The difference between a WhatsApp messenger account and a WhatsApp business account

Although it has been years since the launch of the WhatsApp messenger and WhatsApp business app, the number of users is still constantly rising for both applications. What is the reason behind that? What is the difference between a WhatsApp business and a WhatsApp messenger account?

The WhatsApp messenger application is designed for personal use to connect with friends and family. The free app allows you to send videos and pictures, make video and audio calls, and create groups. It has been witnessing growing use because it is free from most of the common problems of other messaging apps, such as spam messages and the vast number of advertisements.

Later, the WhatsApp Business app was developed to offer a platform for communication between small businesses and customers. The new application included the first application's features and exclusive updates for commercial use, such as a catalog to feature your products. It also facilitates customer communication by promoting and classifying chat heads and creating and saving welcome messages and answers to common questions.

If you want to know the difference between the two or are looking for the optimal communication tool for your business, keep scrolling down.

What is the difference between a WhatsApp messenger and a WhatsApp business account?

Features of the WhatsApp messenger account

If you have a WhatsApp messenger account, you can:

• Make free local and international voice and video calls with people on the same application.
• Create groups as necessary
  

• Send and receive multimedia messages such as photos, videos, and files.

• Upload your image on your profile.
• Update your Status

All you have to do to use the app is to download it from Google Play or Apple Store and create an account in simple steps. It is a practical application, especially since it's end-to-end encrypted, which limits privacy breaches.

Features of a WhatsApp business account

You can download and use both apps on your phone simultaneously, especially if you prefer to separate your work from your personal life.

Here is what you can do with a WhatsApp business account in addition to the features of a regular version:

• Connect with Facebook stores
• Add a catalog to display your products

• Availability of a storefront
• Payment through linking with a Facebook cart feature and native payment option in Brazil and India.
• Broadcast messages to 256 clients per group
• Welcome and away messages

• Quick responses that allow you to record answers to some common questions

• Profile to fill in with the physical location, email address, website, and business hours

• Label conversations and classify clients

So, the two accounts have a qualitative difference, impacting your choices. You should set up a WhatsApp business account if you want a solution to connect with your customers on the platform they already use and prefer while preserving some of the marketing options that other platforms may offer.

Also, moving from the messenger application to the business application is easy. All needed is to choose the same number you used for the first account during the verification phase. Thanks to the backup feature, your chat history will also be transferred to the business account.

Now, let's find out how to use WhatsApp business accounts.

Use cases of the WhatsApp Business app

WhatsApp messages get a 100% delivery rate and 98 % open rate because it is the most popular messaging app, and 75% of people surveyed have already admitted that they prefer to communicate with businesses the same way they communicate with family, i.e., messages. So likely, your target customers are already using the app.

Here's how you can use this app to promote your business:

Customer Service

This app has become a favorite lately, and most of your potential customers must already be using it. You can respond to inquiries and send reminders of offers, discounts, order status, etc.

Shopping

Your customers can shop from your store thanks to the catalog and cart features on the WhatsApp Business application.

Marketing campaigns

You can send marketing campaigns using your WhatsApp business account to the groups you want to target. Thanks to the groups feature, you can communicate with 256 clients simultaneously.

This application brings you closer to the consumer and gives you practical solutions to communicate with them. Although the WhatsApp Business application is suitable for small companies, it is limited to providing simple services that do not meet the needs of medium and large companies.

If you need to use a chatbot to automate customer conversations or want to launch massive marketing campaigns, you will find that the application's tools are insufficient to meet these needs.

Let's find out more about the WhatsApp Business app's shortcomings and the alternative that the WhatsApp Business platform offers next.

Is the WhatsApp business account the best solution for marketing and communication with customers?

Disadvantages of a commercial WhatsApp account

You must have faced this dilemma at least once in your lifetime. Choosing the best solution for marketing and communication with customers is exhausting; it must consider many variables, such as the percentage of use of a particular platform and the tools they provide.

The WhatsApp Business application may have provided a window to communicate with customers on a preferred platform. Still, it has not been able to meet most of the requirements of the medium and large companies that deal with thousands of customers daily.

Here are the shortcomings of the WhatsApp Business app:

A limited number of users:

Although you can open the application on four different devices, you log in using one account. Therefore, communications with customers will not be smooth, as other people can respond to the same customer simultaneously, creating inconveniencies in transactions.

No integration with other systems:

The application does not allow integration with external or internal systems, representing an obstacle to automating tasks such as reminders of abandoned carts, confirming an appointment or reservation, etc.

No chatbots:

The lack of users and unavailability of chatbots will cause communication disruptions and delays, as it will be impossible to answer many customers at once.

No quick responses:

Due to the lack of a chatbot, it is impossible to program quick responses to frequently asked questions, which would have saved a lot of staff time.

No green tick:

The WhatsApp account cannot get a green badge to confirm that the account is official. This badge significantly impacts the company's reputation and protection against fraud.

A limited number of marketing broadcasts:

Although the WhatsApp Business app allows sending marketing messages, it limits the number of potential customers you can reach to only 256 customers per group. You can create multiple groups, but WhatsApp may penalize you by banning your account as it might consider it an abuse of its policy

No automatic notifications:

Due to the lack of integration with other systems, it is impossible to send automatic notifications.

These shortcomings constitute an obstacle, especially for medium and large companies that deal with thousands of customers daily. Therefore, it was necessary to think of another solution to fill in the blanks of this application.

Marketing via WhatsApp Business Platform and Business Chat Solutions

The WhatsApp Business platform was launched recently, and contrary to all expectations, it has made a significant difference to early users.

Let's get acquainted with its most essential features.

WhatsApp Business platform is the best solution for medium and large-sized companies that seek to develop their marketing methods, reach the most significant possible number of potential customers and build sustainable relationships with customers.

Here are the possibilities for using this great platform:

Send unlimited marketing campaigns:

Since you are required to send marketing messages only to people who have signed up for the service, this leads to a massive 98% open rate and 45% click-through rate. Conversion rates are pretty high as well. You can target and send marketing campaigns to your most likely to buy contacts at scale.

Provide a whole e-commerce experience:

Users can now browse their catalogs thanks to the feature of linking with Facebook. In addition to getting acquainted with the products displayed closely through the product display pages that contain several pictures. Today, customers can also pay directly through WhatsApp. This native feature was launched in India and Brazil and will soon be found in the rest of the markets.

Provide better customer services:

Thanks to chatbots, customer service will be more efficient and smooth. A chatbot can find a solution to most of the customer's queries. The agent console allows multiple employees to use the platform simultaneously and provides auto and manual rotation to other employees as required.

Although this application has high capabilities for companies that seek to reach the most significant possible number of users and develop their marketing strategies, the WhatsApp business platform does not have a user interface. Instead, it's an API that needs to be integrated with other systems.

To use the platform, you must use business solutions providers to host the number and an independent service vendor to provide you with the customer management platform and integration with the necessary systems.

If you consider taking advantage of these efficient updates, you can contact Kartly. We provide the following:

• Nomination of the appropriate provider to host your number at a fixed price
• Step-by-step assistance in creating your account
• Verify compliance with the necessary conditions to activate the account
• Help in obtaining the green tick
• Use in creating and verifying a Facebook business manager account
• ChatBots with characteristics that allow the launch of marketing campaigns
• Integration with internal systems
• An agent console
• Full onboarding and training
  

Kartly provides practical solutions to communicate with your customers at scale. It is sufficient to contact us through one of the contact points that click on our WhatsApp business platform, and the customer success team will explain the details of the service and the requirements.

Kartly doesn't only provide continuous support but also attractive offers, as they all contain an unlimited number of messages, unlike some others.

Kartly provides you with everything you need to scale your customer outreach and increase your profits. A distinguished and expert support team will be at your service; talk to our chatbot now and tell us your requirements.

‍