WhatsApp is now allowing small businesses in India to register for the Meta Verified badge and give them the ability to send personalized messages to customers.
India is home to over 65 million small and medium-sized businesses, but only about 5 million of them sell online, according to Joint report Meta and Bain & Company launched WhatsApp Business in May. The company is trying to capitalize on this market opportunity by promoting WhatsApp Business, which is used by the vast majority of Indians for messaging and has emerged as a preferred way for small businesses to communicate with customers.
The company said Meta Verified subscriptions give WhatsApp Business users access to features like the ability to create custom WhatsApp pages that can be discovered on the web, multi-device support, and multiple employee accounts.
Meta Verified pricing for WhatsApp Business starts at around $8 (around Rs. 639) per month for Indian users.
In addition to Meta Verified, small businesses using WhatsApp Business can now schedule and send personalized messages — such as appointment reminders, birthday wishes, or sales updates — to customers. For less than 1 rupee per messageBusinesses can also include customer names and add customizable call-to-action buttons.
Last September, Meta launched its own verification program for business accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
WhatsApp is also embarking on an initiative called the “WhatsApp Business Yatra” (WhatsApp Business Tour in Hindi), through which the company will visit and promote the service in tier-II and tier-III cities in the country, with the aim of providing in-person training to small businesses.
“As part of this initiative, we will train small businesses on setting up their WhatsApp Business accounts, creating catalogs, educating them on how to set up clickable ads on WhatsApp, and much more. We will also be building a resource center on our website, which will serve as a quick-access learning hub for these businesses,” the company said.