Did you know that brands are spending up to 9.4% of their annual revenue on marketing? Furthermore, US-based marketers are allocating 19% of their marketing budget to mobile advertising. This goes to show brands’ desire to grow their presence and attract new customers to their products using targeted mobile marketing strategies.

That being said, when it comes to mobile marketing, WhatsApp is one of the most used channels. With the advanced WhatsApp Business Platform, you can effectively send personalized marketing messages directly to the inboxes of your target audience.

WhatsApp Business Platform is a complete tool that comes with two business versions: the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business API. If you are an established business that sends a large volume of messages, you need to set up the WhatsApp Business API as the app cannot fulfil these requirements.

However, the WhatsApp Business API doesn’t have a frontend UI, and you have to get a WhatsApp API provider that can give you access to the API. But choosing the right WhatsApp marketing platform requires in-depth research and is a time-consuming process.

So, to make it easy for you to look for a platform, in this blog post, I’ll describe to you what factors you need to consider when selecting a WhatsApp marketing tool for your business. So, let’s jump into it!

What is a WhatsApp marketing tool?

As you might have guessed from the name, the WhatsApp marketing platform is an outreach tool that allows you to access the WhatsApp Business API to run marketing campaigns across WhatsApp. These tools serve as a frontend UI for the API, enabling you to effectively make the most of your WhatsApp marketing strategy.

On top of providing the necessary marketing features, a WhatsApp marketing tool includes numerous other capabilities to let you make the most of your WhatsApp promotions. For example, WhatsApp marketing tools commonly include a shared inbox for you to manage your incoming WhatsApp chats. Or the workflow automation builder to automate customer engagement via WhatsApp chatbots.

Not just that. Most marketing platforms can come with integration functionality for you to link easily with your business suite, thereby streamlining your marketing efforts.

How to choose a WhatsApp marketing tool for your outreach needs

Understanding what a WhatsApp marketing tool is and its capabilities is the first step to knowing what to look for in a platform. However, there are numerous other factors that you have to take into account before coming to a decision. That being said, let’s take a look at these aspects in detail:

Knowing your requirements

First things first, choosing a correct WhatsApp marketing tool requires a clear understanding of promotional goals and what you want to achieve with your outreach initiatives.

Knowing your marketing objectives and the timelines to fulfil them allows you to figure out the right features that will help you achieve these goals. For example, if you want to expand your business across different countries, you can do that efficiently by sending bulk WhatsApp messages by simply adding their contact details to the system.

Based on your use case, you can choose a WhatsApp solution that best suits your needs. For instance, if your primary objective is to send marketing messages with high volumes, then selecting a bulk WhatsApp message sender can be a great option for you. Other than that, if you want to have a two-way conversation with your customers, then having a solution with a dedicated inbox would be a better choice.

Reliable integrations

WhatsApp is a standalone messaging channel that provides you with almost all the required features to effectively run your promotional campaigns. For this reason, WhatsApp marketing tools tend to offer all these functionalities so you can maximize your promotional ROI.

However, no matter how great a platform can be, it cannot fulfil the complex marketing requirements of every business that operates in different markets. For this reason, your WhatsApp marketing platform needs to have solid integrations that can let you streamline the flow of data and conversations across multiple tools.

Most advanced WhatsApp tools support integrations with renowned external platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, G Suite, and CRM solutions. This way, you won’t have to go through your entire database to look for an individual contact’s information.

Automating WhatsApp conversations

Customers these days want prompt responses from you. Having long response times makes potential customers lose interest in your offerings, greatly lowering the chances of getting a conversion. A great WhatsApp marketing solution needs to have automation capabilities to allow you to build WhatsApp chatbot flows.

With well-timed automated WhatsApp messages, you can enhance customer engagement without increasing the workload on your support staff. For instance, using automated messaging, you can design a WhatsApp drip flow that can guide customers across the steps of a process with ease.

Using these automation flows, you can ensure your business is always a message away for your customers, even after business hours. This aspect is especially important if you have customers in different time zones who can message you around the clock.

Sending bulk messages

As a marketing tool, the primary use of any tool is to send WhatsApp messages at scale. That being said, the platform you choose should allow you to send bulk WhatsApp messages with ease. Moreover, the tool should not limit you in sending messages as your business grows as well. Having to switch to a different tool after your business outgrows the capabilities of the current one will cost you more time and resources down the road.

On top of facilitating bulk messaging, another aspect you need to consider is the ease of use. Setting up WhatsApp messaging campaigns without requiring technical know-how enabling you to get them up and running in no time.

Cost concerns

Lastly, the most important factor after getting any tool is cost. Regardless of the features and modern capabilities a platform offers, you have to consider your budget constraints when making a decision.

Not all tools are built the same. Some WhatsApp marketing tools are designed with the aim to help enterprises, and rightfully so, come with a multitude of advanced features. Due to the size and capabilities of these tools, they are relatively more expensive than other WhatsApp tools.

It goes without saying that these tools are way over the top for medium and small-sized brands that don’t need these many functionalities.

Platform costs are a significant portion of a WhatsApp marketing budget. Knowing how much your monthly overhead is allows you to calculate your ROI and figure out the cost-per acquisition so you can set realistic marketing goals.

Some of the popular WhatsApp marketing tools

After learning about various factors you need to look out for when selecting a WhatsApp marketing tool, let’s check out some of the popular WhatsApp marketing tools to help you get started with your efforts:

Zixflow

Zixflow is an official WhatsApp API provider that you can utilize to run not only marketing but also customer support interactions. With its easy-to-use interface and user-friendly navigation, Zixflow lets you get started with your WhatsApp marketing initiatives quickly and without needing any coding knowledge.

To facilitate two-way conversations with customers, Zixflow has a native unified inbox for you to handle incoming chats effortlessly. Using this inbox, you can also assign incoming chats to the right support rep to ensure they can respond to customers in a timely manner.

The code-free nature of the solution allows you to set up WhatsApp marketing campaigns using a plug-and-play campaign builder that only requires choosing a messaging template and entering the contact details of the recipients.

On top of that, Zixflow supports various advanced WhatsApp promotional features such as WhatsApp Flows, WhatsApp chatbots, and WhatsApp Forms. Using these features, you can enhance your WhatsApp marketing strategy and further improve the effectiveness of your initiatives.

DoubleTick

DoubleTick is designed as a WhatsApp sales and marketing workspace. It gives you a verified WhatsApp Business API account with tools to send large-scale broadcast messages without risking bans. Beyond just mass messaging, DoubleTick enables you to personalize campaigns and share WhatsApp product catalogs to let potential customers know about your offerings.

Its shared inbox system ensures that your sales and support teams can collaborate efficiently without overlapping conversations. Integrated CRM features and message templates help you automate follow-ups with meaningful engagement with leads. For brands that rely heavily on WhatsApp as their primary sales channel, DoubleTick offers a clean balance between automation and human touch.

Twilio

Twilio takes a more developer-focused approach to WhatsApp marketing. It provides robust APIs that allow you to build customized messaging experiences rather than relying on preset dashboards or templates.

With Twilio, you can automate WhatsApp messages for transactional alerts, appointment reminders, or promotional campaigns, directly connected to your internal systems. It integrates easily with external platforms to transform into a powerful tool for businesses that want full control over message flows and customer journeys.

Wati

Wati focuses on helping customer-facing teams manage large volumes of WhatsApp conversations efficiently. Built on the official WhatsApp Business API, Wati provides a collaborative dashboard where multiple agents can respond to customers from a single business number.

It’s well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses that want to blend marketing with customer support. Wati allows bulk, targeted broadcasts along with pre-set automation flows to automate various use cases like welcome messages or abandoned cart reminders.

AiSensy

AiSensy is a user-friendly WhatsApp marketing platform built primarily for businesses in Southeast Asia but used globally. It helps teams send large-scale promotional and transactional messages using the WhatsApp Business API.

AiSensy’s dashboard allows you to set up WhatsApp drip campaigns and automate responses based on customer behavior or interest. Additionally, it also supports interactive message types like buttons and lists, which make marketing campaigns more engaging.

Although all these tools are WhatsApp marketing platforms, their feature set and functionality might not align with your marketing objectives. Depending on your business size, team members, goals, and use cases. So, at the end, knowing what you want to achieve and how to use these features is crucial for running effective WhatsApp marketing initiatives.

Choose the right WhatsApp marketing tool to enhance your outreach

The tools you use to market on WhatsApp are crucial in the success of your marketing and level of interaction.

So, begin by finding what you want to achieve the most; be it a simple WhatsApp broadcasting, effortless integrations, or dependable automation. An effective platform must enable you to convey messages quicker and send out messages that count.

Regardless of how big or small your business is, you can find the solution to the problem and establish better connections to deliver messages at the appropriate time.

Would you like to increase your WhatsApp marketing strategy? Contact Zixflow to take the first step towards operating cost-effective WhatsApp today.

Frequently asked questions about choosing a WhatsApp marketing tool

Below are some of the commonly asked questions you should need answers to before selecting a WhatsApp marketing platform:

What is WhatsApp marketing?

WhatsApp marketing involves the use of the platform to provide updates, offers, and customer support. It enables enterprises to establish effective engagements and boost sales by interpersonal messages.

How do I pick the best WhatsApp marketing tool?

Pay attention to the features that can suit your purposes, including automations, broadcasting, CRM integration, and your general budget. An easy-going set up and safe environment will ensure campaigns are easier to run.

Is WhatsApp marketing legal?

Yes, it is legal, provided you are doing it in the right way. Never send messages without the user permission and use the laws that protect the data such as GDPR to prevent problems.

Which features should I consider when evaluating a WhatsApp marketing tool?

Focus on automation, mass communication, analytics, integration and easy to use interface. The features allow personalization of conversations and ensure safe customer engagement.

Can I start WhatsApp marketing for free?

Yes, some WhatsApp marketing tools offer free plans or trials with limited features. It is possible to begin with the free plan and upgrade your business as you grow or require more sophisticated functionality.