WhatsApp for customer service: where to start

What do you want from WhatsApp in the first stage? Answering common questions, following up on existing requests, or receiving new enquiries? Each calls for different replies and different people. Starting with one clear purpose beats opening the channel to everything at once.

Look back through recent messages and calls and write down the ten questions you hear most. A clinic may be asked about opening hours, location and specialties; a travel office about required documents and available programmes. That list is your starting point.

Do not use an employee's personal number. The number has to stay with the company when people move on, and it should appear under the company's name. Pick one number for the business and publish it in the same format everywhere.

WhatsApp offers businesses two main routes, and knowing the difference can spare you a poor decision:

• The WhatsApp Business app suits a low volume of conversations handled by one or two people, with no need to connect to other systems.
• The WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) suits several employees answering on one number, or a business that needs approved message templates and a link to its other systems.

On the platform, messages your business starts generally have to use templates approved by Meta, and they follow different rules from replies inside a conversation the customer opened. These rules and their costs change from time to time, so check Meta's current documentation before you build a plan on them.

This is the part companies most often skip. Write down clear answers to these questions:

• Who replies on each shift, and who covers when they are away?
• Where does a complaint or a technical question go?
• How quickly do you aim to reply during working hours?
• What does a customer see if they write after hours?

Publish your hours honestly. People accept waiting when they know when a reply is coming. They resent being left with nothing.

Turn the common questions into short replies approved by whoever is responsible. Treat them as a starting point rather than a fixed script, so the employee can add the customer's name and the details of their request. A few habits help:

Answering someone who wrote to you is one thing. Sending promotions to a list of numbers is something else entirely. WhatsApp's policies expect customers to agree to hear from you, and ignoring that can lead to people blocking you and limits on your number. More importantly, a message nobody asked for damages the relationship. Write to those who agreed, about what matters to them, in moderation, and make it easy to stop.

Every so often, read a sample of conversations. Was the answer right? Was it clear and kind? What new question has come up? Then update your ready replies. That way the service improves based on what your customers actually say.

As conversations and staff multiply, one place for conversations and templates stops being a luxury. That is why GenAI Hub offers a WhatsApp API system with screens for conversations and message templates, on your company number. Our team prepares the system and runs it with you.