WhatsApp Appointment Guide: Easily Receive 24-hour Customer Appointments

As one of the most popular mobile applications in the world, WhatsApp is the most commonly used communication tool for foreign trade and cross-border e-commerce companies. However, due to the time difference, many companies are unable to respond to customer questions online 24 hours a day, and a slow response rate may accelerate the loss of potential customers. The WhatsApp appointment function can effectively solve this problem. The appointment function allows customers to choose the appropriate time to communicate with the company, allowing companies to receive customer appointment information 24 hours a day, understand customer needs in advance, prepare solutions in a targeted manner, and improve customer retention and customer satisfaction. This article will introduce in detail how to set up WhatsApp appointments, as well as how to improve the effectiveness of WhatsApp appointments and promote corporate sales conversion.

Advantages of WhatsApp appointment booking

Reduce customer churn

When customers consult during off-hours, the WhatsApp appointment process automatically advances the interaction with customers and collects their appointment information. This allows employees to directly check customer appointment information during working hours and quickly contact customers, thereby effectively avoiding customer churn and improving customer retention.

Understand customer needs in advance

If the WhatsApp appointment function is set up properly, corporate employees can clarify the specific needs of customers before formal communication, such as the number and type of products the customer is expected to purchase. This will help companies better introduce products or functions based on user needs, thereby improving communication efficiency.

Improve communication efficiency

Through the WhatsApp appointment function, customers can choose the most suitable time to make an appointment according to their needs, and companies can proactively contact customers according to the time they set the appointment, avoiding disturbing customers at inappropriate times. This arrangement not only respects customers' time, but also makes the company's service more efficient.

How to set up WhatsApp appointment function

1. Set up WhatsApp appointments through automated processes

(1) Apply for a WhatsApp Business API account

The prerequisite for using the WhatsApp appointment function is to apply for a WhatsApp Business API account. Operations closely related to the appointment function, such as WhatsApp Flow and WhatsApp Automation, need to be implemented through the WhatsApp API.

For more information on how to apply for an API account, please refer to this article: Introduction to WhatsApp Business API: Full analysis of features, fees, and application methods

(2) Integrate the WhatsApp Business API account into the SaleSmartly platform

Since WhatsApp itself does not directly have an appointment function, companies can integrate the WhatsApp Business API account into the SaleSmartly platform and use its automated process to implement the WhatsApp appointment function.

In addition, SaleSmartly supports the aggregation of multiple WhatsApp accounts. Companies can receive appointment information from different WhatsApp accounts through one platform, thereby allocating customer service resources more efficiently and responding quickly to the needs of WhatsApp appointment customers.

(3) Set up automation

In order to allow customers to successfully make appointments on WhatsApp, companies can set up automated processes. The automated processes are automatically connected during the company employees' rest time to collect customer appointment information.

The following is an example of the automation process setting for a new energy vehicle foreign trade company. The company can adjust its own business needs based on this automation idea:

①Create automatic replies during non-business hours

Set up automatic reply rules for customer service after-hours. When customers initiate inquiries during this time period, the system will automatically send appointment time options to guide customers to complete the appointment.

②Set up automatic reply content

When a customer sends a message during the non-business hours set above, an automatic reply message can be set to inform the user that the business is closed.

Example of automatic reply content: "Hello, thank you for your attention. Our team is currently off duty, but we are still looking forward to serving you! You can select your needs according to the button below to make an appointment. Our team will contact you within one working day according to your appointment. Please pay attention!"

③ Collect customer information based on demand

This section can be set up based on the customer information that the company needs to collect for its products. For example, a new energy vehicle foreign trade company needs to collect key information such as the type of vehicle they want to buy, the expected purchase quantity, the target delivery location, and the expected delivery time to understand customer needs in advance. Companies can customize information collection fields based on their products.

Note: Due to official restrictions of Meta, the appointment button can only send a maximum of three options to the user. Therefore, when setting the required options, it is recommended to express the customer's needs clearly through three buttons to facilitate the customer's selection.

④Consult the user for the appointment time

After collecting user needs, customers should be guided to choose a specific appointment time to facilitate company employees to arrange time to contact customers. Companies can set optional time periods every hour starting from employees' working hours for customers to choose a suitable communication time.

⑤Confirm with the user that the reservation information has been received

When the customer selects an appointment time, the system should automatically send a confirmation message to ensure that the customer knows that the appointment has been successfully submitted. Message example "Thank you for your appointment! We will serve you within one working day, please pay attention!"

2. Write code using WhatsApp Flow

Enterprises can also use Meta's official Flow API to make WhatsApp appointments. This feature also requires applying for a WhatsApp Business API account. After the application is successful, the enterprise can create a WhatsApp appointment process by editing the JSON code of the Flows process. This method is more suitable for enterprises that want to set up the entire WhatsApp appointment process by themselves.

How to improve the effectiveness of WhatsApp appointments

1. Set up a customer feedback mechanism

After the customer completes the appointment, the company can add an invitation review process to invite customers to provide feedback on the entire appointment experience, which can help the company continuously optimize the service quality of WhatsApp appointments.

2. Set a personalized appointment message

In order to enhance customer participation, personalized elements such as system variables such as user name can be inserted when confirming appointment information.

For example, on the SaleSmartly platform, you can set up automated messages:

“{{NAME}}，感谢您的预约！我们将在一个工作日内为您服务，敬请留意！”

When actually triggered, {{NAME}} will be automatically replaced with the customer's WhatsApp name, providing customers with a more personalized service experience.

3. Tag users who make appointments on WhatsApp

In order to facilitate corporate employees to quickly respond to customers who have made appointments on WhatsApp when they go to work the next day , after the customer completes the entire appointment process, the company can add an automated condition trigger to label the customers who have made appointments as "appointment customers" and classify the customers.

After work, corporate employees can directly filter the visitor label as [Appointment Customer] in [Online Chat] - [Filter] - to make it convenient for corporate employees to respond to customers' WhatsApp appointment consultations as quickly as possible.