Selling on WhatsApp Business
Set up a catalogue, quick replies and broadcast lists that sell without spamming anyone.
6 min read
For most small businesses in India, WhatsApp is already where orders happen. Customers message to ask a price, check if something is in stock, or send a photo of what they want. The free WhatsApp Business app turns that from a mess of chats into something closer to a shop counter. This lesson is how to set it up so it sells — and how to use it without becoming the business everyone mutes.
It works the same whether you have been selling for years from a personal number or you are about to take your first order.
Use a separate business number
Put the business on its own number, on the WhatsApp Business app, not your personal WhatsApp. You get the business tools, customers see a business profile, and your family chats stop getting buried under orders.
Moving to a new number later is painful: every customer has the old one saved. If you are starting out, use the business number from the first order. If you are already selling from a personal number, move sooner rather than later and tell customers clearly.
Set up the profile
Fill in everything. A customer deciding whether to trust you will look:
- Business name — the same as your board and Google listing.
- Category and description — one or two lines on what you sell and for whom.
- Address and hours — and update hours for festivals and holidays.
- Website or page link — somewhere they can see more.
Build a catalogue
The catalogue shows your products or services with a photo, a price and a short description. It answers "what do you have and how much?" without you typing it again.
- Start with your ten best sellers, not everything.
- Use clear photos in good light, on a plain background.
- Put the price on. "DM for price" loses buyers who will not ask.
- Group items into collections — by type, by occasion, by size.
- Keep it current. Remove what is out of stock.
Save yourself typing
Three features save hours a week:
| Feature | What it does | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting message | Sent automatically to a new customer | A welcome and your catalogue link |
| Away message | Sent when you are closed or busy | When you will reply, so nobody waits blind |
| Quick replies | Saved answers you insert with a shortcut | Prices, delivery areas, payment details |
Labels keep track of where each chat stands: new enquiry, order placed, payment due, delivered. At the end of the day, look at payment due.
Take the order properly
A WhatsApp order should end with the same three things every time:
- Confirm in writing — item, quantity, price, delivery date and address, in one message the customer replies "yes" to.
- Take payment the same way each time — a UPI QR or ID, and ask for a screenshot or check your own app before you dispatch.
- Send a bill. It looks professional, and if you are GST-registered it is required.
Pin your payment details and delivery terms as a quick reply. Customers who get a clear, identical answer every time trust you more than those who get a different one depending on how busy you were.
Broadcast without spamming
A broadcast list sends one message to many customers, each as a private chat. It only reaches people who have saved your number — so ask every customer to save it.
- Send when you have something worth reading: new stock, a seasonal item, a festival offer.
- Once a week is plenty for most businesses. More, and you will be muted or blocked.
- Split lists by what people buy, so the right customers get the right message.
- Status is quieter than a broadcast — customers see it only if they look. Use it daily for what is new or ready.
Reply like a shop, not a friend
Customers judge you by how fast and clearly you reply. Answer within your stated hours. Keep the tone polite and simple. If you cannot do something, say so and suggest what you can. A complaint answered quickly in chat rarely becomes a bad review.
Check what you can and cannot sell
Some products have rules about how and where they can be sold or advertised. Before you list anything regulated — food, medicines, cosmetics, anything age-restricted — check the rules for that product and the platform's own commerce policy.
The tool below gives your business a public page with your offerings and a WhatsApp button, so a link in your profile or a status takes customers straight to a chat with you.