Are you one of those kinds who still send SMS or email to notify your customers? 

With each passing day, more and more companies are leaving email marketing behind and embracing the world of push notifications. Yep, those tiny boxes in your mobile are a new hit among marketers, and they have a good reason for that! 

Not only that, marketers also utilize the most used messaging platform in the world to do the strategy, WhatsApp App. 

WhatsApp Business notifications (also known as WhatsApp notifications or WhatsApp push notifications) have a high delivery rate and are easy to set up. It's also cheap and supports two-way messaging!

With 2,44 billion users worldwide in 2022, it makes sense for your business to consider using WhatsApp as a way to reach customers. A new development in the WhatsApp Business API means you can now send notifications to your customers through your app, which can be a great way to keep your customers informed about your latest products and services.

So, what is WhatsApp Push Notification and how do you use it to optimize your business? In this article, you will learn all about WhatsApp Push Notification and how to utilize it for a great customer engagement.

Key Takeaways: 

• WhatsApp push messages are essentially alerts and notifications delivered through the WhatsApp Business API.
• Compared to SMS Notification, WhatsApp push notifications surpass SMS notifications in every aspect. Transfers are faster, setup is easier and faster. Apart from that, WhatsApp notifications are inexpensive and support two-way communication.
• One of the main goals of this type of communication is to increase retention rates.
• Many businesses focus on increasing the number of new customers while forgetting to retain existing customers. We believe that all it takes to create a customer should be trying to survive more than one transaction.
• Utilizing WhatsApp push notifications for business purposes may be a fantastic method to update clients about your most recent goods and services as well as essential information.

What is WhatsApp Push (notification) in WhatsApp?

WhatsApp push messages are essentially alerts and notifications delivered through the WhatsApp Business API. These messages can be sent even if the customer is not currently chatting with the business, and they appear the same way as regular chat messages. 

An ideal complement to your customer chat service.

A user engagement algorithm is used to determine when and how often to display notifications to each subscriber, and anyone can choose not to be notified at any time. You can also automate relevant notifications and schedule them to be sent to large groups of customers.

WhatsApp Business solution distinguishes between two main use cases.

• Customer support chat: When a customer writes to a business, a 24-hour chat window is activated where the business can answer questions.
• Push notifications: WhatsApp messages sent by companies to consumers for various purposes. Push-Notification has a similar function to the SMS messages that users often receive from internet banking service providers or airlines.

WhatsApp Notification also creates a great customer engagement. Here’s some of what you can do with this kind of marketing strategy. 

• Instill confidence in your brand with a custom-designed business profile and messaging template.
• Send and receive media files such as GIFS, JPEGS, audio and PDF.
• Share your location on map with exit location push notification.
• Automate reminder alerts and notifications.
• Understand engagement messages at the individual contact level with 'receipts'.
• Harness the power of Conversational AI and NLP to understand consumer response and provide appropriate use case solutions, or channel direct to a live agent for personalized support needs.

Why WhatsApp Notifications are better than SMS notifications

For years, businesses have relied on SMS services to send notifications. However, more and more businesses are using WhatsApp Business Notifications. It is not surprising that WhatsApp notifications are far superior to SMS notifications.

So which one is better? Let’s check these comparison below.

1. Delivery

Deliverability measures the percentage of notifications that reach their intended recipients. Due to the nature of some channels, some notifications may not reach the recipient.

With delivery rates that are close to 100%, WhatsApp is one of the most dependable notification delivery systems. As long as they have an internet connection, your clients will always get WhatsApp push alerts.

Even though they function without an internet connection, SMS alerts are less likely than WhatsApp notifications to be sent. This is due to the carrier screening procedure that SMS alerts go through.

Designed to protect mobile subscribers from spam and fraud, SMS operators delete messages they deem inappropriate. All SMS notifications are subject to carrier filtering. Filtering prevents SMS notifications from reaching recipients. It's not always possible to know exactly when SMS notifications are being filtered.

Also, SMS notifications may not be delivered to international subscribers due to cross-border restrictions. SMS numbers like shortcodes allow you to send notifications locally only.

In terms of deliverability, WhatsApp Business Notification is definitely the winner. 

2. Requirements and Setup Time

Prior to sending SMS or WhatsApp for Business notifications, you must set up your account or phone number with your channel provider. The setup requirements and setup time will be discussed in this section.

To set up WhatsApp business notifications, you need to sign up for a WhatsApp API account through a WhatsApp partner. The submission process only takes 10 minutes. All you have to do is provide basic information such as email and company name. Optional business verification may take 5-20 business days.

In contrast, setting up SMS notifications takes significantly longer and is more difficult. By responding to the questions on the FAQs page about your business and use cases, you must submit a shortcode. The clearance process takes between 8 and 12 weeks, and it is not guaranteed.

If you're looking for a hassle-free notification service that requires minimal setup, WhatsApp Business Notifications is your choice. Now that you've learned the requirements for setting up WhatsApp push notifications and SMS notifications, let's talk about pricing.

3. Pricing

Depending on the channel and the channel provider, the total notification fee may include a per-message usage fee, set-up fee, and recurring service fee.

The price of WhatsApp notifications is determined by the WhatsApp partners. WhatsApp partners often use a combination of pricing models such as per message, message bundles, and monthly active users. For example, 360dialog charges businesses a $5 per month fee plus a standard per-message usage fee for sending notifications.

SMS notification pricing varies by SMS number type and SMS provider. Sending SMS notifications using short codes requires businesses to pay setup costs and hefty quarterly or annual rental fees. You will also be charged a fee for each message.

WhatsApp notifications can be cheaper than SMS notifications if you use the right WhatsApp partner. Next, we discuss whether WhatsApp notifications and SMS notifications support two-way communication.

4. Two Way Communication

Two-way communication allows businesses to receive notification responses. Now let's find out if WhatsApp and SMS notifications support two-way communication.

WhatsApp Business notifications support two-way messaging which is useful in many situations. Recipients can reply to an appointment reminder to reschedule or reply to an urgent reminder to request help. Two-way communication always works on WhatsApp regardless of geographic location.

In contrast, two-way communication is not usually supported by SMS alerts. Several SMS numbers lack the ability to send and receive two-way messages, including shared short codes and alphanumeric codes. Others don't allow overseas customers to reply since they only provide two-way texting for locally issued alerts.

WhatsApp alerts are your greatest option if you want to have two-way conversations with your consumers. The differences between SMS alerts and WhatsApp business notifications will now be briefly discussed.

WhatsApp Business Notifications vs SMS Notifications: A Brief Comparison

WhatsApp notifications surpass SMS notifications in every aspect. Transfers are faster, setup is easier and faster. Apart from that, WhatsApp notifications are inexpensive and support two-way communication.

Also read: The Guide on How to Schedule WhatsApp Messages

How to Send Your Push Notifications Effectively

If you're interested in what you can do with WhatsApp push notifications (or how other businesses can use them), we're here to help.

One of the main goals of this type of communication is to increase retention rates.

Many businesses focus on increasing the number of new customers while forgetting to retain existing customers. We believe that all it takes to create a customer should be trying to survive more than one transaction.

Utilizing WhatsApp push notifications for business purposes may be a fantastic method to update clients about your most recent goods and services as well as essential information. What are some practical uses for WhatsApp notifications? 

You may target particular client groups with pertinent alerts, and you can even automate them to be sent at the best possible moment.

1. Updates

No one would deny the chance to see where their online purchases are. Everybody wants their orders to arrive as quickly as possible.  WhatsApp Push notification enables you to notify customers about delivery status via timely push notifications. 

2. Announcement

Do you have a product in stock that is in high demand? Or maybe you want to launch a new collection. Push notifications are a way to reach your target audience.

3. Appointment Reminder

Studies show that the cost of missed appointments in the healthcare industry and other industries that rely on face-to-face meetings is billions of dollars annually. 

It has also been shown that sending appointment reminders one day in advance can significantly reduce missed appointments. These reminders can be configured and distributed easily via WhatsApp Notifications, saving your business money while increasing customer satisfaction and engagement. The ultimate win-win!

4. Account Updates

You can use the WhatsApp Bot to notify your customers about changes to their account settings. This allows users to react when unauthorized activity is performed.

You can also send push notifications to notify customers about membership plan changes.

5. Payment Request

You can send information about your order via WhatsApp, such as an invoice or a note notifying you that the status of a payment transaction has changed.

We may also push updates after the auction is over.

6. Promotions and Offers

The time and effort required to plan a promotion is not easy. See how you can skyrocket by adding Facebook and WhatsApp push notifications to your strategy.

7. Customer Support and FAQs

Customers often have questions, and WhatsApp notifications can be a great way to provide answers. By sending automated notifications with links to access FAQs, businesses can help customers get the information they need without waiting or emailing.

8. Just a little nudge!

Cart abandonment rates are the bane of any business. How about sending your customers coupons to entice them to keep shopping with WhatsApp notification?

Also read: WhatsApp Marketing Benefits and Tips for Applying Them

WhatsApp Push Notifications: Best Tool for Customer Engagement

WhatsApp notifications provide an easy and automated way for businesses to keep their customers updated with the latest products and services. This can be targeted to specific customer groups and can be automated based on predefined rules. This makes it easy for businesses to keep their customers satisfied, engaged and coming back for more.

But don't get too excited, because too many notifications can offend your subscribers. Otherwise, customers run the risk of blocking notifications completely. As long as you keep notifications relevant and limit the number of notifications sent, WhatsApp push notifications can be a powerful customer engagement tool.

With the OneTalk by TapTalk.io, you can leverage the power of WhatsApp API push notifications and take it to another level by increasing client engagement, outreach and business connections.

Broadcast Messages feature in OneTalk enables businesses to send mass messages with multiple formats, text, image, and/or files. You can increase customer engagement rates by doing proactive chat strategy. WhatsApp Business API for your business will be better and more effective with OneTalk.

Using Chatbot to make your customer relation more effortless? OneTalk sure can do it! Our Chatbot and Quick Reply can lead your customer through the right journey after sending your Push Notification wisely. Your customer engagement will get a boost and make your business thrive even more.