WhatsApp is the #1 communication platform around the world that boasts over two BILLION monthly active users, far ahead of second place Facebook Messenger at 1.3 billion monthly active users. Since it is the top choice for communication amongst everyday folks, it’s worthwhile getting to know about WhatsApp Business and the power it offers business owners from the smallest to the largest.

While you may have heard about WhatsApp Business, you may not be using it to its full potential and this can greatly improve your digital communication with your clientèle.

So let’s dive into five reasons why you should be using WhatsApp Business.

1. Business Profile — The business profile allows you to have a professional appearance so your clients understand quite a bit about your business. You can add things like your logo, location, business hours, phone numbers, e-mail address, website URLs, business segmentation and more. Customise your profile so that your clients have a full understanding of your business.

2. Catalogue — You can add your catalogue of products & services which can greatly improve the communication with your clients. Usually, they will either screenshot the product/service they may have seen on your social media and then send you the image or copy & paste the name of the product to send you. They will now be able to browse your WhatsApp Business Catalogue and then question you directly about the product/service without having to leave the app.

The catalogue also allows for links to be added, so the client can click on the link which will take them to the product page on your website for checking out. If you do not have a website, the catalogue has a cart feature where they can add the products or services to the cart on WhatsApp and then they can send you the full order as a WhatsApp message.

3. Web Chat — If you do have a website, you can add the WhatsApp chat widget directly to your website, that way your clients can be on your website and have direct communication with you without having to leave your website.

4. Multiple Devices — You are now able to link up to five devices to WhatsApp Business. This is great because if you have a team, you can connect these devices to either phones or computers for your team to best manage the communication with your clients.

5. WhatsApp Stories – Did you know that WhatsApp stories has the highest engagement rate of all story platforms? This is because WhatsApp does not have an algorithm like the other stories platforms. Once your clients save your number, utilise the WhatsApp stories to create useful content for them. You can even add links directly in the stories so that you can take your clients to product pages or any URL that you want them to check out.

Here is a bonus situation for you. In Jamaica, we like to use QR code marketing but personally I feel like it’s one of the WORST types of marketing campaigns you could do because not every phone opens up links automatically by using the camera app. On most Android devices, the person must use Google Lens or a third-party app to open up the QR code and this is still something that most persons don’t actually know.

You can learn about the WhatsApp API to create some cool marketing campaigns.

Some restaurants put a QR code on the table to scan which brings you to the menu.

If they used WhatsApp API, they could create their menus on WhatsApp, so once people typed in the phone number, it would ask them to press a number to bring up the drinks menu, appetizers, main courses, etc. This is better because since everybody already has WhatsApp and everybody understands how to use. By all means you can have both but just keep in mind that you would have higher usage setting up your WhatsApp API systems.

The purpose of marketing is to hit your intended clients and do your best to use what they are already using, checking out WhatsApp Business & the WhatsApp API will allow your business to meet your clients where they are at and create a really good digital experience.

Don’t forget, if you have an Android device with two SIM cards and you have data on one of those SIMs, you can manage both your personal WhatsApp & business WhatsApp on the same device without needing to get a second device or take out a second data plan (frequently asked question).

Will you be checking out WhatsApp Business or WhatsApp API to see how best it can help your communications and digital experience with your clients?

I look forward to seeing more businesses taking full advantage of the tool and even more, the WhatsApp API to create some cool experiences.

Keron Rose is a Digital Strategist that works with Caribbean businesses to build their digital presence and monetize their platforms. Learn more at KeronRose.com or check out the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcasts/Spotify/Google Podcast.