onboarding session for free.

Upcoming features and developments to watch out for on WhatsApp API

WhatsApp Business catalog powered by SleekFlow

Read more: SleekFlow WhatsApp Catalog

At WhatsApp’s recent regional product roadshow, Norman shared that there were two new features caught the attention of many: the catalog and send user location. 

The catalog feature allows merchants and e-commerce businesses to integrate their solution into WhatsApp, enabling customers to view their products and descriptions through a cart icon. 

The send user location feature is great for e-commerce and delivery services, providing a more personalized experience for customers based on their geographic location.

These new features are just the tip of the iceberg, and there are more exciting things to come from WhatsApp. As a trusted BSP partner, SleekFlow will continue working closely with WhatsApp to ensure that these features can help businesses grow through conversational commerce. It's an exciting time for businesses looking to leverage the power of WhatsApp to engage with customers in a more personalized and efficient way.

Stay tuned for here more updates on WhatsApp's new features and how SleekFlow can help businesses make the most of them. 

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