The app almost everyone starts with - the same one used personally - put to work for the business. It is the commonest option and the least considered, and it is worth knowing what you gain and lose by staying on it.
For
| 1 |
You already have it and already know it. No learning, no installation, no cost.
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| 2 |
It is where the customers already are. It asks nobody to install anything.
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| 3 |
It works. Plenty of businesses in Mozambique sell well this way, and there is no shame in it.
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Against
| What it lacks |
Why that costs you |
| A business profile |
Whoever opens the conversation sees no address, no hours and no website. It looks like a private individual, and that weighs on trust. |
| Automatic replies |
Out of hours nobody answers and nobody says so. The customer concludes you have given up. |
| A catalogue |
Every product has to be explained again, to every person. |
| Labels and organisation |
With thirty open conversations you lose track of who paid and who is waiting. It happens daily. |
Risks
| 1 |
It mixes life with business. The profile photo, the status, the last-seen time - all on display to customers.
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| 2 |
If it is an employee's number, the customers are theirs. When they leave, they take them - and legally the conversation was theirs. It is the most expensive risk of this option and the least discussed.
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| 3 |
It is subject to the same rules. Not being «Business» protects you from nothing: messaging people who did not ask blocks the account just the same.
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No separation, no handover. A personal account cannot be handed to somebody else when its owner goes on holiday.
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Who for
For someone starting out who wants to test whether there is demand, without spending or deciding anything. It is a legitimate starting point - not a destination.
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The obvious move, and it is free. There is no reason at all for a business to stay here: the Business app is also free, also charges nothing per message, and only adds. The only real downside of switching is half an hour of setup - see WhatsApp Business: advantages, disadvantages and risks.
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The comparison of all four options is in which WhatsApp suits your business; and the risks that apply to all of them, in the risks and the practices that avoid them.
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Want to move to the Business version without losing conversations?
Talk to us
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