Getting started with a WhatsApp bot: Everything you need to know

A WhatsApp bot allows you to scale marketing campaigns, assure 24/7 availability, and even sell more. In this guide, we look at what a WhatsApp bot can do for your business, and how you can get started with one. 

Did you know that on WhatsApp Business, 175 million people message a business account every day? Even if your company had to handle only a tiny fraction of 0.0001% of these messages, you would still end up with 175 messages per day. That's a lot of inquiries, questions, requests, and complaints to handle if you want to give each customer the attention they deserve and solve their issues fast. And that's exactly where a WhatsApp bot comes in!

The automated tool can help your customer service, but also boost your business in many other ways. In the following, we explain what WhatsApp chatbots are, what they can do for your company, how you can set up one for your business (easily!), and how other organizations are already using them successfully.

What's a WhatsApp bot?

A WhatsApp bot is a virtual assistant that can automate interactions on WhatsApp. Typically, businesses use chatbots on WhatsApp to answer FAQs, gather first data from a customer, or automatically send out marketing messages. 

Important: You can only integrate chatbots on WhatsApp if you use the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). Chatbots don't work with the free WhatsApp Business App. 

💡WhatsApp Business vs. WhatsApp Business Platform? These are the differences!

Advantages of WhatsApp chatbots in numbers

WhatsApp is already the world's most popular messaging app, and in the past years, it's been turning into a powerful online marketplace for businesses as well. Its performance outshines even the most popular social media sites when it comes to reach, user engagement, conversion rates, and customer loyalty. 

• Popularity: In India, 70% of customers prefer messaging over e-mail or phone calls.
• Acceptance: 75% of Indians are more likely to do business with a company if they can message them. 
• Engagement: WhatsApp messages are read within minutes, and have open rates over 95%, and click-through-rates of 35%. 
• Conversions: Doing business on WhatsApp can generate conversion rates of up to 90%
• Loyalty: Businesses have noticed up to 50% less churn once they started serving customers on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp bots can take all of these advantages, and elevate them even more! 

---

---

What are the advantages of a WhatsApp chatbot?

1. They increase efficiency

From FAQs to sending delivery updates or even OTPs: Chatbots on WhatsApp make a lot of communication processes more efficient. 

2. They reduce the work load for your service team

The option of automating answers reduces the workload for your customer service team, offers faster help for your customers, and leaves more time to deal with demanding issues.

In fact, a WhatsApp chatbot can help your company to be up to 80% more efficient!

3. Many customers prefer talking to chatbots

Don't underestimate how much customers appreciate the speed of chatbots. According to a recent survey by the customer service platform Tidio, 62% of customers said they would prefer to talk to a bot if they would get a faster answer.

4. You guarantee 24/7 availability

Even outside of business hours, chatbots can answer customer questions, and even if it's just to let them know when you're available again. This is still more helpful than no answer!

5. Chatbots offer more opportunities for personalization

Did you know that companies that address their customers personally have a better image and sell more? In a survey by the consulting agency McKinsey, 76% of respondents said that they were more likely to buy from a brand, if they offered personalized service. WhatsApp chatbots can do that!

5. WhatsApp bots improve your sales funnel

What did the customer buy last time? Is it the customer's birthday today, and would it be a good idea to send them a special birthday deal? Do you want to send repeat customers special Diwali offers? Gathering this kind of information in a timely manner can take your service team a lot of time. A WhatsApp chatbot can do that in seconds.

As you can see, WhatsApp bots offer a lot of advantages for your customers and your team. So, how can you create one?

How to create a WhatsApp chatbot for your business in just a few steps

Building a WhatsApp chatbot might sound complex, but it doesn't have to be. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create one for your business:

Step 1: Choose the Right WhatsApp Platform

To set up a WhatsApp chatbot, you'll need to use the WhatsApp Business Platform (formerly WhatsApp Business API). You can't set up chatbots on the WhatsApp Business App!

Step 2: Decide on Development Approach

You can either choose a developer approach or work with a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) like Sinch Engage. The latter option is often more user-friendly and doesn't require coding skills.

Step 3: Design Your WhatsApp bot

Utilize a chatbot builder, like Sinch Engage's drag-and-drop tool, to design your chatbot's dialog flow. This step is crucial for creating a smooth customer experience.

Check out our step-by-step guide on building a WhatsApp bot without coding skills!

Step 4: Automate dialogs and topics

At the core of your WhatsApp chatbot are its dialogs and topics. You can pre-define topics to give context to your bot's responses. The WhatsApp Business Platform buttons make interactions even smoother and more efficient.

Step 5: Implement personalization and data integration

To provide a personalized experience, integrate your chatbot with your CRM system to retrieve customer data. Data model integrations can enhance conversation engagement.

Step 6: Analysis and optimization

Regularly analyze your chatbot's performance. Identify commonly unanswered questions and popular topics to make improvements. This optimization will ensure that your chatbot evolves alongside your business.

Integrating your WhatsApp bot with other platforms

WhatsApp chatbots are not limited to the WhatsApp platform alone. They can seamlessly integrate with other software systems and platforms. Companies often link WhatsApp chatbots to:

• CRM Systems: Integrate your chatbot with customer relationship management systems to streamline customer interactions and access critical customer data quickly.
• E-commerce Platforms: Enhance the shopping experience by connecting your chatbot with e-commerce platforms. Provide customers with product information, track orders, and facilitate online transactions.
• Customer Support Software: Chatbots can work in tandem with customer support software to efficiently handle customer inquiries, creating a seamless support process.

Multilingual Support

To cater to a multilingual audience, implementing multilingual support in your WhatsApp chatbot is essential.

Global companies like the e-commerce brand Women's Best, for example, have excelled in this aspect. They provide support in multiple languages, ensuring that customers from various regions feel valued and understood.

Tracking and analyzing WhatsApp bot data

Gathering valuable insights from your WhatsApp chatbot interactions is crucial. Tools like  Sinch Engage offer robust analytics and reporting features. They help you track user interactions, assess performance, and gain insights into your customers' preferences. Analyzing data enables you to make data-driven decisions for further optimization.

---

---

Managing large-scale WhatsApp bots

As your business grows, you might need to manage large-scale WhatsApp bots effectively. Advanced chatbot management platforms like Sinch Engage offer solutions to handle numerous conversations simultaneously, ensuring prompt responses and a smooth user experience. Proper management is vital to meet the needs of an expanding customer base.

How much does a WhatsApp bot cost?

If you're a Sinch Engage client, the WhatsApp chatbot is already included. 

This means: as a regular customer, you have no additional cost for using a WhatsApp chatbot on Sinch Engage!

Real-world examples of WhatsApp bots

Now, that we've seen in theory why WhatsApp chatbots can be so helpful, and how you can create one, let's look at how other companies use WhatsApp bots in practice.

"Genie": Orion Mall's chatbot that increases revenue

Orion Mall is a shopping center in Bangalore, India. Aside from retailers, visitors can also find many other entertainment options at the mall, such as restaurants, movie theaters, and events. When the Orion team looked at introducing a chatbot, they wanted to tackle several goals: inform users about ongoing entertainment options, provide faster answers to FAQs, and get more foot traffic to the mall.

With the WhatsApp chatbot "Genie", they were able to achieve all of these goals. The bot can answer common questions around mall activities by using a simple, but smooth dialog.

In addition, by meeting their customers on their favorite social media platform, Orion Mall has also been able to improve their marketing activities with the help of Genie by informing users about upcoming events. As a result, the mall has seen more visitors, and increased their revenue.

BMW: "Follow Now" bot for real-time repair status

The car dealer BMW offers a special workshop service at their service station in Munich. With the WhatsApp chatbot "Follow Now", customers can use WhatsApp to easily check on the status of their car at any time and get real-time updates.

This reduces the workload for the customer service team, and frees up time to deal with more complex customer inquiries. When the car is ready, the WhatsApp bot makes it easy to schedule a pick-up appointment, too.

Digify Africa: improving education with a bot

Digify Africa is a youth-led digital education organization in Africa that aims to educate young people about digitalization and social media. In Africa, however, access to the internet is not as ample, and mostly restricted to cell phones. In order to reach more users, Digify Africa decided to introduce a WhatsApp chatbot.

With the help of WhatsApp and chatbots, Digify Africa managed to reach a 50% course completion rate on WhatsApp, and achieve a 3.6 times growth in learners.

Creating a WhatsApp bot: What to consider

Most companies don't need very advanced chatbot capabilities. Simple messenger app bots typically already do the trick, and are ale to answer most FAQs. However, your chatbot also has to be ready to re-direct customers to a human agent when questions get too complex.

❗️ Note: As part of a WhatsApp Business Platform update from 2020, businesses now have to guarantee a handover from a bot to a human agent.

They can do so by:

• direct handover in the chat
• posting a phone number or e-mail
• web support or a form

Tool tip: Use the drag-and-drop Chatbot Builder on SInch Engage to design an easy transfer from bot to human agent.

Variables are also important to consider as they help the WhatsApp chatbot to ask a user previously defined information. This data can then be used for personalization or targeting. For example, a bot can ask a user for their name, age, location, and so on.

How to develop a concept for your first WhatsApp chatbot

A WhatsApp chatbot has one main purpose: help you reach your business goals! That's why the first step in developing a WhatsApp bot is to define these goals.

• Make sure that the chatbot can really help you to reach your goals.
• WHO should speak WHERE and HOW about WHAT: make a mini checklist to create a purposeful chatbot.
• You don't always need artificial intelligence (AI) for a chatbot. Mainly, you need a smart, human idea.

Many tasks that companies want to automate can be completed by simple bots. There is no reason to make a bot complicated than it needs to be. However, if your company is looking to launch a bot in a more complex environment, there are also easy ways to set up AI-based chatbots on WhatsApp.

Six questions to answer when planning a WhatsApp bot

Mapping your company goals is only the first step towards a successful WhatsApp bot. The second step is to think about what type of bot would benefit your customers the most. After all, they are the ones who will interact with your bot. That's why you have to ensure that the human-bot interaction is as smooth as possible. Ask yourself in advance:

1. What's the goal of the WhatsApp chatbot?
2. How should the bot talk?
3. What should the chatbot talk about?
4. Do I want a guided or a free-flow dialog?
5. How can I set up the chatbot dialog?
6. How should I handle questions that the bot can't answer?

Once you can answer these questions, you are ready to get started with your own WhatsApp chatbot.

Software solution for WhatsApp bots

It's amazing what you can do with a WhatsApp chatbot! The good news is: you can easily implement all these services from the above examples with our software solution. It can be used immediately, and it's browser-based. In addition, your company can assure 100% data protection.

With targeted bot automation, our easy and smart drag-and-drop chatbot builder helps you and your company make customer communication more efficient.

---