After acquiring WhatsApp for $22 billion in 2014, Facebook Inc. did away with the messaging app’s $1 annual membership fee. The social network is now launching a push to make money from the app once again, and on a bigger scale. Facebook today introduced two new paid offerings aimed at companies that use WhatsApp Business. It’s a version of the app that provides tools for firms to interact with their customers, with a particular emphasis on small businesses. Facebook is now looking to work with larger organizations as well. Business API, the first new offering, enables companies to connect WhatsApp with external customer support services such as Zendesk to process inquiries. A clothing brand, for example, might use the feature to let its representatives field questions about a new fashion line without having to open the app. Business API can be integrated with other types of services as well to push programmatic messages. The service is designed for sending appointment reminders, shipping confirmations for e-commerce purchases and other nonpromotional content. Facebook will only let businesses contact a consumer who has messaged them first. The social network’s monetization strategy is to charge a fee for responses sent with a delay of more than 24 hours. The idea is presumably to encourage businesses to reply to consumers in a more timely manner, which could give WhatsApp an edge over other customer support platforms. Facebook is keeping other important aspects of the user experience in mind as well. “With this approach, you will continue to… [Read full story]
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