Are you looking for a CRM that supports WhatsApp integration? Or do you want to integrate WhatsApp with your current CRM? We'll answer all your questions as we’ve personally tested WhatsApp integration across various popular CRMs. We’ll start by understanding what a WhatsApp CRM is, why your business needs it, and what you need to know about CRM WhatsApp integration.

We’ll also explain how to use an AI-powered customer conversation management software like respond.io for WhatsApp marketing, sales and support.

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What Is WhatsApp CRM?

WhatsApp CRM is the integration between WhatsApp API, also known as WhatsApp Business Platform and a CRM. While this concept may seem straightforward, businesses generally pursue one of two different goals:

1. To integrate WhatsApp with an existing CRM
2. To integrate WhatsApp with a messaging software that can serve as a WhatsApp CRM

No matter which solution you choose, managing WhatsApp contacts seamlessly in a CRM is vital for businesses that communicate primarily on WhatsApp. Let’s explore the reasons why your business needs a WhatsApp CRM.

Why Your Business Needs WhatsApp CRM

Take a look at the essential benefits your business can get from a WhatsApp CRM and what types of businesses have great success with it.

Major Benefits of WhatsApp CRM

There are many benefits of using a WhatsApp Business CRM. Depending on the solution of your choice, you can:

• Use WhatsApp Business with multiple users
• Send WhatsApp bulk messages, including messages with product catalog
• Leverage AI to handle inquiries and assist agents with replies
• Automate lead qualification
• Route and assign conversations automatically
• Track important metrics and gain valuable insights into team performance

And the list doesn’t end here. You can achieve so much more if you use an AI-powered customer conversation management software like respond.io.

Businesses Thriving with WhatsApp CRM

Communicating with leads and customers over WhatsApp whether to answer pre-purchase inquiries, manage orders, register customers or book appointments has led to success for many industries, especially the following:

• Retail
• Education
• Health and Beauty
• Professional Services
• Automotive
• Travel

Integrating WhatsApp with a CRM allows these businesses to manage their customer journey from the first conversation with a lead to continuous follow-up with long-term customers.

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits, we’ll dive into the top considerations when integrating WhatsApp with your CRM.

Top 5 Considerations for WhatsApp and CRM Integration

In this section, we’ll explore the criteria the best WhatsApp CRM should have.

1. WhatsApp API Access

When selecting a CRM with WhatsApp integration, ensure the solution includes access to WhatsApp API for quick and straightforward integration. Going for an official WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP) is better for faster and more secure access.

2. Integration and Compatibility

Choose a CRM that seamlessly integrates with WhatsApp and key business platforms, including leading CRM software, e-commerce systems and various messaging channels. This ensures a unified system that boosts operational efficiency.

3. Support and Evolvability

Look for software that offers strong user support, including detailed integration guides, efficient customer service for immediate help, and frequent feature updates that align with the latest technology trends.

4. Advanced Features for Enhanced Communication

Features like AI capabilities, advanced automation, multimedia support and analytics are key to unlocking the full potential of WhatsApp integration. Moreover, setting up WhatsApp auto reply ensures instant responses to inquiries, while WhatsApp schedule messages can help you maintain timely outreach. Additionally, obtaining a WhatsApp green tick adds credibility, signaling your business is trustworthy.

5. Data Security and Compliance

Data privacy and security cannot be overstated. Choose a platform that adheres to the highest standards of data protection and privacy regulations to safeguard sensitive customer information.

Now that you know everything you need about WhatsApp CRM integration, let’s look at how to do it on respond.io.

2 Types of WhatsApp CRM Integration

Depending on your business goals, the type of integration you’re looking for may vary. Let’s look at how different integrations can cater to your business needs.

1. WhatsApp API Integration With an Existing CRM

Businesses that want to integrate WhatsApp with an existing CRM typically want the ability to send and receive messages in their existing CRM.

Although some CRMs support native WhatsApp integration, they cannot support certain WhatsApp messaging features because they were originally built for email instead of messaging. Through our comprehensive testing, we discovered these critical limitations firsthand.

For instance, Zendesk's native WhatsApp integration has limitations like the inability to preview videos and listen to voice notes from the messaging inbox itself. Agents have to download them to know the content.

This slows agents down because they have to go back and forth between Zendesk and their downloads folder while tending to multiple customers at the same time. They might also open the wrong file, forcing them to re-download the content or search for it in their downloads.

Not just that, the native integration provided by CRMs limits the WhatsApp API integration to a single CRM. If a business has more than one CRM and wants to exchange WhatsApp information with all its CRMs, it won’t be able to do so.

Thankfully, most CRMs offer third-party integrations so businesses can select the best software that supports WhatsApp integration. This brings us to the next type of integration, which is more compatible with WhatsApp.

2. WhatsApp API Integration With a Messaging Software

Unlike popular CRMs like Salesforce and Zendesk, a customer conversation management software or messaging software supports native WhatsApp integration along with all its features. This is because they were built specifically for instant messaging.

These platforms can effectively serve as a WhatsApp CRM, offering a more seamless and integrated experience for handling WhatsApp conversations. They also allow integrations with existing CRMs. Here’s a list of messaging software that you can use.

• Respond.io (the best CRM with WhatsApp integration overall)
• WATI
• Trengo
• Sleekflow
• MessageBird

While there are many solution providers to choose from, we recommend using WhatsApp with respond.io and integrating it with your CRM, as it ticks all the boxes of a robust WhatsApp CRM.

How to Integrate WhatsApp with CRM in 3 Steps

Streamline customer communication by connecting your CRM to WhatsApp. Follow these 3 simple steps to get started:

Step 1: Create a respond.io WhatsApp Business API account.

It’s essential to have a WhatsApp API account as it is not possible to integrate WhatsApp Business App with a CRM. Learn how to create WhatsApp Business API account with respond.io.

Step 2: Choose 1 of these 3 methods to integrate.

• Use a Make account to integrate nearly any CRM with WhatsApp on respond.io.
• Use a Zapier account to create Zaps to sync your CRM with WhatsApp on respond.io.
• Create a new Workflow automation and add the HTTP Request Step to connect your CRM and respond.io.

Step 3: Set Up Information to Sync.

Using your chosen integration method, configure the data you want to sync. This ensures seamless information exchange between your CRM and respond.io, allowing you to message customers on WhatsApp without switching platforms.

3 Best Practices for Integrating WhatsApp CRM

To make the most of your integration and ensure smooth implementation, here are a few best practices.

1. Collect Email and Phone Number

For most CRMs, every lead or customer must have a unique identifier, like their email address or phone number. Luckily, when a lead contacts you on WhatsApp, you get their phone number automatically. If you need an email address as well, set up an automation to ask for it. Then, sync these important details in your respond.io contact list and your CRM.

2. Merge Contacts to Avoid Duplicates

Often, a lead may contact you on a different channel other than WhatsApp, e.g., web chat, Facebook Messenger, and you’ll want quickly identify this. Respond.io recognizes duplicates automatically if you get contacts with the same email or phone number and you’ll be prompted to merge. When you integrate with a CRM, you can reflect these updates in your CRM as well.

3. Segment Customers for WhatsApp Broadcasts

Sending information from your CRM to WhatsApp helps you identify target audiences for WhatsApp bulk messages. CRMs are often used to segment audiences for emails, but by integrating with WhatsApp, you can get valuable segmentation details to group contacts for broadcasts.

5 WhatsApp CRM Use Cases Across Business Functions

Respond.io is a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider and a badged Meta Business Partner. The former means you can get official WhatsApp API access, while the latter means that Meta has vetted and recognized the company for its expertise.

In this section, we’ll explore how you can use the respond.io AI-powered customer conversation management software for marketing, sales and customer service. We’ll also discuss how to use the platform for teams and managers. Let’s explore more below.

1. Marketing: Capture Leads through Inbound Conversations

Businesses can use several methods to capture WhatsApp Leads. They can encourage inbound conversations by pasting QR codes on fliers, business cards or at their physical store. Plus, they can embed chat links in a range of digital mediums and capture website visitors through chat widgets.

For a more proactive approach, Ads that click to WhatsApp on Facebook and Instagram can effectively target users on these platforms through precise audience segmentation. This way, businesses can reach relevant leads, prompt them to connect on WhatsApp for further engagement and push them toward conversion.

Once a lead starts a conversation, their contact information will be saved, and businesses can then push them down the sales funnel by qualifying them.

2. Sales: Improve Lead Qualification and Sales Efficiency

Integrating your sales CRM with respond.io allows you to exchange data between both platforms to qualify leads and create deals with a click of a button. Agents can carry out sales-related tasks while talking to customers without switching platforms.

Additionally, businesses can automate sales tasks like handling routine lead inquiries and qualifying them automatically with AI Agent, an AI-powered chatbot. Then, based on the funnel they fall into, they can be routed to the right sales team and auto-assigned to a sales agent accordingly.

The highly customizable nature of respond.io’s Workflows gives managers the freedom to implement their routing logic, such as routing leads by priority access, deal size, region or more. Plus, they can ensure equal lead distribution among the sales team and assign existing customers to their dedicated salesperson automatically.

As agents will have to communicate with customers from different backgrounds, they can use AI Prompts to refine messages for clarity, translate messages to overcome language barriers and more. This way, agents can ensure their messages are communicated effectively.

You can also use this feature for WhatsApp customer support, which we’ll discuss below.

3. Retention: Improve Customer Support Quality and Efficiency

Respond.io enables businesses to improve their customer support efficiency through AI and automation. They can set up automated FAQs and send multiple-choice questions with pre-determined answers to help customers express their needs clearly.

Based on what customers are looking for, automatically route them to the right team and assign them to the right agent. Similar to the AI Agent’s capabilities mentioned in the sales use case above, businesses can use AI to handle routine inquiries and escalate complex or sensitive issues to human agents.

This way, agents are saved from performing repetitive tasks and can focus their time on critical issues. To ease agents' workload further, tools like AI Assist provide agents with quick access to relevant information from knowledge bases or existing resources.

This allows them to respond quickly and accurately to customer inquiries, enhancing response times and contributing to a more satisfying customer experience.

Furthermore, agents may create support tickets on external CRM platforms such as Zendesk with just a click of a button. After a conversation ends, businesses can send a customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey to measure the success and quality of their customer support.

4. Simplify Team Collaboration

Respond.io makes it easy for team members to collaborate in a team inbox. Through internal comments, agents can provide background information about a Contact for more follow-ups.

Agents can also tag their teammates to discuss the best way to help a customer or escalate complex cases whenever necessary. Best of all, agents can easily collaborate, chat with customers and manage their tasks anywhere with the respond.io mobile app.

5. Track Team Performance Effortlessly

Through respond.io’s advanced Reports and Analytics Module, managers can easily track individual or team performance. Additionally, managers may filter and review high-value conversations using a custom inbox. This ensures the best possible customer experience and helps increase customer loyalty.

Now, let's get a quick recap of what we’ve discussed in the blog.

5 Challenges and Solutions in Using WhatsApp CRM

You’ll need to be aware of some potential challenges in using WhatsApp CRM. As long as you choose the right platform for your integration, they’re easy to solve.

1. Privacy and Data Security

When you integrate WhatsApp with a CRM, you’ll want to be sure there’s no risk of leaking customer data. In addition to choosing a platform that meets stringent security standards, prevent losses due to human error by using features to mask email and phone number and enable 2FA or SSO.

2. Scaling for Business Growth

A platform that integrates WhatsApp with a CRM must also be able to handle high volumes of messages as your business scales. Respond.io guarantees 99.999% reliability so you can rest assured every message will be delivered with no lagging.

3. Adapting to WhatsApp Updates

WhatsApp policies and features frequently change; not keeping up with them may affect your customer communication. Choose a conversation management platform that keeps you informed about upcoming changes so your business can quickly adapt.

4. Marketing Restrictions

Some businesses want to integrate WhatsApp with a CRM so they can import all their CRM contacts into WhatsApp and send them promotional messages. However, doing this is likely to result in a WhatsApp ban as WhatsApp prohibits unsolicited messages. We recommend getting more contacts into WhatsApp by using WhatsApp links, QR codes and click to chat ads and ensure they opt-in.

5. Channel Dependence

As your business grows, it’s best not to rely on WhatsApp as your only channel as it limits your audience. Using a CRM integration that has multichannel capabilities makes it easy to manage contacts that come in on any channel.

Now that you know the requirements, best practices and challenges, are you ready to see the practical use cases for integrating WhatsApp with a CRM via respond.io? Read on to find out!

Flexible CRM Integration with Respond.io

Respond.io is a versatile AI-powered customer conversation management software specially designed for messaging. Compared to other messaging software mentioned above, respond.io has the best platform reliability and customer support availability. This ensures smooth, consistent business operations and access to excellent assistance whenever you need it.

Respond.io also lets you connect WhatsApp with multiple CRMs to exchange information between them, allowing you to use WhatsApp to its full potential.

Plus, it offers an AI-powered omnichannel inbox that aggregates messages from messaging apps like WhatsApp along with traditional messaging channels like email and webchat. By contrast, WhatsApp CRMs like WATI don’t support other popular channels, leaving customers constrained to a single channel to reach you.

Respond.io also supports WhatsApp features like sending WhatsApp catalogs, broadcasts, push notifications, setting up interactive messages and more. Best of all, it integrates seamlessly with almost any type of CRM. Let’s look at how integrating an existing CRM with respond.io works.

WhatsApp CRM: Key Takeaways

By now, you should know that the best way to integrate WhatsApp business with CRM is to use WhatsApp API on customer conversation management software built specifically for messaging. Then integrate your existing CRM with it.

This integration approach has proven highly effective in various industries, including food and beverages (F&B), hospitality, healthcare, education, real estate and retail. Check out our customer stories to learn how companies in different industries have benefitted from integrating WhatsApp with CRM.

Now that you know the essentials of WhatsApp CRM, get ready to apply your newfound knowledge and take your WhatsApp messaging to the next level. Sign up for respond.io WhatsApp Business API today!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need WhatsApp Business API to use WhatsApp CRM?

Yes, to use WhatsApp CRM, you need a WhatsApp Business API account, as it enables the necessary functionality for sending and receiving messages when connected to a CRM system.

Is WhatsApp Business API free?

No, it’s not. These are the costs you can expect: A phone number, a messaging inbox to receive and send messages and WhatsApp’s conversation-based pricing charges.

What is the best CRM with WhatsApp integration?

This depends on the goal of WhatsApp CRM integration. If you want a solution that allows you to use WhatsApp with your existing CRM or integrate WhatsApp with a messaging software that can serve as a WhatsApp CRM, then give respond.io a shot.

WhatsApp CRM vs traditional CRM systems: what’s the difference?

Both WhatsApp CRM and traditional CRM systems allow you to manage contact information, keep track of customer activity and communicate with customers. However, traditional CRM systems are built for email, not for instant messaging.

Further Reading

Need a more in-depth article to kickstart your marketing, sales and support journey with respond.io? Here are some blogs that might help you.

• WhatsApp Marketing: A Guide to a Successful Campaign
• How To Use WhatsApp for Sales
• WhatsApp Customer Service: Using WhatsApp for Support