Introducing the WhatsApp Business App

WhatsApp. Built for people. And for businesses .

The 9-year-old company, established by ex-employees of Yahoo!, announced the launch of  WhatsApp Business, a free-to-download Android app for small businesses. Key Features: (1) Business Profiles to help customers easily access useful information on the business, including: description, email, address, and website, (2) Messaging Tools to provide fast answers to frequently asked questions, greeting messages, and away messages that let users know the brand is currently busy, (3) Messaging Statistics because what doesn’t get measured doesn’t get improved, (4) WhatsApp Web to send and receive messages with WhatsApp Business on one’s desktop, and (5) Account Type to let peeps know it’s a business account.

Did You Know? Over 80% of small businesses in India and Brazil say WhatsApp helps them both communicate with customers and grow their business. Bottom Line: available in Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, US and UK, with plans to roll out around the world in the coming weeks.

PS. Ditzo, a digital insurer from the Netherlands, is an example of one insurer using WhatsApp for customer service. “As you know, we will answer all your questions within 2 hours via WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.” Sweet.