WhatsApp charges to be adjusted in November 2024: service sessions will be free

Recently, WhatsApp officially announced a major new rule, which will open the service conversation function to merchants for free from November 1, 2024. This policy change is an important cost-effective transformation for merchants, which can greatly reduce the threshold for enterprises to communicate with customers at a low cost. This new rule may also promote merchants to more widely adopt WhatsApp as their official customer service channel and further integrate their digital marketing resources. In this article, we will interpret the terms of WhatsApp's new rules in detail , explore its impact on merchants' business models, and how merchants can use this change to optimize their operating strategies.

Free service conversation analysis

From November 2024, WhatsApp will open free customer service conversations to all businesses, meaning that if the customer initiates the conversation, the business can respond to the customer for free within 24 hours and will no longer be subject to the previous limit of 1,000 conversations per month.

For example, if a customer sends a message to a company, a 24-hour customer service window will be opened. During this 24-hour period, any message that the company replies to the customer is counted as a service session, and WhatsApp will not charge any fees. (This only applies to non-template messages sent to customers. If you send marketing and transaction templates, you will still be charged.)

Service sessions are free for 72 hours if the following conditions are met:

1. Conversation messages initiated by customers using Android or iOS devices through the Click to WhatsApp or Facebook Page call-to-action button channels.

2. The business responded to the conversation within 24 hours.

How businesses can adapt to WhatsApp’s new pricing policy

Based on WhatsApp's latest pricing policy adjustment, our strategy should shift to encouraging customers to contact us proactively, rather than relying on frequently sending template messages to actively trigger conversations. The following methods can be used to actively promote customers' spontaneous interactions:

1. Run Click to WhatsApp ads

WhatsApp officials are encouraging businesses to increase advertising on Facebook and Instagram. From the previous preferential policy of free replies to customers within 72 hours, coupled with the latest new policy of unlimited free replies to customers, increasing advertising investment on these platforms is a wise strategy. Through the " Click to WhatsApp " ad button on Facebook and Instagram, customers can directly open the conversation window. This not only simplifies the customer's communication process, but also provides merchants with a valuable opportunity to enable them to interact with customers an unlimited number of times for free within 24 hours of opening the service conversation window. During this critical service session, merchants can respond to inquiries without restriction, solve customer problems or provide personalized shopping suggestions, thereby enhancing customers' willingness to buy.

2. Add WhatsApp button on the official website

In addition to relying on advertising to attract customer clicks, we can adopt a more direct and basic strategy, which is to integrate a dedicated WhatsApp contact button on your official website. When customers are browsing your website and are interested in your products or services, they can seamlessly click this button to connect with you via WhatsApp.

How to add WhatsApp button on your website?

(1) Open SaleSmartly , find [Integration] - [Chat Plugin], and then create a new chat plugin.

(2) Find the WhatsApp channel in [Plugin Configuration] - [Entry Integration], turn on [Show Entry], and then integrate the WhatsApp API number into the plugin.

You can directly select the WhatsApp API number that has been integrated in SaleSmartly , directly enter the WhatsApp API number and use the diversion link .

(3) After saving the plug-in, return to the following page, click [Integrate Site], and select the independent site or self-built site you want to integrate it into.

Independent Station Tutorial: Independent Station-SaleSmartly-Help Center-SaleSmartly User Guide

Tutorial for self-built websites: How to add a chat plugin to a self-built website? - SaleSmartly - Help Center - SaleSmartly User Guide

3. Increase the visibility of your WhatsApp number

Put your WhatsApp contact information in a prominent position in all marketing materials and customer touchpoints. Whether it is in every email, business card, promotional flyer, product packaging, or social media homepage and post, your WhatsApp contact information should be clearly displayed to ensure that they can get your WhatsApp information in every marketing material, potentially increasing the chances of customers actively initiating a conversation.