WhatsApp, the most popular messaging channel, allows businesses to connect with customers easily. With WhatsApp business integration with Freshworks, your agents can instantly read, respond, and resolve customer issues over WhatsApp.
In this article, you will learn about:
- Use cases
- Benefits of WhatsApp business integration
- Pricing Structure
- Types of WhatsApp products
- Supported Message Types
- FAQs
Use cases
Let's take a look at a few use cases of how businesses can utilize WhatsApp Business App:
Instant Customer Support:
The WhatsApp integration with Freshworks allows you to instantly respond to customer queries, troubleshoot issues, and provide round-the-clock support. You can easily manage all the conversations from a single workspace.
Targeted Marketing Campaigns:
Reach out to customers who have opted in via marketing templates offered by Meta. Promote your products via images, videos, and interactive catalogue links. For more details about WhatsApp templates, see WhatsApp Templates.
Product Promotions:
Enable easy buyer journey for your customers and make it easy for them to quickly browse through your products and service via catalogs and help them place an order, right from WhatsApp.
Intelligent Self-service options:
Deploy chatbots and connect your WhatsApp number via Freshchat/CSS integration to enable self-service. Answer frequently asked questions without any agent intervention.
Benefits of WhatsApp business integration
- Boost agent productivity by enabling your agents to easily manage multiple WhatsApp messages in one, single workspace.
- Provide intelligent self-service options by building and deploying chatbots with your WhatsApp Business Account. Use the Freshchat bots to provide instant responses to common repetitive questions or route them to the correct team.
- With WhatsApp's automation, you can send notifications at the right time using template messages. Attach images, videos, and documents to your messages to add more context.
Pricing Structure
- Conversation session:
Charges will be per 24-hour conversation session, with different rates for business-initiated categories and Service (user-initiated) conversations. A session triggers on delivery of a business-initiated message or a business reply to a user-initiated message. - Free tier: The 1,000 Free Tier Conversations per month applies only to "Service Conversations" (or User-initiated Conversations). Template Conversations (or Business-initiated Conversations) will not count in Free Tier.
- Rates based on recipient region: Conversations will be paid at flat rates (no volume tiers) based on the recipient region & whether they are business-initiated or user-initiated. The rates also vary between the categories of the business-initiated message.
- Free entry points: Conversations that start from ads that click to WhatsApp or the WhatsApp CTA on Facebook pages will be free and the conversation window will be open for 72 hours, instead of the usual 24 hours.
For more details on WhatsApp pricing, see WhatsApp Pricing Model.
Types of WhatsApp products
WhatsApp currently has the following products:
- WhatsApp (WhatsApp Messenger)
- WhatsApp Business App
- WhatsApp Business Platform, previously known as WhatsApp Business API or WhatsApp API
The Freshworks-WhatsApp integration is done via the WhatsApp Business Platform, as Freshworks is an official WhatsApp Business Solution Service Provider (BSP). The following table shows the differences between the three WhatsApp products:
| Feature | WhatsApp Business App | WhatsApp Business Platform (WhatsApp Business API) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage | Personal | Small businesses For example, new start-up businesses that have a lower number of customer interactions that can be handled by one person. | Medium-sized and enterprise businesses for large-scale usage. For example, companies with large customer interactions need more than two agents to handle customer queries. |
| Supported interaction type | One-on-one messaging | Many-to-one | Many-to-many |
| Setup | App download | App download | Contact a Facebook Business Service Provider (BSP), like Freshworks, for setup. For details, see Integrating WhatsApp Account with Freshworks. |
| Pricing | Free | Free | WhatsApp and BSP have a pricing structure. For more details, refer to WhatsApp Pricing. |
| Supported messaging types | Normal text, emoji-based messaging with attachments | Normal text, emoji-based messaging with attachments | Text and rich media (Sessions, Templates) For details, see |
| Approvals required | None | None | Ensure the following:
|
| Verified tick (Green check mark) | Not available | Yes, with approval from WhatsApp | Yes, with approval from WhatsApp |
| Voice or video calling | Available | Available | Not available. However, possible via BSP. |
| Groups | Yes | Yes | Not available. However, possible via BSP. |
| Broadcast list | Yes | Yes | No However, you can still send out campaigns on WhatsApp via BSPs. |
| Contact sync | From phone device | From phone device | Check with BSP |
| WhatsApp pay | Yes | Yes | Yes Possible via payment gateways via BSPs. |
| Labels | No | Yes | Yes |
| Quick replies | No | Yes | Yes |
| Auto responses | No | Yes | Yes |
| Offline messages | No | Yes | Yes |
| Automation | No | Yes | Yes, chatbots can be built using APIs |
| Integration | No | Yes | Yes, if BSP allows via APIs or native integrations. |
Supported Message Types
The list of message types supported on WhatsApp with Freshchat/CSS integration are:
| Message Type | Direction | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Text | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | Yes | |
| Image | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | Yes | |
| Audio | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Via the Voice Recorder Marketplace App | |
| Bot to user | Yes | |
| Video | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | via public URL | |
| File | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | No | |
| Emoji | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | Yes | |
| GIFs | User to agent | Yes |
| User to bot | Yes | |
| Agent to user | No | |
| Bot to user | No | |
| Stickers | User to agent | NA |
| User to bot | NA | |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Bot to user | Yes | |
| Structured Messages | ||
| Articles | Bot to user | Yes |
| Carousel | Bot to user | With transformation |
| Buttons | Bot to user | Yes |
| Drop-down list | Bot to user | Yes |
| Message Events | ||
| Delivered | User to agent | Yes |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Read | Bot to user | No |
| Agent to user | Yes | |
| Typing | Bot to user | No |
| Agent to user | No | |
| Customer Profile | ||
| User Name | Yes | - |
| User Image | No | - |
Next Steps:
Now that you have a brief overview of WhatsApp integration, proceed with the next steps:
- WhatsApp Pricing Policy
- Integrating your WhatsApp Business Platform with Freshworks
- Working with WhatsApp Templates
- Managing your WhatsApp Business Account
FAQs
- Can I add multiple numbers?
Yes, you can add a maximum of 25 numbers. If you want to add more than 25 numbers, please contact support@freshchat.com. - Can we move a phone number back to the WhatsApp Business App from the WhatsApp Business Platform?
Yes, you can - Please write to support@freshchat.com - Can I make calls through WhatsApp?
No, you can't make calls through the WhatsApp Business number. - Can I use a normal number, or should I have a WhatsApp business number?
You can use any number that can receive voice calls or SMS, such as landline, international, or VOIP. - Is ticket creation possible?
Yes, you can create tickets via Freshchat. - I am already using the number to support customers. If I delete the number, will chat history be migrated to Freshchat or Freshdesk?
Your previous WhatsApp contacts will not appear on WhatsApp integration. Please take a backup of your data before deleting it. - Once integrated, will my profile show up as a verified account?
This may take one or two as this is a Meta process. Please note that you must have a verified Facebook account, or your request for a verified WhatsApp number could be rejected. - Will a customer's profile name and picture be visible?
You can see your customer's profile name, but as WhatsApp does not allow us to import their profile picture, you will not be able to see it. - Is it possible to trigger bots for WhatsApp conversations?
Yes. You can assign the Bot to WhatsApp as a Messaging Channel, it will be triggered for WhatsApp conversation. For more details, see How to build a simple bot flow with the bot builder. - What are the file formats supported in WhatsApp?
File formats supported in WhatsApp:- Customers can send images in .jpeg, .png, .pdf, .xlsx, and .docx, which will be received in Freshchat.
- Agents can also send images, files, and videos in the above format, but it will be shown as a link to the end customer, and they will have to click on the link to see the attachment you sent.
Note: The attachment size limit is 25MB for any attachment.
Clearing the chat or deleting messages in WhatsApp will not affect the conversation in Freshchat.
- If I delete messages, will they be deleted from Freshchat as well?
No, deleted messages from the customers' end will still be visible in Freshchat. - How does the block and report function affect a Business?
For end-user protection, WhatsApp has a reporting and blocking mechanism. You must respect all requests by a person to block, discontinue, or otherwise opt-out of your WhatsApp communications. - Can I block a user?
A business cannot block a user from reaching out through the WhatsApp Business number on Freshchat. - Can a business initiate/proactively message a user?
Facebook restricts sending messages to customers after 24 hours. However, they allow proactive messaging for marketing and sales usecases such as order confirmation, booking confirmation, delivery updates, and so on. For more details, see WhatsApp Pricing. - Is there a cut-off time to message/respond to customers?
WhatsApp messages have a cut-off control that prevents messages from being delivered to users out of certain conditions.
You can send regular text messages or media messages (i.e., any non-template messages) within the first 24 hours after the last time the customer sent a message to your business. Template Messages do not have this restriction. For more details, check https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/api/messages#cutoffcontrol - When I write a single message with multiple line breaks, why is the message sent individually or in multiple fragments?
WhatsApp messages for multiline messages will be received as a single message when sent from Freshchat to WhatsApp. This is because WhatsApp does not allow multiple Fragments to be received from Freshchat.
A message can have multiple fragments/parts, which can be a combination of text or images. Freshchat can combine different contents in a single message. However, WhatsApp does not support text and images in a multi-message. Any multi-line messages sent directly by using SHIFT+ENTER, will be broken and sent as single messages.
For more details, contact support@freshchat.com.