WhatsApp Embedded Signup (Part 2): Managing Assets and Details

Introduction

WhatsApp Embedded Signup is a streamlined, user-friendly process that simplifies the onboarding of businesses to the WhatsApp Business Platform on Meritto. In this section, we explore how to manage business assets like Phone Numbers, profile details, and more.

How to begin with Embedded Sign-up?

To begin with the Embedded Signup (ES) process, follow the steps for Integration a fresh number on WhatsApp:

Note: The underlying process highlights the onboarding of a fresh WhatsApp Business Account only.

• Log in to the Meritto CRM.
• In the Menu panel, type "Extensions" in the search bar as shown.
  
  
  
  
• Click on the Extensions. In the new page that opens up, click on the "App Store" option as shown.
  
  
  
  

• Locate the WhatsApp Business App card.

• Click on the "Install" button to begin the Sign-up process.
• As soon the app is installed, a popup opens up on the screen as shown.
• In the "Get Started", click on the option "New Number".
  
  
  
  
• In the "Create WhatsApp Business Account" section, click on the option "Login with Facebook".
• Upon clicking the same, a Facebook Popup opens up in the same window as shown below exclusively in the screenshot.
   
  
  
• The page will ask you to login through the Facebook account after which you will proceed to set up your WhatsApp Business Account. If you need to change the same, click on the upper right profile icon to log in via a new account.
  
  
  
  
• Click on the "Continue with <Profile Name>" button to proceed forward.
• In the next section, Facebook will list out all the information regarding which business account affiliated or connected to your Facebook personal account will be used for onboarding. Also, it will list all the permissions and the corresponding billing partner that will be associated with your WABA account. Click on the "Get Started" button.
  
  
  
  
• You will be navigated to the screen as shown that gathers information about your business. The business name field will display any business portfolios or Meta Business Accounts that the authenticated business user owns, or has been granted access to. It also gives you the option to create a new Meta business account/portfolio if they have not reached their portfolio limit. If they have reached their limit, the field will display a warning.
  
  
  
  
• Choose the business portfolio/account from the drop-down or select "Create New Business Portfolio" to proceed with a new Meta business account. Fill up the other details like Country, Email, Address (Optional), and business web page address. Click on "Next" to proceed forward.
  
  
  
  
• In the next step, you will be provided with the option to configure their WhatsApp Business Account details. This screen displays existing WhatsApp Business Accounts (WABA) already created on the business portfolio selected in the previous screen. It also gives business customers the option to create a new WABA on their existing portfolio, if they haven't reached their WABA limit. If they are creating a new portfolio, they are only given the option to create a new WABA.
  
  
  
  

• If choosing an existing WABA, the profile dropdown will display any phone profiles already created on the WABA but also provide the option of creating a new one. Provide the required details as required for WhatsApp Business Account and WhatsApp Business Profile.

• Click on "Next" to proceed forward.

• On the next page, you will be required to enter their fresh WABA Number. This screen allows the business customer to enter a new business phone number to associate with their WhatsApp Business Account. It also allows the customer to choose how they wish to receive their verification code, which they will need to provide in the next step as shown in the screenshot.

  
  
  
  
• After clicking on "Next", it will trigger a verification code or call from Meta to the phone number specified in the previous step by you. Enter the code as it is in the space provided on the page.
  
  
  
  
• Clicking on Next will initiate the final registration steps for the WABA that Facebook will perform on its own to verify and set up our WABA account.
  
  
  
  
• In the end, Meta will show you the messaging limits of the phone number and the limit for user-initiated conversations (Unlimited).
  
  
  
  
• Click on "Finish". You will be automatically directed to the Meritto platform again with a popup displaying your WABA registered Mobile number (Phone Number Listing Page). Further details are discussed in the next header. 

Your WABA Onboarding setup is complete. Congratulations!

What is the Phone Number Listing Page?

The Phone Number listing page is an important section that displays your WhatsApp Business Account details concerning phone numbers, quality, messaging limits, etc. This popup automatically opens up if you have freshly onboarded using the WABA App in Meritto. Let us delve into more details one by one:

As you can see, there are various headers with corresponding values. We will discuss the one by one:

• Business Name: This is your approved Display Name that is shown to users whenever they receive communication via your Business. Do note that if in case you have already saved your WABA Contact number in their phone, then the display name will be shown as configured by you in your phone. Otherwise, by default, the approved display name from Meta will be shown to users. 
• Phone Number: This corresponds to the WABA verified Phone Number that is added to your business account and will be used for all messaging purposes.
• Purpose: This defines whether your WhatsApp Business Number will be used for Domestic or International Messaging purposes.
• Quality Rating: The Quality rating establishes your phone number health. A HIGH-quality rating signifies that your phone number has a healthy rating from users and is being used appropriately as per Meta guidelines. Quality has 3 statuses - HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW.
  • HIGH means the number is not spamming in WhatsApp Business Communication by driving meaningful cum engaging content for communication, is maintaining a bidirectional communication using both Outgoing and Incoming messages, and is well under the limit of being blocked or unsubscribed by users.
  • MEDIUM means the number has some issues with driving meaningful or engaging bi-directional communication to users and is at risk of being flagged as spam by Meta in the future if the message strategy is not changed. It can also signify that many users have unsubscribed or blocked your number from receiving business communication.
  • LOW is the lowest tier of quality rating and this signifies that your message content and engagement strategy is poor. This usually occurs when a large volume of users unsubscribe or block your number from receiving communication and there is a massive promotional-based outgoing message with little to or no inbound replies being received from users. The delivery rate will be impacted and Meta can degrade your daily messaging limit. 
• Messaging Limit: This is the limit imposed by Meta as to how many outgoing messages can a business send within a 24-hour window. This is important as this will vary from business to business as well as phone number to phone number.
  Meta adjusts the messaging limits of phone numbers based on three primary factors:
  • Quality Rating: The quality rating, which can be High (Green), Medium (Yellow), or Low (Red), is a critical determinant. It is influenced by user feedback such as blocks, reports, and engagement levels. A high-quality rating allows for tier upgrades, while a low rating can lead to a downgrade or suspension of messaging limits.
  • Phone Number Status: The phone number must have a "Connected" status to be eligible for messaging limit upgrades. Numbers with flagged or restricted statuses cannot advance tiers until issues are resolved.
  • Conversation Volume: To increase messaging limits, businesses must consistently use at least 50% of their current messaging capacity over seven days while maintaining a high or medium quality rating. This demonstrates consistent engagement and responsible usage.
• Status: This refers to whether the WABA Phone Number is Connected or not to the WhatsApp Business Account for sending out messages. If in case the number is deemed OFFLINE, then that signifies that the WABA Number has not been connected to your Cloud API and is not eligible to send messages.
• Action: This header contains some action buttons that can be utilized by clicking on the three dots as shown in the above screenshot. Upon clicking, you will see a few options as follows - 
  
  
  • Configure Number: This is used to set the NPF Alias, Echo enable/disable, and whether the number is to be used for Domestic or International messaging.
  • Add Number Info: This is used to set up the Meta WhatsApp Business details that will be shown to users when they want to view the Business details in the WhatsApp App. This includes various details including Business Vertical/Category, Email, Website, Description, as well as a profile photo. Except Profile photo, the rest of the details are not mandatory while trying to configure and save the profile details.
  • Sync Record: This is a helpful option that when clicked will sync the records with the Meta server. This is required to force update the Quality rating and Messaging Limit of the WABA Number if and when the dynamic syncing option is not working due to some concerns.
  • Delete Number: This will delete the number from Meritto CRM for the specified WhatsApp Business Account. Do note that this will not delete the number from your Facebook WhatsApp Business Account. The client will have to manually delete the number from the Meta portal for the same. 

How to configure details for a WhatsApp Phone Number?

To configure the number after the number has been successfully added to the WABA Account, follow these steps:

• Navigate to Extensions >> App Store >> WhatsApp Business API >> Configuration.
• Next, you can do either of these -
  • Navigate to the Actions column, click on three buttons, and select "Configure Number"
  • Or you can simply hover beside the Business Name of that phone number and click on the "Number Config" option.
• Now, a popup opens up as shown in the screenshot below:
  
  
• As shown, the Phone Number is already specified and is non-editable.
• Enter the NPF-specific alias or name that you want to give for the number. This refers to the name that will be used for this WABA Number inside the Meritto CRM.
• Next, select whether you want to use this number for either Domestic and/or International messaging. By default, every new number added to the WABA Account will be available for Domestic Messaging.
• Next, configure whether you want to use this WABA Number for ECHO and whether you want the users to view Message History in Meritto CRM.
• Click on the "Submit" option to save the details.

How to add Number profile details?

Number Profile details are crucial for any business as they serve as an identification for their customers/leads whenever they engage in WhatsApp Business Conversations. To configure these details right from our Meritto CRM, follow the below steps:

• Navigate to Extensions >> App Store >> WhatsApp Business API >> Configuration.
• Next, you can do either of these -
  • Navigate to the Actions column, and click on three buttons, and select "Add Number Info"
  • Or you can simply hover beside the Business Name of that phone number and click on the "Add Number Info" button.
• Now, a popup opens up as shown in the screenshot below:
  
  
  
  
  
• As shown in the popup, the approved Business Display Name and Phone Number are already filled up and non-editable.
• Next, you can enter the Business Category or Vertical like Education/Advertising, etc., and more.
• Next, upload a profile picture that will be displayed for your business in the WhatsApp Mobile or Web App. Do note that the photo size should be above 600*600 pixels in dimensions.
• After this, you can fill out other details like the Email, Website, Business Address, and Description. For each of the fields, there are specific constraints on the maximum number of characters that can be input by the user.
• Post filling in the details, click on the Submit button to save the details. Wait for a minute or two for the changes to get reflected in the WhatsApp App. 

How to set the User Flow for the WhatsApp Business Account?

In Meritto CRM, for a WhatsApp Business Account, we do have the option to set the User flow that helps to improve the message engagement and control the inflow of messages for client customers. We can set this up by:

• Navigate to Extensions >> App Store >> WhatsApp Business API >> Configuration.
• Next, click on the "User Flow" button located in the upper right corner of the Configuration screen.
• A New popup opens up as shown below:
  
  
  
• In this, we have a lot of fields that can be configured as described in the below points.
  • In Echo Welcome Message, enter the message that is replied to by default if a user replies directly to a WABA Number and Echo is configured for that number.
  • Similarly, if in case the Echo is not configured and you want a default reply to be sent to the user who directly messages a WABA Number, then the same can be configured under "Default Reply Message".
  • Under "Unsubscribe Keyword/Trigger" and "Message to be sent on Unsub", the user can configure the keywords which when replied to through a lead, will stop outgoing WABA Communications on that specific lead's number as well display a message to them post unsubscribing.
  • Similarly, if the customer or lead wants to resubscribe to WABA messages from the client, then, in that case, the user can specify any specific keywords that need to be replied via the lead to re-activate outgoing WABA Communication along with a welcome message to be sent to the lead post-re-subscription.
• After all the details are configured, click on the "Submit" button to save the details.

How to delete a Phone Number from a WhatsApp Business Account?

Sometimes, if a business or a client does not want to use any particular phone number for messaging purposes from Meritto CRM, then they can delete the number. The steps are as follows:

• Navigate to Extensions >> App Store >> WhatsApp Business API >> Configuration.
• Navigate to the Actions column, click on three buttons, and select "Delete Number"
• A popup opens up displaying the details regarding what will be the impacts observed like any Automations, Echo, NIAA, or Scheduled WABA Communications associated with that specific number once it is deleted from the CRM system.
• Scroll below and in the text field type the complete number and click on the "Delete" option.
• Click on "Okay" to confirm the deletion. The WABA Phone number will be deleted from the Meritto CRM.
  
  Note: Deleting a Number using the above method only removes the phone number from Meritto CRM. This does not imply that the number is also deleted from the Facebook Business Account. You will have to perform an additional step of navigating to the Meta Business Portal and delete the number from there. For more details, follow the link - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/cloud-api/phone-numbers/#deleting-phone-numbers

How to find the WhatsApp Business Account Name and ID?

In order to find your onboarded WhatsApp Business Account ID and Name from Meritto CRM, follow the below steps:

• Navigate to Extensions >> App Store >> WhatsApp Business API >> Configuration.
• Next, locate the Meritto WABA Profile button that is beside the title "WhatsApp Business API" in the left upper corner.
• Hover or click on the icon.
• A dropdown appears that shows the WhatsApp Business Account Name as provided by Meta as well as the WABA ID. It also shows whether the status is Green (meaning connected) or not.

How to Sync Details Like Messaging Limit and Number Quality for a Phone Number with Meta?

As described earlier, on the Phone Number listing page, we have the columns titled Quality and Messaging Limit that signify the Health and Count of Messages that can be sent in a 24-hour window. To refresh and update these parameters from time to time, you can follow the steps below:

• In the Phone Number Listing page, under the "Action" column, click on the three buttons and select the Sync Number option.
• The Number details will be refreshed to show the updated Quality and Messaging Limits in case there is any change.

Notes:

1. Any WhatsApp Business Number added directly via the Facebook portal will not be visible in the Meritto portal. The number needs to be deleted and re-added after some time via the Meritto CRM.
2. By default, for unverified Meta Business Accounts, only 2 phone numbers can be added in total. For such phone numbers, the Messaging Limit is 250 messages per 24 hours by default.
3. If the Meta Business Account is verified, then a client can add more than 2 phone numbers (subject to Meta's guidelines/approval) and the phone numbers will have 1000 messages per day of daily limit by default.
4. Meta now provides free WhatsApp Business Numbers while trying to create a new WhatsApp Business Account via Embedded Signup. For such numbers, you do not need OTP verification. The numbers are usually of the format "+1555XXXXX" which cannot be used for SMS and Calling purposes but only for sending messages via WABA. These numbers can be utilized in our Meritto system as like any other phone number for WABA Communications. 
5. At one time, only one vendor can be utilised and used for WABA Communication. For example, if the user is onboarded via Meta WABA App on App Store, other vendors cannot be configured simultaneously and vice versa.
6. For some clients, post completing the Embedded Signup, one can find that the messages are failing with the message with the error  - There are one or more errors related to the Payment Method". This happens due to an issue from Meta whereby after completion of the Embedded Signup process and client onboarding, Meta needs to allocate "Kaleyra" as the billing partner to the client's WABA Account but fails to do so in some cases. In such a case, kindly connect with the product team to resolve the issue.