The integration of Whatsapp chatbots in customer communication – 6 steps to success

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Mail and telephone were yesterday, messaging apps are today. And chatbots can help in customer service to handle any volume. A little background knowledge and six steps lead the little helpers to success.

Worldwide two billion active users per month, in Germany alone there are 33.4 million: Whatsapp is not only on everyone’s lips, but also on all smartphones. Reason enough for more and more decision-makers to offer the app as a fully-fledged communication channel in customer service. Especially since this offer was opened to companies of all sizes. After all, consumers expect straightforward advice that is as convenient as possible. But with the introduction of WhatsApp as a communication channel, do companies now have to fear a flood of messages that they can only do justice to with great effort and a high level of staffing? Not necessarily! On the one hand, inquiries that would normally be received by email or telephone are diverted to a more efficient medium. On the other hand, chatbots can also be used with WhatsApp for a (first) classification of inquiries and thus valuable relief for employees.

If you take a closer look at the trend, it quickly becomes clear that chatbots have already established themselves on various digital channels – for example in Facebook Messenger or in live chat on company websites. But the use of a bot on WhatsApp is not yet the standard, after all, the messenger is mainly used in private and is far too often underestimated for commercial use. But with the use of the official Whatsapp Business API, companies have the option of integrating automated helpers into the chat.

However, there are some conditions set by Whatsapp that are intended to ensure that the bot does not accidentally spam customers or even cause more confusion than help: On the one hand, a Whatsapp bot can only be used when customers are actively starting a conversation, and on the other hand, he must always be able to forward inquiries to real employees. Last but not least, fewer UI elements such as buttons or input fields are available when using WhatsApp. However, a good chatbot can easily compensate for this with a clever way of communicating.

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So that the Whatsapp bot actually offers added value and is also well received by customers, six basic steps should be observed.

A chatbot should not be implemented as entertainment for the customer. Even the boss’s instructions to promote one’s own “digitization” and to use the panacea “automation” are not appropriate goals. First of all, you should therefore carefully consider whether a bot is really needed. Then a very specific benefit must be defined so that the Whatsapp bot can be specially tailored to it. This is the only way to ensure that he actually helps the customer. What questions and problems do the customers have? Which of the bot functions are useful and easy to implement for your own application? What needs do customers have in terms of service and communication? What does the budget allow?

The main goals are often to relieve the customer service staff by answering frequently asked questions or collecting leads. In the course of this, bots can also be an excellent tool for messenger marketing. Because the direct accessibility via WhatsApp is a big advantage over other communication channels and a chatbot can ensure that the whole thing runs automatically without much effort. In contrast to emails and the like, communication via WhatsApp also leads to extremely high levels of personality due to the perceived personality Open rates of 98 percent – Companies should take advantage of this by, for example, cleverly promoting offers in a conversation and highlighting their benefits without appearing intrusive.

For the implementation of a bot on Whatsapp, the use of the official Whatsapp business API is necessary, since the integration of chatbots is not possible via the normal business app. In addition, there are few basic tools available with the app that do not make professional customer communication possible. Access to the Whatsapp Business API is therefore far more worthwhile: not only for data protection reasons, but also for the more extensive implementation of a machine helper. While the interface was only available to large corporations for a long time, it has recently also become available to very small companies – so companies of all sizes can implement complex settings and offer their customers a comprehensive service that is also scalable. The API is docked to professional customer messaging software, which companies can then use to communicate with their customers. Companies only get access to the API through partner companies who ensure that the Whatsapp infrastructure is used properly.

This next step can be a crucial point for the success of an implementation, because as for “human” employees, the same applies to the bot: It should have a personality that fits the company and is personable! Because it’s called a chatbot, but in the end customers want to have the feeling of being given friendly, competent and targeted advice – ideally with as personal a touch as possible.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to give the Whatsapp bot its own profile picture and name, because the application already pulls the name and picture from the company profile. In contrast to chatbots, which greet customers on the company’s own website: There is much more leeway here to express a personality. Although there are fewer options with WhatsApp in this regard, companies should be careful not to let the bot appear cool, but trustworthy and personable. One possibility for this is a welcome message in which the helper introduces himself and uses suitable emojis (less is more here, however 😄 👌 💁‍♀‍ 💡).

There are basically two different “types” of chatbots – including Whatsapp. On the one hand, there are context-based chatbots. They require the greater amount of work in terms of strategic planning and also more complex AI-based systems. There are also rule-based chatbots. They follow a simpler structure, for example with a numbered selection menu or simple keyword recognition. The second variant requires less effort and there is less risk of the conversation going nowhere – after all, answer options are usually already given. An entertaining text preparation breathes life into the whole thing. In addition to a welcome message and matching emojis, media files can also provide variety.

Variables can also be used: information that is queried by the bot and then used within the conversation to personalize messages – such as the customer’s name or place of residence. In order to keep the conversation flowing, it is advisable to play through many possible processes when creating the bot. Some providers also ensure that the bot’s response appears a little delayed – like in a conversation with a real person.

Last but not least, a redirect from the bot to the real employee should be available in any case – because WhatsApp even requires this for implementation. After all, it can always be the case that customers ask questions that are beyond the capabilities of the bot. Nevertheless, the bot has often already done good preparatory work in this case and, for example, requested the contact details and the customer’s request. This saves employees time and gives them more space to process more complex inquiries.

A first test phase before the launch is important – after all, it is the only way to determine whether and where there are still problems. In addition, it can often be helpful to include bystanders in the test phase – i.e. those who are neither part of the development nor part of your own company. They can give the best feedback and are most likely to empathize with the customer experience.

Regular checks after the launch of the chatbot ensure that everything continues to work as desired, because small adjustments and changes often have to be made at regular intervals.

What use is the best software if nobody knows of its existence? As good as nothing. It is therefore important that customers also find out about the existence of the Whatsapp bot and know what added value it brings with it. It should be clear to the customer that using the bot is a simple and convenient method of obtaining information or solving certain problems – as soon as that is achieved, both sides benefit!

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