The wait is over! Salesforce has recently announced one of its most long-anticipated integrations with WhatsApp. Now, brands will have more ways to communicate with customers and offer an immersive experience.
Looking for Whatsapp Marketing Software? Check out SoftwareSuggest’s list of the best Whatsapp Marketing Software solutions.
Salesforce and WhatsApp integration has made the latter one of the first global enterprises to offer such a feature that has been on the wishlist of many brands.
But what gives WhatsApp such great potential? With 2.24 billion+ users in 180 countries, firms see WhatsApp as an essential medium for marketing, executing customer service strategies, and achieving a customer loyalty system. So, let us see how it will boost customer service.
To gain a competitive advantage and streamline your operations, Salesforce integration with WhatsApp is essential. WhatsApp has the largest footfall of any other communication application. Salesforce WhatsApp integration will lead you to enhanced conversion rate and customer satisfaction. But you must choose a WhatsApp business solution provider wisely
What Is Salesforce WhatsApp Integration?
As we are all aware, that WhatsApp is the most effective tool to reach out to existing and prospective clients in order to increase sales. But it is not feasible to manually send WhatsApp messages to each contact is a tedious and monotonous process.
Salesforce WhatsApp integration means exporting and importing the list of contacts from Salesforce to WhatsApp respectively. The settings must be configured in Salesforce to receive messages in WhatsApp.
All in all, a WhatsApp integration with Salesforce is to develop a better and more effective chat interface that allows users to communicate with clients and maintain effective communication via WhatsApp.
6 Things to Know Before Implementing WhatsApp Integration With Salesforce
There are several factors that need to be considered for an effective Salesforce WhatsApp integration. But here are the six most important aspects that you must evaluate without fail before Salesforce integration with WhatsApp.
1. API Usage
You need to clearly identify in your organization where you will most require WhatsApp for communication. Mainly communication is done by the customer service and sales departments in an organization. So, WhatsApp will be required there.
But before integrating the API, you need to make sure that whether or not it can be integrated with the other applications used in your organization. Let’s say, e.g., scheduling software, does it integrate with that software as it is also an important software for the customer service team?
2. Omnichannel Services
Different customers utilize different channels for communication. So, it is essential for you to opt for an omnichannel service provider that can integrate multiple communication channels like WhatsApp, Viber, LINE, Telegram, etc. This will enhance the performance of your team to a great extent and extend the scope of closing the deals.
3. Native Integration
For every organization, data is of utmost importance, and they don’t want data to be moving around different applications. So while integrating, you must ensure that this service is offered. Although this type of integration service is hard to find, few vendors offer this service. But if you are getting this, it is like icing on the cake.
4. Budgetary Constraints
On the basis of your budget, you need to choose a service provider that allows effective integration of different APIs that will amplify the communication process, as very few organizations have the budget to develop their own API. Developing a personal API needs a lot of maintenance as well.
5. Billing Amount
You need to clearly understand the billing structure and prices levied during Salesforce Whatsapp integration. Mostly the prices are offered on a per-user basis which is easy to comprehend, but during the scaling process, one tends to lose track of it while buying. So on an initial basis, try to get a plan that is flatly priced and allows users to add multiple add-ons. With this, you are able to get good value for money and generate a better ROI.
6. Template provision
To have effective communication, WhatsApp API users must use templates. There are different templates for different customers. For example, when texting a customer for the first time, there is a template; for texting an existing customer, there is a template. A template exists if a customer has not responded to the text for long. So templates are essential for maintaining the flow of communication.
Hence, these are the 6 essential aspects to consider before initiating the process of Salesforce integration with WhatsApp to make the communication process more efficient.
Benefits of Salesforce WhatsApp Integration
To save the hassle of developing a personalized WhatsApp business API and bearing the huge maintenance cost. Availing of the services from a WhatsApp business service provider is the most viable and beneficial option. The benefits are as follows –
- First and foremost, the main benefit is that you don’t need a team of developers, as the coding part is totally ruled out.
- Moreover, an extensive selection of templates is available, allowing you to send automated WhatsApp messages with ease.
- It assures us to deliver personalized customer services; as a result, all your complaints and disputes will be resolved quickly.
- You don’t need to manually import and export contacts across platforms.
- Utilizing a WhatsApp business solution provider, you’ll require minimum resources and effective operability can be gained.
- A WhatsApp business solution provider will reduce time wastage to the maximum, and the determined ROI can be achieved.
- You can keep track of customer conversations conducted by the customer service agents.
- It offers valuable insights into improving customer relationships.
All in all, there are many benefits to avail of Salesforce integration services from a WhatsApp business solution provider. A WhatsApp business solution provider allows you to integrate WhatsApp with the Salesforce platform hassle-free.
How to Implement Salesforce WhatsApp Integration?
There are a few steps that must be followed for effective Salesforce WhatsApp integration. But before that, we must understand some of the important prerequisites for the same, as mentioned by WhatsApp and Salesforce.
Prerequisites for WhatsApp integration with Salesforce
Salesforce Prerequisites
For effective integration, Salesforce requirements are as follows:
- Create a Salesforce account
- For integrating a Salesforce account, you need to have Lightning Experience or Salesforce Classics in different editions.
- Also you also need licenses like Digital Engagement and Chat User.
Now, let’s move on to WhatsApp requirements.
WhatsApp Prerequisites
Below are the WhatsApp prerequisites for Salesforce and WhatsApp integration.
- You must have an approved WhatsApp Business Account; in addition to that, you need to have a verified Facebook Business Manager Account as well.
- You will have to get approval for message configuration.
- You need to authorize WhatsApp Messaging Customize Application by getting the vendor’s approval.
- View the dashboard where WhatsApp channels can be monitored.
Hence, these were the prerequisites required by Salesforce and WhatsApp for integration. Now, let’s look at the steps of Salesforce integration with WhatsApp.
Steps for Salesforce WhatsApp integration
Once you are done with the prerequisites, you need to follow the steps mentioned below, which will lead you to complete the WhatsApp Salesforce integration process.
Step 1: Create a Business Account on WhatsApp through Facebook Business Manager.
To do this, you need to send an e-mail to [email protected] and add the subject “Setup WhatsApp Number.” In the body of the e-mail, the following things must be mentioned.
- Salesforce ID
- Facebook Business Manager ID
- Name as per the Facebook ID
- The whatsApp number followed by the name, e-mail, and alternate number
- Name the company and attach the logo, description, and website link that you want to be displayed on WhatsApp
Step 2: Go to the Lightning Service Setting on Salesforce
After accessing the lightning service and configuring the setting, you can view your WhatsApp channel.
Step 3: Go to the Message Setting in the Lightning Service Setup.
Then in the Lightning Experience Setting, you need to select the messaging section to configure the messaging setting, and by doing this, you’ll be able to enter your WhatsApp channel.
Step 4: Administration of Channels
After configuring the settings, the admins can monitor all the channels that are added. In addition, the admin can add and subtract the channels as per the requirements.
Step 5: Add WhatsApp Channel
Salesforce offers integrations with a lot of communication applications. To add a WhatsApp channel, you need to follow some guided steps. After selecting Start, you’ll be able to see options for different communication applications with which you want to create a channel. There you have to select WhatsApp.
Step 6: Complete the Setup Process
In this step, you need to complete the process as guided on the platform and then click on finish.
Step 7: Integrate Salesforce to WhatsApp
The last step is to follow some more self-guided steps to integrate Salesforce into your Facebook business account, and you are good to go. Now WhatsApp is integrated with Salesforce, and you can effectively interact with your customers.
How to Use Salesforce WhatsApp Integration?
Nowadays, most brands are opting for Salesforce and WhatsApp integration for cloud marketing. From small to large, products and service-based brands use this integration to promote their products and services. Some use it to provide promotional offers to customers.
For example, giants like L’Oreal have been utilizing Salesforce WhatsApp integration to amplify their CRM strategies. They provide offers via WhatsApp to customers who have deserted their carts. In the service-based industry also, this integration is quite prevalent. Banking and insurance institutions have been using it to offer customer services and also offers related to loans, FDs, and policies.
With the integration of Salesforce and WhatsApp, brands can provide personalized services to their customers and boost their sales and customer retention levels to a great extent. Moreover, organizations can constantly stay in touch with their customers, and providing them with offers consistently increases reliability and elevates customer engagement.
How to Integrate Salesforce With Other Applications?
There are various methods through which you can integrate Salesforce with other applications. But this completely depends on the WhatsApp business service provider you are choosing. To get data from Salesforce, many providers utilize the HTTP method. Mapping of resources has to be done manually when this method is followed.
Other than that, the most common methods for integrating Salesforce with other applications are REST APIs, SOAP APIs, and Bulk APIs. REST APIs operate on a similar framework as that of HTTP requests, as discussed above. They are the simplest and offer lightweight means of integrating data between Salesforce and other applications.
With SOAP APIs, more features can be availed, and complex integrations can be done. Operations like retrieving, creating, updating, and deleting data can be done easily. Bulk APIs offer similar features as SOAP APIs, but they can handle more volumes of data than any other APIs. Also, all the data gets stored in a service cloud.
In addition, by default, Salesforce offers integrations and connectors to some popular third-party platforms like Microsoft, SAP, and Oracle. Hence, using APIs, Salesforce can be integrated into other applications.
Wrapping Up
According to the statistics, the WhatsApp business platform can increase conversion rates to 112%. It is a great opportunity to scale up your customer services and the sales process by effectively utilizing WhatsApp.
Most businesses are currently using this integration as it benefits both the organization and the customer. It saves the organization a lot of time and resources and offers quick resolution and great offers to customers.
Now it is up to you and your organization’s requirement on which provider to choose to integrate Salesforce and WhatsApp. If you try to DIY, it will be a highly tedious and complex process. Also, it will take a toll on your budget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the integration is definitely secure, as both brands are reliable and offer a highly secure framework to their users. So that the data remains secure and operations can be conducted seamlessly.
Salesforce and WhatsApp can be integrated with each other to amplify the customer services or sales process. Salesforce org and WhatsApp have entered into an MOU wherein they can be merged, and all communications can be handled from a single platform.
Yes, you can send automated messages, but for that, you need to choose a WhatsApp business solution provider. As they offer pre-built templates, and all the messages and replies can be automated.
Paras Kela is a highly skilled SaaS content writer with over 7 years of experience in the IT field. His expertise lies in simplifying complex technical concepts for easy comprehension. With a portfolio of over 100 high-quality blogs covering various SaaS topics, Paras’s writing style is engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly, ensuring maximum effectiveness. He continuously updates his skills and knowledge to stay current with industry trends, making his writing relevant and reliable.
