How to use WhatsApp as a CRM in 2024: a complete guide

WhatsApp CRM
Jul 10, 2020
10
min read
Written by
Pim
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If you landed on this article, you are probably looking for an answer to one burning question. So let’s get that out of the way first, shall we?

Can you use WhatsApp as a CRM?

By connecting your WhatsApp Business account to a team inbox such as Trengo, you can start using WhatsApp as a CRM tool. This enables your team to sell more and help customers in a better way. Collaborate on conversations with multiple team members, create complete customer profiles, get access to in-depth insights, and automate your workflow.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss why you actually need a CRM system for WhatsApp.

Why companies should adopt WhatsApp

In 2020, customers expect you to be available on all of their favorite communication channels. It just so happens that currently, WhatsApp is by far the most popular messaging channel out there. The app currently has over 2 billion users worldwide.

Not too long ago, the application used to be strictly for informal chitchat with friends and family. However, that quickly changed. You can talk to your colleagues, business partners, and - most importantly - your customers via WhatsApp. At this point, I am very comfortable stating that you are losing out on customers if you haven’t adopted the channel yet. 

WhatsApp Business is no longer just a fancy extra for companies.

What are the benefits of using a WhatsApp CRM tool?

  • You can give access to multiple users
  • Create customer profiles
  • Use WhatsApp templates
  • Integrate external software to improve the customer experience
  • Automate workflows

Let multiple users use WhatsApp Business

The WhatsApp Business application can only be accessed by one user at a time. And that’s a problem.

Picture this. Entrepreneur X decides to start a WhatsApp Business account without a CRM tool. He buys a smartphone, installs WhatsApp Business, creates an account, and hands the phone to his customer service team. 

Every time a team member is handling a conversation on WhatsApp and needs help from a colleague, they will have to walk over to a colleague with said phone. If there happen to be multiple incoming conversations via WhatsApp at the same time, only one can be handled at the same time.

You get the picture, right? This approach is so inefficient and outdated, you might as well time-travel back to the stone age. Or the 90’s.

With Trengo, you can connect WhatsApp to a shared inbox and give all your team members access. Inside the inbox, your team can internally chat with each other to discuss specific issues. This creates an efficient and productive workflow.

Create complete customer profiles

If a customer gets in contact with you via multiple channels, things can get confusing quickly. Let’s take another example to illustrate this. 

Imagine you run a busy customer-facing team. In the span of a month, customer A sends you a message via WhatsApp, later sends you an email, only to contact you via live chat a day later. Multiple members of your team have been in contact with customer A, and every time the customer had to explain their issue. Again and again and again.

You guessed it, another inefficient process.

In Trengo, you can create customer profiles that combine all the correspondence. This gives your team the ability to see all past conversations at once. With the right context, they won’t have to ask dozens of questions and will be better equipped to find the solutions your customers need.

Use WhatsApp templates

With template messages, you can send automated WhatsApp messages to your customers. Even if they haven’t contacted you in the last 24 hours. 

Read all about WhatsApp template messages in this blog.

Integrate external software to improve the customer experience

You can easily integrate external software into Trengo. And that’s great news for anybody who is into efficiency as much as I am. 

You can, for instance, enable your team to access data from your warehouse-, marketing-, supply chain-, or any other type of business software right inside of the inbox. No more clicking back-and-forth. All the information you need to help your customers is right at your fingertips.

Automate workflows

A WhatsApp CRM tool eliminates repetitive tasks from your to-do list. By automating workflows - such as assigning incoming conversations to specific users and labeling conversations - your team has more time to focus on what is important: the customer.

So, now that it’s clear that you need a WhatsApp CRM tool, I’ll explain how to get started.

Setting up your WhatsApp CRM

Good news: getting started with using WhatsApp as a CRM tool is easy. 

You can’t use the WhatsApp Business application as a CRM tool, you need the WhatsApp API for that. Trengo integrates this via official WhatsApp Business partners. You can use the chart underneath to find out whether Trengo is interesting for your business.

WhatsApp as a CRM tool

Read our ultimate guide on successfully adopting WhatsApp Business with your company.

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