I first wanted to make this a list of the top 50 business apps that would all be very useful for small business owners. But then, I just looked at the business apps whose notifications I have kept active, and I don’t see 50 – nowhere near that. There are only a handful of app notifications that I want to see regularly, if not daily.
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Top 10 business apps for small business
I ‘ll list these apps below, but the single most valuable business app that provides value at no cost is Whatsapp. That’s what this post is about. How to use Whatsapp for Business – the app by name, and literally speaking.
1. Whatsapp
2. Whatsapp for Business
3. Slack
4. Gmail (Make it go Ka-Ching)
5. LinkedIn
6. Lucep
7. Yomillio
8. Uberconference
9. Your banking /payments app
10. Facebook Pages Manager
Whatsapp for business growth
Before we get to Whatsapp for Business (the app), let’s look at how the simple Whatsapp app has become a powerful hub for business growth. To be accurate, an increasingly large number of business growth hubs that are becoming B2B communities.
The idea is pretty simple. You create a Whatsapp group that attracts the kind of people and businesses who are likely to be your customers. You can do this by providing them B2B services to entice them to join, along with the carrot of being able to connect and network with a large number of business partners and customers at no cost.
In theory, you can do the same on other social networks including Facebook, Twitter (lists) and LinkedIn (Groups). But Whatsapp is somehow more amenable to this quick and private interaction within a group of businesses that have formed their own supply chain.
One service provider I know does only this. They organize startup events all over the country, and sign up everyone who attends to join their Whatsapp group. It’s very useful to connect with (and sell to) so many thousands of startups and small businesses through a simple Whatsapp message.
Whatsapp Business App
Acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, this is one of the social giant’s acquisitions that has actually managed to retain its own identity.
In fact, it’s growing faster (1.3 billion users to-date) and introducing new features, such as the recent launch of Whatsapp for Business. This app’s features that help promote business growth are as follows:
1. Business profile – Add your address, business description, website and email.
2. Quick replies – Save sent messages and quickly resend, as an instant response to common customer queries.
3. Automated messages – Instant response to customer queries even when you’re not there to respond. You can use it as an “away” or a “welcome” message.
4. Labels – Organize your group into different labels (prospects, new orders, etc.), so you can refine and send targeted messages to specific segments.
5. Statistics – Messaging statistics so that you know which messages are getting the best response (sent, delivered, read).
6. Land line support – Unique feature available only to Whatsapp for Business users. Once your number gets confirmed as your business phone number, you could get Confirmed Account status.
You can download the free Whatsapp Business App from Google Play and start using just like the regular Whatsapp.
