How to choose the right WhatsApp Business software: 11 things to look for

The WhatsApp Business app is ok for small businesses, but larger brands need to use the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). For this, you'll need software from a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP). Here's how to choose the right one.

I talk to prospective clients every day about what they need for their commercial, brand and support needs. I've ended up with a deep understanding about what doesn't and doesn't work for different types of businesses looking to get into conversational commerce (cCom). 

It's a long-term solution that comes with fixed costs. So of course you need to be sure what you're buying.

Done right of course, the ROI is more than worth it. Our clients get as much as 155x return on WhatsApp marketing campaigns. One client, SNOCKS, has just made its first €1 million on WhatsApp 🚀 and plans to make over €250k this Black Friday.

To help you equip your business with the right WhatsApp Business tools, and to celebrate Singles Day, here's my checklist of 11 things you should make sure your WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) offers:

11 must-haves from your WhatsApp Business Solution Provider

What's a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP)?

A WhatsApp BSP is a software company that provides a user interface to businesses so they can use the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). They are Meta Partners that offer WhatsApp expertise and software. You can find them in the Meta Partner directory.

See more in the article, WhatsApp Business Solution Providers (BSPs): What are they? How do you choose one?

To make sure you run a profitable, engaging WhatsApp channel, here's what you should make sure your BSP offers:

1. Sales and marketing as well as support  💰

Too many WhatsApp software platforms offer only the functionality to do customer service and support, often through a chatbot.

But that's not enough.  

When it comes to closing the deal, the functionality isn't there and you lose out on sales. All-encompassing software is rare to see, and yet it gives you crucial awareness of your customers' habits – previous orders and preferences for example – and you unlock far greater potential. 

It's the same with WhatsApp marketing campaigns. You need the functionality to make these a success, beyond what a simple support solution offers.

Not many companies offer all three (we do 😊 ) so really think about how you want to use WhatsApp and check that your software will do these things:

• Marketing: can you send targeted marketing campaigns to specific audiences and analyze results? Can you automate?

• Sales: can you integrate your online shop to view products and send checkout links in chat?

• Support: can you answer customer questions easily and offer delivery updates? 

This is not just about ensuring sales, but also a return on investment (ROI) on your platform.

Each WhatsApp conversation has a cost (as opposed to email which is free), so the ability to earn real revenue is essential to prove the work of WhatsApp as a channel.

Strong, advanced marketing functionality like audience segmentation, analytics, automation and shop integration is key to making the ROI you need.

2. Advanced audience segmentation 🙋🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️

WhatsApp is a personal space and people want to keep that way. The key to making business chats work without intruding on customers is to be personal, friendly and stick to our golden rule: high relevance, low frequency. 

Meaning? Your WhatsApp marketing campaigns should reach only those you're sure will be interested in them.

High relevance: being able to segment your audience easily and granularly. Your solution should make this easy and should be smart enough to gather information about your customers in the first place. 

Low frequency: we usually say no more than 1-2 campaigns a month. This ensures high engagement and minimizes the chances of you getting blocked and risking your WhatsApp quality status. You could even be blocked from the WhatsApp platform if you overdo it.

3. GDPR compliance 🚓

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the law in Europe and is recommended everywhere else in the world. It protects customers from receiving unwanted messages or advertising and puts all of us in control of our data.

Countries like India are advanced with WhatsApp Business, but GDPR doesn't apply there and because of this there are some spam issues. In the EU on the other hand, businesses need to comply to GDPR and get "double opt-ins" before they're allowed to chat with customers. Simply put: people need to say at least twice that they want to hear from you.

A platform with this built in will ensure you don't need to worry about GDPR, you just know that you're always compliant. As we're based in Europe, our platform is founded on GDPR. We employ a legal privacy expert and ensure this is central to our product strategy. 

Read more in Whats's GDPR got to do with WhatsApp?

4. Automation 🏃‍♂️

Automation can save you time, money and effort. Most businesses with a WhatsApp channel use automation.

To keep things personal, automate your message journey but not the text. You still write the messages in your brand tone, but they're sent automatically, through a flow that's triggered by each customer response. 

Automation saves you:

• Time: send automated replies to common questions 
• Money: minimize the number of agents you need for live customer chats
• Sales: send automated replies when your store is closed to keep selling out of hours
• Brand: be consistent in messages, avoid mistakes and send correct information, repeatedly

And of course you should always be able to switch to a real conversation if you need to.

See how we do WhatsApp automation with our feature, Journeys.

5. Easy integrations ⛓

It's likely you've already invested in software like Shopify, Slack, Messenger and others. Make sure the software offers easy integration with these.

If not, you'll end up with product complexity, a longer onboarding, and have to switch back and forth from product to product. This leads to lost time, frustration and, in the worst case, mistakes when talking to customers.

Easy integrations ease the onboarding process, minimize disruption and make sure you have a real-time view of whats happening in your organisation.

Take your shop as an example

When you can integrate your shop system, you can check availability, see customer buying behavior and drag and drop products into chat. You can even send a checkout link with a filled cart to customers in chat and they can purchase in 1 tap. 

See charles integrations.

6. Opt-in collectors 💬

You can't make WhatsApp a success if you don't have your customers' phone numbers. Lots of them. 

How do you get them? There are several ways, but the most important one is the chat bubble on your website (we call it a "Chat-in." See more here (Step 3).

Your software should include the ability to add these easily to your site and the flexibility to adapt them to your brand.

See how to build your WhatsApp subscriber base with charles Chat-ins. 

7. A human touch 🫶

As you probably know from your own personal experience, chatbots can actually damage your customer experience. Choose a provider who will aim to keep the human in the conversation, and will offer you automation without the need for a chatbot (unless of course you want one). 

Few people want to talk to a bot when they have a question. They want tailored, personal customer service, just like you'd offer in a real-life store, and that's exactly what you should aim for when you get into WhatsApp.

8. Easy-to-use interface 🪁

You platform should be a pleasure to use, and easy to pick up. Too many providers focus on the technical features and forget that the user just wants an easy, simple experience so they can make the most of the tools on offer.

Also, it should require little training. There may be different people dipping in and out of the platform – customer service, marketing and social media teams. And you might even hire extra people for big shopping days like Black Friday, Christmas and Singles Day. The easier it is to use your platform, the quicker and smoother your processes will be. 

Most importantly, if everyone can use the platform easily, and find the features they need, your customers will enjoy a seamless experience – like it's just one conversation with your brand.

See charles' WhatsApp contact center solution, Conversations.

9. Fair pricing 💶

WhatsApp costs more than email. You pay per conversation you have with a customer. Plus you pay a monthly fee for your WhatsApp Business platform. Even though the returns our clients are seeing are (very) large, you should still shop around to get a good price. 

As an example, our monthly fee includes excellent support: including ongoing support from our Success team to ensure ROI, a Product team that includes your feedback and hires the highest quality talent there is, and seasonal creative campaign ideas. The aim of this is to grow your business so that your revenue continues increasing.

See more about WhatsApp Business API pricing here.

10. Stability 💪

Will the platform break if you send 50,000 messages at a time? If you're a big company already, or looking to grow bigger, make sure your platform can support you easily now and in the future.

WhatsApp Business software is a relatively young technology and there are many new players arriving on the scene. Young and fresh is ok, but unstable is not. 

11. Ongoing support 🏋️

Your success doesn't just rest on the software: it can be made or broken by your relationship with the provider.

A good WhatsApp Business platform provider will give you more than just some clever tech: it will be a business partner, offering strong ongoing support and advice to ensure your success in the WhatsApp Business environment.

WhatsApp an exciting but pretty new channel, which means information is thin on the ground to help you decide on the best platform. Hopefully this helps you when shopping around for the best WhatsApp Business tools. 

Want to give charles a try? Let's show you around.

It's easy to get started with WhatsApp, but first you probably want to see how it would work for your business. We'll make you a presentation with use cases we think would generate revenue and help build relationships with your customers, based on your business goals. 

Book a slot with our friendly sales team and we'll take you through a demo.