We all have heard about WhatsApp Business App but there is another digital entity which exists i.e. WhatsApp Business API. Now what is the difference between WhatsApp Business App & API? Well… the last alphabet!
Well it is not as simple as it seems to be, but in nutshell, App is crafted for small business owners, free to download and use. It is best known for connecting with customers, highlighting out products & services in profile, better interactions. On the other hand, API is crafted for medium and large scale businesses through business service providers. It is best known for sending broadcast to unlimited users in one go, attaching clickable buttons and automate message son WhatsApp. 

What is WhatsApp Business Application?

Although WhatsApp messenger and WhatsApp Business seems to be same but there are differences in features. Let’s understand it by diving deeper into the concept. Firstly, let’s make a clear distinction between WhatsApp Messenger & WhatsApp Business:

In summary, with WhatsApp Business you can:

• • Send broadcast messages up to 256 people.
  • Create business profile and describing what our business does, timings, address, etc.
  • Set up greeting message to greet people as soon as they send the initial message to the business.

Now, What is WhatsApp Business API?

Now, WhatsApp Business & API both have “WhatsApp” in their name mentioned but it doesn’t mean they are “Brothers from same Mother.” They although look like twins but they have different characteristics i.e. one is less complex and another one is a bit complex. In simple words, it is a backend interface which is provided by META to connect with our business systems, CRMs, automation tools, etc and allows easy way for businesses to connect with their customers and their data. Let’s see some of it’s characteristics which are listed below:

1. Two-way messaging capabilities: It allows customers and businesses to have a real life like experience. It’s not that like a classroom filled with lazy students who just have to hear whatever the professor is speaking, rather it is like enthusiastic students interacting with the professor. You can ask question, describe your issues, inquire about specific products, get offer alerts, update notifications from businesses directly into your WhatsApp.
2. Premium customer relationships: Imagine, you are running a milk dairy shop in a locality, so it is easier to have customer relationships on the spot but what if your dairy shop becomes a unicorn business like Amul then you need something by which you can be connected to your customers and make them satisfied and happy. Now, for this thing we have a very efficient thing i.e. WhatsApp Business API which can help businesses to stay connected with their customers. 
3. Peak Automation: It offers a different level of automation to reduce the load of doing things manually. Some automation use cases are message templates, message scheduling, quick replies, chatbots, personalization and many more. 
4. Trusted business communication: In India, we have a flea market named as “Chor Bazaar”, there we will find everything from electronics to clothing to old furnitures although we get all these things in lower rates but the quality of all the items are not worth talking about. Now, suppose you have to buy airpods and you have two options: whether to purchase it from “Chor Bazaar” or purchase it from “Apple’s Showroom.” It is very obvious that we will go with the Apple’s Showroom even if it is costly because there is a trust in the quality, guarantee, warranty and many factors. Similarly, WhatsApp Business API gives you a green verified tick to authorize you as a trusted business in the eyes of people.

 Why Your Business Needs Official META API Access?

We will now discuss on why Businesses should adapt to the official Meta API? Is it really a need or just an option to be considered to be selected? Let’s have a look on it:

• It is no more optional but has become mandatory (provided you could feel it)*
  Do you really think customers can wait for you to reply to them and can they have full trust upon you even after seeing your broken and untidy English? NO! 
  So to solve we need to have something which can free us from the stress of being “manual man.” Therefore, we have META API which helps us in:
  • Message scheduling
  • Message templates
  • Chatbot support
  • and many more…
• Lower spans of attention increases it’s demand
  Nowadays, the attention of humans are less than 8 seconds which is even lower as compared to a goldfish (which was in first position) but now we have defeated the goldfish too, to become the most distracted species on the earth. If it be the case then we have to revert back to our customers and to-be customers as soon as they text us. META API helps us to automate through chatbots the replies so we need not to be online always to respond to the people. These small things makes a big difference in long term of our business life.
  
• Safeguards our Businesses from being Red Flagged
  If you do texts people with your mobile number without verified badge and official logo and profile then how people will know that this is the official business texting to them? We all might seen in India that a brand is very renowned for their water and had a big impact through their ads. Yes, you got it right.. that’s “Bisleri”, now we have seen ‘n’ number of so called brands copying the style of “Bisleri” (not in the terms of quality but external packaging) like Bilseri, Bilsneri, Binsleri and so on… in actuality they are not brands in itself but sold in the name of “Bisleri.” So how one can identify the real “Bisleri”? By seeing the logo and quality of the water it can be identified, similarly the verified badge, authentic business WhatsApp profile, logo in the profile makes the business green flagged.
• First Impression is the Last Impression
  The more impressed customer will be with the first interaction between them and business, the more loyalty and trust they will likely to have towards the businesses. So, META API makes every message feel properly structured, timely deliver, attractively designed and secure, and these makes a good impact on the people in general.

Let’s Conclude!

1. WhatsApp Business App is for small businesses, offering basic tools like quick replies, labels, greeting messages and broadcasts, on the other hand, WhatsApp Business API is high power system especially for medium and large sized businesses unlocking featured like unlimited broadcasts, chatbots, CRM integration and many more.
2. WhatsApp Business API creates an environment in which customers can interact naturally, ask questions, get alert updates and get instant reply without waiting for the business person to answer it manually.
3. WhatsApp Business API helps to strengthens customer relationships by sending them messages about discounts, offers, sales, etc. This makes customer feel that they are “cared” by a business.
4.  WhatsApp Business API helps businesses to get a green badge to be marked as “Verified” in order to gain the trust of the people. Because nowadays, people have lowest span of attention and they need to be hooked as soon as they send the text to the business.