WhatsApp is the most widely used messaging platform in Ireland. For Irish businesses, it’s long since stopped being a personal app — customers use it to ask about services, request quotes, follow up on orders, and contact support, often preferring it to email or even phone calls.
The problem for most businesses is that WhatsApp sits in isolation. A member of staff manages it on their personal phone, messages get missed when they’re unavailable, conversation history disappears when someone leaves, and there’s no visibility for the rest of the team into what’s been discussed. It’s a communication channel that works despite the setup, not because of it.
Dromlik’s WhatsApp Business integration changes this. WhatsApp messages arrive in the same inbox as your calls, SMS, and web chat — managed by your team, visible to your business, and connected to your CRM.
Why WhatsApp Matters for Irish Businesses in 2026
WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users globally and is particularly dominant in Ireland and across Europe. For Irish SMBs, the implications are practical:
- Customers increasingly initiate contact via WhatsApp rather than email, particularly for non-urgent queries where they don’t want to make a phone call
- Response rates on WhatsApp messages are significantly higher than email — messages are read within minutes rather than hours or days
- WhatsApp is the preferred channel for appointment confirmations, booking reminders, and follow-up messages
- International customers and tourists — a significant segment for Irish restaurants, hotels, and service businesses — are highly likely to be active WhatsApp users
For businesses that aren’t managing WhatsApp through a proper business tool, this is a channel operating below its potential.
WhatsApp Business is a separate app designed for business use — it allows verified business profiles, message templates, and API integration. The WhatsApp Business Platform (API) is what powers integrations like Dromlik’s, enabling enterprise-grade management of WhatsApp messages at scale.
What Dromlik’s WhatsApp Integration Does
Unified Omnichannel Inbox
WhatsApp messages arrive in the same inbox as calls, SMS, and web chat — managed from Dromlik’s desktop, web, or mobile client. Your team sees every customer interaction in one place, regardless of which channel it came in on.
A customer who WhatsApps to ask about availability, then calls to complete a booking, then sends a follow-up message — your team sees the full conversation history across all three channels in a single thread. No switching between apps, no lost context, no starting conversations from scratch.
Automatic Contact Matching
When a WhatsApp message arrives from a known number, Dromlik matches it automatically to the customer’s record — both contacts managed directly in Dromlik and contacts synced from a connected CRM like HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, or Zendesk.
The agent handling the message sees who they’re talking to and their full interaction history before they type a word. A returning customer gets a personalised, informed response rather than starting from the beginning every time.
Chat to Call — One Click
When a WhatsApp conversation needs to become a phone call — a customer with a complex query, a support issue that’s easier to resolve verbally, or a sales conversation ready to move forward — your agent escalates to a call with one click, directly from the chat interface.
No switching apps, no manually dialling the number, no asking the customer to call in on a separate line. The conversation continues seamlessly.
Outbound Bulk Messaging
Send scheduled WhatsApp messages to customer groups directly from Dromlik — promotional messages, appointment reminders, event notifications, or service updates — using pre-approved WhatsApp message templates.
This is available for businesses with a WhatsApp Business Platform account and approved templates. For Irish businesses:
- Restaurants can send weekend availability notifications to previous customers
- Clinics can send appointment reminders to their patient list
- Recruitment agencies can notify candidate pools of new roles
- Retailers can send order updates and promotional messages
All outbound bulk messages use WhatsApp-approved templates, in line with WhatsApp’s business messaging policies.
Message Queues for Team Management
WhatsApp messages can be routed to a queue of agents — the same queue logic used for inbound calls. Messages are distributed across the team, wait times are managed, and no single agent becomes a bottleneck when volume spikes.
For businesses managing high WhatsApp volumes — customer support teams, busy restaurant reservation lines, high-volume sales operations — this turns WhatsApp from an informal channel into a properly managed one.
Chat Assignment and Transfer
Any WhatsApp conversation can be assigned to a specific team member or transferred to another agent or queue — with full chat history included. A customer doesn’t have to re-explain their situation when a conversation moves from one agent to another.
For teams where different queries need different expertise — a support query going to the technical team, a sales enquiry going to an account manager — this works exactly like a call transfer but for messaging.
Multiple WhatsApp Accounts
Dromlik supports integration with multiple WhatsApp Business accounts simultaneously. A business with separate WhatsApp numbers for different departments, brands, or locations can manage all of them from one interface — no switching between accounts or devices.
Central Chat Records
Every WhatsApp conversation is logged centrally — searchable, downloadable, and accessible to authorised team members. For GDPR compliance, records can be managed, exported, or deleted from the central interface. Automated backup rules can be configured for long-term storage.
For Irish businesses with data retention obligations — legal, financial services, healthcare — this provides an audit-ready record of all customer messaging interactions.
Channel Statistics and Message Detail Records
Track total messages sent, received, and failed. Analyse response times, conversation volumes, and team performance. Download detailed message logs for specific periods or interactions.
For customer support teams managing WhatsApp alongside other channels, this visibility supports the same kind of performance management that call analytics provides for phone-based teams.
WhatsApp as Part of the Omnichannel Picture
WhatsApp integration is most powerful as part of a broader omnichannel setup rather than in isolation. On Dromlik’s Orbit plan, the same inbox manages:
- Inbound and outbound calls
- WhatsApp messages
- SMS
- Web chat
- Facebook Messenger
Every channel, every customer interaction, in one place. A customer who contacts you via web chat on Monday, WhatsApps on Wednesday, and calls on Friday — your team has the full picture before they answer.
This is the standard Irish customers increasingly expect: consistent, informed service regardless of which channel they use to reach you.
Rather than asking customers to use a different channel — “please email us at…” or “call us during business hours…” — an omnichannel inbox lets your team meet customers where they already are. For Irish businesses, that’s increasingly WhatsApp.
Practical Use Cases for Irish Businesses
Restaurants and Hospitality
WhatsApp booking confirmations and reminders sent automatically after every reservation. Guests can confirm or cancel directly via WhatsApp, with cancellations freeing the slot in the booking system. Bulk messaging to regular guests with weekend availability or event notifications.
Recruitment Agencies
Candidate communication via WhatsApp — initial outreach, interview confirmations, offer notifications. Conversations logged automatically against the candidate record in the ATS or CRM. Multiple consultants managing candidate WhatsApp conversations from one inbox without personal number exposure.
Professional Services
Client follow-up via WhatsApp after calls or meetings. Document sharing and query handling between appointments. WhatsApp as a support channel for existing clients who prefer messaging to email.
Retail and E-commerce
Order confirmation, dispatch notifications, and delivery updates via WhatsApp. Customer support queries routed to a queue and handled by whichever agent is available. Returns and complaint handling with full conversation history visible to the team.
Medical and Dental Clinics
Appointment reminders sent 24–48 hours before scheduled visits. Patient queries handled via WhatsApp with conversations logged in line with GDPR requirements. Prescription and referral follow-ups managed through a central, GDPR-compliant inbox rather than personal staff phones.
What You Need to Get Started
WhatsApp Business integration requires:
- A WhatsApp Business Platform account (also called the WhatsApp API) — this is different from the standard WhatsApp Business app and requires verification through Meta for Developers
- Dromlik’s Orbit plan — WhatsApp integration is included as part of the omnichannel inbox feature set on Orbit
The setup process — creating the Meta developer app, configuring the WhatsApp channel, and connecting it to your Dromlik inbox — is handled by the Dromlik team as part of onboarding. You don’t configure the Meta integration yourself.
Pricing
WhatsApp Business integration is included on Dromlik’s Orbit plan:
| Plan | Price | WhatsApp Integration |
|---|---|---|
| Nucleus | €15/user/month (monthly) / €12/user/month (annual) | ✗ |
| Orbit | €27/user/month (monthly) / €22/user/month (annual) | ✓ Included |
Note: WhatsApp Business Platform (API) has its own conversation-based pricing set by Meta — charges apply per conversation window beyond the free tier. Dromlik’s team can advise on expected WhatsApp API costs based on your estimated message volumes.
Local Irish numbers from €5/month. Free number porting. Annual billing saves around 20%.
See the full pricing breakdown.
Bring WhatsApp into your business phone system
See how Dromlik’s omnichannel inbox manages WhatsApp alongside calls, SMS, and chat — all in one place. Free 7-day trial on Orbit, no setup fees.
