WhatsApp has recently updated its pricing model which will be effective from June 01, 2023. Businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will now be charged per 24-hour conversation with different rates based on four different conversation categories.
The conversation-based pricing model will cover four types of conversations instead of the current two – User initiated and Business Initiated Conversations. Any business-initiated conversation will be divided into three categories. In addition, users initiated will be categorized under service conversations. Let’s take a look at the 4 new categories:
These conversations are user-initiated wherein any user can open a new chat to raise queries. Businesses must respond to the user within the 24-hour customer service window. If a business responds with a template message in an open service conversation, it opens a new conversation based on the template category. Here are some use cases for user-initiated service conversations:
These are business-initiated conversations that can be used to update customers about ongoing transactions such as shipment notifications, order confirmations etc. These conversations usually facilitate an agreed-upon request/transaction between the customer and the business. Here are some use cases of utility conversations:
These are business-initiated conversations that allow businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes during the login process such as account verification, account recovery etc. Here is a use case for authentication conversations:
These are business-initiated conversations that include promotions, offers or updates that incentivize customers to respond or take action. Any conversation that doesn’t qualify as a utility or authentication conversation is a marketing conversation. Here are some use cases of marketing conversations:
The updated pricing model has extended the free conversation window from 1 to 3 days when a user initiates a conversation from Facebook/Instagram/Click to WhatsApp ads. In addition, WhatsApp will offer businesses a free tier of 1000 user-initiated service conversations from Jun 1, 2023 This is not applicable for any business-initiated conversations.
WhatsApp has been known to prioritize its user experience. Introducing a tiered pricing model will allow businesses to communicate with customers in an effective manner. It is advised to develop a communication strategy based on these predefined categories to optimize and ease user experience.