Find WeCom (WeChat Work) Confusing? We’ve Got Answers.

There is a lot of information out there about WeChat, yet many brands, especially those outside China, still find the platform overwhelming to use. So, you can only imagine, with very few English language resources available on WeCom (formerly known as WeChat Work), most people are completely in the dark.

We’re working towards solving that.

During our recent WeCom/WeChat Work webinar, we received some excellent questions from the audience, so excellent in fact that we thought we would dedicate a whole blog post to answering these questions so that those who didn’t attend the webinar could get the answers too!

So without further ado, answers to your top 10 burning questions about WeChat Work:

1. Why do brands need WeCom (WeChat Work)?

When describing their vision of the future of the industrial internet, Tencent executives have shared that WeCom is for: Identity, Integration, and Connection.

Identity: WeCom increases consumers’ and clients’ trust in your company and employees because it provides an official identity. When an employee engages with a client using their WeCom account, the client can see that this person is a verified employee of your company.

Integration: WeCom integrates with tons of 3rd party apps and APIs, meaning you can connect with the IT systems you’re currently instead of replacing them with China alternatives.

Connection: Customers are used to chatting on WeChat, so WeCom enables your enterprise to meet them where they are, but in a more professional way. It also allows you to connect data and insights from WeChat interactions back to your enterprise. And it allows your employees to connect and share information with each other.

2. From the customer perspective, they don’t have to download the WeCom (WeChat Work) app to talk to a sales associate that is using WeCom(WeChat Work), right?

Correct! As we touched on above, the beauty of WeCom is that it integrates with WeChat, so customers and clients can add that sales associate as a friend just like they would add a regular friend on WeChat. The chat looks the same as well. The main visible difference is that the employee will have the company name in orange next to their WeChat name. Their profile will also include their verified contact information.

Of course, if your client uses WeCom (WeChat Work) as well, then you can add each other there, but it's not necessary for the client to have a WeChat Work account.

3. Is the vision for WeCom (WeChat Work) to enable brands to connect with business customers (i.e. B2B relationships), or just for internal communications with other colleagues?

Both! Some brands use it mainly for internal communication, utilizing some of the apps to punch in and out, send company announcements, and assign tasks to direct reports.

Moreover, companies also can use it for external communications, taking advantage of features such as the ability to send forms and contracts, save a chat log (financial services only), and integrate their current CRM with WeChat.

4. What are some of the main difficulties brands encounter when they try to implement WeCom(WeChat Work)?

While it makes sense from a company standpoint to get your sales associates to adopt WeCom (WeChat Work), it can sometimes be a bit difficult to get the SAs on board, especially if they already have a large customer network on their personal WeChat. It is important for companies to take time to explain the features and benefits of WeChat Work that will make their job faster and easier, and train employees how to use the app.

Another area of difficulty is the initial set-up of data-binding integrations between an enterprise’s current CRM, POS, etc. and WeCom. Luckily, WeCom is set up to connect with the WeChat ecosystem and has over 200 APIs to integrate with external systems, so it is entirely possible, but just takes some time to implement!

5. Can international businesses register a WeCom (WeChat Work) account?

Yes, this has recently become possible. In the past, Tencent was focused on serving companies with a registered China entity. This year, they have begun expanding to allow global brands.

With some basic company information and a WeChat admin account set, companies can immediately register a WeCom account for free. If your company would like access to more advanced features, for example the ability to connect with WeChat or use advanced APIs for integration, they you are required to submit your business license, trademark, bank account and other documents in order to get certified.

6. Can international employees (I.e. those without a Chinese ID card) become verified on WeCom (WeChat Work)?

Yes, however the process is complicated, which is understandable because Tencent is trying to protect authenticity of the platform and ensure users actually work for the company they say they do. Users without a Chinese ID who would like to become verified typically need to submit ID certificates(Either official ID, passport or driver’s license​)and the last 3 months’ company phone or credit card statements.

7. What type of third-party apps are available on WeCom (WeChat Work) and what is their purpose?

At the moment, WeCom (WeChat Work) offers 12 categories of apps in its Workspace marketplace including training, HR, CRM, SCM, finance, mini-programs, and more.

Tencent also allows third-party service providers such as ChatLabs to create apps (H5 or mini programs) that augment WeCom (WeChat Work)’s features. We wrote a whole blog post about it here.

8. Does WeChat work integrate with Salesforce Marketing Cloud? I know Official Accounts on WeChat can, not sure if WeChat Work also has the same capability?

WeCom (WeChat Work) can integrate with Salesforce; however, we tend to integrate it with Salesforce Sales Cloud (SFSC) instead of Marketing Cloud (SFMC). SFMC is for marketing and customer engagement, so it is best suited to integrations with Official Accounts and mini programs, whereas SFSC is for sales and opportunity management, which is aligned with the purpose and functionality of WeChat Work.

For example, at ChatLabs we have developed third-party apps for WeCom that allow sales associates to view a customer’s activity log in to Salesforce while chatting with them on WeChat.

9. What are WeCom (WeChat Work) mini programs?

Starting last year, Tencent began supporting mini programs for the WeCom platform. Previously all the third-party apps were HTML5 format. If an enterprise already has a mini program running on WeChat, that mini program can run on WeChat Work as well. In addition, Tencent provides many advanced APIs that are specific to the WeChat Work platform.

The technical documentation for launching mini programs on WeCom is primarily in Chinese for now. But if you have any questions or would like help setting one up, let us know!

10. What is ChatLabs’s role? What does ChatLabs do when it comes to WeCom (WeChat Work)?

As a WeCom service provider and a partner of Tencent and Salesforce, we do several things, from helping brands get set up and certified on WeCom, to integrating their enterprise systems, such as Salesforce, into WeCom. For those companies that don’t use external enterprise software but want those capabilities, we also create third-party apps for the WeCom marketplace.