For a shop, a clinic or a service business, a customer's first message is often on WhatsApp, not by phone or form. The free WhatsApp Business app is built for that, with a profile, quick replies, a catalogue and a way to tell new enquiries from old ones. This guide sets it up in the order that matters.
Before you start
- Use the green WhatsApp Business app, not the ordinary WhatsApp. Features such as the catalogue and quick replies exist only in the Business app.
- Use a number the business keeps. Moving later means every customer's saved contact goes stale.
- Decide who answers and when. A greeting that promises a reply is only as good as the person keeping it.
- Do not run the same number in both apps, and never share the verification code that WhatsApp sends you.
Step one: the business profile
Open the Tools tab in the app, then Profile. Add your business name exactly as it appears on your signboard, your logo as the picture, a short description, the address, your opening hours, your email and your website. Use the same details as your Google profile. Customers compare them, and mismatches look careless.
Step two: greeting and away messages
The greeting goes to a new person when they first write. Make it useful: say who you are, when you usually reply, and what to tell you so you can help. The away message goes outside your working hours. Set the hours in the profile first, so the app knows when you are closed. Check the messages by writing to your own number from another phone, once during working hours and once after.
Step three: quick replies
A quick reply is a saved message you send by typing a slash and a short word. Write one for the questions you answer every day: prices or how you quote, how to order, timings, address and a thank-you. They save time, but they do not send themselves. When a customer asks, you send the reply. Edit it for the person before you send, so it still sounds like you.
Step four: lists, labels and the catalogue
Sort chats into groups such as New, Quote sent, Follow up, Won and Lost. In newer versions this is called Lists, and in older ones Labels. Look for it under Tools. For the catalogue, plan the collections, names, descriptions and photos first with the WhatsApp catalogue planner, then enter them in the app. Keep names short and photos matching.
Step five: links and QR codes
The app can give you a short link to start a chat with you. Put it on your Google profile, your website and your social bios, and print it as a QR code on the signboard, the counter and your cards. The QR code generator makes one for a WhatsApp chat in a minute.
What not to do
- Do not message people who have never contacted you, except one-to-one messages to customers you know. Bulk or cold messages are the quickest way to get a number blocked.
- Do not promise prices, dates or results in chat that you have not agreed in writing.
- Do not switch on settings that share customer activity for advertising unless you understand them and your customers have agreed.
- Do not put a bot on the number you use on your phone without checking what it does to your inbox. Connecting a number to some business platforms changes how the app works.
Make it a habit
Reply within the time you promise. Put every chat into a list as you answer. Once a day, open the Follow up list and nudge anyone who has gone quiet. For a Jaipur view of the catalogue and the profile, see the notes on WhatsApp catalogues in Jaipur, and use the shop launch checklist if you are opening a new place. We also help businesses make their profile, catalogue and signboard look consistent: send a short brief.
