WhatsApp Business is the business version of WhatsApp, they start from the same application and are very similar. But there are key differences between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.
WhatsApp Business appeared in January 2018 after a long time in testing. This variation of the instant messaging application par excellence came focused on companies and small businesses.
By having such a clear target audience, Facebook added functionalities and features to the application to make it more attractive to use by business managers or companies. But, there are so many differences between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business ?
At first glance you cannot find many differences, WhatsApp Business has the same design as WhatsApp. They have not changed the interface in practically nothing, the chats are where they need to be and the settings are in the usual place.
The settings section is where all the differences are found, since being a business account, different fields are added that must be filled out. In fact, there is a section called “Company settings” where all company characteristics are grouped.
In this section you can edit the profile information to complete all the necessary information : physical address, point it out on the map, type of activity of the company, description of the business, business hours, contact channels and email address or link to the Web page.
Of course, it also has interesting tools for business such as welcome and absence messages. These messages are automatic and will be written to the chat when a person contacts the account.
The absence depends on the schedule that has been marked in the settings, as it will be sent when a person contacts at times when the business is not available. Of course, these messages will only be sent when the phone is turned on and with an internet connection.
Another setting for business accounts is quick responses. These messages are written in advance and then when talking to a client by just putting a word or a letter that completely fills the message, thus responding much faster.
There are also the statistics, a section very similar to the one that appears on Instagram when you have a company profile. What happens is that those of WhatsApp Business are more basic, since it only shows the number of messages sent, delivered, received and read.
WhatsApp Business has interesting functionalities that are designed for companies, but otherwise it is still almost the same messaging application as WhatsApp.
The features and options that are added are basic, so the logical thing is that over the years they continue to expand and improve.