WhatsApp Business API and your CRM: how it works in Qatar

The company verifies its business with Meta, obtains a number for the API through a provider, and connects the provider to the CRM. Outbound messages outside a 24-hour customer-service window use pre-approved templates, so order confirmations, appointment reminders, invoice notifications and follow-ups are drafted in Arabic and English and submitted for approval before launch. Inbound conversations open a session in which agents can reply freely.

Every inbound message is matched to a lead or contact by number, or creates one. Conversations are routed by rules: territory, product, language, or round robin, with escalation if unanswered. Agents reply from the CRM or a shared inbox with the customer's deals, invoices and tickets visible. Templates send automatically on events: a quote sent, a delivery scheduled, an invoice due. Reports show response times, volumes by agent and conversion from WhatsApp leads.

• Sales enquiries from ads and the website routed to salespeople with follow-up reminders.
• Order and delivery updates for e-commerce and distribution.
• Appointment reminders for clinics and service centres.
• Support tickets opened from WhatsApp in Zoho Desk with SLAs.
• Payment reminders with invoice links from Zoho Books.

Costs are the provider's fee plus Meta's per-conversation pricing, which differs for marketing, utility and service conversations. Pitfalls: using personal numbers alongside the API so history is split; templates written in one language only; no routing so messages wait in a shared inbox; and marketing templates sent to customers who did not opt in, which risks the number's quality rating.