WhatsApp, the popular messaging app, has rolled out a new update that has garnered the attention of many business owners. The new feature allows users to use one WhatsApp account on up to four smartphones.
THE WHISTLER spoke to five business owners from different industries in Abuja on how the new application updates will benefit their business, and from their responses, it’s safe to say that this update is a game-changer for businesses of all sizes.
Glory Johnson, a wedding planner, said the update helped ease communication between her and her clients.
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“The new WhatsApp update has made it so much easier for me to communicate with clients. I can now access my WhatsApp account on both my phone and tablet, which means I never miss a message. It’s also handy when I have multiple weddings happening on the same day, as I can delegate messages to my team. This has made it easier for them to communicate with each other and with customers, which has helped improve our customer service and boost sales.”
A social media marketer, Remi Olumide, noted that “the new WhatsApp update has made it so much easier for me to separate my work and personal messages. I can now use my WhatsApp account on both my work phone and a personal phone, which means I can keep my work and personal life separate. It’s also handy when I’m out of the office, as I can access my work WhatsApp on my personal phone.”
Dave, a small business owner, stated that “the new WhatsApp update has been a godsend for my business. I can respond to customer queries quickly and efficiently. It’s also helpful when I have multiple employees handling customer messages, as we can all access the same WhatsApp account. It also helps me to track how my staff is responding to my customers because customer experience is key for business.”
Emma, a graphic designer expressed joy following the launch of the new updates.
According to him, “As a freelancer, I often work with clients from all over the world. With the new WhatsApp update, I can now use my WhatsApp account on both my phone and desktop, which means I can respond to clients no matter where I am. It’s also handy when I’m working on design files on my desktop, as I can respond to messages without having to switch devices.”
Fashion retailer, Sarah Ojo said “The new WhatsApp update has allowed me to communicate more efficiently with my customers. I can now send product images and descriptions via WhatsApp, and customers can place orders directly from the chat. This has increased my sales and reduced the number of abandoned carts.”
Before now, users of the famous messaging and video calling app could only log onto an account on a single phone with the same number. Attempts to deploy the same on another phone would automatically deactivate the previous account created.
WhatsApp is one of the biggest messaging services in the world with more than two billion users. However, it lacked multiphone support until now because of full end-to-end encryption support for chats and calls.
The company started testing multi-device compatibility back in 2021 with select beta users. At the time, Meta (WhatsApp’s parent company) said that it had developed new tech to sync messages across devices while maintaining end-to-end encryption protection.
Other competitors like Telegram and Messenger offered multidevice sync for messages, but they didn’t have support for end-to-end encryption.