WhatsApp notifications for businesses: Everything you need to know

WhatsApp notifications are one of the most useful tools for customer communications these days. We explain, what they are, how they work, the costs, and show you examples. 

WhatsApp notifications have gone from an unofficial broadcast feature to being banned to being re-introduced in several different ways. As of 2023, WhatsApp notifications have received a significant makeover that actually gives businesses more possibilities. 

In this guide, we explain how the new and reformed WhatsApp notifications work, what types of messages there are, how the messages are priced, and we'll show you examples of businesses that have been using the feature very successfully.

Why WhatsApp notifications are the next big thing

WhatsApp notifications (Meta officially calls them "conversations") are messages that are being exchanged between private users and businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform. From WhatsApp broadcasts to customer service messages to automated chatbot replies, the feature is very versatile and offers businesses many opportunities for customer communication. 

Some use cases are:

• special offers
• marketing campaigns
• personalized product recommendations
• re-engagement
• relevant news and updates
• job alerts

Especially in countries like India, Singapore, or the UK, where WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app, this is an incredible opportunity to reach and engage your customers. Of course, you could send your customers e-mails or call them, too, but the possibilities and the KPIs of WhatsApp notifications are a lot more impressive!

Click-through rates over 33% and 60% increase in sales

For example, did you know that the open rate for WhatsApp messages is around 95% (!!!), while the average open rate for e-mails is 21.5%? And, while with e-mail, you're normally looking at click-through-rates of three percent, messages on instant messaging apps achieve rates more than ten times as high!

Sending out WhatsApp bulk messages can have a significant impact on your conversions! 

KiKUU, for example, an online shopping mall that is present in almost 20 African countries, has seen great success. The e-commerce company started sending out deals to its customers through a regular subscription-based WhatsApp broadcast.

Over the course of one week alone, KiKUU saw that "customers opened WhatsApp push notifications 70% more often than messages on the other channels." This led to a 60% increase in sales!

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The potential that WhatsApp, and especially the WhatsApp notifications hold for businesses of any size, is therefore significant. And it's not just limited to marketing, but offers interesting opportunities throughout the entire customer journey. So, how can you get started with WhatsApp notifications?

First, it's important to understand your two options for sending out WhatsApp notifications, the WhatsApp Business App and the WhatsApp Business Platform (formerly: API).

WhatsApp Business App vs. WhatsApp Business Platform

As a company, you're only allowed to use the WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Business Platform (formerly: WhatsApp Business API). WhatsApp doesn't allow the use of the private WhatsApp app for commercial purposes. 

The WhatsApp Business App is a free app that you can download in the app stores, and it's primarily designed for small businesses with up to five employees. It allows you to set up a business profile, a product catalog, answer customers that reach out to you, and initiate a conversation through a broadcast feature (but only if these contacts have your number saved in their address book). 

Since September 2023, you can also use WhatsApp Channels to send out push notifications. However, in this case, you can't set up special lists for recipients, personalize campaigns, and there's no automation. Also keep in mind that a Channel update doesn't automatically get a push, so you mostly don't end up on the lock screen. Plus: your messages will be under the Updates tab, not in the inbox. 

💡WhatsApp Channels vs. WhatsApp Broadcast: What's the difference?

The WhatsApp Business Platform, on the other hand, is actually designed for professional use, so it allows for automation (through templates and chatbots), you can integrate CRM systems, and send broadcasts to an unlimited amount of users, even if they don't have your number saved. 

There are also some other perks, such as being able to get the green tick verification and being able to offer data-compliant chats. 

How do you get access to the WhatsApp Business API?

As an application programming interface, the WhatsApp Business API requires you to set up an IT environment to connect your WhatsApp Business account to their API. You can do this yourself (great if you have an IT department and need a lot of customizations) or use an already existing access that's being provided to you by official WhatsApp Business Solution Providers. 

Business Solution Providers are official Meta partners that have already done the work and developed a messaging software around the API for your. So, you don't need to do anything, except getting started. 

Sinch Engage, for instance, is one of the very first Business Solution Providers for Meta, and our ready-to-go platform doesn't only allow you to send WhatsApp notifications with a few clicks, you can also easily build chatbots with a drag-and-drop tool, and even use other messaging apps like Telegram or iMessage (while still managing all conversations through one inbox). 

With Sinch Engage, you basically get easy access to the WhatsApp notifications. 

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WhatsApp notifications basics: requirements, message limits, templates, and costs

The basic requirements for businesses to send out WhatsApp notifications is to have a business account. As mentioned, the type of account also defines the maximum number of users you can contact, what type of messages you can send, and what insights you get. 

In the WhatsApp Business App, you can answer customer questions, add quick replies, and send out bulk messages through a broadcast list to a maximum of 256 unique users per list. 

With WhatsApp Channels, you can only send out one-way push notifications with no way to personalize, target, and optimize.

With the API, you can send almost any type of message, create target groups, add chatbots and your CRM systems for better personalization, and get insights to improve your campaigns. 

The WhatsApp Business Platform notifications are separated into four types of conversations: authentication (like a one-time-passcode), utility (tracking information, for example), service (answering customer queries), and marketing (broadcasts). 

What can your business do with WhatsApp notifications? 

The key focus of WhatsApp notifications is to reach out to (potential) customers, and engage in a conversation with them. The different type of notifications, of course, allow you to use them for various purposes. As of 2023, there are now four types of conversations. 

1. Utility conversations: Business-initiated conversations relating to a transaction, including post-purchase notifications and recurring billing statements to customers who have opted in.
2. Authentication: Business-initiated conversations that enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes at multiple steps during the login process, such as account registration, account recovery, and integrity challenges.
3. Service conversations: Any user-initiated conversation, such as to resolve a customer inquiry.
4. Marketing conversation: Business-initiated conversations to market a product or service to customers, such as relevant offers to customers who have opted in. Any business-initiated conversation that does not qualify as an authentication or utility conversation would also fall under this category.

Utility messages

Utility messages go a step beyond that, and serve the purpose of improving the customer experience. Customers want to get confirmations when they placed an order to make sure it was received. They're also interested in shipping information, but also appointment reminders. In e-commerce, the German online retailer Erwin Müller, for example, switched from the phone to WhatsApp to handle utility messages. It allows them to easily handle 4,000 messages during peak hours.

In addition, if something does go wrong with the shipment, it's easy to check the chat history for important information and solve any issue faster.  

And BMW uses utility messages (with chatbots) to send automated appointment reminders. By the way, some recruiting managers also have switched to WhatsApp to send candidates interview reminders, with a simple button option where candidates can confirm or cancel an appointment. It noticeably reduces the no-show rate, and makes it easier for candidates to give an honest answer, as there's less pressure than on the phone. 

Authentication messages

Authentication messages are pretty straight forward, and helpful for sending verification codes, one-time passwords, or authentication codes for a two factor authentication process. The advantage of using WhatsApp over SMS here is: It actually offers end-to-end encryption (for SMS that's not the standard!), and it's actually cheaper in many cases.  

For e-commerce companies or even financial institutions, this could be a really interesting use case.

Service messages

Service messages are the core of one-on-one interactions between users and businesses on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is an ideal channel for customer care, both for the clients and also for the service teams. 

The communication is so much more flexible than on the phone. Agents can handle multiple conversations at once, while customers don't have to stay in a live chat or on the phone, but can handle issues on their commute to work. It leads to faster response times, quicker problem resolution, and happier customers, especially when you add a chatbot into the mix. 

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There's also opportunities beyond customer care. When a customer initiates a conversation with a company to ask about a product, it's the perfect opportunity to engage with the person, learn what they want, and drive conversions. 

The e-commerce paint seller MissPompadour actually has reached incredible conversion rates of up to 90% with WhatsApp service messages. 

And even when it comes to customer retention, the one-on-one chat on WhatsApp renders better results. It's so easy to send a reminder to stock up on a product that somebody might be running out of or send a new offer that fits the customers' previous purchase history. 

You can even use WhatsApp to collect feedback and reviews. For the online vet consultancy company, Dr. SAM, it's even led to 50% less churn, just because customers appreciated the WhatsApp interactions so much. 

👨‍⚖️ Read how to use instant messaging apps like WhatsApp in customer service.

Marketing notifications

One of the most popular use cases for WhatsApp notifications are marketing messages and broadcasts. Unlike on the WhatsApp Business App, on the API you can also contact people that don't have your number saved in their contacts, and you can potentially send an unlimited amount of messages, personalize campaigns, set specific target groups, and add chatbots as well. 

Even with the new WhatsApp channels, the marketing notifications on the WhatsApp Business Platform (API) still give you the best opportunities to scale your marketing campaigns.

The Indian media publication, BQ Prime, was one of the first companies in India to use the WhatsApp Business Platform as a broadcast channel. Their initial goal was to reach 100,000 readers, but the channel was so successful than they ended up reaching more than twice as many subscribers.

What's the pricing for WhatsApp notifications?

Messages that your customers send to you are always free, unlike traditional SMS messages, where your phone provider can charge both sides.

In case a company wants to send a message to a customer (even if it's just a reply!), there's a fixed fee depending on the country and the type of message category. In India, for example, the costs are currently (2023):

• Marketing conversations (bulk messages): 0.0099 US dollars
• Utility message: 0.0042 US dollars
• Service message: 0.0040 US dollar

The price for authentication messages has still not been set, as of September 2023, but is expected to be lower than service messages. 

You can see the full pricing list on the Facebook developer site.

❗ Tip: There are some scenarios when companies can send up to 1,000 WhatsApp bulk messages per for free. 

💡Everything about the new WhatsApp Business pricing

How many marketing notifications can you send out?

For companies, one of the most interesting use cases for WhatsApp messaging are the marketing notifications. In order to avoid spam, WhatsApp has set a limit as to how many marketing messages companies can send.  

The messaging limits define the number of business-initiated conversations per phone number that can be started in a 24-hour period. A business-initiated conversation starts when the first message is delivered to a customer and ends 24 hours later.

There are four messaging limit levels:

• 1,000 business-initiated conversations with unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.
• 10,000 business-initiated conversations with unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.
• 100,000 business-initiated conversations with unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period.
• An unlimited number of business-initiated conversations in a rolling 24-hour period.

These messaging limits are not static, but can be increased or decreased automatically based on:

• your phone number status
• the phone number quality rating, and
• how often you initate converstations with unique customers.

The basic rule is though that all verified businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform start with 1,000 business-initiated conversations to unique customers per 24-hour period. If you reach your limit, you can start new conversations once active conversations end. You can check the available number of messages in your business profile.

Note: The WhatsApp Business Platform manager won't show you a real-time countdown of your messaging limit. You'll only see when you pass a tier limit. However, if you use a professional messaging tool from an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider, such as Campaigns from Sinch Engage, you'll be able to see an exact count of the messages you've sent out.

Increasing your message limit

In the fall of 2022, WhatsApp made it even easier for businesses to scale their messaging. Companies that receive a high quality score for their marketing notifications can now increase their limits faster.

The basic math is: if in the last seven days you have initiated X or more conversations with unique customers, where X is your current messaging limit divided by 2, your message limit will increase by one level in 24 hours.

For example: if a company that starts off with a limit of 1,000 messages is able to reach 500 unique users in the first seven days of the campaign, their message limit will increase to 10,000 after 24 hours of having reached the 500th user.

WhatsApp introduced this upgrade to allow companies to scale their campaigns much faster.

In addition, for companies that are starting out new on the WhatsApp Business Platform and are not verified yet, there's now also an upgrade. The initial business-initiated messaging limits are now 250 unique customers in a rolling 24-hour period (vs. before 50).

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Using templates for WhatsApp notifications

While in the past, WhatsApp had limited the number and type of templates businesses could use for sending out messages, businesses can now pretty much send out (almost) any type of messages. As mentioned, WhatsApp groups them into four categories, and each category comes with specific templates (and costs) that companies can use.

So, before starting a conversation with a customer through the WhatsApp Business Platform, you'll need to pick a conversation category. Or, rather, WhatsApp automatically determines the right category for you. 

Template review

Unlike on Telegram, where you can send messages to customers without previous review, WhatsApp requires a prior template review in order to avoid spammy content. This used to take up to 24 hours, but in 2022, WhatsApp automated the process, and cut it down to less than a minute (assuming that the template doesn't violate WhatsApp guidelines).

This test phase allows businesses to adjust and edit campaigns before running them full-scale. Also: minor edits will not require a re-submission of templates anymore! Businesses are allowed one edit per day and a maximum of ten per month.

💡How to use WhatsApp templates: The complete business guide

What are you not allowed to promote in WhatsApp notifications?

There is certain content that businesses are not allowed to promote with WhatsApp notifications, such as:

• adult content
• alcohol, tobacco, drugs, or similar products
• gambling
• defense weapons, ammunition, explosives, or similar items
• animal sales
• health products or medication (although there are some exceptions)

Limitations for pharmacies and drugstores

While certain businesses, such as digital subscription services, pharmacies, drugstores, supplement providers and businesses dealing with animal products, were previously excluded from using WhatsApp Business, WhatsApp has changed is policies in 2022 to allow these companies to join the platform. They're still mostly prohibited from using commercial features, but they can now also use WhatsApp Business messaging.

Pharmacies and drugstores, however, still face some limitations. According to WhatsApp, they can't use business messaging to "promote or transact in the sale of pharmaceuticals." However, they can:

• Provide purchase confirmation, such as receipts of non-pharmaceuticals
• Respond to customer inquiries about groceries, convenience items, personal care, and other non-regulated retail products
• Provide delivery updates of non-pharmaceuticals
• Provide customer service related to non-pharmaceutical

Paused campaigns

WhatsApp's  automated template check speeds up the process for launching messaging campaigns, and decreases waiting times and interruptions. Of course, WhatsApp can still pause campaigns if too many users report abuse or block a business, or if the quality of the campaign is considered "low". Unlike before though, WhatsApp typically won't block an entire phone number, just the specific campaign template in question.

If you're using professional software tools like Campaigns from Sinch Engage, you can already benefit from shorter waiting times, and an unlimited number of templates.

• ✅ You can create an unlimited number of templates (e.g. offers, news, content, giveaways, Black Friday deals).
• ✅ Quick approval within 5 minutes.

You'll also see the status of your approval process in your profile. 

Conclusion: WhatsApp notifications are the future of conversational messaging

WhatsApp notifications are a perfect solution for modern, seamless, and personal customer communication. 

The feature can be used successfully throughout the entire customer journey, from marketing to sales and customer service to re-engagement, and retention. That's what makes WhatsApp such a unique tool for business communication, and definitely puts it, along with other messaging apps, at the forefront of conversational messaging. 

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