The WhatsApp Business API is a messaging tool intended for commercial use, especially by medium and large companies, whose communication flow is intense to the point of making humanized service unfeasible.
The advantages are mainly in the speed of attendance, provided by the possibility of configuring automatic responses, and in the recording of messages, increasing security for both interlocutors.
Although it seems complex, it is a simple and absolutely viable solution for most companies.
Read on to understand the details around deploying and using the WhatsApp Business API.
What is API?
Before talking about the tool as a whole and its features, let’s stick to the concept of API, which stands for Application Programming Interface.
Simply put, it is specific programming that allows you to access certain application functions through other software.
It is quite possible that countless APIs are part of your daily life and you have no idea that you use them. That’s because, the main application is the best known. The API works as a resource to shorten the path to the main application’s functionalities.
Thus, we understand that WhatsApp Business API is nothing more than a ‘shortcut’ to use WhatsApp Business in a different way than conventional.
From WhatsApp Messenger to WhatsApp Business API
WhatsApp Business API is the evolution of WhatsApp Messenger and was developed to solve service problems in companies and organizations with a high number of calls, making humanized service unfeasible.
WhatsApp Messenger is the best known and most used application for exchanging messages between individuals, especially related to personal and commonplace issues.
Obviously, due to its popularity, it started to be used for commercial purposes, since it is a faster form of communication than e-mail and cheaper than phone calls, whether from mobile phones or from landlines.
However, WhatsApp Messenger’s functionalities fell short of the market’s needs, because they were not developed for that. Based on this demand, WhatsApp Business was created, with functions very similar to those of its older brother, however, allowing a greater flow of messages.
Despite the upgrade, the messenger did not meet the needs of large corporations, public or private.
Even using a business account, the application still required a person to return the received contacts. And, when the service was performed by more than one person – in the case of a business account and several employees responding to customers -, the chances of a communication failure occurring multiplied.
This is because the attendant who received the first contact was already aware of the subject or demand to be resolved. While another attendant, if he were to return to the customer, would have to find out what had already been dealt with before.
In addition to leading to customer dissatisfaction, this process becomes a service bottleneck, since several people are involved with serving different customers, and there is no way to guarantee that everyone is answered or that all requests are correctly forwarded.
Again, by identifying a different demand, the WhatsApp Business API was launched.
How does WhatsApp Business API differ from others?
Differences between the applications focus on the form of service, that is, responding to incoming calls. The essence of the tool, its initial function – to send and receive text messages, audio, video, as well as files of different types – is the same in all versions.
As we explained at the beginning, an API serves as a ‘shortcut’ to access the functionalities of a main application, which in this case is WhatsApp Business.
So, an API that makes it possible to use WhatsApp Business in other software also makes other forms of service possible, solving problems caused by noise in communication.
Automatic replies
One of the main differences in the WhatsApp Business API service is automatic responses.
Just like the telephone service using recorded messages, back in the 1980s and 1990s, which gave options to get straight to the point, the automatic responses sort out the messages received, guiding users to look for alternative channels to human assistance for the simplest demands. .
This resource solves a significant percentage of calls, speeding up the service and freeing the agents to deal with issues that really require interpersonal contact.
Multiple agents and protocol generation
Another improvement is the possibility for several attendants to receive calls from a single account. Thus, when the volume of messages is very large, the user does not have to wait for a long time for the answer to his question or request, since several people answer at the same time.
And so that the user does not have to explain the whole situation again in case of a second contact with a different attendant, the WhatsApp Business API registers the calls and generates protocol numbers, still in the automatic service.
This way, if the demand is not promptly met, in the next contact the user just informs the protocol and the attendant accesses the details of the previous contact, being able to continue the service from the point where it left off.
Why use official WhatsApp Business API version
To avoid unwanted messages, as well as the application of blows through the application, Facebook has released an official version of the API for WhatsApp Business.
Creating an account in the app requires registering a phone number (landline, mobile or 0800), which is forwarded by a Facebook partner company. After registration, the user will receive authentication data to access the account through a service platform.
That is, the API will integrate WhatsApp Business to the platform, and the services are made through this interface (software) that was programmed to perform the functions of the application.
And that’s how – with account registration and access through an official API – the WhatsApp Business API should be used.
Otherwise, the user assumes the risk of having his account blocked and even banned not only from the WhatsApp Business API, but from all family applications, as well as other applications linked to Facebook.
This care is aimed at the safety of users, who can check whether the data provided by the company is real, reducing the chances of having the information sent to a commercial contact used improperly.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of the WhatsApp Business API and the importance of using the official version of the application, contact with us. We have a team of experts on the subject at your disposal.
