Best Tools for WhatsApp Business Use

Meta reported more than 200 million users of WhatsApp Business globally in 2023. For businesses, however, using WhatsApp can involve much more than installing the app and answering messages. For many businesses, using it effectively also means adding third-party tools.  

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The right WhatsApp Business tools can help generate leads, automate routine conversations, connect messages to CRM records, give teams shared access and move information into the systems where work actually happens.

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There is no single best WhatsApp Business tool for every organisation. A retailer running WhatsApp marketing campaigns has very different requirements from an accountancy firm that needs client messages and documents captured within existing business systems.

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This guide compares the best tools for WhatsApp Business use according to the problem they solve, from marketing and WhatsApp automation to CRM, team collaboration and workplace integration.

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What Tools Are Available for WhatsApp Business?

WhatsApp Business tools broadly fall into six categories: native WhatsApp features, marketing platforms, automation tools, CRM integrations, shared inboxes and workplace integration tools.

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The simplest option may be the free WhatsApp Business app. More complex requirements generally involve the WhatsApp Business Platform, commonly referred to as the WhatsApp Business API, together with specialist WhatsApp Business software.

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Here is a quick comparison of some of the options covered in this guide.

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Knowing which tools to use comes down to what happens around the WhatsApp conversation.

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Some WhatsApp tools for business are designed to help you reach more people. Others help automate conversations or allow multiple employees to respond. Integration-focused tools solve a different problem: making sure WhatsApp forms part of the organisation's existing workflow rather than becoming a separate communication silo.

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"The question shouldn't start with 'Which WhatsApp tool has the most features?' It should start with 'What needs to happen to this conversation once it enters the business?' That's where the differences between these platforms become much clearer," says Dan Cattermole, Chief Product Officer at ClientWindow.  

What Can WhatsApp Business Tools Help You Do?

At the most basic level, the WhatsApp Business app provides tools for presenting your business and handling conversations more efficiently. Businesses can create a professional profile, set greeting and away messages, save quick replies, organise chats with labels and showcase products or services through a catalogue.

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More advanced WhatsApp Business software extends those capabilities considerably.

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Depending on the platform, WhatsApp Business integrations can help you:

• Generate and qualify leads

• Run WhatsApp marketing campaigns

• Automate common enquiries

• Route conversations to the correct person

• Give multiple team members access

• Connect conversations to CRM records

• Send appointment, payment or service notifications

• Track campaign and agent performance

• Connect WhatsApp with email and collaboration platforms

• Move documents and information into existing business systems

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The best WhatsApp Business tools depend heavily on what you are trying to improve. A marketing team might prioritise WhatsApp marketing automation and campaign attribution. A client service team may need a WhatsApp shared inbox. A professional services firm may care more about connecting messages, attachments and client records to Outlook, Gmail, Teams or its document management environment.

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Which WhatsApp Tools are Best for Marketing and Leads?

WhatsApp marketing tools are designed to turn messaging into a more structured acquisition and nurturing channel.

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WATI is a strong WhatsApp-first option for businesses that want campaigns, contact management, a shared team inbox and no-code automation within one platform. It can suit SMEs that want to run WhatsApp campaigns without building a custom technical environment.

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Respond.io is particularly relevant when lead generation creates large volumes of conversations that need to be qualified, routed and followed up by different people. Its workflow functionality makes it useful for sales and customer-facing teams that need more structure around incoming enquiries.

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ManyChat WhatsApp functionality is worth considering for businesses whose acquisition activity is heavily social-led. ManyChat is known for visual automation flows and can connect social interactions with automated messaging journeys, making it particularly relevant to Instagram-focused marketers.

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Brevo takes a broader multi-channel approach. Businesses already managing email and SMS campaigns through a marketing automation platform may prefer to bring WhatsApp into that environment rather than adopt WhatsApp-only software.

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The right choice comes down to the journey you are trying to create.

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For example, a professional services firm running a click-to-WhatsApp campaign might want to:

1. Generate an enquiry from an advert.

2. Ask two or three qualifying questions automatically.

3. Identify the relevant service or office.

4. Route the lead to the correct person.

5. Create or update the CRM record.

6. Record the campaign source.

7. Trigger human follow-up.

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In that scenario, lead capture alone is not enough. The useful measure is whether the WhatsApp conversation ultimately becomes a qualified lead, consultation, opportunity or sale.

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There is also an important compliance consideration for UK businesses. WhatsApp marketing is subject to the rules governing electronic direct marketing. The ICO advises that organisations generally need consent before sending unsolicited electronic marketing to individual subscribers unless an applicable exception, such as the soft opt-in, applies. Businesses should also maintain appropriate opt-out processes and records.

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Which Tools Can Automate WhatsApp Business Messages?

WhatsApp automation ranges from simple auto-replies to sophisticated workflows involving chatbots, CRMs and other business systems.

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The WhatsApp Business app already includes basic WhatsApp Business automation. Greeting messages can welcome new contacts, away messages can manage expectations outside office hours, and quick replies can reduce repetitive typing.

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For more complex requirements, businesses can use dedicated WhatsApp automation tools.

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WATI offers no-code automation and chatbot functionality alongside its team inbox and campaign features. Respond.io supports automated routing, qualification and follow-up workflows. ManyChat is particularly suited to visual marketing journeys, while Brevo can combine WhatsApp with email and SMS automation.

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For organisations with development resources, Twilio provides programmable access to the WhatsApp Business Platform. This makes it possible to build custom notifications, chatbots and workflows around existing applications and business processes.

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Automation platforms such as Zapier, Make and n8n can also act as connectors between WhatsApp-enabled platforms and other applications.

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A useful WhatsApp automation tool should solve repetitive work without making it harder for a customer to reach a person. For example, WhatsApp workflow automation might acknowledge an enquiry, collect basic information and identify the correct department before handing the conversation to an employee.

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The more complex the conversation, particularly in professional or regulated services, the more important that human handover becomes.

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How Can You Connect WhatsApp to Your CRM?

WhatsApp CRM integration connects conversations to the customer or prospect records your business already uses.

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Without that connection, a salesperson might have an important WhatsApp exchange while the CRM continues to show an incomplete customer history. If the employee is unavailable or leaves the organisation, part of that relationship can effectively disappear with them.

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WhatsApp CRM tools address this by linking messaging activity with platforms such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Zoho CRM and other customer management systems.

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There are several ways to do this.

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Some CRMs offer native or partner integrations. WhatsApp Business API tools can provide the connection between WhatsApp and the CRM, while middleware platforms such as Zapier or Make can trigger actions between different systems.

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A well-designed WhatsApp CRM integration might automatically:

• Create a new lead from an incoming WhatsApp enquiry

• Match the sender to an existing contact

• Record the conversation against the customer

• Assign an owner

• Update the sales stage

• Trigger a follow-up task

• Notify the relevant employee

• Record the eventual outcome

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The key question is not simply whether the two platforms technically connect. Businesses should establish what information needs to move between them, in which direction, and what should happen when it arrives.

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For professional services firms, this becomes particularly important because WhatsApp may be only one part of a much wider client record. Client conversations may also need to connect with email, document management and other business systems. Tools such as ClientWindow take this broader integration approach, helping organisations connect WhatsApp with the systems employees already use rather than treating the CRM as the only destination.  

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How Can Teams Manage WhatsApp Messages Together?

A WhatsApp shared inbox allows several employees to manage business conversations from a central environment instead of relying on one person's phone.

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Depending on the WhatsApp team inbox selected, businesses can assign conversations, add internal notes, route enquiries, use standard responses and monitor unresolved messages. WATI and respond.io both provide team inbox functionality, while other platforms specialise in shared customer communications and multi-agent support.

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A shared inbox is particularly useful when the central problem is ownership. Imagine three relationship managers receiving enquiries through the same business number. Without a clear workflow, it can be difficult to know who has responded, whether an issue has been resolved or whether the customer is still waiting. A WhatsApp team inbox can give each conversation an owner and make its status visible to colleagues.

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However, a shared inbox does not solve every workflow problem. If employees spend most of their working day in Outlook, Gmail or Microsoft Teams, introducing another inbox can simply create another place they need to remember to check.

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For some organisations, the better solution is to bring WhatsApp into the systems employees already use.

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Can You Connect WhatsApp to Outlook, Gmail and Teams?

Yes. WhatsApp can be connected with Outlook, Gmail and Microsoft Teams, although this usually requires a specialist integration rather than a setting within the standard WhatsApp Business app.

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This is where the choice of WhatsApp Business integrations starts to look different for professional services firms. Many WhatsApp customer service tools are designed around their own inbox. That works well when the organisation wants employees to manage messaging from a dedicated customer communication platform.

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Other businesses want WhatsApp to fit into an established workplace environment. A WhatsApp Outlook integration, for example, can allow employees to manage WhatsApp communication alongside email rather than constantly switching between Outlook and another application.

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The same principle applies to WhatsApp Gmail integration and WhatsApp Microsoft Teams integration. The objective is not simply to make the platforms technically communicate. It is to preserve the workflow employees already understand while ensuring WhatsApp conversations are visible to the business.

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ClientWindow connects WhatsApp with Outlook, Gmail, Microsoft Teams and other existing business systems. Instead of requiring staff to manage client conversations from another standalone WhatsApp shared inbox, the integration layer brings WhatsApp into the working environment around it.

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For a relationship manager, that could mean handling client communication through familiar email workflows. For an operations team, it could mean ensuring conversations and documents are captured in the appropriate business process. For management and compliance teams, it provides greater organisational visibility over communication that might otherwise remain on individual devices.

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As Dan Cattermole explains: "For many established firms, WhatsApp adoption isn't really a messaging problem. Clients are already using WhatsApp. The operational challenge is connecting those conversations to the email, document and business systems the firm already relies on, without asking employees to completely change how they work."

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How Can You Send WhatsApp Documents to the Right Business System?

WhatsApp document management becomes important as soon as clients start using the platform to send more than simple messages.  

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A client might send an invoice, signed agreement, proof of payment, identification document or supporting paperwork through WhatsApp because it is convenient. The business then needs to decide what happens to that file. Leaving it inside the conversation is rarely an adequate document workflow. The better approach is to treat WhatsApp as the intake channel and move the document into the approved system of record.

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For example:

• An invoice could be routed to the finance system.

• A signed agreement could move to document management.

• A sales document could attach to the relevant CRM opportunity.

• A supporting client document could be filed against the appropriate matter or case.

• An attachment relating to a service request could be added to the relevant ticket.

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This goes beyond WhatsApp automation and into how WhatsApp fits within the wider business environment. The job is not finished when the document arrives. The workflow should identify who sent it, establish which client or matter it belongs to, route it to the appropriate system and retain an appropriate record of what happened.

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For legal, financial and accountancy firms, this can be particularly important because the document may form part of a wider client record and be subject to internal access, retention or audit requirements.

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A practical workflow could look like this:

WhatsApp message → identify client → classify document → route to approved system → update client record → confirm receipt

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This is one reason ClientWindow's role is better understood as a connector and control layer rather than another WhatsApp automation tool. WhatsApp remains the communication channel for the client, while information is moved into the business environment where it belongs.

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Do You Need the WhatsApp Business API to Use These Tools?

Not always. The standard WhatsApp Business app is sufficient for basic tools such as greeting messages, away messages, quick replies, labels and catalogues. A sole trader or small business handling a manageable number of conversations may not need anything more sophisticated.

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Advanced WhatsApp Business integrations are different. The WhatsApp Business Platform, still commonly referred to as the WhatsApp Business API, is generally required when businesses want to build more sophisticated integrations, high-volume messaging, chatbots, shared workflows or custom automation.

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Twilio, for example, provides developer access to the WhatsApp Business Platform for two-way conversations, notifications and chatbot development.

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The API becomes relevant when the requirement involves:

• CRM synchronisation

• Advanced WhatsApp Business automation

• Multiple agents and structured routing

• Automated notifications

• WhatsApp chatbot tools

• Custom applications

• Document workflows

• Outlook, Gmail or Teams integration

• Higher-volume messaging

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That does not mean every organisation needs to build directly against the API. Many WhatsApp Business API tools and integration providers manage much of the technical complexity for the business.

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A useful way to think about the progression is:

WhatsApp Business app → specialist WhatsApp Business software → Business Platform/API and deeper business-system integration

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The point at which a business moves along that path depends less on its size than on the complexity of its workflows.

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A ten-person financial services firm with strict record-keeping requirements may need sophisticated integration sooner than a much larger retailer using WhatsApp for straightforward customer enquiries.

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Choosing the Best WhatsApp Business Tools for Your Business

The best WhatsApp Business tools are the ones that solve the operational problem you actually have.

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If your priority is marketing and lead generation, look at tools such as WATI, respond.io, ManyChat or a broader marketing platform that supports WhatsApp. If repetitive conversations are consuming staff time, WhatsApp automation tools and chatbot platforms may be the logical next step.  

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If sales teams need conversations reflected in customer records, prioritise WhatsApp CRM integration. If several employees need to manage the same number, consider a WhatsApp shared inbox or WhatsApp team inbox. And if WhatsApp needs to become part of Outlook, Gmail, Teams, document workflows and established business processes, look beyond messaging functionality and evaluate how the integration fits your existing technology environment.

That last question is particularly important for professional services and regulated organisations.

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Adding another platform can solve one problem while creating another. A tool may improve WhatsApp communication but still leave employees copying information between systems, checking multiple inboxes or manually filing documents.

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The strongest setup is usually the one in which the customer can continue using WhatsApp while the business retains the structure, visibility and control it needs behind the scenes.

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