Reviewing the Crucial Role of Instant Messaging Application Platforms in Connecting Businesses to Customers

Connecting business with customers is often a challenge. Not only applies to conventional businesses, digital business people also consider this to be one thing that cannot be underestimated. Fortunately, instant messaging technology (instant messengers) is able to present the maximum solution, even with minimal effort.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports, in e-commerce statistics 2020 shows, the majority of 90,5% of e-commerce players use instant messaging applications as an alternative media for sales, marketing, as well as pre- and after-sales services. It was also said that the adoption of instant messaging application media in connecting businesses to customers was observed to be very significant in all regions in Indonesia, with the lowest percentage ratio of 68% in North Sulawesi, and the highest percentage achieved by Kep province. Bangka Belitung which reaches 98% in utilizing the instant messaging platform as a business communication vehicle.

One of the popular instant messaging applications used for business activities is WhatsApp, where this application can be managed via mobile or desktop devices. Through this channel, businesses can easily communicate with consumers and send marketing materials such as pictures, videos, and product photos to customers directly real-time.

In the midst of a pandemic situation like today, conventional face-to-face transactions are limited by restrictions on social interaction. However, this does not reduce the level of consumer needs. This is where Whatsapp acts as a solution for business people. In addition to being a solution for continuing to transact with consumers in the midst of economic uncertainty, WhatsApp also provides an opportunity for businesses to expand their target consumers, given the already very large user base in Indonesia.

This was validated by the CEO of Qiscus, Delta Purna Widyangga, who said, “The Covid-19 pandemic that has been going on for more than a year has made the habit of communicating through chat media like WhatsApp no ​​longer just a support activity. Rather, it is an activity that is always carried out in various social interactions, including in the context of society as a consumer. From a business perspective, apart from providing an alternative to survive In the midst of an uncertain situation, the use of applications used by the majority of people such as WhatsApp will help reach a wider range of consumers.”

Initially, WhatsApp was used for personal needs to accommodate daily communication. Along with the increasing business need for WhatsApp facilities, this messaging application then develops serviceby adding a special place for business people, namely through the WhatsApp Business application.

The WhatsApp Business platform is intended for small-scale businesses, where this application will make it easier for them to communicate with consumers whose numbers still tend to be small. The WhatsApp Business application features catalogs, baskets, automatic messages, quick replies or quick reply mode. This feature in WhatsApp Business may be the reason why this platform is widely adopted by small businesses.

For medium and large scale businesses, WhatsApp presents a more advanced solution, namely the WhatsApp Business API. If WhatsApp Business can only be accessed via one or a maximum of two devices that must be connected to each other, the WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to access one WhatsApp account through dozens of devices at the same time. That is, if a businessman wants to add an agent Customer Service (CS), businesses no longer need to buy a starter pack to create a new WhatsApp account.

In addition to removing account access limitations, adopting the WhatsApp Business API also provides various advantages that benefit businesses, such as allowing the integration of WhatsApp accounts with other messaging applications or systems (such as chatbot, CRM, and so on) into one dashboards; feature broadcast messages with recipients reaching one hundred thousand recipients; as well as the opportunity to get a verified account status marked with a green tick.

Unlike the regular WhatsApp Business application, which can bedownload Directly, the WhatsApp Business API is not in the form of an application that can be directly used by users and can only be obtained through parties that are officially collaborating with WhatsApp, also known as WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP). In addition to getting an official and legal account, WhatsApp BSP also helps provide dashboards for UI from the WhatsApp Business API.

In Indonesia, Qiscus is one of the WhatsApp BSP that provides whatsapp business API. On its website, Qiscus provides WhatsApp Business API services that are integrated with dashboards Multichannel Chat-New.

If you access the WhatsApp Business API via dashboards Qiscus Chat Multichannel, then businesses will get additional features. Some of them are task allocation for CS agents, monitoring the performance of CS agents, analytics, dashboards which can be accessed via mobile apps, and so forth.

In short, the integration of the WhatsApp Business API and Multichannel Chat will open up various limitations from using the regular version of the WhatsApp application which is less than optimal in meeting the needs of customers in various volumes. Further adopting this device can help maximize Customer Experience (CX) a business when interacting with consumers online.

For businesses that want to interact with customers through the WhatsApp Business API and Qiscus Multichannel Chat, now is the right time. Get Free Trial for 90 days for both from Qiscus, valid until 15 June 2021. Visit this link for more information, or contact Qiscus directly at here.