How to integrate WhatsApp Business API with Zoho CRM?
Use case 1: Send out an automatic WhatsApp notification to a lead, as soon as the lead is created on Zoho CRM.
Steps to follow:
1. Create a template on Interakt, which would be sent as soon as the lead is created on Zoho CRM.
Suppose you create the following template. This template has a variable/placeholder in the body wherein you would want to include the leadâs name.
2. Copy the âtemplate code nameâ. You will find the template name in the URL of the above template page. In the above example, the template code name is welcome_lead_1. It is the portion of the URL between âtemplate/â and â/viewâ.
3. Go to your Zoho CRM account page -> Settings -> Automation -> Workflow Rules -> Create Rule
4. Select Module as âLeadsâ and give a name to the Rule. Then Click on âNextâ.
5. Next, you need to select WHEN you want the WhatsApp notification to be sent. Since the usecase is for sending a WhatsApp notification as soon as a lead is created on Zoho CRM, you should choose âOn a record actionâ followed by âCreateâ. Then click on âNextâ.
6. Next you need to select WHICH leads you want the rule to apply to. Since the usecase if for sending a WhatsApp Notification to any lead that gets created, you may simply choose âAll Leadsâ and click on âNextâ.
7. Next, you need to define the Action that should be performed when the Lead is created in Zoho CRM. Since the usecase is for sending the WhatsApp notification immediately, we will choose âInstant Actionsâ and within that, we will choose âWebhookâ.
8. Then select âNew Webhookâ in the popup that opens.
9. Provide any name for the Webhook.
10. Choose Method as âPOSTâ
11. Provide the âURL to Notifyâ as https://api.interakt.ai/v1/public/message/
12. Select âAuthorization Typeâ as âGeneralâ.
13. Then add a parameter under âCustom Parametersâ. Give âParameter Nameâ as Authorization. Give âParameter Valueâ as Basic <API Key>. To get your <API Key> go to https://app.interakt.ai/settings/developer-setting and copy the Secret Key from there.
14. Choose âBody Typeâ as âRawâ and âFormatâ as âJSONâ.
15. In the Body, insert the following code:
{“countryCode”:”+91″,
“phoneNumber”:”${Leads.Phone}”,
“type”:”Template”,
“template”:{
“name”:”welcome_lead_1″,
“languageCode”:”en”,
“bodyValues”:[
“${Leads.First Name}”
]
}
}
- In the âphoneNumberâ field, the code will automatically pick up the value in the âPhoneâ field of the Lead. The value in the âPhoneâ field should exclude the country code or else the notification will fail to get sent.Â
- In the ânameâ field, paste the âtemplate code nameâ which you had copied in Step 2.
- In the âlanguageCodeâ field, the code should match the language in which you had created the template. If you had chosen âEnglishâ as the language, the code would be âenâ. You can find all language codes here:Â https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/api/messages/message-templates/
- In âbodyValuesâ, you need to enter the value of the variable/placeholder in your template body. Since your template variable is supposed to contain the name of the lead, you can map the âFirst Nameâ of the Lead here. Alternatively you can select some other field from the Leads module by typing #.
16. Click on âSave and Associateâ.
17. Then Click on âSaveâ to save the workflow rule.
18. Ensure that the Status of the Workflow Rule is toggled to Active.
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- Now you can test out the workflow by creating a new lead (preferably with your own Phone Number). You should receive a WhatsApp Notification as soon as you create the lead.
Code to be used for different kinds of templates:
1. Template with 1 variable/placeholder in the Template Body – described above
2. Template with >1 variables/placeholders in the Template Body
Suppose the template is the following:
Template Code Name = welcome_lead_2
Template Language Code = en
Variables: Here, there are 2 variables in the Template Body. Variable {{1}} is a placeholder for the lead name and the variable {{2}} is a placeholder for the leadâs email id.
To send this template via Zoho CRM, you can use the following code:
{“countryCode”:”+91″,
“phoneNumber”:”${Leads.Phone}”,
“type”:”Template”,
“template”:{
“name”:”welcome_lead_2″,
“languageCode”:”en”,
“bodyValues”:[
“${Leads.First Name}”,
“${Leads.Email}”
]
}
}
â
3. Template with >1 variables/placeholders in the Template Body and a media header
Suppose the template is the following:
Template Code Name = welcome_lead_3
Template Language Code = en
Variables: Here, there are 2 variables in the Template Body. Variable {{1}} is a placeholder for the lead name and the variable {{2}} is a placeholder for the leadâs email id.
Header: Since there is a media header in the template, the public URL of the media would need to be provided in the code. To obtain the public URL of the media, you can use a service like Cloudinary.
To send this template via Zoho CRM, you can use the following code:
{“countryCode”:”+91″,
“phoneNumber”:”${Leads.Phone}”,
“type”:”Template”,
“template”:{
“name”:”welcome_lead_3″,
“languageCode”:”en”,
“headerValues”:[
],
“bodyValues”:[
“${Leads.First Name}”,
“${Leads.Email}”
]
}
}
4. Template with >1 variables/placeholders in the Template Body and a dynamic URL in the CTA button
Suppose the template is the following:
Template Code Name = welcome_lead_4
Template Language Code = en
Variables: Here, there are 2 variables in the Template Body. Variable {{1}} is a placeholder for the lead name and the variable {{2}} is a placeholder for the leadâs email id.
CTA button: Since there is a dynamic URL in the CTA button, there would be a variable {{1}} in the URL. In the code for sending the template, the value of this variable needs to be sent.
To send this template via Zoho CRM, you can use the following code:
{“countryCode”:”+91″,
“phoneNumber”:”${Leads.Phone}”,
“type”:”Template”,
“template”:{
“name”:”welcome_lead_4″,
“languageCode”:”en”,
“bodyValues”:[
“${Leads.First Name}”,
“${Leads.Email}”
],
“buttonValues”:{
“0”:[
“Account123”
]
}
}
}
How to figure out if the WhatsApp Notification was sent / delivered / read / failed:
Since you are using code (Template Send API Calls) to send the WhatsApp notification, you wonât find the âmessage status statisticsâ on your Interakt dashboard. We can send you the âmessage status statisticsâ in the form of âwebhooksâ to a Webhook URL provided by you. Along with the Webhook URL you would need to send a Secret Key for the URL as well.