In many markets, WhatsApp is where customers actually talk to businesses. A WhatsApp CRM is software that treats those conversations as part of your sales and support process — not as chats on someone’s phone. Instead of screenshots and spreadsheets, every conversation is tied to a contact, a lead and a next step.
The features that matter
A shared team inbox
Several people answer the same number, conversations are assigned to an owner, and nothing is missed because one person was away. Look for assignment, internal notes and clear unread states.
Contacts and leads linked to conversations
Every chat should open next to the customer’s history: past orders, quotes, tags and the deal it belongs to. If your team already uses a CRM such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM or Pipedrive, check that contacts and deals sync both ways rather than creating a second, competing database.
Templates and campaigns
To message customers outside the 24-hour customer service window you need approved templates. A good WhatsApp CRM lets you create, submit and use them without leaving the app, and respects opt-outs.
Automation and AI agents
Routine questions — opening hours, order status, product availability — should be answered automatically, with a clean hand-off to a person when the conversation needs one.
More than one channel
Customers who start on Instagram or email should not end up in a different tool. Check whether the inbox also handles your other channels.
Features that matter less than demos suggest
- Unlimited broadcast volume — sending more templates mostly costs more and can harm your number’s quality rating.
- Dozens of chatbot builders — one well-scoped AI agent with good hand-off beats a maze of menus.
- Dashboards with every metric — you need response time, open conversations and conversion. Start there.
Questions to ask before you buy
- Does it use the official WhatsApp Business Platform? (Unofficial tools risk your number being banned.)
- Can we keep our existing number — and the WhatsApp Business app — via Coexistence?
- How are conversations handed from an AI agent to a person?
- Does it sync with the CRM we already use?
- Who can read message content, and how is access logged?
Where LarkFlow fits
LarkFlow is built for teams that sell on WhatsApp — especially B2B distributors handling product enquiries. Alongside the shared inbox and contacts, it reads RFQs from WhatsApp and email, matches requested items to your catalogue and prepares quotes for your team to approve. See the product overview or compare plans.