HubSpot Update: WhatsApp Pricing Change - Free Service Messaging
Everyone. Welcome back. Ready for another deep dive.
Luna Logic:Always.
Ben Binary:Alright. So today, we are looking at a pretty interesting HubSpot update. Yeah. And, I think this is one that a lot of folks are gonna wanna pay attention to, especially if you're in that space where you're using HubSpot, you're using WhatsApp for your business. Right.
Luna Logic:Sure.
Ben Binary:Because it kinda has to do with pricing and
Luna Logic:Big time.
Ben Binary:WhatsApp. Yeah. So, should be interesting.
Luna Logic:Yeah. Let's do it.
Ben Binary:Okay. So big news coming out of HubSpot. Starting November 1, 2024, conversations started by customers through HubSpot's WhatsApp integration are no longer going to count towards a user's usage limit.
Luna Logic:That's a big deal. Yeah. This is big news
Ben Binary:Yeah.
Luna Logic:Especially if you're a business, using WhatsApp for, you know, service, talking to your customers, things like that.
Ben Binary:Yeah.
Luna Logic:Because, you know, typically, these platforms have you have some kind of usage limit. Right? Like, a certain number of messages you can send per month before they start charging you more money.
Ben Binary:Yeah. Yeah.
Luna Logic:And so this is this is a big deal.
Ben Binary:Yeah. And that they're being very specific in the way they're wording this in the update. Mhmm. That it's service conversations.
Luna Logic:Right.
Ben Binary:So what exactly does that
Luna Logic:mean? So a service conversation in HubSpot's eyes is a conversation that is started by the customer.
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:So not one that started by the business. Got it. So that's an important distinction. If the customer messages you first Okay. That's free.
Ben Binary:Got
Luna Logic:it. Unlimited Okay. Which is awesome.
Ben Binary:That makes a lot of sense. Okay. Yeah. So then what's the opposite of a service conversation in HubSpot land?
Luna Logic:Right. So they have a couple of different buckets. They call them marketing conversations, utility conversations, and authentication conversations.
Ben Binary:Okay. So if I initiated as the business owner sending out a message, that would fall into one of those buckets.
Luna Logic:Exactly.
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:Yep.
Ben Binary:So give me some for instances of each of those.
Luna Logic:Sure. So, you know, a utility conversation. You know, let's say you're sending, an order confirmation.
Ben Binary:K.
Luna Logic:That would be utility.
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:Or if you need to send a billing statement through WhatsApp for some reason
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:That would be a utility conversation. Authentication, you know, pretty self explanatory, maybe like a onetime password
Ben Binary:Gotcha.
Luna Logic:That you need to log in. They text you a code or something. And then marketing, you know, that's pretty broad. They give the example of, you know, promotional messages.
Ben Binary:Okay. So like a blast.
Luna Logic:Exactly. Yeah. You know, we're having a sale 20% off. Okay. Something
Ben Binary:like that. Got it. Okay. So those are not unlimited.
Luna Logic:Right. So those they still have Okay. You still have, like, a certain number that you can send every month.
Ben Binary:So HubSpot's not just, like, giving away everything for free. Mhmm. They're still incentivizing.
Luna Logic:Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. It's not like they're just gonna, you know, completely torpedo their pricing model or anything.
Ben Binary:Totally. Totally. But this feels significant. You know? Like, I'm already kind of thinking through, like, okay.
Ben Binary:If I'm a business owner and I'm listening to this, like, what does this actually mean for me? Right. You know?
Luna Logic:Yeah. So this is a this is really big for anyone using HubSpot to manage customer service through WhatsApp. Okay? Especially if you're, in Marketing Hub, alright, because that's really where this change has been made.
Ben Binary:Gotcha.
Luna Logic:So so think about it this way. If you were previously sending, say, 2,000 customer initiated WhatsApp messages a month, okay, that you were being charged for, those are now free.
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:So that's potentially, you know, 100 of dollars back in your pocket each month.
Ben Binary:Wow. Okay. Yeah. No. That's that's not insignificant at all.
Luna Logic:It's not nothing.
Ben Binary:Especially, I'm thinking, you know, a lot of people using HubSpot. They're all smaller businesses. Right? So that's actually a significant chunk of change.
Luna Logic:Absolutely.
Ben Binary:Wow. Okay. And it's interesting. It's almost like, they're really pushing people to, like, put the power in the customer's hands in a way. Yes.
Ben Binary:It's a good place. They're they're saying, like, hey. You know, if you're using this as, like, a as a tool where you're constantly blasting out messages to customers Mhmm. Like, that's one thing. But, you know Yeah.
Ben Binary:If you're using this as a way to communicate and you're encouraging your customers, like, hey. Reach out to us on WhatsApp
Luna Logic:Yeah.
Ben Binary:If you have questions. Like, now you can really do that without having to worry about the cost.
Luna Logic:Exactly. And think about it this way too. Imagine you're a business owner, and you're thinking about putting your WhatsApp number, like, on your website. Right. You know?
Luna Logic:Like, contact us on WhatsApp. In the past, you might have been a little hesitant. You're like, well, what if everybody starts messaging me on WhatsApp?
Ben Binary:My bill's gonna be so high.
Luna Logic:Yeah. Am I gonna be able to afford this? You know? But now now you're empowered to really say, hey. Contact us on WhatsApp because you know that those service conversations, those questions, those quick interactions, those are gonna be free.
Ben Binary:Totally. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Wow.
Ben Binary:So this is definitely something to think about strategically. You mentioned, you know, this applies to certain HubSpot tiers.
Luna Logic:Right.
Ben Binary:So what are those tiers? And, like, for our listener, like, what do they need to know to know if this applies to them?
Luna Logic:Yeah. So this will apply to anyone who has a marketing enterprise plan, a marketing plus pro plan, a service pro plan, or a service enterprise plan.
Ben Binary:Okay.
Luna Logic:So, essentially, you know, if you think about, like, the different HubSpot tiers, those are usually kinda based on the size of your business, the types of features that you need, things like that. So Okay. If you're on one of those plans, great. This update's awesome. If you're not, it's still worth checking out HubSpot's website, kind of looking at the details of your plans, seeing how they handle WhatsApp messaging.
Luna Logic:Yeah. But if you are on one of those plans, this is a big deal.
Ben Binary:Okay. Yeah. So HubSpot users, it's time to, like, really reevaluate, like, how how you're using this, how you're how you're thinking about this. And it's almost like this is such a big change. It's almost like you wanna, like, take a step back and be like, alright.
Ben Binary:How can I, like, completely refresh the way that I'm thinking about using WhatsApp to communicate with customers?
Luna Logic:Absolutely. And I think, you know, one of the first things you should do is think about how you're encouraging people to contact you on WhatsApp. Right? So Alright. Is that on your website?
Luna Logic:Do you have, like, a little WhatsApp icon or, you know, some text that says contact us on WhatsApp? Yeah. You know? Do you have that in your email signatures? Like, think about all the different ways that people can find your business
Ben Binary:Right.
Luna Logic:And make sure that WhatsApp is front and center, especially if you're using HubSpot to manage those conversations.
Ben Binary:Totally. Okay. So almost like shifting some communication that maybe you were doing on email. Maybe now it's like Yeah. That's a better fit for WhatsApp.
Luna Logic:Exactly. Especially for those quick questions, those, like, service related inquiries. Totally. Things that don't necessarily need, like, a long drawn out email chain.
Ben Binary:Right. Yeah. Awesome. Okay. Well, this is super, super interesting.
Ben Binary:A lot to think about. Yeah. Really appreciate you breaking this down with us. It's a big update. Yep.
Ben Binary:And, I think, you know, we'll check back in in a few months and see.
Luna Logic:I'd love to see how people are using this.
Ben Binary:See how people are how people are using it.
Luna Logic:Yeah.
Ben Binary:So everyone listening, please reach out. Let us know. Like, are you using this new update?
Luna Logic:Yeah. How's it going?
Ben Binary:What are you finding? We'd love to hear from you.
Luna Logic:Absolutely.
Ben Binary:Until then, happy HubSpotting.
Luna Logic:Happy HubSpotting.
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