What to expect from a connection between WhatsApp and Teamleader Focus?
Combining the most popular messaging app with a popular work management tool is a trade-off between automation and ease of use. There is no direct integration between the two tools, nor does Teamleader Focus have a chat interface. So we can put the desire to chat with customers directly from Teamleader Focus on the shelf right away... But that does not mean that we cannot make a connection at all. Quite the contrary! In this article, we will further discuss the technical side of the story and the possibilities of automation via Make.
WhatsApp Business vs. WhatsApp Business API
Everyone knows the standard WhatsApp version for consumers, to which our personal number is linked. The standard version is not possible to connect. But there is also a professional version: WhatsApp Business. Companies from various sectors use this version for their B2C communication. You may have already communicated with a company via WhatsApp.
With WhatsApp Business, companies do not create an account in a personal title, but in the name of the company. That is logical, of course, but there are a number of advantages to having a WhatsApp Business account. For example, companies can create ads, set up automatic messages, create a catalogue of products and set up a company profile including company name, address, website and opening hours.
Additionally, companies can use the WhatsApp Business API (application programming interface) to automate their communication with customers at scale and integrate with their CRM systems or other customer services. This is done programmatically, so there is no chat environment available where you can read and type messages.
What do you need to connect WhatsApp to Teamleader Focus?
To send messages via WhatsApp's API (application programming interface), we need to have a number of things:
- A free phone number
- One Meta Developer account (Or use Twilio)
- One Teamleader Focus account
- One Create account
Free phone number
The phone number associated with the WhatsApp Cloud API cannot be used by another version of WhatsApp. That means you need to purchase a new phone number or disconnect a phone number from an existing WhatsApp account.
Meta Developer Account
A Meta Developer account is required to access the WhatsApp Business API. By logging into an account with your Facebook account on Meta's developer website, you can access the development environment. There, you can directly create an App that you use in the connection with the API.
Do you work with a Meta Developer Account and Make? Then it's best to follow this step-by-step plan: https://www.make.com/en/help/apps/communication/whatsapp-business-cloud
WhatsApp Business API Security Requirements and Restrictions
To prevent abuse and spam, WhatsApp has granted limited options to API users. The WhatsApp API works on the basis of the opt-in principle: You must have explicit consent from the recipient to send a message. This must be saved and ready to provide if WhatsApp or relevant regulators request it. Please also note the following restrictions:
- As a new message, you can only send a template message; only when the recipient responds can you send a free message.
- When a recipient sends a response or a first message, you have up to 24 hours to send a free message, then you can only send a template message.
- Sending (template) messages to multiple individuals is possible, but sending a (template) message to a group is not possible.
- Messages may not be used for promotional purposes.
What is a template message?
A template message in the context of the WhatsApp Business API is a pre-approved message that a company can use to send messages to customers. This type of message is primarily used for transactional or service-related notifications, such as order confirmations, shipping updates, or appointment reminders.
Template messages must meet strict requirements, you cannot send marketing, sales, or unsolicited promotional content, and the content must be approved by WhatsApp. However, you can use placeholders, which you can fill in dynamically. For example:
Hi {{1}}, your order #{{2}} is sent and will arive on {{3}}.
You enter parameters 1, 2 and 3 programmatically with the customer's name, order number and date of delivery.
What's possible with the WhatsApp Business API and Teamleader Focus
The template messages are a good basis for starting a conversation with your customer. By using placeholders, you can still make a standard text personal and relevant. In combination with Teamleader Focus, you can still send messages and retrieve data based on the WhatsApp Business API. Here are a few examples.
1. Sending a message after an event in Teamleader
Think of events such as adding a contact or company, creating a deal or project, moving a deal to another phase, scheduling an appointment or call, booking or sending an invoice. Every event that takes place in Teamleader Focus can be captured in Make, where we can then link an action. Sending a (template) message about one of the above events? Yes, certainly possible!
Common messages include “transactional messages,” such as:
- Order Confirmations
- Shipping Confirmations
- Delivery confirmations
- Payment reminders
- Invoice notifications
- Appointment confirmations
- Appointment reminders
2. Add a contact to Teamleader Focus when a new customer sends a message
Based on incoming messages, you can automatically add the customer's phone number and profile name as a new contact in Teamleader Focus. In Make you can even check if the contact already exists so that only unknown contacts are added. You can go one step further and add the WhatsApp message as a comment or note to the contact's activity log.
WhatsApp Business API costs
WhatsApp charges based on conversations (conversations). A conversation starts as soon as a message from your company is delivered to a customer and lasts 24 hours. Within that 24-hour period, you can send unlimited messages at no extra cost. After that period, a new conversation starts when you send another message.
There are two types of conversations:
- User-Initiated Conversations:
This happens when a customer sends you a message first. You can then respond free of charge within the 24-hour window.
- Business-Initiated Conversations:
These are conversations where you send the customer a message first, for example with a template message.
Costs vary by country and can also vary between user-initiated and business-initiated calls. Meta does not have a single fixed rate for each country; instead, prices depend on the market situation in different regions. The average cost of a call can range from $0.01 to $0.15 per call, depending on the country where the customer is located.
However, you do get a number of free conversations per month, currently there are 1000.
Conclusion
Can you connect WhatsApp to Teamleader Focus? Yes, but Teamleader Focus does not have a chat interface, so having a conversation from Teamleader Focus is not possible. You also can't just send a free message to customers, although a template message may help.
If you still want to automate aspects of your workflow via the WhatsApp Business API, such as sending a template message or adding contacts, you can use a free phone number to start a WhatsApp Business Account and via Make to connect.
However, the WhatsApp Business API does not have a chat function because all conversations are processed programmatically, which you can solve by choosing a third-party chat application such as Twilio. That way, you can perform automatic actions via the API and simultaneously handle incoming messages.
