The Best Practices of a WhatsApp Chatbot

WhatsApp Chatbot Look and Feel

So what does a WhatsApp Bot look like? Well… like any other chatbot. The WhatsApp interface is unchangeable of course, but the chatbot behind it can be as advanced as you want it to be. Your digital employee can make use of all of WhatsApp’s features, including images, gifs, emoji’s and so on.

How to Set Up a WhatsApp Chatbot

So how do you set up a WhatsApp chatbot? It’s fairly easy, but you need to have a WhatsApp Business API account. WhatsApp Business API is the business solution WhatsApp provides for middle- to large companies. It will allow you to communicate with your customers over WhatsApp in two different types of messages: Session Messages initiated by your customer and Templated Messages initiated by you.

Session Messages start when your customer reaches out to you on WhatsApp. It will open a 24-hour time window in which you can freely chat with your customer. Within this session, you can personalise and/or automate the customer journey to your liking. A perfect chance for a chatbot to answer the incoming user questions with its knowledge base powered by AI.

Once the Session Messages window closes you can no longer freely chat with your customer, but you’ll be able to send Templated Messages if your customers gave you an opt-in to do so. This will allow you to send useful notifications and/or reignite the conversation (with the bot).

The Best Practices of a WhatsApp Chatbot

Now that you know how to set up a chatbot on your WhatsApp API, let’s discuss some best practices. Do you want your WhatsApp Bot to outperform all the others? Then listen to these tips:

Content

Think about what dialogues you want your WhatsApp Bot to have with your customers and in what way you wish to communicate with them. Think about the tone of voice. WhatsApp is a social platform and a conversational style in writing is well received. Also, make sure to formulate your chatbot answers short and to the point. Nobody wants to read an instruction manual in speech bubbles on WhatsApp.

Escalate and Elevate

Make sure that you have an escalation available when the chatbot cannot answer the question your customer asks of it, or if the situation requires live personal contact. No chatbot is omniscient. Handing over the conversation to a live agent (in WhatsApp) will provide a satisfying customer journey when the chatbot is unable to answer or when the preferred journey is to have direct contact with your customer.

Omnichannel Presence

Chatbots are, of course, not limited to WhatsApp. The Bot you have on WhatsApp can also be implemented into your webpage. Or app. Or IVR. Or other messaging tools you use to converse with your customers. Some chatbot solutions will allow you to use the same knowledge base for your omnichannel presence. Build the conversation once, have the conversation everywhere.

Innovate

Don’t just view your WhatsApp Bot as a simple FAQ tool. It can (and should) be so much more than that. Once you’ve started the conversation with your customer, wouldn’t it be great to also help them achieve their goal within the same platform?

Does your customer wish to see their order status? Or data usage? Or when their contract is up for renewal? Instead of directing them to your website or app, why not have your chatbot show them the information in WhatsApp? Does your customer wish to purchase something from you or pay an invoice? Offer to initiate the payment through WhatsApp. Does your customer wish to make an appointment? Take their information and make the appointment in your back-end system through your WhatsApp Bot.

By connecting your WhatsApp chatbot to other programs and/or your CRM system, you will elevate your customer service to the next level.

Interested in Your Own WhatsApp Chatbot?

Want to know more about chatbots (in and outside of WhatsApp)? Feel free to request a demo or ask us for more information. We’re happy to help you choose the correct chatbot solution for your business.