The chatbot is a robot capable of chatting properly with a human interlocutor. Very popular for its online services, it allows companies to ensure a continuous service day and night. While it is very popular on Facebook’s sites and instant messaging, its integration on WhatsApp is more recent. Find out in this post how to use a WhatsApp chatbot for your business.
WhatsApp chatbot : what is it ?
A chatbot is a computer program with the ability to simulate human conversations. It interacts with Internet users, via mobile applications, websites and different messaging applications.
Very popular on communication channels such as Messenger, the chatbot later appeared on the famous instant messaging application WhatsApp, especially the WhatsApp Business version. Unlike other chat platforms, its use on WhatsApp is subject to certain restrictions. Indeed, only customers are allowed to initiate a conversation with your company’s WhatsApp chatbot, which can only be used to reply in the customer service window. In addition, for its installation, you must provide the possibility of a direct referral to a human agent.
The advantages of using a WhatsApp chatbot
Associating a chatbot with your WhatsApp would be very beneficial for your business. Indeed, with over 2 billion users, WhatsApp is the largest instant messaging application in the world. In 2020, its WhatsApp Business version, specially designed for business operations, already had more than 50 million users. Chatbots, on the other hand, are very trendy at the moment. A study by Gartner revealed that conversational agents allow companies to reduce the number of calls, emails or chats by 70%. Moreover, other studies such as the one conducted by Entrepreneur have shown that most customers appreciate chatbots with whom they can chat at any time and get quick answers to their queries. So, if adopting WhatsApp allows you to interact with your customers easily, the chatbot will ensure your availability 24/7.
Using a WhatsApp chatbot
Using a chatbot on the WhatsApp application requires some prior arrangements :
- Define your needs.
- Choose a good chatbot provider.
- Choose the right WhatsApp version for you.
Define your needs
Before adopting a chatbot on your WhatsApp, you need to have a clear vision on how you want to use it. Do you want it to assist your agents? Do you want it to replace them at closing time? Or to remind them of specific tasks? It’s up to you to create a list of what you want from your chatbot. The choice of which model to adopt for your business will depend on this.
Choose a good chatbot provider
Several platforms specialize in creating chatbots. After defining your needs, you can go to a provider like Botnation that will allow you to quickly create your chatbot by following easy to understand tutorials. On this site, you can view demos of different chatbot models, so you can get an idea of how the chatbot you will adopt will work.
Choose the right WhatsApp version for you
Once you have chosen the chatbot model that suits your business, you can install it on one of the solutions available on the WhatsApp platform, namely the WhatsApp Business application or the API. The choice you make will depend on the size of your business and your budget. Indeed, while the WhatsApp Business version allows you to deliver automatic greetings and predefined responses for frequent requests, the WhatsApp API model allows large and medium-sized companies to perform much more complex maneuvers.