What makes WhatsApp Business API a better suited solution for large businesses than WhatsApp Business App?
WhatsApp Business API was launched to aid medium to large businesses that desired to communicate with multiple customers at scale through WhatsApp. This API allows companies to automate communications with interactive messages, WhatsApp bot and automated replies. In simple terms, WhatsApp Business API is a tool for developing personalized communication flow for discerning customers.
WhatsApp Business App
WhatsApp Business API is not the same as WhatsApp Business App. The latter is a free app meant for small business owners. It allows small businesses to connect with the customers, share details of their offerings and support customers throughout their journey. Top features of these apps include:
- Canned/quick replies
- Conversation labels
- Set away messages
- One person usage
- Dedicated business profile/hours
Business account WhatsApp created on the App can be used from just one device or phone number, and is not built for scale.
How is WhatsApp Business API differs from WhatsApp Business App?
WhatsApp Business App is designed for small businesses, and hence does not support features like bulk messages to customers/leads like the API. WhatsApp Business API allows for multiple logins, and automatically triggers messages via integrations. It does not have an app or front-end interface, and therefore is required to be integrated directly into business software. You can additionally access WhatsApp API only through a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider or BSP.
A business that has about 1–5 employees can ideally be managed by the free WhatsApp Business. However, as your business grows and expands, there is a good chance that you might need to move to the WhatsApp Business API. The API would be a good communication tool for any business that has more than 300 active customers with who they want to engage on WhatsApp. With WhatsApp Business API, they can send a variety of automated notifications to customers including status notifications, purchase updates, order tracking details and more. The API allows WhatsApp to be used as a channel to acquire new customers, level up the customer support, and provide a personalized buying experience.
Companies that require more than 2 people to manage their expected conversation volume on WhatsApp also has to use WhatsApp Business API, as the free business app does not support more than a single user. Use of this API would help companies to reduce the agent time spent on each conversation and improve their overall team efficiency, as they leverage WhatsApp as a conversational commerce and an automation platform.
