WhatsApp Business is a free-to-download app available on Android and iPhone, designed with small business owners in mind. It provides tools to automate, sort, and quickly respond to messages, and is intended to feel and work just like WhatsApp Messenger. Some of the features offered in the app include a business profile to list important information such as a companys address, email, and website, labels to organize and easily find chats and messages, and messaging tools to quickly respond to customers.
A WhatsApp Business account is specifically for businesses, as opposed to the personal WhatsApp account used with friends and colleagues. It is like an extension of the mainstream WhatsApp Messenger app, with features geared towards serving customers, communicating with prospects, and facilitating sales through a messaging platform most are familiar with. Business users can choose between two WhatsApp accounts: the WhatsApp Business App, which is free and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, and the WhatsApp Business API account, which is designed for medium to large businesses communicating with customers at scale through programmatic access.
WhatsApp Business accounts can be distinguished from personal accounts by their labels. In an individual chat, tapping or clicking the contacts name to view their profile will show if they are a business. Their profile will include one of the following labels: Business account, which is the default status for a business that creates an account on one of the WhatsApp Business products, or Official business account, which has a green checkmark badge in its profile and next to the header in the chat thread, indicating that WhatsApp has determined that a notable and authentic brand owns this account.
