WhatsApp launches WhatsApp Business app
WhatsApp has launched its new WhatsApp Business app, a free Android app targeting small and medium businesses to help them connect with customers in the following ways:
- Business Profiles: Help customers with useful information such as a business description, email or store addresses, and website.
- Messaging Tools: Save time with smart messaging tools — quick replies that provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages that introduce customers to your business, and away messages that let them know you’re busy.
- Messaging Statistics: Review simple metrics like the number of messages read to see what’s working.
- WhatsApp Web: Send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on your desktop.
- Account Type: People will know that they’re talking to a business because you will be listed as a Business Account. Over time, some businesses will have Confirmed Accounts once it’s been confirmed that the account phone number matches the business phone number.
If you’re a small business owner and want to get the app keep in mind the following:
- If you have an existing WhatsApp Messenger account, you’ll have the option to migrate your chat history to your new WhatsApp Business account. We recommend that you make a manual backup before proceeding.
- Your chat history can’t be migrated back to WhatsApp Messenger if you decide to stop using WhatsApp Business.
- You can use both apps, WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Messenger. Each app, however, must be linked to its own unique phone number. It’s not possible to have one phone number linked to both apps at the same time.
WhatsApp says customers on the app will not need to download anything new to connect with business accounts and will be able to block contacts they don’t want to receive messages from.
It has been rolled out to some countries and will continue to get to more but you can always keep an eye out for WhatsApp Business here.
