Freshworks integrates conversational support features with WhatsApp Business

Freshworks, which offers cloud-based business software, has integrated its customer engagement suite with WhatsApp Business to offer conversational support via the instant messaging platform.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp Business is aimed at enabling small businesses to communicate with customers.

In a statement, Freshworks said that the integration will help businesses efficiently manage and route user conversations happening on WhatsApp and other channels within its customer engagement suite using a technology called Omniroute.

Omniroute provides customer service agents with a unified view of customer inquiries and helps respond to them.

“Omnichannel customer engagement is becoming the imperative to providing great customer support,” said Girish Mathrubootham, chief executive officer of Freshworks.

Freshworks said it recently launched Proximity, a set of features for Freshchat, its messaging software to bring businesses closer to users. The Freshchat dashboard provides separate insights on WhatsApp conversations, such as chat volume and productivity within the WhatsApp channel. The integration is leveraged by support and sales functions across verticals such as e-commerce, media, travel, and finance.

Freshworks said that Supr Daily, a direct-to-home dairy products delivery service, was among the companies that use Freshchat’s integration with the WhatsApp Business solution for customer support. Supr Daily is owned by food-tech unicorn Swiggy.

Facebook recently launched a version of WhatsApp Business for iOS users, more than a year after making it available on the Android ecosystem. WhatsApp Business currently has more than 5 million users. The service is part of Facebook’s efforts to make money from WhatsApp by charging businesses for sending marketing and customer service messages.

Freshworks

Formerly known as Freshdesk, Freshworks was founded in 2010 by Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnaswamy. It initially offered only one customer service software product. In June 2017, it rebranded itself as Freshworks to position itself as a multi-product brand.

In June last year, the firm said it had crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, a metric that measures the subscription business.

The software-as-a-service firm joined the unicorn club the following month when it raised $100 million in a round of funding led by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Accel.