Conversation Design on WhatsApp
Why should you read this?
In this article, we talk about WhatsApp IVAs. This document will allow you to have an understanding of WhatsApp as a platform, do’s and don’ts and some hacks to help you design IVAs on WhatsApp!
Gear Up!
Understanding WhatsApp as a Platform
As the world’s largest messaging platform with over 2 billion users, WhatsApp is a simple, secure, and reliable way for businesses to reach their customers all over the world. The launch of the WhatsApp Enterprise API opened the doors for enterprises to start engaging their customers on the app, as well as offer 24/7 support.
A WhatsApp Virtual Assistant is different from most other kinds of chatbots. Typically, UI elements such as buttons and quick replies are a key aspect in streamlining a chatbot experience. UI elements not only help to propel the conversation forward but also help the user to achieve their end goal in the quickest way possible. But that is not the case with WhatsApp bots.
While designing a WhatsApp bot, one has to operate within certain User Interface limitations and build an experience sans quick replies, buttons, and carousels. There are a lot of UX considerations to keep in mind while designing an automated experience for WhatsApp.
“If you get a WhatsApp message, you’re probably going to open it. That’s the interesting thing.” — Harper Reed.
Haptik WhatsApp Business API
WhatsApp is the world’s largest messaging channel – the platform of choice for 1.5 billion people across 180 countries. Leveraging the power and scale of WhatsApp, enterprises can engage and serve customers anytime, anywhere across the globe. And the key to unlocking the vast potential of WhatsApp as a customer service tool is the WhatsApp Business API.
Here is an article that will serve as a quick guide to help you get started.
WhatsApp Channel Basics
The reach is massive and notifications are a powerful medium to engage with users. Transactional customer support cases are a great example to initiate on WhatsApp and interact with your consumer on one of the most widely used platforms.
WhatsApp follows a two-fold approach -
Two-way communication (Intelligent Virtual Assistant) - An AI-powered WhatsApp IVA where users can simply send their concerns, queries, or engage with a company/brand using WhatsApp, and the query will be addressed within seconds. No more waiting on IVR lines, or struggling to find a customer service agent to resolve queries.
One way communication (Notifications) - These are WhatsApp messages that companies can send to customers for different use cases. These are similar to service SMS messages that consumers receive from various brands for updates.
WhatsApp UI & Limitations
No interactive components: This platform limitation actually gets the designers creative juices flowing. The absence of any special interactive components in a chat conversation nedges the design in a way that it flows seamlessly.
Verified WhatsApp accounts are sole discretion of WhatsApp. As per WhatsApp’s policy, only notable brands will be verified by WhatsApp.
WhatsApp decides the quality of the content (we have to send all HSMs for WA approval) and assigns a tier for message limit. This cannot be controlled by us. You can read about it here.