MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading omnichannel conversation platform Smooch today announced it had officially begun connecting its global customer base to WhatsApp’s newly-launched Business Solution, currently available in early access. With more than 1.5 billion monthly users in over 180 countries on WhatsApp, the implications for enterprises are significant with the potential to securely connect with users in a highly-trusted environment.
“To remain competitive today, brands need to engage customers where they already are, and no channel is as globally popular and fit for the enterprise as WhatsApp,” says Smooch CEO Warren Levitan. “As a global leader in business messaging and conversational experience, we help thousands of businesses seamlessly connect with their customers via all major chat apps. The introduction of WhatsApp holds significant potential for these businesses who will now have the opportunity to engage with an enormous number of users from every corner of the globe. We’re very excited to play our part in powering millions of new conversations between brands and customers.”
Due to its end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp is a dream come true for enterprises looking to engage with customers over secure and private chat. WhatsApp’s commitment to trust and security does however come at the cost of technical complexity. Managing this cloud-based infrastructure is a full-time job for businesses. That’s where Smooch comes in.
Smooch removes all the cost and complexity of connecting to WhatsApp by integrating natively with a brand’s existing customer engagement platform as well as managing the end-to-end encryption infrastructure. Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, a global customer experience leader recognized with a 2018 Hotel Visionary Award for its custom chat platform built on Smooch, is now available on WhatsApp at select properties, in addition to its existing support for SMS, Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, Twitter, WeChat and Kakao Talk.
“We wanted to ensure our guests had the ability to message us on their preferred channel and in their preferred language,” says Marco Trecroce, CIO at Four Seasons. “Smooch was the only provider that met all of our global requirements and allowed us to provide a truly personalized service that is safe and secure.”
To understand more about how Smooch is helping brands connect to WhatsApp — please click here.
About Smooch
Smooch (smooch.io) is an omnichannel conversation platform that connects any business software to all the world’s messaging channels. The company raised a $7.6 million seed round in 2016 and powers customer messaging for global CX leaders including Oracle, Zendesk, Lithium, Sparkcentral, Clarabridge, Four Seasons, Uber, and Betterment. Smooch is based in Montreal and is privately held.
