Extend the reach of RCS with SMS failoverRead the article

Extend the reach of RCS with SMS

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Increase the scope of RCS with SMS failoverRead the article

Increase the reach of RCS with SMS failoverRead the article

Increase the reach of RCS with SMS . Find out more.

A winning European mobile strategy

Marionnaud revolutionizes customer relations with a high-performance mobile strategy, managed in 7 countries with smsmode©. Discover how this historic collaboration transforms marketing campaigns and engages customers at every stage.

sms marionnaud

SUMMARY

Who is Marionnaud?

Marionnaud is an emblematic brand in the perfume and skincare sector. It offers a wide range of selective beauty products through a network of hundreds of stores and an active e-commerce service in several European countries.

An historic collaboration

Marionnaud and smsmode© have been working together for almost 10 years to implement a centralized, scalable mobile strategy. This partnership has enabled Marionnaud to strengthen its marketing campaigns while ensuring fluid, efficient management of its communications via the mobile phone. SMS channel.

International deployment

Partnership with smsmode© has enabled Marionnaud to manage its campaigns in several Business Units across Europe, including :

SMPP technical integration, the Adobe Campaign plugin

The direct connection between Adobe Campaign and smsmode© via the SMPP protocol has optimized SMS dispatch. These are integrated into marketing workflows for smooth execution, with high throughput guaranteed by the SLA. What's more, all data is hosted in France in a level 4 data center, for RGPD compliance and optimum security.

Extension to WhatsApp Business

smsmode© also offers access to the WhatsApp Business APIMarionnaud is now able to diversify its communication channels. Media formats and conversational interactions enrich new customer journeys that meet current consumer expectations. Marionnaud was able to create its highly effective "beauty chat" on WhatsApp. A conversation between customer and store to benefit from expert advice.   

GO FURTHER

WhatsApp API documentation

Our documentation will help you discover the possibilities and specific features of this channel.

WhatsApp Business product sheet

A mobile strategy focused on engagement and loyalty

The main objective of this collaboration is customer engagement and loyalty. By industrializing mailings across 7 countries and integrating campaigns into the Adobe Campaign ecosystem, Marionnaud has strengthened its ability to offer personalized, relevant communications, while meeting RGPD compliance standards.

Marionnaud X smsmode© Key benefits

Do you operate in several countries?
Do you use Adobe Campaign?

Find out how smsmode© can support your mobile strategy to optimize your marketing campaigns and boost customer engagement.

June 27, 2025 - 8 min read

WhatsApp Business API: 24H window and message templates

Image by Elsa Paparone
Elsa Paparone

Elsa Paparone

whatsapp business integration guide

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Introduction

The WhatsApp Business API is today an essential channel for customer relations and transactional communication.
But its use is based on a strict framework defined by Meta: the 24-hour messaging window and message templates.

In this article, we explain :

WhatsApp Business: how to use

WhatsApp Business is an accessible tool that can help you set up optimized customer journey scenarios, enabling you to offer your customers a fluid, natural experience. There are two ways to communicate with your customers via WhatsApp Business.

The first method takes you through the 24-hour customer service window. What's special about this is that it's available 24 hours a day, as soon as the customer starts a conversation with you.

The second method is the Template or HSM - Highly Structured Messages, initiated by the company.

This formula is only available to op-in customers (i.e. those who have already opted in to receive your content).

Customer Window

Template

Initiative

Initiative

Your customer

You

Content

Content

- session messages
- Templates

Templates

Opt-in

Opt-in

No, since it was your client who initiated the exchange himself...

Yes, since you're the one who's going to be in contact with your client

The 24-hour messaging window rule

When a user sends a message to a company, a 24-hour window automatically opens. During this period, the company is free to respond, with no restrictions on message content or format (text, image, video, document).

Each new message from the customer resets the 24-hour window.

👉 Official documentation: Meta Business Docs - Conversation windows

What happens when the 24-hour time limit has elapsed?

24 hours after your customer's last message, the dialog window closes automatically. You will then only be able to send messages in the form of Templates, which are sent on the company's own initiative.

Please note, however, that you must have your recipient's explicit consent for this type of sending. These templates are pre-validated by WhatsApp© . You can create them yourself and then submit them, or use the templates we provide.

This is particularly useful when your departments need more than 24 hours to resolve a problem. Following a Template message, you can reopen a Customer Messaging Window, simply by asking for a reply to continue the process. If the customer replies, the window reopens automatically!

GOING FURTHER
WhatsApp Business presentation documentation
WhatsApp Business product sheet

Message templates: sending out of window

Once the 24-hour window has closed, the company can only write to the user using message templates pre-approved by Meta. These templates are essential for :

Official Meta template categories

👉 Documentation : Message templates - Cloud API

GOING FURTHER
All WhatsApp Business features
guide to WhatsApp features

Pricing and developments 2024-2025

Since 2023, Meta has been charging for WhatsApp conversations by category rather than by message.

What's new in 2025

👉 Documentation : Pricing & conversation categories

Best practices & compliance

Mandatory opt-in

Before sending a template message, the company must obtain an explicit opt-in from the user.
Examples of collection points: website, forms, in-store QR codes, SMS.

Authorized content

  • Authorized: useful information, confirmations, customer service, promotions with consent.

  • Prohibited: spam, misleading content, sensitive data (health, finance), unsolicited surveys.

Unsubscribe management

Always provide a clear way to unsubscribe ("Reply STOP to unsubscribe"), in compliance with the RGPD.

Practical examples of WhatsApp messages

Example of a JSON template (Utility - order confirmation)


{
 "name": "order_confirmation",
 "language": "fr",
 "components": [
 {
 "type": "BODY",
 "text": "Bonjour {{1}}, votre commande n°{{2}} a été expédiée. Livraison prévue le {{3}}."
 }
 ]
}


Typical conversation workflow


[Client envoie un message] → Ouverture de la fenêtre de 24 h → Réponse libre possible
 ↓
[Fin de la fenêtre] → Envoi d’un template validé (ex. suivi d’expédition)
 ↓
[Client répond] → Réouverture de la fenêtre de 24 h


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expert support for template configuration
May 29, 2025 - 5 min read

The new mobile messaging channels: the infographic

new mobile messaging channels

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Introduction

Mobile messaging is constantly evolving. Many new channels have appeared recently: RCSTTS, WhatsApp Business, VMS, push notifications... This multiplication of ways to reach customers is obviously an opportunity, but each channel has its own characteristics and advantages. So it's a good idea to be familiar with these channels to exploit their full potential.

Computer graphics

smsmode©️ wanted to find out more about marketing professionals' vision and knowledge of these new channels. Our platform therefore surveyed its customers during the period from July 9 to September 7, 2021.

The new mobile messaging channels

Among all the newcomers, the channel that stands out is WhatsApp Business (known by 73% of those surveyed). Its popularity is obviously helped by the fact that it is the "Customer Care" version of WhatsApp, the world's most popular instant messaging application, with 2 billion monthly users.

Behind the "star" of our survey the gap widens, with TTS at 34% and push notifications (31%) closing the podium.

While the relative anonymity of VMS (voice messaging system) comes as no great surprise (27% of those questioned said they were familiar with it), the fact that RCS was only known by 12% of participants is more surprising, given that this protocol is designated as the successor to SMS, with already 16 million compatible mobiles in France and 30 million by 2023.

Little-known channels, but seen in a very positive light

The novelty of these new channels in no way diminishes the willingness of professionals to integrate them into their marketing strategy. Nearly half of those questioned believe that the new channels enable better customer retention. Just as many believe that these new channels should reach the level of SMS within 2 years, and that it is now essential to develop an omnichannel strategy.

Similarly, although the RCS is little known among professionals, it is nonetheless highly appreciated by those who know about it or have received it, offering a genuine alternative to the MMS for sending media. 90% of those who have received this type of message are satisfied or extremely satisfied with the experience.

In essence, while the new mobile messaging channels have moderate awareness overall, they are highly valued by those who know about them.

It is certain that their arrival in the middle of a pandemic did not help to make them known, but the need for interactivity in customer relations and the democratisation of chatbots should allow these new channels, RCS and WhatsApp Business in particular, to become essential in the years to come.

Discovering new channels

Want to know all about the new mobile messaging channels?

Download our dedicated white paper.

Want to find out more about RCS and discover this revolutionary channel?

Access our PDF presentation.

Do you want a masterful Customer Care tool?

Find out how to implement WhatsApp with smsmode©

Want to reach a different audience with voice SMS ?

Discover Vocal SMS .

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?
We look forward to hearing from you.
January 09, 2025 - 3 min read

Optimize your customer experience with WhatsApp

Image by Elsa Paparone
Elsa Paparone

Elsa Paparone

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Introduction

Since the opening of WhatsApp Business APIthe French platform smsmode© provides you with its corresponding API. This allows you to easily send automated WhatsApp messages directly through your applications.

Sending this type of message allows you to enrich your exchanges with your customers (sharing images, videos, locations and much more...) while being universal and immediate - a novelty that could well revolutionize your customers' mobile sending experience!

What type of message can be sent?

Originally, WhastApp Businness messaging was reserved for notification and conversation with a customer. But since 2024, Meta has eased the shackles on marketing content. With its ease of use and capabilities, the WhatsApp channel makes it possible to reply to your messages or initiate the exchange. A real gateway to conversational commerce.

This channel allows you to enrich your users' customer experience by making a variety of media available.

WhatsApp lets you create a standard scenario. You design the framework from A to Z according to your field of activity, and guide your user to the desired finality (e.g. Answer A for yes and B for no). A precise scenario is developed, which will ensure exceptional feedback.

Creating such communication ecosystems will enable you to reduce your costs (after-sales service or support), save time and leave a positive imprint on the user (like the speed with which you can search for a train ticket via the SNCF's WhatsApp number, for example, to whom we say thank you!)

You can communicate with your customers by:

These exchanges take place:

How do you set it up?

In order to start using WhatsApp services, you need to be in possession of a Facebook ID. You may be wondering how to generate this ID, in which case follow the instructions via this link.

Obtaining an account WhatsApp (WABA stands for WhatsApp Business Account), uses this ID that you will send us, together with a phone number available (WhatsApp sender). Then it's smsmode© which acts as a link between you and Facebook to set up your account.

Once you have your WABA, you're free to choose whether to start the conversation or to encourage your customers to do so (by displaying your WhatsApp number on your website, for example).

GOING FURTHER
WhatsApp Business presentation documentation
WhatsApp Business product sheet

How WhatsApp Business can help you (whatever your sector)

Like SMS, this new communications medium is adaptable to a wide range of situations and sectors.

One objective: to improve customer care. You'll be able to conduct a survey, ask if the customer needs an additional service, reschedule an appointment, cancel a meeting, send an invoice or buy a train ticket... The possibilities are as vast as your users' needs.

WhatsApp Business is suitable for all sectors:

GOING FURTHER
All WhatsApp Business features
guide to WhatsApp features
For more information, smsmode© will soon be putting its specific documentation online. In the meantime, we encourage you to refer to this dedicated page.
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COMPARATIVE
Time2Chat vs SMS, RCS, WhatsApp. Which one to choose?

- PDF AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH -

Discover our comprehensive comparison of Time2Chat, SMS, RCS and WhatsApp features. Compare the strengths of each mobile channel at a glance to find the one that's perfect for your needs.

Download the comparison

Need more info?
We look forward to hearing from you.
September 22, 2024 - 5 min read

Conversational commerce: engage in conversation

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Elsa Paparone

conversational commerce

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Introduction

Conversational commerce is transforming and improving the way brands interact with their customers, building longer-lasting exchange relationships.

This new conversational approach to customer relations allows you to start a conversation with your users, wherever they may be, by sending messages directly to their cell phones via a variety of channels (RCS, SMS, WhatsApp).

A variety of tools (online platforms, chatbots, product carousels, etc.) are available to professionals, enabling them to offer content that is richer and more dynamic than ever. This evolution not only adds a new dimension to the customer experience, but also reshuffles the cards in your sales strategy.

Today we take you on a journey of discovery into conversational commerce.

What is conversational commerce?

Conversational commerce is characterized by the use by companies of new communication technologies such as chatbots integrated into messaging applications, two-way SMS two-way and other voice assistants.

It enables professionals to ensure personalized interactions with their customers, but above all to lead the exchange with your customers and accompany them throughout the sales funnel during a session/conversation.

These conversations can easily be automated, ensuring efficiency and speed for the company. What's more, the use of these different customer relations channels, sometimes in concert, leads to an overall improvement in the customer experience and the ability for operational staff to analyze the data collected. The integration of a multi-channel sales strategy rapidly accelerates the sales process.

In short, the principle of conversational commerce is to enable your customers to carry out all their purchasing actions in a single channel, without having to leave it to land on your website or an online payment platform. It is therefore important to identify in advance which conversational messaging is preferred by your targets to ensure the purchase of your products.

What are the different mobile channels used for conversational commerce?

COMPARATIVE
WhatsApp, SMS, RCS and Time2Chat. Which conversational channel to choose?
Time2Chat vs. SMS (RCS and Whatsapp)

SMS - Via a dedicated number (Time2Chat)

In recent years, corporate communication via SMS has exploded. Nowadays, customers don't just want to be kept informed by SMS, they also want to talk to companies via these popular messages. New legislation forcing companies to use 09 numbers has led to the emergence of a new feature called Time2Chat.

Visit Time2Chatalso known as SMS conversational, is a mobile solution specially designed for exchanges between brands and their customers. This product combines SMS and voice. Benefiting from the native presence of SMS, available on all phones even without an Internet connection, it combines a number of advantages for a variety of uses (appointment confirmation, parcel delivery...). Communicate with your users via a messaging system that's well-known and popular with the general public. Time2Chat offers a toll-free number linked to your business. So your customers can respond directly to the number (09) assigned to you. It's also possible to plugging a chatbot (like the one proposed by smsmode© and dydu, powered by artificial intelligence 😉)

Time2chat conversation

RCS - Chat sessions within the native messaging application

RCS (Rich Communication Service), or SMS 2.0, is a messaging protocol developed by Google that enables you to share messages with your customers featuring enriched media content (images, videos, GIFs, carousels, maps, buttons, etc.). Just like its predecessor, there's no need for an additional application to receive these messages: they're received directly in the native messaging applications of smartphones(both Android and Apple). Its professional use (called RBM for Riche Business Messaging) enables you to engage in conversations with your customers from a Google-validated brand profile, a certification that can be identified and recognized by your users.

WhatsApp Business - WhatsApp for Professionals

With 100 billion messages a day, WhatsApp is a channel that is very popular with users. WhatsApp Business is the version dedicated to the business world. This channel enables you to reach your customers on their mobiles, via the most popular instant messaging application of the moment. Once your profile has been validated by Meta (Facebook), you're ready for enriched conversations! Please note that WhatsApp Business is designed more for customer service or "pull marketing" (initiated by the online user). It's customary to include a chatbot to answer your users' recurring questions.

A few figures on conversational commerce

Recent studies show that conversational commerce has been well received by users, becoming part of their daily routine. For example, they prefer to be informed of the most important updates to their favorite service by SMS, which they are much more likely to open than a conventional e-mail. Engagement rates and sales seem to be rising steadily. This proposal for an exchange channel and an "upgraded" customer experience at your fingertips is seductive. Its use seems to be taking root in customer habits.

STUDY
SMS marketing trends and key performances under the microscope

Find out more about our major study based on 745 million mailings SMS.

SMS marketing trends in 2024

Conclusion

Technological advances in conversational commerce will benefit companies that know how best to integrate them into their sales strategy. Chatbots, SMS conversational, are all tools that will enable brands to offer a more fluid, personalized and responsive customer experience and purchasing process. Recent figures show that these new instant messaging tools are becoming increasingly popular.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?
We look forward to hearing from you.

July 04, 2024 - 3 min read

How to integrate a chatbot into WhatsApp business?

whatsapp chatbot

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Introduction

Opting for the integration of a chatbot in WhatsApp Business messaging means choosing the #1 ally for customer relations in an application made for 2.0 conversation. WhatsApp connects billions of users. Thanks to WhatsApp Business, companies now have a multi-functional channel for engaging their customers. Using chatbots within WhatsApp enables you to stand out quickly and on a massive scale. This tool alone can change your brand image. A conversational bot helps your support team, engages your customers and gives you an omnipresence capable of boosting your sales processes. Follow our guide to implementing a WhatsApp Business chatbot implementation.

How does WhatsApp Business work?

WhatsApp has launched WhatsApp Business, a free downloadable mobile app for small businesses. The app energizes your mobile communication and takes it to the next level by helping you connect with your customers via message, engage in conversations with them, showcase your products and answer your customers' questions. With WhatsApp Business, you can create a catalog to showcase your products and use special features to automate, sort and reply to messages. By using WhatsApp Business APIAPI, you can also connect a chatbot to your business accounts.

Attention

Marketing is tightly controlled on WhatsApp Business. To guarantee a quality customer experience, push marketing is not possible. You can sell your products on WhatsApp (a payment system is integrated), but the exchange must be initiated by the consumer. Only template messages are initiated by the brand, but they are subject to prior validation by Meta before they can be sent to customers.

Billing is per conversation, with a lower cost when the conversation is initiated by the user. Once the conversation has started, everyone can interact for 24 hours. During this window, messages sent by the user to the brand, as well as those sent by the brand to the user, are free.

The model chosen by WhatsApp for its business app is very user-friendly, making it both a service and an ideal channel for customer relations. The integration of a chatbot is therefore more than relevant.

COMPARATIVE
WhatsApp, SMS, RCS and Time2Chat. Which one to choose?
Time2Chat vs. SMS (RCS and Whatsapp)

What is a WhatsApp chatbot?

Definition of a chatbot :

A chatbot is a program capable of interacting with humans via messaging, a web platform or a mobile application.

This conversational robot, considered AI in some advanced cases, "replaces" the customer advisor for users, most often during the first contact. Chatbots are ideal for solving simple problems, answering frequently asked questions or clearly defining customer needs before a human agent intervenes .

In short, chatbots are expert tools for easily enhancing your customer experience via message.

The use of chatbots in WhatsApp Business

While the use of chatbots is widespread on web solutions or Facebook Messenger, it is not yet extremely present on WhatsApp Business. On the user side, it works like all conversational chatbots: people communicate with it on WhatsApp via the messaging interface, as if they were talking to a real person. In most cases, the chatbot is simply a set of automated responses organized in a tree structure that simulates a human conversation.

But for truly convincing results and a better customer experience, it's best to opt for an AI-enhanced chatbot. This is the case with the chatbot we offer in collaboration with our partner Dydu, an expert conversational AI startup that offers a chatbot based on natural language understanding, artificial intelligence and generative AI, for a seamless customer experience.

While it's "possible" to build a response tree on WhatsApp Business yourself, the service has many limitations that you should be aware of before embarking on a development that won't offer all the advantages of a true conversational bot. Building the bot yourself can be tricky and time-consuming, which is why you need real assistance.

Why create a WhatsApp chatbot?

With the chatbot, you win on all fronts:

Customer relations involve a fair amount of repetition, so being able to entrust these tasks to a virtual agent is a big plus. Chatbots are available H24, never worn out by answering the same questions, and insensitive to the annoyance that can sometimes arise from a dissatisfied customer.

What's more, exchanges on WhatsApp Business are charged by the conversation, which means that on this messaging service more than any other, resolving a customer request within 24 hours saves money. The use of a well-configured chatbot that can respond to messages all the time is also advantageous from this point of view.

WhatsApp limits commercial approaches, prohibiting outbound marketing. The use of messaging for businesses is therefore reserved for customer relations. But not every customer has a problem. Some will contact you in search of a product. If you want to be there for them quickly and at the right time, this is the ideal tool.

Chatbots for all subjects

All companies can use these tools, as all corporate functions are concerned. Whether it's a question of retrieving a purchase order, a forgotten password, a customer address... All support departments, from accounting and IT to general services and logistics, are confronted with recurring questions that AI can handle efficiently.

The chatbot can also be a true digital collaborator, influencing the well-being and efficiency of your employees . The possibilities are endless, and the data that can be transferred to your robot is virtually infinite.

Management, HRHRIS, stress management ...

These diverse issues in a large company can be easily managed bythe robot's artificial intelligence. These "Business to Employee" (B2E) applications are available on several channels, including WhatsApp, and are able to support employees in small, medium-sized and larger companies.

GOING FURTHER
Discover WhatsApp Business features
download all WhatsApp features

Choosing the chatbot smsmode© for WhatsApp business

Many platforms can help you build a WhatsApp bot, but not all of them will help you get your account validated for access to the service's API. And without WhatsApp validation, you won't be able to launch your chatbot.

It's possible to create a company profile on your own, or even set up a basic chatbot without an API, but doing so without support is very time-consuming, and processing a large number of requests may prove impossible.

Creating a chatbot yourself means writing all the answers to a huge tree structure and selecting (on a smartphone) all the trigger keywords.

The most smsmode© easy connection to the WhatsApp API

To access the WhatsApp Business API and send large volumes of messages, it's best to use a service provider recognized by Facebook. WhatsApp is an application that aims to inspire trust. It takes to heart the verification of all business profiles to guarantee its users a quality experience and avoid SPAM and phishing at all costs. Validating a profile can therefore be arduous, and authorizing use of the API even more so.

Choosing us also means making the process of creating your company accounts, and therefore your WhatsApp chatbot, easier.

By using our WhatsApp chatbot solution, bot development can begin immediately, while awaiting WhatsApp approval. This means you can save time and have a working bot as soon as you get your API key.

Like all bots, our solution lets you create conversation flows, but it does so with the help of Artificial Intelligence. Its AI is based on LLMs (Large Language Models), like OpenAI's Chat GPT. In other words, advanced technology for human language recognition and dialogue assistance.

A dedicated, experienced team is with you every step of the way, whether you want to set up a high-performance, easy-to-use response tree, or begin a machine learning process dedicated to your business. We'll help you rapidly create the most efficient conversation flow capable of responding to +90% of requests.

By choosing smsmode©, get your company profile validated quickly and enjoy all the benefits of a WhatsApp chatbot:

GOING FURTHER
Discover the WhatsApp Business API
WhatsApp Business product sheet

How do I integrate my chatbot? The steps

The first step for real chatbots is to have a connection to the WhatsApp Business API. Secondly, you need to meet certain prerequisites. The purpose of the chatbot is important to WhatsApp. It is forbidden to use a WhatsApp chatbot for marketing messages, WhatsApp chatbots are reserved for customer service. Also, at any time, switching to a human agent must be possible.

The stages of creation :

Conclusion

WhatsApp Business is expected to become a preferred customer service channel for users. Its intuitive use allows users to get answers quickly and at any time. On the brand side, WhatsApp Business is a great way to build loyalty. It allows you to adopt a personal communication and keep in touch. With a chatbot, your presence on WhatsApp Business is constant. You have the opportunity to relieve your customer service and at the same time give the consumer a 360° support. This will fully satisfy your customers and boost your sales.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?
We look forward to hearing from you.