WhatsApp for local trades: when it's worth adding, and the rules that come with it

Why WhatsApp at all

For a lot of people, WhatsApp is the main way they message friends and family. When they need a plumber, they'd rather send a photo of the leak and a pinned location on WhatsApp than describe it over the phone.

You don't need everyone to use it for it to be worth having. If customers regularly ask "can I WhatsApp you?", or you work with communities where it's the default, offering it removes one more reason to go elsewhere.

Personal phone, Business app or Business Platform

There are three ways a business ends up on WhatsApp, and they're not equal.

• Someone's personal WhatsApp. The most common and the worst option. Customer conversations live on one person's phone, under their personal number.
• The free WhatsApp Business app. Better: a business profile and some quick-reply tools. But it's tied to a phone, and it doesn't plug into your other messages.
• The WhatsApp Business Platform. Meta's official service for businesses that connects WhatsApp to business software. Messages can arrive in a shared inbox, alongside your texts and website chats, and the whole team can answer.

For a business with more than one person answering customers, the Business Platform is the one that scales.

Can it run on a landline?

Usually, yes. WhatsApp normally verifies a number by sending a text, which a landline can't receive. But Meta can verify a number with an automated voice call instead, which reads out a code.

That means your customers can WhatsApp the same office number that's on your trucks, without a new number or a new phone. Two things to check first:

• The number can't already be on WhatsApp. An existing account on that number has to be deleted first.
• The call has to get through. If your line has a phone menu ("press 1 for service"), the automated call can't navigate it, so calls need to ring straight through to a handset for the few minutes verification takes.

The rules Meta sets

WhatsApp has clear rules for businesses, and they're stricter than many people expect.

1. Opt-in first. You can only message people who have agreed to receive messages from you.
2. The 24-hour window. When a customer messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and every new message from them restarts it. Inside the window you can reply freely.
3. Templates after that. Once the window closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages, such as an appointment reminder, until the customer writes again.
4. Some messages cost money. Meta charges businesses for certain message types, at rates that depend on the type and the customer's country.

Canada's anti-spam law applies here too. If a message promotes your business, it needs consent, your business identified and a way to opt out. Our guide to texting from your business landline covers the basics.

Good WhatsApp habits

• Answer from the shared inbox, not a personal phone.
• Ask for photos and locations. It's what WhatsApp does best, and it can save a site visit.
• Reply inside the window. A customer who messaged at 4 p.m. should hear back the same day.
• Keep it to the job. WhatsApp is for conversations with customers, not broadcasts to lists.

When to skip it

If nobody has ever asked to WhatsApp you and texting covers your customers, start with texting from your business number. You can add WhatsApp later, when customers ask for it.

This article is general information for business owners, not legal advice. Survey figures are US consumer research where noted; we are not aware of equivalent published Canadian surveys and do not present them as Canadian data.