WhatsApp Business Efficiency: How to introduce WeChat Enterprise core business functions into WhatsApp

For many merchants in the foreign trade industry, WhatsApp is the most commonly used platform for communicating with customers, promoting sales, and expanding overseas markets. According to statistics, 108 countries and regions around the world currently use WhatsApp for daily communication, with 2 billion monthly active users. However, many domestic sellers will encounter the following problems when using WhatsApp:

1. Not familiar with the WhatsApp system ecosystem. WhatsApp is divided into personal version , business version and API version , and the three versions are not interoperable.

2. WhatsApp accounts are more external and lack internal enterprise management functions.

3. WhatsApp accounts are usually owned by individuals, which may lead to the risk of employees taking customer resources with them when they leave the company.

Based on the above questions, we found WeChat for Business, which is also focused on toB communication , as a comparison object. Both WhatsApp and WeChat try to expand their business in the 2B market through customer management and marketing activities in the C2B model. The two have certain similarities in function, but the difference lies in the market areas they serve. However, WeChat is more in line with the usage habits of domestic users. Therefore, this article will explore how to implement some excellent business functions of WeChat for Business on WhatsApp to help users optimize their business operations on WhatsApp.

Similarities and differences between WhatsApp and WeChat Business

Similarities

1. Strong social attributes and network effects

WhatsApp and WeChat for Business both have strong social attributes at their core, and the interaction between users is not limited to personal communication, but can also spread to the business field. This social dynamic promotes the rapid circulation of information and word-of-mouth spread of brands, creating a self-reinforcing network effect for enterprises, thereby helping businesses to expand new customer groups based on existing users.

2. Large-scale and highly sticky user base

Both platforms have a large user base, which is not only numerous, but also has a high frequency of daily use and strong dependence on the platform. Such a user pool provides companies with a rich source of potential customers, and through high-frequency interactions, companies can establish closer and longer-term relationships with customers.

3. Mature social module technology and operational experience

WhatsApp and WeChat for Business both use their existing social module technologies and deep operational experience to provide stable and reliable business communication services for corporate users. These mature technology platforms ensure the efficient transmission and processing of business information, while providing a communication method that users are accustomed to, reducing the cost of user adaptation and operational difficulty for enterprises.

Differences

1. Rich in functions

Enterprise WeChat provides a variety of functional modules to support internal enterprise communication, customer management, workflow management, etc., while WhatsApp is mainly aimed at communication between enterprises and customers and does not support functions such as internal enterprise member management.

2. C2B Conversion

WeChat for Business relies on the huge user traffic of WeChat to achieve C2B conversion, allowing companies to directly obtain potential customers from the WeChat ecosystem. Although WhatsApp has a huge user base worldwide, its ecological integration in C2B conversion is not as good as WeChat for Business.

3. User Experience

WeChat for Business allows users to switch to WeChat for Business seamlessly, reducing the user's adaptation cost. Although WhatsApp Business also provides an experience of interoperability with WhatsApp Messenger, its scalability in enterprise functions is not as good as WeChat for Business.

How to expand WhatsApp's functionality

After understanding the limitations of WhatsApp, we need to consider what methods can be used to expand the business functions of WhatsApp. Because even if WhatsApp is limited in some functions, its huge user base and extensive international influence cannot be ignored. So next, I will teach you how to expand the functions of WhatsApp through SaleSmartly, an omni-channel private domain communication tool, so that it can be closer to the efficient standards of WeChat for Business in terms of business communication and customer management.

1. Ownership of account assets

Many overseas bosses realize a problem when using WhatsApp to discuss deals: the personal attributes of WhatsApp accounts are too strong.

This is in stark contrast to the corporate account management mechanism of WeChat for Business, where there is a resignation inheritance feature that allows companies to easily take over former employees’ accounts and customer relationships, whereas in WhatsApp, once employees leave, they are likely to take away customer data and business information under their personal accounts, bringing potential customer loss risks to the company.

Solution

To avoid the above mentioned situation, companies can integrate WhatsApp accounts into the SaleSmartly platform. This means that employees will no longer directly operate WhatsApp accounts, but will communicate and manage through the SaleSmartly intermediary platform. The advantage of this is that employees do not have ownership of customer data and business information in WhatsApp accounts, and cannot take this information with them when they leave.

When an employee leaves, the company only needs to revoke the employee's access rights on SaleSmartly and add the new employee's account to the relevant projects. In layman's terms, it can achieve a change of skin instead of a change of number. This transition process not only ensures the security of information, but also ensures that the new employee can quickly take over the predecessor's business and continue to communicate with customers seamlessly.

2. Customer operation management

When dealing with the issue of WhatsApp account assets, another problem arises: since WhatsApp accounts are usually owned by individuals, customer information cannot be centrally managed. The customer information held by each employee is scattered, making it difficult for companies to build a unified customer database. When companies want to send unified marketing information to all existing customers, they can only rely on employees to regularly submit their customer data.

This process is not only cumbersome, but may also lead to duplication and redundancy of information. Employees may delay or forget to upload data for various reasons, resulting in inconvenience and inaccuracy in data management. Moreover, without a centralized customer database , it is difficult for companies to conduct effective data analysis and customer insights, which limits the effectiveness and accuracy of marketing activities.

Solution

After integrating WhatsApp accounts into the SaleSmartly platform, businesses will be able to automate the collection of customer communication data. Whenever a customer interacts with a business via WhatsApp, the relevant customer information will be automatically included in a centralized customer database. This integrated process not only simplifies data management, but also ensures that the information is updated and accurate in a timely manner.

SaleSmartly provides an intuitive interface that clearly displays important information such as the customer's source channel, account information used, and employee responsible for service. Companies can easily track customer touchpoints and interaction processes. Users can also quickly access chat records with specific customers by clicking the "Details" and "Chat Back" buttons on the right side of the interface. Allow team members to review historical conversations to better understand customer needs and preferences.

If you already have an existing customer list, you can also import it directly into the SaleSmartly system. Currently, it supports the import of WhatsApp personal accounts, business accounts, API accounts, and Email accounts. SaleSmartly also supports companies to specify which employee the imported customer list should belong to, so that customer information can be directly associated with the sales or customer service staff responsible for them. This personalized attribution setting helps ensure the continuity of customer relationships and enables employees to manage and follow up on their customer groups more efficiently.

3. Live code (diversion QR code/diversion link)

WeChat for Business also has a very special feature - Live Code, which is an intelligent QR code management tool. Although a unified QR code is displayed to the outside world, when customers scan the QR code, the system will automatically assign them to different customer service personnel. This feature is particularly suitable for merchants who display sales or customer service QR codes in offline stores.

Traditionally, if a merchant only places a QR code for a fixed employee, this employee may be overloaded with work and unable to respond to all customer needs in a timely manner, or even miss important customer information. The intelligent diversion function of the live code effectively solves this problem. With the live code, even if all customers scan the same QR code, the system can evenly distribute customer requests to multiple customer service personnel, ensuring timely response to customer inquiries and efficient service.

Solution

The [Diversion Link] feature can be found in SaleSmartly 's [Robot], where users can create exclusive links according to their needs. Companies can choose different diversion strategies, such as random diversion, so that customer consultation requests will be randomly assigned to different customer service staff to ensure balanced workload distribution.

For those merchants who operate global businesses, the diversion link provides the option of diversion by time period. Enterprises can arrange corresponding employees according to different geographical markets. Such a time period diversion strategy ensures that global customers can receive timely service and support at the right time.

After the settings are completed, click [Promote] on the right to obtain the active code and diversion link.

4. Information collection and monitoring

WhatsApp provides three different types of accounts in business applications: personal account, business account and API account. Each account has its own unique application scenarios and functions. Personal account and business account are operated through their own applications, while API account needs to be integrated into third-party software before it can be used. For details, please refer to: A picture tells you the difference between WhatsApp, WhatsApp business account and WhatsApp API account (enterprise account)

Although these three accounts are independent of each other in the WhatsApp ecosystem, in actual business, companies often need to use these accounts at the same time to manage different customer groups and business needs. Frequent switching between different types of accounts is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but may also lead to interruptions in workflow and reduced efficiency.

Solution

As an omni-channel private communication tool, SaleSmartly not only supports access to three types of WhatsApp accounts , but also supports access to multiple popular overseas social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LINE, Telegram, etc. This means that companies can manage all social media interactions on a unified interface without having to switch back and forth between different applications and platforms, thus significantly improving work efficiency.

For companies that need to monitor customer inquiries on a daily basis, they can also centrally manage and review customer inquiries on all channels on SaleSmartly , making tracking customer interactions simple and efficient. Companies can monitor customer feedback in real time and adjust business strategies and customer service processes in a timely manner.

Summarize

As an important communication platform in the foreign trade industry, WhatsApp faces problems such as imperfect system ecology, personal ownership of accounts, and insufficient internal management, but its broad user base and influence in the global market cannot be ignored. With its rich functions and advantages in adapting to domestic user habits, WeChat for Business provides companies with another efficient business communication model.

In order to achieve business efficiency similar to that of WeChat for Business on WhatsApp, the application of the SaleSmartly platform provides a feasible solution. By integrating account asset management, automated customer data collection, and intelligent diversion links, it helps companies overcome the limitations of WhatsApp and improve the efficiency of customer management and marketing activities.

Further reading

WhatsApp Private Marketing Guide

WhatsApp message template application collection: better reach WhatsApp customers

How to create a Click to WhatsApp campaign: a complete guide