WhatsApp automatic reply: what is it?

With automatic reply messages, both the WhatsApp Business App and the Mateo Messaging solution provide them with an elegant way to greet their customers in the digital chat channel and show a lightning-fast initial response. After all, everyday business is often stressful, and it's not always possible to respond personally to incoming messages immediately and write back to the customer.

But even beyond that, there are many more reasons why it makes sense to use autoresponders when using the WhatsApp Business App or API. In this article, we'll explain all the details about auto-reply messages and show you several use cases for the successful use of autoresponders.

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What are automatic reply messages in WhatsApp Business?

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As already mentioned above, automatic reply messages or autoresponders are chat messages that - once predefined - are automatically sent to the respective customer with every incoming message. The message itself can be freely defined by the company. Automatic reply messages can have several functions. The most classic is probably to greet the customer. This way, the customer knows directly that his inquiry has reached the company and will be processed. After all, almost nothing frustrates customers more than communication that you don't know will actually arrive and be processed. Automatic reply messages are available to users of both the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business API. This business-specific feature is not available for private WhatsApp accounts.

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Are you currently still using a private WhatsApp account for your company? Why it's worth switching to the WhatsApp Business API, you can find out here.

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How to create an automatic reply message?

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If you use the WhatsApp Business API via Mateo, automatic reply messages are of course available as a feature. But users of the WhatsApp Business app also have access to the feature. The setup is as follows:

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Auto-reply in the WhatsApp Business app:

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Open the WhatsApp Business app.
Open the settings via the "Three dots".
Navigate to "Company tools" - "Out of office messages".
Activate the out of office message and enter the content of the message. Here you can insert the templates from this article.
Replace the {{placeholder}} with your information.
Via "Schedule" you can define when your out-of-office note should be sent. Here you can choose between "Always", "Own schedule" and "Outside business hours".
Finally, you can decide whether all or only certain contacts should receive the out-of-office message. It makes sense to select "all" here, since the message is also addressed to new contact requests.

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Automatic reply messages via WhatsApp Business API and Mateo:

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Open the Mateo webapp.
Click on the gear in the upper right corner to enter the settings.
Navigate to "Message channels" and select your WhatsApp channel.
Activate the "Autoresponder" option.
Now they can each store an automatic message that will be sent to their customers during and outside their opening hours. For this you can choose from the templates above.
Click on "Confirm" to save your entries.

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‍Use cases for automatic replies in WhatsApp Business

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Learn more in our case studyhow the Dokos Veterinary Practice was able to automate 30% of all appointment requests using Mateo and automatic response messages.

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Greeting the customers

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The most classic and common use case for auto-reply messages is greeting customers. Just like the "hello" when entering a store, an automatic greeting message in your WhatsApp chat channel lets customers know that they are welcome and that their request will be taken care of as soon as possible. If there are currently longer response times, you could point this out to customers directly and create the right expectation of when to expect a response. If you are contacted by a customer outside of business hours, you can also send an automatic reply message to inform the customer that they cannot be answered personally at the moment and ask them to contact you again during regular business hours.

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Announcement of dates and actions

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Just like a welcome greeting, important notices can also be packed directly into the automatic reply message on WhatsApp. This ensures that every customer learns about them immediately. If there are company vacations or special promotions coming up, you can make customers aware of them directly and easily in this way, without any extra effort or the risk of people forgetting to share the information.

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Automation of work steps

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If you can see in your customer communications that customers are contacting you again and again for the same reason, it makes sense to include the information they need directly in an automated response message. This way, customers receive an immediate answer to their question. A classic example of such automation by means of automatic reply messages is the arrangement of service or consultation appointments. If your customers often write to you to book an appointment, you can include a link to the online appointment directly in the automatic WhatsApp reply message.

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Get started now with Mateo and the WhatsApp Business API

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Mateo is the central partner for small and medium-sized businesses when it comes to WhatsApp Business API. With the Mateo messaging suite you can use WhatsApp for customer communication, handle all messaging channels like Instagram, Facebook, email or WhatsApp from one bundled inbox, send WhatsApp newsletters as easy as pie and collect positive Google reviews conveniently. Everything from one solution and with one personal contact person. Of course, 100% GDPR-compliant and completely Made in Germany. Arrange your consultation appointment today, including a free needs analysis, and we'll show you how you can best use WhatsApp in your company.

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Book a free consultation including a needs analysis with one of our messaging specialists now: https://www.hellomateo.de/termin-vereinbaren.

WhatsApp automatic reply: What is it?