You probably know and has been using WhatsApp for quite a long time now, but do you know that it has two standard versions?

Since its launch in 2009, WhatsApp has gained a lot of popularity. Today, it has been downloaded over 5 billion times in Google Playstore, and currently has over 2 billion active monthly users, surpassing some popular similar apps like Messenger, WeChat, etc. In fact, WhatsApp is one of the best-known apps in the world.

The usual version of WhatsApp, which most of us use, is a useful tool to communicate with our friends and family. However, if you own a business, WhatsApp Business is likely a great platform to nurture business relations with your customers and potential ones as well.

So, now, let’s take a look at the differences between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.

The popularity and convenience of WhatsApp drove more and more businesses to use it to communicate with customers. But since the platform was originally created for personal use, it became crucial that a business-oriented solution was needed—hence the creation of WhatsApp Business.

Your WhatsApp Business Profile

WhatsApp Business is a robust flexible platform that allows you to create a profile specifically tailored to suit the products and services offered by your business. Unlike to the regular WhatsApp, which is limited to a profile photo, name, and description, WhatsApp Business includes additional features, which you won’t find in the regular WhatsApp app. These are:

• Business categories.
• Business hours.
• Business address.
• A link to your website.
• Your catalog.

As a business owner, it is important that you create a healthy relationship between yourself and your customers. WhatsApp Business has a few extra messaging features to help you achieve this. With features such as labels, quick replies, greetings messages, and away messages, it becomes even more adaptable to businesses.

You’ll find a brief overview of each of these features below.

1. Label

Being organized is the key to business success in the long run. WhatsApp Business label feature helps you keep your account neat. You can assign different labels for each chat, along with allocating them in various colors. This will help you track your orders, generate leads, and keep your WhatsApp Business account in check.

2. Greeting Messages

The WhatsApp Business app allows you to set automatic greeting messages to people contacting you for the first time, or after 14 days. These messages are customizable.

3. Quick Replies

As a business owner, you might receive queries from new customers. You will also have to respond and send messages to unsaved WhatsApp numbers.

Your new customers might ask questions that you have answered many times before. To avoid feeling like you’re repeating yourself, WhatsApp Business offers a feature called Quick replies. To start, you can go to Settings > Quick replies. Once you’ve set this up, you’ll be able to answer several frequently asked queries.

4. Away Messages

If you are unavailable, you can also set messages to inform your customers that you will get back to them once you’re back. To activate this feature, go to the Away message feature on WhatsApp Business and turn it on. Then, set the automatic messages and customize them depending on your unavailability.

In a nutshell

It becomes accidental that most people go about using WhatsApp Business as the regular Whatsapp, which is meant to connect with family and acquaintances. Knowing the differences between these two apps will permit you to use the right one for the right purpose.

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