Hi, I’m a little overwhelmed with something. I offered a company an automatic WhatsApp chat to schedule appointments. The problem isn’t the workflow, it’s how to integrate it and what monthly price to set so I don’t lose money (right now, I’m not interested in making money, just experience).
The problem is that I’m not sure how to link it to WhatsApp. I know it can be done with the official WhatsApp API and a new number (which I assume will have to be from Movistar or another provider of this type of service) or with Twilio, which handles this for a higher price per message.
I’m not sure whether to offer it on the WhatsApp cloud or on Twilio. I also understand that with Twilio you can’t see the chats, whereas with WhatsApp, with a VPS and installing Chatwoot, you can. I’m very confused about this whole issue, and it would be very useful to know how to offer the service.
I’ve used the Evokution API, but they say it’s better not to use it in production, and I want to do things right.
What you’re describing sounds like a business problem and not a technical one. Check out Unipile API to manage all the in-between stuff with WhatsApp, that might be a solution for your use case. Make your solutions simple and functional first, then beautiful and cheaper later, after you’ve got revenue coming in.
Re pricing: I recommend you base your pricing on the value to the client and not based on your costs (or the time you spend to deliver the solution). At first, that works against you – it means your time, which you need a lot of to build when you’re less experienced, is worth not much – but down the road it will be to your great benefit to price according to the value it adds to the client and not based on your costs.
This is why a plate of food at a food truck costs the same as in a restaurant, even though a food truck costs a fraction to operate compared with a restaurant.
This is why a printer is cheap but ink cartridges are expensive; a customer buys a printer that cost the company negative revenue to sell. The ink cartridges pack in massive profit margins for the company because that’s the consumable product the customer continues to use with that printer. The price of the printer + the cartridges over the lifetime of the printer is all based on the value to the customer, not simply based on the costs to the company.
It’s also why iPhones and high fashion clothes are very expensive. Fashion materials are normally made in parts of the world for very cheap. Profit margins are massive (not considering other costs…) based on the value to the customer. If she wants that Louis Vuitton handbag, a Zara won’t cut it.
And remember this: you can always reduce a client’s price and make them happy; but it’s very hard to raise a price and keep a smile on their face.
I hope that helps in the exciting journey ahead of you!