WhatsApp Business enables businesses to respond to customers quickly, generate labels to identify their items conveniently, and continuously look for ways to make shopping more user-friendly.
We’ve discussed how simple it is to develop a WhatsApp chatbot and integrate it into your website, where we lead you through all the processes necessary to establish a WhatsApp bot using Trengo and then link your WhatsApp Business account to this chatbot.
In this piece for the blog, we take a step further and show you precisely how to set up WhatsApp’s ‘Autoreply’ function so that your consumers have an excellent experience.
What is an Automated WhatsApp Message Feature?
WhatsApp created Auto Reply to allow small companies to set specific business hours. When you are not physically accessible to address client questions, you can use auto-reply to send automatic messages to them. This handy little tool allows you to be available to your consumers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Auto-Reply functionality is not available on your regular WhatsApp account and requires the WhatsApp for Business app to be downloaded to function.
How can you Automate WhatsApp Messages?
There are two ways to enable Auto Replies on your WhatsApp account. They are as follows:
- Making Use of WhatsApp Business
- Making Use of WhatsApp’s Business APIs
We’ll go through both processes briefly so you’re prepared regarding how to send automated messages on WhatsApp. Let’s begin with WhatsApp Business.
Using WhatsApp Business, How to Activate Auto Reply
Setting up an Automatic Reply on WhatsApp helps you remain accessible to your customers even when your business is offline. Customers may only engage with your business when it is convenient; thus, being open 24*7 or close to that time tells them that you value their support.
Various methods exist to customize your Auto Reply messages on WhatsApp, based on when consumers receive a system-generated message or who receives the ‘Auto-reply’ messages.
You have the option of sending a single ‘Away’ message to all your customers or personalizing the message to a select group of clients. You may also choose the hours when this ‘Away’ message is displayed, with the ideal hours being those when the business is closed.
The ‘Auto-Reply’ feature on WhatsApp Business is divided into three parts:
- Away Message
- Greeting message
- Quick Responses
Here’s how you can set up the “Away” text on WhatsApp Business
- Tap the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen. From here, select “Setting.” Then select “Business Setting.”
- This will open the Messaging tools area, where you may select from the “Away Message,” “Greeting Message,” and “Quick Replies,” amongst other options.
- Turn on the “Send away message” option after selecting “Away message.” Go down to see the possibility of changing the Away message you wish to send to those who are your customers.
- You can change this message to suit your needs. Fill up the blanks with anything like, “Thank you for your letter. We are currently offline but will get back to you as quickly as possible.
- After you have finished changing the message, you must schedule it based on when your messages will be sent to your audience.
You have three Schedule choices to pick from
- Always Send: If you expect to be away from your business for a lengthy period, like for several days to a week, you may use this option to notify customers that your responses will be significantly behind schedule. These scheduled messages will be delivered to your customers on a regular basis up until you come to the business and manually deactivate these.
- Customized option to schedule: When you’re aware that you won’t be able to answer customer inquiries for a certain period, you select the ‘Custom schedule’ option. This is like putting an ‘Away’ notice on your seat when you go for a break or lunch. The “away” messages remain active during the planned period, and your customers see a notification saying, “Our support professionals are away at this time; however, they will be coming back by 2 pm to respond to any concerns.” When you select this option, you must provide the Start and End times.
- Outside of regular business hours: This scheduling choice, as the name indicates, is to be applied when a customer’s text arrives at you after you have finished working for the day. This is based on the times you specified when creating your WhatsApp for Business profile. If you get a message beyond these hours, an away message is immediately triggered and delivered to the customer.
Choose the Recipients
Once you’ve decided on a timetable for your ‘Auto Reply’ messages, you can choose the people who will get them. These might include:
Everyone: This will send an automatic message to every person in your address book who attempts to contact you while you’re absent from your business or after your regular working hours.
Everyone not listed in your address book: The automatic replies will be sent to everyone, not in your address book. This is especially important if you attempt to develop prospective customers for your company.
Everyone except: This setting informs the automation to send ‘Auto responses’ to every one of your contacts except those you choose.
Only send to: In this situation, auto answers are only delivered to the individuals you have selected. This capability comes in handy when calling new consumers whose phone numbers may not be in your address book.
Setup Auto Reply Using the WhatsApp Business API
We are now aware of how to send an automated message on WhatsApp Business; however, what happens when you have a chatbot on WhatsApp that answers customer questions for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
With WhatsApp APIs, you may communicate with the buyer and fix their concerns so that they purchase from your website.
The chatbot can answer any low-level queries, and if you are accessible, you can simply move the discussion to you so that the consumer is unsure whether they are speaking to a chatbot or a human.
A chatbot is a pinnacle when it comes to automated messages on WhatsApp for your company.
Steps for Setting Auto Reply for WhatsApp chatbot
Step 1: You can Contact Trengo
Trengo’s chatbot builder allows you to create a chatbot in a couple of minutes. You may also contact us, and we will walk you through the procedures necessary to set up your WhatsApp chatbot.
Step 2: Purchase your WhatsApp Business API
A WhatsApp Business API is required before linking your WhatsApp number to your chatbot. WhatsApp API is available through WhatsApp-approved partners. You will then be given a number that represents your API key, which you may use to log in to your Trengo account. You can also use their demo to see how it can impact your WhatsApp automation.
Step 3: Apply WhatsApp Business API to Trengo
All you must do after providing your WhatsApp API key to the Trengo staff is sit back and relax while we link your Trengo account.
You may now make use of all of Trengo’s features on WhatsApp. These features include being able to create a chatbot without knowing how to code and employ active Rich Texts on WhatsApp, such as buttons and catalogs. In the Trengo dashboard, you can also gather customer information and view all data. You can also send standard messages such as purchase updates, marketing alerts, and so on.
Furthermore, you may use Live Chat with your customers, and all coworkers can use a single number to give round-the-clock service.
Final Words
Auto Reply on WhatsApp enables small companies to establish distinct business hours by delivering automatic messages to customers during non-business hours. To take advantage of this feature, download the WhatsApp Business app and configure Auto responses using the WhatsApp Business and Business APIs. WhatsApp APIs assist in resolving customer issues and allowing clients to make transactions via your website. Trengo can assist you in setting up your WhatsApp chatbot without the need for code.
