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WhatsApp marketing WhatsApp integrations SFMC

Salesforce Integration: Transform Your CRM with our WhatsApp Integration

July 7, 2025

By Michel Behling

Performance Marketing Lead, charles

Talk to our Integration Team

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In this article, we’ll explore how charles’ integration works, its key benefits, and how businesses can use it to capture leads, personalize interactions, and boost revenue.

Introduction

WhatsApp, with its 3 billion active users globally, has become a cornerstone for business communication. Customers increasingly prefer the convenience of messaging platforms for support, updates, and even purchases. When paired with Salesforce, the world’s leading CRM platform, businesses can unlock unparalleled opportunities for personalized engagement, streamlined operations, and revenue growth.

Why integrate Salesforce with WhatsApp using charles?

The growing dominance of WhatsApp in customer communication

WhatsApp is no longer just a personal messaging app — it’s a critical business tool. Its instant, conversational nature allows businesses to connect with customers in a way that feels personal and engaging. Studies show that businesses using WhatsApp see significantly higher engagement rates compared to traditional channels like email or SMS.

Salesforce: The CRM powerhouse

Salesforce is the backbone of customer relationship management for many enterprises. It centralizes customer data, tracks interactions, and enables personalized marketing at scale. However, without integrating real-time communication channels like WhatsApp, businesses risk missing out on valuable customer touchpoints.

The synergy of WhatsApp and Salesforce with charles

By integrating WhatsApp with Salesforce through charles, businesses can:

Capture and sync WhatsApp subscriber data in real-time.
Enrich customer profiles with zero and first-party data from WhatsApp interactions.
Add WhatsApp as a messaging channel for campaigns, journeys, and customer support.
Leverage AI-powered personalization to boost engagement and conversions.

Key use cases and benefits of charles’ Salesforce integration

1. Capture WhatsApp subscribers on Salesforce

With charles, businesses can seamlessly capture WhatsApp opt-ins and sync them with Salesforce. This aligns perfectly with a Customer Data Platform (CDP) strategy, ensuring all customer data is centralized and actionable.

Benefit: Real-time data syncing allows businesses to build richer customer profiles and target them effectively across channels.

2. Enrich customer profiles with zero and first-party data

WhatsApp interactions provide valuable insights into customer preferences, behaviors, and needs. charles ensures this data is automatically added to Salesforce, enabling better segmentation and personalization.

3. Add WhatsApp as an additional messaging channel

Not all customers prefer email or SMS. By integrating WhatsApp, businesses can engage customers on their preferred platform. charles makes it easy to use WhatsApp for campaigns, abandoned cart reminders, and more.

Questions? Ask our team.

How charles simplifies Salesforce WhatsApp integration

Setup Options for Integration

1. Webhooks for real-time data syncing

charles provides webhook nodes that send contact data (including WhatsApp subscription info) to Salesforce in real-time.
Businesses need to create a data extension in Salesforce to store this information.

Advantage: Instant syncing ensures up-to-date customer profiles and faster campaign execution.

2. sFTP Integration for batch data transfers

charles can provide daily files with contact data, which businesses can upload to Salesforce via an sFTP server.
This option is ideal for businesses that prefer batch processing over real-time syncing.

sftp

Note: Hosting a custom sFTP server is also possible with charles’ support.

Adding WhatsApp as a messaging channel

charles has developed a Custom Activity for Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC). This allows businesses to:

Drag and drop the Custom Activity into SFMC journeys.
Configure data (e.g., abandoned cart contents) to send to charles for personalized WhatsApp messages.

custom-activity-sfmc

Example Use Case: For an abandoned cart journey, businesses can pass cart details to charles, which then sends a tailored WhatsApp message reminding the customer to complete their purchase.

Importing and Exporting Data with charles

Import SFMC Audiences into charles: Businesses can place audience data on an sFTP server, and charles will retrieve it for WhatsApp campaigns.
Export Engagement Events to Salesforce: charles provides engagement data (e.g., message delivered, clicked, read) via sFTP, which can be imported into Salesforce for analysis.

See how our customers integrated SFMC

Benefits of charles’ Salesforce WhatsApp integration

1. Enhanced customer engagement

Enable two-way, personalized communication on WhatsApp.
Use AI-powered agents to respond instantly to customer queries.

2. Increased sales and conversions

Leverage conversational commerce to drive purchases directly on WhatsApp.
Use personalized abandoned cart reminders to recover lost sales.

3. Improved operational efficiency

Automate repetitive tasks like data syncing and message delivery.
Streamline workflows between WhatsApp and Salesforce.

4. Data-driven decision-making

Gain real-time insights into customer interactions and campaign performance.
Use analytics to optimize marketing strategies and improve ROI.

How charles stands out from large CDP’s WhatsApp offerings

	charles	Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Template Management	Smooth workflow: Allow marketers to create, submit, and manage templates without leaving the charles platform, thus increasing productivity.	Managing templates causes friction: Templates cannot be created within the platform. Marketers must create and submit them in the Meta Business Manager for approval.
Template Type Support	Channel expertise: charles supports almost all template types, including Carousels and interactive buttons, providing maximum engagement.	Limited template types: Supports only templates Media, CTA, and QRB.
Creating Interactive Customer Journeys	Needs no tech resources & fast time to market: With charles flows, marketers can easily design customer journeys without requiring technical skills.	No native support: Journeys need to be created using automations that require technical resources.
Zero-Party Data Collection	Alignment with CDP strategy: charles allows saving customer responses as properties so that they can be used for personalization and segmentation in future campaigns across all channels (incl. Braze).	No zero-party data collection: In SFMC, there is no easy way to wait for a client response and save it. It is only achievable with a lot of customization and investment of technical resources.
Conversation View	360-degree view: charles provides the full history of interactions between the client and customer in one view. Service agents can use it to solve customer queries.	No view for service agents: Scattered UX experience for agents. In SFMC, marketers can see marketing messages, while SF Service Cloud service agents can see customer responses.

Technical walkthrough: Setting up the integration

Prerequisites

WhatsApp Business API setup.
Salesforce account with necessary permissions.

Step-by-Step Guide

Install the charles Custom Activity in SFMC.
Configure webhooks for real-time data syncing.
Set up sFTP for batch data imports and exports.
Test and optimize campaigns and workflows.

We’ll help you get started

Overcoming Common Challenges

Integration complexities

charles simplifies the process with plug-and-play tools and detailed support.

Data privacy concerns

charles ensures full compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations.

Measuring ROI

charles provides robust analytics to track the impact of WhatsApp campaigns on engagement and revenue.

Conclusion

The integration of Salesforce and WhatsApp through charles is a game-changer for businesses looking to enhance customer engagement, streamline operations, and drive revenue growth. With its AI-powered tools, seamless setup options, and GDPR compliance, charles makes it easy for businesses to unlock the full potential of conversational marketing.

Ready to transform your CRM with charles? Contact us today to get started!

Talk to our Integration Team

Key Takeaways

WhatsApp is a must-have channel for modern businesses.
charles’ Salesforce integration enables real-time data syncing, personalized messaging, and enriched customer profiles.
Use cases include lead generation, abandoned cart recovery, and customer support.
charles simplifies the integration process while ensuring GDPR compliance.

FAQs

What is charles’ Salesforce WhatsApp integration?
- A solution that connects WhatsApp with Salesforce CRM for seamless communication and data management.
How does charles enhance this integration?
- By providing AI-powered agents, automation tools, and real-time data syncing.
What are the setup options?
- Webhooks for real-time syncing or sFTP for batch data uploads.
What are the main use cases?
- Capturing WhatsApp subscribers, enriching customer profiles, and adding WhatsApp as a messaging channel.
How can I get started with charles?
- Contact our team for a demo and step-by-step guidance.