Telegram takes on WhatsApp with business-focused options

Telegram is not fairly as widely used as WhatsApp, however businesses can now add it as a communication choice for his or her prospects in the event that they need to. Anyone on the messaging app can now convert their account right into a enterprise account to get entry to options designed to make it simpler for patrons to search out and get in touch with them. They will have the ability to show their hours of operation on their profile and pin their location on a map. With their working hours in place, prospects can see at a look whether or not they’re nonetheless open and what time they’re closing for the day.

Companies also can customise their begin web page and show details about their services and products on empty chats, giving prospects a glimpse of what is on provide even earlier than they get in contact. To make it simpler to answer a number of inquiries, Telegram Enterprise accounts may even have the ability to craft and save preset messages that they will ship as fast replies. After all, they will additionally pre-write greeting and away messages that get routinely despatched to prospects who contact them. They’ll use a Telegram Bot to speak with their prospects, as effectively, although everyone knows how irritating it may be to speak with a robotic when we have to speak to a human customer support rep. All these options are free, however just for these with a Telegram Premium account, which prices $5 a month.

Along with introducing its new business-focused options, Telegram has additionally revealed that it is giving channel house owners 50 percent of the revenue earned from advertisements displayed on their channels, so long as they’ve not less than 1,000 subscribers. Based mostly on info beforehand shared by firm founder Pavel Durov, Telegram appears to be doing effectively financially and might afford to be that beneficiant. Durov instructed The Financial Times that he expects the messaging app to be worthwhile by subsequent yr and that it is at the moment exploring a future preliminary public providing.