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WhatsApp or SMS for your Google Business Profile messaging? Response rates, customer demographics, and Kevin's framework by business type.
A plumber in Columbus, OH asked me last month: "Kevin, Google's telling me to pick WhatsApp or SMS for my Business Profile. Which one actually gets me more calls?" Here's exactly what I told him, and it's the same framework I'd give any business owner staring at that same choice right now.
There isn't a single right answer here. But there is a fast way to figure out which one is right for your business, and it has almost nothing to do with which platform Google makes look more prominent in the setup menu.
Many owners also ask about Google Business Profile chat being retired, which we break down separately.
SMS is the safer default for most local service businesses, while WhatsApp performs better for businesses with younger customers, international inquiries, or a strong visual/media component to their sales process. Neither one is objectively superior, they just serve different customer expectations.
Don't overcomplicate this. If your customers are mostly calling you already, from a phone, in your local area, SMS mirrors that behavior with almost zero learning curve. If your customers are researching visually, sending photos of a problem, or messaging you the way they'd message a friend, WhatsApp fits that pattern better.
🔥 Quick Win: If you genuinely don't know which channel fits, check whether your last 20 customer inquiries came in as phone calls or as some form of typed message through your website or social pages. That alone tells you most of what you need.
Action Step: Before reading further, guess which channel you think fits your business. Then check your answer against the recommendation framework in Section 5.
WhatsApp messages tend to get read faster than SMS on average, largely because WhatsApp notifications feel more like a personal message and less like an automated business alert that can wait. That said, SMS still gets opened by the overwhelming majority of recipients within minutes, so the gap in practice is smaller than it sounds.
What actually determines your response rate isn't the channel, it's whether a real person is checking it consistently. I've tracked this across audits for home service businesses in Tampa, FL, and the businesses with fast response times on either channel had one thing in common: a specific person assigned to check messages, not a vague "someone will see it eventually" policy.
📊 Flento Data: Across the GBP messaging setups we've reviewed, response time to the first message is a stronger predictor of whether a lead converts than which channel that message came through.
Action Step: Whichever channel you choose, assign one specific person as the primary responder, with a backup for when they're off.
Younger and more mobile-first customers tend to prefer WhatsApp, especially in markets with larger immigrant or internationally-connected populations, while older and more locally-rooted customers tend to default to SMS without a second thought. This isn't a hard rule, but it's a consistent enough pattern to plan around.
A med spa in Miami, FL with a customer base that skews younger and includes a lot of visual before-and-after inquiries is a strong fit for WhatsApp, where customers can send photos directly in the conversation. A home services company in Salt Lake City, UT with a more traditional, family-oriented customer base tends to see SMS perform just as well, if not better, with none of the "which app do I need" friction.
💡 Pro Tip: If you serve a mixed customer base, you're allowed to run both. Set one as primary in your GBP settings and let the other function as a secondary option for customers who prefer it.
SMS is the simpler setup of the two, since it typically just requires confirming a phone number capable of receiving texts. WhatsApp Business requires downloading a separate app, registering a dedicated number, and going through Google's 24 to 48 hour connection review before it's fully active on your profile.
Neither setup is genuinely difficult, but WhatsApp does have more steps where something can go wrong, particularly around using a phone number already tied to a personal WhatsApp account. That single mistake accounts for most of the failed WhatsApp connections I've seen.
⚠️ Common Mistake: Choosing WhatsApp because it feels more modern, without checking whether your team can actually staff it. A poorly maintained WhatsApp inbox looks worse to a customer than a plain SMS number that always gets answered.
Action Step: If you're short on setup time, start with SMS this week and add WhatsApp later once you've confirmed your team can keep up with response volume.
Here's the framework I actually use with clients: match the channel to how your specific customers already communicate, not to which platform seems more advanced. A plumber fielding emergency calls from homeowners in Nashville, TN should default to SMS, since urgency-driven service calls favor the lowest-friction option a homeowner already has open on their phone.
A med spa, boutique fitness studio, or any visually-driven business benefits more from WhatsApp, where customers can send images and have a more conversational back-and-forth before booking. A multi-location dental group serving a broad age range often does best running both, with SMS as primary and WhatsApp available as a secondary option for younger patients who prefer it.
I know this sounds like it's putting the decision back on you rather than giving a single clean answer. That's intentional. Anyone who tells you one channel is universally correct hasn't actually looked at how different customer bases behave.
Once you've picked a channel, the harder part is making sure customers who message you actually get a fast reply, consistently, not just during your first excited week of using the new feature. Flento's Google Review Management Software works alongside your messaging setup by automating the follow-up side of the customer relationship, including review requests sent right after a positive interaction closes out.
We built this after watching a gym in Phoenix, AZ go from a 3.8 to a 4.4 star average over four months, not by chasing more reviews, but by responding to every customer touchpoint consistently, including messages. The same consistency that makes a messaging channel work is what makes review generation work, and automating the parts that don't require a human judgment call frees up your team for the parts that do.
Action Step: Set up automated review requests to trigger right after your messaging conversations close, so the consistency you build on one channel carries over to the other.
✅ Done? See how Flento keeps your response consistency high across every channel. Try Flento free →
Q: Is WhatsApp or SMS better for Google Business Profile messaging? A: Neither is universally better. SMS tends to fit urgency-driven service businesses, while WhatsApp tends to fit visually-driven or younger, internationally-connected customer bases.
Q: Can I offer both WhatsApp and SMS on my Business Profile? A: Yes. You can connect both channels and set one as primary, giving customers a fallback option if they prefer a different method of contact.
Q: Does WhatsApp get a faster response rate than SMS? A: WhatsApp messages are often opened slightly faster, but SMS still has extremely high open rates. The bigger factor in response time is whether a dedicated person is actually monitoring the inbox.
Q: Which one is easier to set up? A: SMS is simpler, typically just requiring a working phone number. WhatsApp Business requires a separate app, a dedicated number, and Google's review window before it activates.
Q: Do older customers avoid WhatsApp? A: Not entirely, but older and more locally-rooted customer bases tend to default to SMS without needing to download or learn a new app.
Q: Will my choice of channel affect my Google Maps ranking? A: There's no confirmed direct ranking impact tied to which messaging channel you choose. What matters more is that the channel you pick actually gets monitored and answered.
Q: What if my team can't keep up with either channel? A: Start with the simpler option, usually SMS, and only add a second channel once you've confirmed your team can maintain a fast, consistent response rate on the first one.
Your next step is straightforward. Pick the channel that matches how your customers already talk to you, get it set up properly using the exact WhatsApp setup steps if that's your fit, and give it 30 days before deciding whether to add the second channel.
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