The Difference Between WhatsApp and WhatsApp for Business

• WhatsApp is a personal messaging app designed for privately communicating with friends, family, and businesses. More than two billion users¹ around the world do just that every day.
• WhatsApp for Business is a portfolio of business communications solutions (a free app, a more sophisticated API platform, and an ad format that clicks to WhatsApp) with additional features that enable businesses to do more at scale, like interact with customers over WhatsApp, bring in new customers and revenue, and grow.

WhatsApp for Business includes products that support businesses from large to small. Depending on which product(s) you choose, you can manage everything from customer service to sales. You can easily create catalogs that serve as mobile storefronts to showcase products or services, respond to customers with automated business messaging at scale, create personalized customer experiences, and much more.

It’s estimated that 85% of consumers prefer to message brands directly,² so it makes sense for businesses to connect using the messaging platform their customers use most, and WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the world.³

While people often put off reading emails, 80% of WhatsApp messages are read in the first five minutes after receipt, and they boast an average open rate of 98%.⁴ Clearly, connecting with customers via WhatsApp is a smart move for a business, but you need features to do it professionally, efficiently, and scalably as you grow. WhatsApp for Business solutions have those features built in. That’s why businesses increasingly use WhatsApp for Business vs. WhatsApp for messaging with customers.

• Privacy protection is one. Every WhatsApp message, including messages between people and businesses, is protected by the same industry-leading signal encryption protocol that protects your messages from before they’re sent until they’re delivered to the intended recipient. Learn more about WhatsApp Business privacy protection.
• WhatsApp Business has all the benefits of the WhatsApp personal app plus loads of added capabilities for business marketing, automated messaging, sales, and more.
• Like WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business app is a real-time communication channel. WhatsApp enables users to check incoming messages right away, even on the go. That holds true for WhatsApp Business.

• They send marketing offers and promos at scale with WhatsApp for Business solutions, including “related product” suggestions, abandoned cart messages, and other prompts to keep customers engaged
• They use WhatsApp for Business solutions for automated transactional messages such as purchase confirmations and recurring billing statements
• They guard against fraud by using WhatsApp for Business for authentication conversations and to send one-time passcodes to customers
• They use WhatsApp for Business to respond promptly and efficiently to customer support requests and inquiries, taking customer service to the next level
  

Explore some of the different ways large and small businesses are using WhatsApp for Business in these case studies.

Whether you're a one-person shop, a startup or a global company, WhatsApp for Business has a lot to offer. Smaller businesses may only need the free-to-download WhatsApp Business app capabilities or Ads That Click to WhatsApp. Larger businesses find the more advanced WhatsApp Business Platform essential because it enables greater automation, scalability, and tracking capabilities. It all depends on your business needs and how many customers you want to reach.

1. For small business owners: the WhatsApp Business app is a free-to-download app that makes it easy for businesses to interact professionally with customers using tools to automate and quickly respond to messages.
2. For larger businesses: the WhatsApp Business Platform (commonly referred to as the WhatsApp API by developers) is a collection of APIs and tools that allows medium and enterprise businesses to interact with their customers via WhatsApp at scale. Using WhatsApp APIs, businesses can connect thousands of agents and bots to interact with customers either automatically or manually. WhatsApp APIs also integrate with diverse backend systems like customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing platforms.
3. For business advertisers of all sizes: Ads That Click to WhatsApp let you create ads on Facebook or Instagram that click through to WhatsApp to message your business directly.

• The WhatsApp Business app is free to download and uses a cellular connection or Wi-Fi exactly like the WhatsApp personal app.
• The WhatsApp Business Platform is available on a per-conversation basis.
• Ads That Click to WhatsApp is priced based on cost per 1000 impressions or CPM within Ads Manager.

The WhatsApp Business app is a free-to-download messaging app ideal for small businesses. It helps you easily and professionally connect with customers who use WhatsApp in a more personal way, and use built-in tools to highlight your products and services, answer questions, and improve sales and customer satisfaction.

You can find case studies about how businesses use the WhatsApp Business app here, including how smaller companies use it to create automated greetings, respond to incoming messages, share monthly promotions, and more.

You can download the app and get more information about it here.

1. Unlike the WhatsApp personal app and the WhatsApp Business app, the WhatsApp Business Platform is not an app at all. It’s a collection of APIs and solutions that developers use to activate features and integrate with backend systems, such as CRM and marketing platforms.
2. Similar to the WhatsApp Business app, the WhatsApp Business Platform lets you directly interact with customers around the world who use WhatsApp. But the platform can do it at a much larger scale, in a more automated way, and while connected to your other technology platforms and workflows. Using its APIs, businesses can connect thousands of agents and bots to interact with customers programmatically or manually.
3. There is a charge per conversation for using the WhatsApp Platform, while the WhatsApp Business app is free to download and use.
4. Your business will need developer resources or a Business Messaging Partner to implement the WhatsApp Business Platform, whereas you can download the WhatsApp Business app from your favorite app store.

• Maintain multiple phone numbers and display names
• Set up automated business message templates and sequences
• Send media-rich messages to customers to engage and drive product awareness
• Message customers with unique offers and personalized messages to nurture and convert
• Send reminders when a customer has abandoned their shopping cart
• Create remarketing ads that send customers to a WhatsApp conversation
• Engage immediately with customers who click through from your website, help center, or ads
• Track incoming and outgoing conversations and monitor your messaging and spending

Pricing for the WhatsApp Business Platform is transparent, and you can get details here.

Keep in mind that you will need developer resources to deploy the APIs, either from inside your organization or from one of our Business Messaging Partners, so there may be up front costs involved. Fees for consulting, setup, and other services related to implementing your WhatsApp Business Platform vary by vendor.

Get more information about how to get started with the WhatsApp Business Platform, or check out this list of approved partners who can handle things for you from start to finish.

Read about some of the ways businesses use the WhatsApp Business Platform here.

Another way small to mid-sized businesses use WhatsApp for Business is for advertising. You can place ads that click to WhatsApp across Facebook and Instagram (News Feed, Stories, and Marketplace) to help you generate leads and sales. The ads feature a call-to-action (CTA) button that opens up a conversation in WhatsApp. To create the ad, use Ads Manager, and select a CTA that opens a conversation in WhatsApp, allowing your business to interact directly with interested customers on their preferred messaging platform. You can also create an ad that clicks to WhatsApp directly from your catalog in the WhatsApp Business app. For step by step instructions follow this guide.

Now that you know what WhatsApp for Business is all about, why not get the conversation started?

¹https://www.statista.com/statistics/1306022/whatsapp-global-unique-users

² https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/livepersons-2020-consumer-preferences-for-conversational-commerce-report-reveals-skyrocketing-demand-for-messaging-and-conversational-ai-301182473.html

³https://www.statista.com/statistics/258749/most-popular-global-mobile-messenger-apps

⁴https://www.sinch.com/blog/5-reasons-why-you-should-use-whatsapp-business-messaging-engage-customers