Verified business accounts

#1

Post by artsandsci » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 5:18 PM UTC

Verified business accounts
faq.whatsapp.com

Re: Verified business accounts

#2

Post by philliphaydon » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 6:48 PM UTC

Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?

Re: Verified business accounts

#3

Post by mullen » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 6:54 PM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #2

Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?

Never going to happen at this pace.

No API

No Money Transfer (Well, not yet)

Re: Verified business accounts

#4

Post by kinkrtyavimoodh » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 6:56 PM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #2

Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?

WeChat of anything not China would be a better way of putting it. One of their biggest consumer bases is India and there it may actually manage to become like WeChat.

Re: Verified business accounts

#5

Post by jeffmould » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

As someone who uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family overseas, I could potentially see that as a nice support channel for businesses. However, there are several problems I see. First, you can't have more than one account linked to the app on your phone.

Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out.

Third, it would be nice if multiple users could access the same account from their devices. Even if used as a sales tool this would limit interaction to one person.

Finally, without an API this is walled garden approach. Without being about to integrate with existing support platforms it is basically useless as a support channel.

In the end, I would like to see WhatsApp have a "business version" and would most likely be a consumer of such service, but verified accounts seems like putting the cart in front of the horse to me.

Re: Verified business accounts

#6

Post by jasode » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:25 PM UTC

Isn't this related to an upcoming feature[1] for businesses to contact (some may read it as "spam") you on WhatsApp?

If so, the verified colors being "green" or "yellow" is really a minor detail.

A better submission would be a story of the "big picture" about businesses interacting with WhatsApp users. (E.g. Will the unsolicited commercial interactions make the platform better or drive people away?)

>If you'd like to stop a business from contacting you, you can block them.

I'm guessing users are not looking forward to the day when the smartphone imposes yet another housekeeping task on them.

[1] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/new...

Re: Verified business accounts

#7

Post by puranjay » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:25 PM UTC

jeffmould wrote: post #5

As someone who uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family overseas, I could potentially see that as a nice support channel for businesses. However, there are several problems I see. First, you can't have more than one account linked to the app on your phone. Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. Third, it would be…

> Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out.

In markets like India (one of Whatsapp's largest) landline phones have been obsolete for nearly a decade now. It's not a forward-looking feature.

Tons of businesses in India are already using Whatsapp here in India. It's a huge and critical part of the economy now.

Re: Verified business accounts

#8

Post by jeffmould » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:31 PM UTC

puranjay wrote: post #7

jeffmould wrote: post #5

As someone who uses WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family overseas, I could potentially see that as a nice support channel for businesses. However, there are several problems I see. First, you can't have more than one account linked to the app on your phone. Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. Third, it would be…

> Second (and correct me if I am wrong), there is no way to create an account associated with a landline phone that I can figure out. In markets like India (one of Whatsapp's largest) landline phones have been obsolete for nearly a decade now. It's not a forward-looking feature. Tons of businesses in India are already using Whatsapp here in India. It's a huge and critical part of the economy now.

I can appreciate that. Unfortunately, here in the US most businesses still all rely on some form of landline number. For many, this is more a virtual number(s) through some VoIP provider. It would be nice to see WhatsApp integrate with some of the players in that market as an "add-on" feature to their services.

Re: Verified business accounts

#9

Post by rodorgas » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:35 PM UTC

jasode wrote: post #6

Isn't this related to an upcoming feature[1] for businesses to contact (some may read it as "spam") you on WhatsApp? If so, the verified colors being "green" or "yellow" is really a minor detail. A better submission would be a story of the "big picture" about businesses interacting with WhatsApp users. (E.g. Will the unsolicited commercial interactions make the platform better or drive people away?) >If you'd like to…

You can have businesses support without spam if they only allow the chat to be started by the user.

Re: Verified business accounts

#10

Post by cosinetau » Tue, Aug 29, 2017, 7:36 PM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #2

Is whatsapp making a snail paced attempt at becoming WeChat of the west?

I think Facebook makes experimental developments to Messenger first, and then it develops what works really well on WhatsApp after that. But I don't use WhatsApp, and don't really see the fine details of their work, so I could totally have it assbackwards.