We have curated this how-to guide to give you a roadmap for using WhatsApp Business with multiple users. In this guide, you’ll find why the free WhatsApp Business app is only ideal for micro-sized businesses and what SMBs to large enterprises should opt for.
You’ll also find the steps to use WhatsApp Business with multiple users and the constraints of doing it with the app. Toward the end, you’ll find an intelligent solution to use WhatsApp Business with multiple users (same WhatsApp Business account). Eager to know? Let’s find out!
WhatsApp Business with Multiple Users for Micro-Sized Businesses
WhatsApp Business app is free-to-install on iOS and Android devices. It is a feature-rich app curated for micro-sized businesses with limited incoming messages. Earlier, you could use it on 2 devices–one PC and one phone. But now, the new BETA program allows you to use WhatsApp Business with multiple users on multiple devices, up to 5 devices–1 phone and 4 more devices.
Why is the WhatsApp business app ideal for micro-sized businesses?
WhatsApp Business App has features that are not necessarily scalable but are useful, helping businesses streamline communication effortlessly. Here’s why we say the app is ideal for micro-sized businesses –
1. Cost-effective communication
WhatsApp Business app allows businesses to have high-quality conversations over the Internet, eliminating the need to invest in expensive calling and SMS plans. It also allows you to leverage multi-media to engage customers in less time without any added cost. This makes the app great for micro-sized businesses with limited budgets.
2. Higher customer engagement
WhatsApp Business app allows you to send promotional whatsapp messages to customers and interact with them in live one-to-one chat. Doing so significantly improves customer engagement, one of the major goals for micro-sized businesses.
3. Increases accessibility
WhatsApp is a highly used platform accessible by all kinds of customers. So, when you use WhatsApp to interact with customers, the chances of customers reaching out to you are higher. For micro-sized businesses with crunched budgets, it’s more important to be available and accessible to customers so you can solve their queries and engage with them instantly, improving customer retention.
4. Data-driven decisions
WhatsApp Business app facilitates data-driven decisions by giving you insights into key analytics–message sent or open rate. This data helps you gain an in-depth understanding of your customers’ behavior. When you know your customers’ next steps, developing strategies to engage them better is easier, like editing quick replies and optimizing your profile’s interaction with customers.
5. Extensive business profiles
WhatsApp Business app allows you to create business profiles with all your relevant business information–contact, social media handle, address, website, and more, to acquaint customers with your business. The app also lets you verify your business account by WhatsApp and gain a green badge to show you credibility and build trust, which is significant for micro-sized businesses.
In addition, WhatsApp Business is ideal only for micro-sized businesses and won’t work well for larger ones, which brings us to the WhatsApp Business API.
"WhatsApp for Business (multiple users) is a tool that businesses of all kinds must have as a part of their toolkit, considering its advanced features. But you must choose between the app and API wisely, depending on your business size and needs. The WhatsApp Business app has limited capabilities and features that might work only for micro-sized businesses. API is a better option for all other businesses, owing to its superpowers–advanced functionalities, unlimited users, and powerful automation and integrations."
WhatsApp Business API with Multiple Users for Micro-Sized Businesses
Now let’s discuss WhatsApp API access-the best choice regardless of your business size. It helps you take your business to the next level by addressing high chat volumes, analyzing customer data, and tracking KPIs that matter using the same account on multiple devices.
The best part about WhatsApp API account? It has no user limits (supports multiple devices), is feature-rich, and seamlessly integrates with third-party integrations.
Why WhatsApp Business API is a better choice for all businesses?
WhatsApp Business API has a more advanced and larger feature stack, capable of adding immense value to businesses of all sizes. Here’s why we recommend you use WhatsApp Business API and call it a better choice for all businesses –
1. Broadens business reach
WhatsApp Business API significantly skyrockets your business’s reach. It helps you reach all your customers regardless of your huge customer base. How? By allowing you to add unlimited WhatsApp Business users to broadcast message lists, unlike the 256 contact restriction in the Business app.
2. Updates your customers with automated notifications
It offers business tools integrations to send automatic notifications to customers. These notifications are automatically triggered when the customer takes an action–makes a purchase or payment. Instead of sending them via email, you must consider notifying customers on WhatsApp for personalization, plus better open rates and conversions.
3. Skyrockets sales
WhatsApp Business API helps improve sales by sending messages with a proper call to action. These actionable messages engage customers better, allowing you time to hook them and slide them down the funnel. This can benefit you immensely, and individually asking each of your customers to take action is practically impossible.
4. Highly scalable platform
WhatsApp Business API is cut to efficiently handle high volumes of customer messages without compromising performance using multiple devices. If you deal with many customer interactions that keep increasing with the passing days, API is your best bet. It also comes in handy for conversation management, providing quick, one-to-one support.
5. Improves agent efficiency
With API, automating operational tasks is easy, saving time. For instance, it allows you to integrate chatbots so your agents don’t waste time answering many repetitive questions daily. You can set up quick replies to frequently asked questions or auto-replies when agents aren’t present for your entire team. And when manual efforts reduce, efficiency is bound to improve.
6. Adds customizations to customer communication
API’s message templates can be personalized to include relevant and contextual details of each customer. This makes the customers feel that a message is targeted specifically to them, tremendously improving engagement.
: WhatsApp Automation: A Step-by-Step GuideHow to use Whatsapp Business App with multiple users?
Do you want to extend customer support on WhatsApp with basic functionalities and limited agents at zero cost? If yes, the WhatsApp Business app is definitely for you.
You can use WhatsApp Business app to add multiple agents and team members to the same account. It will only take a few minutes and clicks to get started. You can access WhatsApp Business (multiple devices) with a limit of 5 devices maximum, including one phone and 4 other devices (mobile, tablet, PC) with a single phone number.
Step 1: Open the browser
To add multiple WhatsApp Business users to the WhatsApp Business app, head to WhatsApp Web’s official website on your preferred browser.
Step 2: Head to the WhatsApp Business app
The next step to add multiple users and use WhatsApp Business on multiple devices is to go to the WhatsApp settings on your mobile, tap on the linked devices option, and hit the link a device bar.
Step 3: Link the WhatsApp Business app and web
Once you hit the link a device option, a QR code scanner will show up that you need to use to scan the QR code on your WhatsApp web desktop screen.
Step 4: Start using WhatsApp Web
Once the QR code is scanned, a new user will be added to your WhatsApp Business and can access customer conversations and data on WhatsApp with a recently linked device. Similarly, you can add new users just by linking their individual devices.
Note: Each new user added to your WhatsApp Business application can access your chats, media, and settings as it is automatically synced to each linked device.
: How To Send WhatsApp Bulk Messages?Constraints of WhatsApp Business App With Multiple Users
As we mentioned earlier, you can use WhatsApp Business with multiple users. However, considering its constraints and restrictions, it’s not a great choice for small, medium, or large businesses. Let’s dive into the details right away:
1. Restricted device usage
WhatsApp Business app has one phone and 4 linked devices usage restrictions. That means a maximum of 5 users can use the same account simultaneously. Suppose your company has more than 5 agents handling customer queries or has different agents for different departments. In that case, resolving queries quickly would be impossible, reducing productivity, draining time, and frustrating customers.
2. Lacks access controls
You can use WhatsApp Business with multiple users and devices to access the same account and data, but it gives the same access to each user, which might lead to confusion and mess. You’ll be unable to break down and assign tasks to different agents; there’s no option to grant controlled access.
3. Zero CRM integrations
All businesses need in-depth insights into customer behavior and interactions to continuously improve their messaging and offers. That’s possible with CRMs, but the WhatsApp Business app doesn’t support any CRM integration. So, you’d have to manually transfer the conversations on WhatsApp to your CRM to track and analyze them better. Doing so is challenging to nearly impossible for businesses of all sizes.
4. Few automation options
Are you a large enterprise wanting to scale your customer service or a small business with limited resources aiming to ace customer service? Well, WhatsApp can potentially act as a brilliant customer service platform.
But that’s not possible with WhatsApp Business App. It has no chatbots or automation. It cannot answer common questions with zero effort or streamline customer interactions while improving response times.
5. Data security issue
You might hit privacy roadblocks with the WhatsApp Business app. Now large enterprises with different ventures usually have multiple agents handling different lines of issues. And as this app has no user access controls and all the data can be accessed by every user, confusion and privacy concern are bound to spring up.
Want to eliminate these constraints and support customers with confidence and efficiency? Switch to ControlHippo. Why? Because it offers a shared team inbox that’d feel like a dream come true for customer-obsessed companies. If you are one, scroll ahead to know what’s it all about!
: How to Schedule WhatsApp Messages on Android and IOS Devices?How to Use Whatsapp Business with Multiple Users via ControlHippo?
Want all your agents to be able to access a common inbox of customer conversations? Well, do that efficiently with a WhatsApp shared inbox provided by ControlHippo. It enables companies to add multiple users from a single unified dashboard.
It lets you integrate all your communication platforms and view interactions across them in one dashboard with no user limits. Here’s how you can make it work:
- Register and link your Whatsapp mobile number, the one you intend to provide multiple access to your team members, with the ControlHippo dashboard.
- Then, upon logging into the dashboard, you’ll see the dashboard like this.
- Navigate to the user section and select “add user.”
- Input the email address of the intended team member for access sharing.
- Upon submission, the team member receives an invitation email, which they need to accept and complete the details.
This process allows you to add any number of users to a single Whatsapp account. They can access and manage chats from various devices by logging in with their credentials, all under a single unified dashboard.
Wrapping Up
Now that we have come to the end of this extensive yet actionable guide, we suppose you are now aware of WhatsApp Business multiple users (free) app and Team Inbox capabilities individually. WhatsApp Team Inbox is a better fit to pass through today’s business challenges and cater to high volumes of conversations.
The easiest way out is to rely on a robust WhatsApp Business Solution Provider like ControlHippo. It lets you use WhatsApp Business with multiple users via a single team inbox, so all your queries are resolved with shorter response times leading to increased customer happiness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, WhatsApp allows you to add 5 users by linking multiple devices to the same WhatsApp account, including one mobile phone and four additional devices.
You can use a single WhatsApp Business account to link WhatsApp Business with multiple devices with a maximum of 5 devices, including one mobile phone and 4 linked devices.
No, you need to have two different numbers to access WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business simultaneously.
WhatsApp Business app is free to download. But you are charged on a per-conversation basis moving forward.
Updated : April 11, 2024
Naina Khare is a full-time writer who fiercely believes in the power of storytelling and primarily holds expertise in creating content for B2B SaaS brands. She’s infinitely curious and happiest when reading, writing, or exploring spirituality and self-growth. Over the years, Naina has written content for various SaaS and B2B companies.
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