Ordering Through WhatsApp

Ordering Through WhatsApp

      According to Statistica's research, as of January 2022, WhatsApp Messenger has approximately 2 billion users worldwide. It is used by 1 billion people daily. In Turkey, out of 54 million social media users, 46.2 million use WhatsApp.

WhatsApp Messenger application was launched in 2009. In addition to the WhatsApp Messenger model that offered only personal messaging until 2018, WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Business API models were introduced, which businesses can benefit from.

What is WhatsApp Business?

      WhatsApp Business is a module that enables small businesses to communicate with customers in a corporate manner. WhatsApp Business allows businesses to create profiles and share their website, email, and business addresses with customers.

With the "Automated Messages" feature, businesses can respond to multiple customers simultaneously in real-time and use quick responses for frequently asked questions. Additionally, businesses can obtain statistics to see how many messages were successfully sent, delivered, and read.

What is WhatsApp Business API?

      WhatsApp Business API is a model that businesses can use for customer support, sales, and marketing. Through WhatsApp Business API, businesses can create a company profile and communicate with customers through chatbots.

With WhatsApp Business API, businesses can automate various processes such as customer registration, order placement, sending promotions, and customer surveys.

By the end of 2019, there were around 1,000 large companies using WhatsApp Business API, and approximately 5.25 million small and medium-sized companies. The number of companies using WhatsApp Business API is increasing exponentially. According to Mobilesquared, by the end of 2024, 55,000 large companies and 6.72 million small and medium-sized companies will start using WhatsApp Business API.

What Are the Benefits of WhatsApp Business API for Businesses?

      According to Business Insider's research, more than 65% of customers prefer companies that use chatbots for communication. 63% of participants stated that they communicate more with companies using chatbots compared to two years ago.

According to a study by Facebook, about 70% of customers trust businesses they can message with. Considering these research findings, businesses communicating with customers through WhatsApp Business API chatbots increase customer trust.

Additionally, WhatsApp messages have a 99% read rate. The high read rate makes WhatsApp Business API a more effective communication channel compared to email or SMS.

In Turkey, 86% of social media users use WhatsApp. Allowing customers to place orders through this platform, which they already use, provides a practical solution, saving customers time.

Furthermore, the ability to perform various actions such as placing orders, checking order status, and providing post-order feedback through the same channel enhances convenience and increases customer satisfaction.

How to Receive Orders with WhatsApp Business API?

      Once you have integrated WhatsApp Business API with the support of your solution provider, receiving orders from your customers becomes very easy.

WhatsApp Business API integration requires setting up scenarios in advance to communicate with customers through chatbots. These scenarios enable chatbots to convey the necessary information to customers. Based on the prepared order-taking scenario, customers can easily place orders on WhatsApp.

Order-taking, feedback collection, and payment collection scenarios can be customized based on your business needs with the assistance of your İşteChat solution provider. Different businesses can follow different order-taking steps according to their requirements.

In the following sections, we will provide information on how a basic order-taking scenario works. We will also demonstrate the order-taking steps with an example business. Order-taking steps can be modified or customized according to the business's requirements.

How Does a Basic Order-Taking Scenario Work?

•   First, a newly contacted customer is expected to approve a consent form. The consent form is sent when the customer sends a message or when a message is sent to the customer. The customer only needs to approve this form once.

•   According to the established scenario, when a customer contacts the business via WhatsApp, product or service catalogs are sent to customers.

•   Customers can select the product or service they want to purchase using quick buttons. The customer's selection is converted into a message by the chatbot and sent to the business.

•   The message sent is perceived by the WhatsApp Business API chatbot as a product or service purchase request. The bot then requests payment method information from the customer.

•   In businesses that accept payment on delivery, when "cash on delivery" is selected, the order is confirmed or an order summary is sent. After sending the order summary, final confirmation is obtained from the customer, and the order is confirmed.

•   If "cash on delivery" is not selected as the payment method, a payment link is sent to the customer. After the payment is completed, WhatsApp Business API chatbots recognize that the purchase has occurred and confirm the order.