Meta's New WhatsApp Conversation Pricing Policy effective June 1st 2023
WhatsApp is a popular messaging app with over 2 billion active users worldwide. It is a great way for businesses to connect with customers, provide customer service, and promote their products or services. However, WhatsApp's pricing can be confusing, especially for businesses that are new to the platform.
We will try to simplify the new WhatsApp's conversation-based pricing model effective June 1st 2023 in detail for Indian businesses below. Learn the different types of conversations, how they are priced, and how businesses can save money on their WhatsApp usage.
What is conversation-based pricing?
WhatsApp's conversation-based pricing model is based on the number of conversations that a business has with its customers. A conversation is defined as a sequence of messages between a business and a customer.
Every conversation is assigned a price, which varies depending on the type of conversation and the country or region of the customer. For example, a marketing conversation with a customer in India costs more than a service conversation with a customer in India.
What are the different types of conversations?
WhatsApp campaigns and promotional template messages are proving to be the most effective form of communication for marketing and sales for a lot of businesses today. There are two types of conversations on WhatsApp: business-initiated conversations and user-initiated conversations.
- Business-initiated conversations are conversations that are started by the business. For example, a business might send a promotional message to a customer or respond to a customer's question.
- User-initiated conversations are conversations that are started by the customer. For example, a customer might message a business to ask a question or make a purchase.
What is the pricing for business-initiated conversations?
Meta has recently characterized business-initiated conversations into three types: utility conversations, authentication conversations, and marketing conversations.
- Utility conversations are conversations that are used to provide customer service or support. For example, a business might use a utility conversation to help a customer with a technical issue or to answer a question about a product.
- Authentication conversations are conversations that are used to verify the identity of a customer. For example, a business might use an authentication conversation to verify a customer's phone number or email address before completing a transaction.
- Marketing conversations are conversations that are used to promote a business's products or services. For example, a business might use a marketing conversation to send a promotional message to a customer or to offer a discount.
The pricing for business-initiated conversations in India is as follows:
- Utility conversations: INR 0.35 per conversation
- Authentication conversations: INR 0.35 per conversation
- Marketing conversations: INR 0.80 per conversation
What is the pricing for user-initiated conversations?
User-initiated conversations are free for businesses for the first 1,000 conversations every month. After that, businesses are charged a fee for each additional conversation. The fee for user-initiated conversations in India is as follows:
- Utility conversations: INR 0.20 per conversation
- Authentication conversations: INR 0.20 per conversation
- Marketing conversations: INR 0.40 per conversation
How to Save Money with WhatsApp API Chatbots
There are a few things that businesses can do to save money on their WhatsApp usage in India.
- Use template messages: Businesses can now use template messages to send promotional offers, sales follow-ups, and retargeting campaigns to customers. This can help businesses to save money on the cost of each message and get a huge return on investment in contrast to other channels like SMS or emails.
- Use WhatsApp chatbots: Businesses are using WhatsApp chatbots to automate customer service tasks. This helps businesses to reduce the number of human-to-human conversations, which can save money on the cost of each conversation.
- Take advantage of free entry points: Brands are taking advantage of free entry points to extend the customer service window for a conversation. This can help businesses avoid being charged again for a new conversation and helps engage their users actively.
What's next?
WhatsApp's conversation-based pricing model can be complex, but it can be a cost-effective way for businesses to connect with customers in India. By understanding how the pricing model works, businesses can save money on their WhatsApp usage and get the most out of the platform.
Speak to a WyreBots WhatsApp Expert Today who can help you answer all your questions, and guide you through how you can build a personalized WhatsApp API chatbot for your brand and make the most of WhatsApp commerce.