WhatsApp today officially launched its new WhatsApp Business app in select markets, including Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the U.K. and the U.S., ahead of its planned worldwide rollout. It includes key features dedicated to business profiles for details like email address, business description, store addresses, and website; smart messaging tools like greetings, quick replies, and away messages; and metrics for how many messages were sent, delivered, and read.

For those who use a business number and a personal one, both the WhatsApp Business and WhatsApp Messenger apps can be used on the same device and registered with your different numbers. WhatsApp Business is also compatible with WhatsApp Web, the app’s desktop web browser client.

Aimed at smaller businesses, the free app – Android-only App for now – helps companies better connect with their customers and establish an official presence on WhatsApp’s service. Essentially, it’s the WhatsApp version of a Facebook Page. Verified accounts were given a green checkmark as a means of demonstrating their authenticity.

The Business app will later be joined by an enterprise solution aimed at large businesses with a global customer base – like airlines, e-commerce sites, and banks, WhatsApp had said last fall. It didn’t announce any news regarding this solution, but in the past the company said it would charge for these enterprise tools.

The company also indicated today how critical it is to address the needs of businesses on its service, which now reaches 1.3 billion users. According to data it cited from Morning Consult’s research, over 80 percent of small businesses in India and Brazil said that WhatsApp helps them communicate with customers and grow their businesses.

WhatsApp business experience will make a consumer journey more personal and smooth. In today’s fast growing world where a phone has become the soul of an individual this move will help businesses to directly connect with them and offer better customer satisfaction. The introduction of enterprise solutions will be a big step into the social media space for client servicing with real time response.

Source : Techcrunch.com, Theverge.com