WhatsApp is one of the most commonly used text-messaging applications which has gained immense popularity among businesses owing to its quick, and hassle-free messaging services. Since it allows customers to initiate the conversation with the business, the customers get an edge over privacy and their decision to purchase.
Prerequisites
Before you can integrate WhatsApp Business into your Zoho CRM, you must meet the following prerequisites:
- A Facebook Business Manager account.
- A verified business.
- A WhatsApp Business account.
- A registered phone number to access the WhatsApp Business API.
- The phone number must meet the requirements mentioned here.
Availability
This integration is supported in the trial and all paid editions of Zoho CRM.
Integrating WhatsApp Messaging Service with Zoho CRM
To help businesses to interact with their customers via business messages from the CRM account, as well as to keep a record of these interactions, Zoho CRM provides seamless integration with WhatsApp. Only an administrator can initiate this integration.
To integrate WhatsApp Business with Zoho CRM
Go to Setup > Channels > Business Messaging.
Under WhatsApp click Details > Integrate.
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In the WhatsApp access request page, log in with Facebook Business Manager's credentials.
Click Get Started.
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Click Continue to give permission.
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Create a new Facebook Business account or select existing account from the options.
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- Create a new WhatsApp Business Account or select existing accounts from the options.
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Click Continue.
Create a new WhatsApp Business profile or select an existing profile from the options.
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Click Continue.
Verify your WhatsApp Business number.
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Click Ok on the next screen.
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On the Configure WhatsApp Business Profile in CRM pop-up:
Provide a nickname for the WhatsApp Business Profile in CRM.
Select a phone number to be associated with the WhatsApp Business profile.
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All the numbers associated with your WhatsApp Business Manager profile will be listed here. If a number does not meet the conditions mentioned in the Prerequisites, you will not be able to associate the particular number.
Provide a nickname for the WhatsApp business profile in CRM and click Next.
Provide the account preferences choosing from the dropdown options.
Choose add as Leads or Contacts
Assign to users, groups or roles
Choose the users, groups or role.
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Click Save .
WhatsApp Business messaging account is activated.
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Notes:
Once your business is verified, it will be reviewed for compliance with the WhatsApp Terms of Service and WhatsApp Commerce Policy.
If you have rebranded your domain (domain-mapped accounts), you must enable third-party cookies in your browser before starting the integration,
You cannot use WhatsApp phone numbers being used on other products. Only unused phone numbers can be used for the integration.
Migration of existing phone numbers is not supported yet.
Messages sent by the company are charged. You can buy credits based on the frequency of your usage so that the charges are automatically deducted from it. After the initial purchase of credits, you can use the auto recharge option to avoid running out of balance by setting the minimum number of credits that must be maintained in your account at anytime. You can also mention the number of credits that must be purchased when the limit is exhausted.
To buy credits
- Go to Setup > Channels > Business Messaging.
- Click Buy Credits.
This option will be available only after the phone number is active. - Enter the value.
- Click Next.
- Click Make a payment.
To auto-recharge
- Go to Setup > Channels > Business Messaging.
- Click Auto recharge.
- Toggle on Enable Auto recharge.
- Enter Minimum credit balance to be maintained.
- Enter the number of credits to be added when the balance is minimum.
- Click Save.
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Instead of charging the customer for every message they send, businesses are now charged per conversation based on the new policies. Every conversation has a 24-hour messaging window where your customers can send unlimited messages. To know more about conversation-based pricing for WhatsApp Business and check the various rate cards click here.
Messaging using the WhatsApp for Business integration
After successfully integrating WhatsApp for Business with Zoho CRM, you can start sending and receiving messages with your leads and contacts.
Sending WhatsApp messages:
Unlike personal chats, business messaging using WhatsApp is structurally defined. That is, as a business, you cannot initiate a casual, one-to-one chat with a prospect or a customer; you can only send approved message templates to your customers.
To send a message, you have to
- Create a message template
- Get approval from WhatsApp/ Meta
Once you have the approval, you can
- Append as actions for automations
- Trigger messages from a record
Creating and acquiring approval for WhatsApp message templates—A prerequisite to business messaging
With the WhatsApp integration in Zoho CRM, you can create and initiate two types of message templates:
Utility messages: These are messages that are informative in nature; they are related to an ongoing, suspended, or completed business transaction. Messages like order confirmation, payment failure notification, and freight status are some examples.
If your customers have subscribed with you for periodic reminders about their transactions, they will also account for utility messages.
For example: Messages like periodic account balance notifications, due date notification, etc.
Marketing messages: These are promotional messages that are used to either announce a business event, call the customers to act, inform about the offers, or remind to continue the transaction. For example, welcome texts, follow-up survey messages, reminders of idle carts, and such.
To create WhatsApp message template
- Go to Setup> Automation >Actions.
- Click on the WhatsApp Notification tab and select the WhatsApp Templates bubble.
- Click +New WhatsApp Template.
- In the WhatsApp Message Template page, do the following:
- Provide a name for your message template. In the future, while sending messages, you will be identifying your message using this name.
- Select the module to which this message will be related to. You can select both standard and custom module.
- Select the language in which you are sending the message.
- Based on your message type, select your message category: Utility or Marketing.
- Enter your message. You can use #merge fields to be contextual in your communication.
Only the fields from the selected module will be used as merge fields.
- Click Save.
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Notes:
- Upon saving, the template will be submitted for review from Meta.
- You can send or append only those Meta-approved messages.
- Approval time might depend on the content and the language used.
- A template cannot be edited while in review and once it is approved.
- To learn more about Facebook guidelines for WhatsApp Business message templates, click here.
- The module selection from step 4b, (the ability to choose standard or custom module) applies only in the data population. That is, you can use data from those module to build the message templates. Your messages, however, can be sent only to a lead or a contact.
Now that your template is ready, you can either append it as an action to CRM automations like Workflow Rules, Blueprint, and Journey Builder, or send as individual messages from within each record.
Workflow rules:
Blueprint:
Journey Builder:
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Sending WhatsApp messages to an individual record:
If you would like to send your templated message to a particular record, then you can do so by sending them manually from within a record.
To send a WhatsApp message from a record
- Go to the record of your choice.
- Click on the drop-down next to the Send Email button > Send WhatsApp Template. Select the number you'd like to send the message to.
- In the WhatsApp templates page, select the desired approved template available for this module and click on Send.
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Receiving incoming messages:
Only a customer or a prospect can initiate one-on-one chats. They can be new messages or a response to existing conversation, and these responses are received and can be managed in the
Messages module.
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Get notified of new messages:
If you have enabled alerts for incoming business messaging, then for every message you receive, you will get notified from the bell icon from the quick utility bar of Zoho CRM.
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From the signals page, you can preview your messages, make quick actions like creating tasks, meetings, calls, and appointments.Replying to the business messages
The CRM users can reply to the business messages by clicking the notification or by clicking on a record from the Messages tab. Users can also click on View conversation from SalesSignal notification to reply.
They can respond to the customers by typing the message or by sending a predefined business message.
Merge fields can be used to pull the related value, for example, Hi, $[Leads.First Name] while responding. The user can preview the value before sending the message.
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Note:
- CRM users can reply to a message within 24 hours of receiving. After this time the WhatsApp messaging window will be closed.
- WhatsApp allows only the end customer to initiate a conversation by sending a message to the business. A user is not allowed to initiate a conversation to leads or contacts via WhatsApp. This restriction is enforced by WhatsApp.
To reply a business message
- Click on the notification to view the message.
Alternately, you can go to the Messages tab and click on the record. - Type your message or click Predefined text and select a text.
- Click Send, to respond.
Setting and managing predefined text
The users will have the option to create predefined text that they can be quickly sent to the customers, for example:
- Answers to commonly asked questions like what is the cost of the mobile cover? My order is delayed, can you help me track?
- Greetings, like Hi, $[Leads.First Name] how are you doing? How can I help you?
To create predefined text
- Go to the Messages tab, click on a message.
- Next to the typing bar, click New Predefined Text next to the typing bar.
Alternately, click Manage and + New Predefined Text. - In the New Predefined Text popup, give a name for the text (for eg., Greetings)
- Enter the text message.
You can use merge fields too. - Click Save.
The predefined text messages can be edited or deleted by clicking the Manage button. All the texts are stored here, the users can filter them module-wise or search using the text name.
Note: You cannot change the module while editing a predefined text. This is to prevent errors in case of merge fields have been used in the predefined texts.To manage predefined text
Go to the Messages tab and click Predefined Text from the text area.
Click Manage from the drop-down list.
In the Manage Predefined Text, hover on a text and click Edit or Delete icon.
Sending attachments via business messages
CRM users can send attachments through text messages. They can attach up to 5 files using:
Upload a file from their computer.
Attach files from the Inventory such as sales orders, quotes, purchase orders, and invoices.
Attach files from supported cloud drives like Google drive, Sky Drive, Evernote, and Dropbox.
The user can either select a quote that is associated with the prospect, create a new quote or send one of the available quotes depending on the business need and type.
Each conversation view tab is divided into two tabs: Messages and Attachments where respective information are stored. You can preview and download all the attachments from here or from the messages.
Managing conversations: Working with the Messages module
The Messages module is home to all "Messages" in the organization. Conversations from all integrated vendors and features will be chronologically displayed. You can do the following actions in this module:
Filtering and setting view for messages
In the Messages module users can use the following filters and set criteria to find a message quickly:
Not replied in x days/weeks/months
Replied in x days/weeks/months
Message time in x days/weeks/months
Record owner is x user or logged in user
Replied by x user or logged in user
Users can also set a view for the module to see the messages that are unreplied, all messages sent today, all unreplied messages etc.
Deactivating WhatsApp Business Integration with Zoho CRM
To deactivate WhatsApp Business integration
- Go to Setup > Channels > Business Messaging.
- Click on the Deactivate button in the WhatsApp Business integration section.
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- Click Yes, Delete on the pop-up to deactivate the integration.
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Working with the Messages tab