How to create templates in WhatsApp CRM?

WhatsApp templates give businesses an organized and effective way to engage with their clients using the app.

Users allow businesses to message them when they consent to be reached via WhatsApp.

Businesses must adhere to the following rules before sending messages to clients:

Businesses need to use WhatsApp Business API. You can learn more about the WhatsApp Business API in our guide.

All messages sent by companies have to be approved by Meta first. These messages must comply with WhatsApp policies.

Companies have to pay for every WhatsApp template they send. The cost may differ based on the user's country of origin, WhatsApp business API fee, and message types.

• Type: Messages are categorized based on their type, which includes standard, multimedia, or interactive formats.
• Purpose: Messages are further classified by purpose, including marketing, utility, or authentication.

Within 24 hours after the last user interaction, messages can be sent. But businesses need to send another template message if the user doesn't respond within this timeframe. This may add extra charges for communication, emphasizing the need for timely engagement and prompt responses.

As mentioned above, WhatsApp templates are categorized depending on their type and purpose. Let’s begin with a purpose.

Before you start creating your WhatsApp template, you should be aware that there are three types of conversations that businesses can initiate with their clients using WhatsApp Business API 👇

These business-initiated conversations are intended to market a product or service to clients, such as providing relevant offers to those who have opted in. The following are some of the most common use cases for marketing templates:

• Business, products, or services awareness
• Promotional deals
• Retargeting
• App promotion
• Building customer relationships

These conversations make businesses authenticate users with one-time passcodes at multiple steps during the login process, such as account registration, account recovery, and integrity challenges.

These are transaction-related discussions, such as post-purchase alerts and recurring billing statements sent to opted-in clients.

The most common uses for utility templates are:

• Handling opt-in requests from users
• Verify, update, or cancel orders or transactions with customers
• Account alerts and updates
• Feedback surveys
• Continuing the conversation

Businesses usually initiate marketing, authentication, and utility conversations, and to start the conversation, pre-approved message templates are needed.

On the other hand, users initiate service conversations, to which businesses can reply with free-form communications.

Each category has its pricing. For instance, Business-initiated conversations cost between 0.5 and 15 cents per conversation, while Service conversations typically range from 0.3 to 9 cents.

Regardless of whether your client responds, initiating a conversation using one of the templates incurs a WhatsApp cost. Sending the template initiates the conversation, and you have 24 hours to send your client as many messages as you wish.

However, if you send a message during this 24-hour period containing a template from a different category, a new conversation will be opened, and you will be charged separately.

There are 3 types of WhatsApp messages that you can create:

• Standard message templates
• Multimedia message templates
• Interactive message templates

Let's go through them one by one.

Header: This is the first part every client notices, so it is advisable to make it very intriguing. The text header usually serves as the title of your template.

Body text: Your body text is the main message that your template intends to pass across. Ensure that it is written in the language that you specified.

Footer: This is any other message you want to add to your template. For example, it could be your brand's slogan. Please note that this part is optional.

Buttons: In your templates, you can include link buttons or quick replies that help to further actions or conversations between you and your client.

Placeholders: Placeholders allow you to personalize your messages so that every client feels important. To set them up, input “[,” and various ways to personalize your text.

These templates support headers and attachments, as well as multimedia files. For example, a bank may use WhatsApp templates to send account statements or invoices in PDF format.

Similarly, airlines and travel agencies can utilize these templates to send clients boarding cards and trip vouchers without requiring an instant response.

Here's the difference between a standard text message and a multimedia message:

The interactive messages are split further into two:

• For non-approved messages (Service Category)
• For pre-approved template messages

Non-approved messages (Service conversations)

Interactive messages for Service Conversations must adhere to several rules, including:

• They can be replied to within the 24-hour window
• They can be used repeatedly
• They must abide by WhatsApp policies
• They must allow the selection of only one option at a time

There are five types of WhatsApp interactive messages for Service Conversations:

1. Reply buttons
2. List messages
3. Single-product messages
4. Multi-product messages
5. Location Request Messages

1. Reply buttons: When engaging with a business on WhatsApp, reply buttons allow clients to select their preferences from a short list of options presented as buttons. Clients can choose from up to three alternatives besides sending media or text messages.

You can use reply buttons to modify personal information, adjust flight times, select a payment option, and more. If you need more than three buttons, consider using list messages.

2. List messages: Clients can choose from a menu of up to 10 options in list messages. Depending on your business, you can use this feature for various purposes, such as displaying retail locations, presenting take-out menus, offering customer service, and FAQ menus.

3. Single-product messages: Messages that only include one item from the company's catalog. Businesses can encourage clients to complete their purchases by displaying the selected product from the menu.

4. Multi-product messages: include up to 30 products from a company's catalog. This is the best way to display them all to your clients.

5. Location request messages: messages sent by a business asking for a client's location. Users can share their location by tapping the Send location button in this message, including body text.

Pre-approved template messages

The pre-approved template messages can be used outside the 24-hour window, but they require opt-ins and approval from WhatsApp.

There are two types of WhatsApp interactive message template buttons:

• Call-to-action (CTA)
• Quick Reply

There are two methods for creating WhatsApp templates:

1. Through a Meta Business Account
2. Using a CRM

Before you start, you need to complete the following:

• Sign up for Meta Business Manager
• Create a WhatsApp Business platform account

After these steps, you'll need a developer to add the message templates to your WhatsApp Business platform. Then, you can start making your templates by following these steps:

1. Go to the Business Manager and select your business.
2. Click the three horizontal lines.
3. Select WhatsApp Manager > The account you're creating the message template for.
4. Tap the 3-dot icon > Manage message templates.
5. If you have multiple accounts, use the drop-down menu to select the WhatsApp Business account you want.
6. Click Create a Message Template
7. Pick your category, Name, and language
8. When done, click “Submit”
9. Creating WhatsApp templates via WhatsApp CRM

Various WhatsApp CRMs on the market provide template builders for WhatsApp. How do you know which one best meets your needs? The best way is to try them out yourself, request product demos, and join for free trials. You can also spend time trying other solutions to see what benefits they provide.

You can start your WhatsApp CRM journey with Kommo 🙌

Before integrating WhatsApp Business API with Kommo, ensure you have the following:

• An active phone number for a WhatsApp Business account
• A Meta Business account

To link your WhatsApp Business Manager:

• Click on Settings > Integrations > WhatsApp Business API
• Agree to the privacy policy and select Install
• Navigate to WhatsApp Manager and choose Connect

You will be taken to a new window. Click on Continue with Facebook.

WhatsApp templates best practices:

• Create basic, short message templates that express information easily.
• Templates should not contain any grammatical or spelling errors.
• Verify correct formatting, especially with variable parameters like {{1}}, {{2}}. Ensure the proper use of curly brackets.
• Include full URLs instead of using shortened links generated by URL shorteners.
• Include lowercase alphanumeric letters and underscores.
• Messages should be written using the same language as the template.

Meta's criteria:

• Message templates must be tagged with the appropriate “Category” and “Language.”
• Message templates should not include information that violates WhatsApp's Commerce and Business Policy.
• Message templates should not include any abusive or threatening content.

Creating a new WhatsApp template with Kommo is simple. After creating your account, you can build templates in two easy ways 👇

1. Through WhatsApp Manager (standard message templates)
2. Through Communication Tools (multimedia message templates)

Through WhatsApp Manager

Go to Settings > Whatsapp Manager > Create a new template.

After clicking on this, a new page pops up, and you have to do the following:

• Give a name to your template.
• Choose your number if you have more than one WhatsApp number linked to your Kommo account.
• Select the category that your template fits within.
• Decide in which language you will send your message.

Through Communication Tools

Go to Settings > Communication tools page in your account.

Click on Add a new template.

Another page opens, and you should also do the following:

• Provide a name for your template.
• Change the template type to WhatsApp
• Select the appropriate category for your template and decide on the language for your message.

Creating a WhatsApp template might seem simple, but there's more to it than meets the eye. Besides knowing how to create one, you must also understand how to craft templates that Meta will approve. Let's break it down.

Meta's approval process typically takes one minute to 48 hours. Once approved, you'll receive a notification in your notification center.

Once you've submitted your template, it can have one of the following statuses, and depending on how your customers receive your template, ratings are also assigned to each template.

Types of WhatsApp template statuses:

• Pending: Your message template is pending review.
• Approved: Your message template was accepted.
• Rejected: Your message template was denied.
• Flagged: Your template has a low-quality rating.
• Paused: If your template has a low-quality rating, it will be paused for 3 or 6 hours to protect the phone number rating.
• Disabled: If your template's quality rating isn't improved within 7 days of being notified, it will be disabled. You will be unable to send or edit it once disabled.

When your template is approved, the status in your WhatsApp manager changes from Pending to Approved and can no longer be modified.

If Meta reviews your template and it is rejected, don't worry! Here are the possible reasons for rejection that can serve as guidance for your new template:

• You have a missing variable parameter. For example, you do not give an example for each placeholder in a template.
• Your variable parameters contain special characters such as #,$, or %.
• Your message template doesn't comply with WhatsApp's Commerce or Business Policy.
• Your message template is a copy of an existing template.
• Your template includes potentially abusive or threatening materials.

Once you send it to your customers, it will generate ratings based on usage and customer feedback. One of the main things that can drop your quality rating is sending messages to customers who have yet to opt in to receive your messages. This can lead to your template getting flagged or disabled.

You should note that the drop in the quality rating of a message template can affect its status, and if your quality rating changes, Kommo will notify you.

Once your template has been approved, it appears in the chat templates section. You can start using it and automate your client communication.

The template can be used when you chat with a potential customer on their lead card in Kommo.

Kommo's Salesbot can help you automate customer communication entirely. It is more than simply using template messages.

Creating a Salesbot is simple and can be done by anyone, even without coding skills. It lets you create detailed communication flows without your supervision.

Salesbot is a great follow-up tool as well. The salesbot can send multiple messages after specific periods; that way, it can reach out to your clients after one day, a week, or whenever suits your sales and marketing processes the best. 🧐

Here are some examples that could inspire your templates:

• Appointment reminders
• Order confirmations & updates
• Customer support messages
• Event notifications
• Marketing campaigns
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Order shipment
• Order fulfillment
• Follow up after purchase
• Return & exchange request

You can use templates to send appointment reminders to customers, which helps in improving customer engagement.

You can use templates to send your customers order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications.

You can use templates for automated responses to common customer queries, which helps provide quick and efficient support.

You can use templates to send your clients event invitations, updates, and reminders.

You can use templates to send promotional messages and offers to customers as part of marketing campaigns.

WhatsApp is a fantastic tool for communicating with customers, and it becomes even more so once you combine it with CRM automation.

You can create WhatsApp templates for the most frequent messages and save time.

We've covered how to create templates in WhatsApp CRM and how they can be effectively used to speed up communication with current and potential customers.

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