WhatsApp for online stores: pre-sale questions, order queries, returns and offers
How an online store runs WhatsApp as a team: pre-sale questions with an owner, order queries from saved messages, returns as tickets and opted-in offers.
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- By WavesFlo team
- Published
- Published
- Reading time
- 2 min read
An online store's customers write before buying (is it in stock, which size) and after (where is my order, I want to return it). The first is a sales conversation, the second is support. Keep them apart: pre-sale on one number with an owner and a pipeline, post-sale on a number set up for tickets, with returns carrying an order number before they can be finished.
How should it be set up?
| Conversation | Handled as | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-sale question | A chat with an owner on the sales number | Move to won when the order is placed |
| Where is my order | A saved message with the steps, then the order lookup in your store platform | Orders stay in your store platform |
| Return or refund | A ticket with Order number required | A target on first reply and resolution |
| Offers | A campaign to customers who opted in, with name as a merge field | Paced, with quiet hours and a cooldown |
| Order updates | Your store platform calls the REST API, or a signed webhook starts a flow in n8n or Power Automate | Built by you |
| VIP customers | A label and an owner | Visible in the reports |
What does a support agent do?
- Answer from saved messages and personalise the opening line.
- Look up the order in the store system, and reply with the status.
- Raise a ticket for any return, and fill the order number before finishing.
- Hand a complaint to a lead with a note.
- Label customers who asked for a restock alert.
How should offers be sent?
Send offers only to customers who agreed to hear from you. A campaign sends one personalised message per row of an imported list; large lists go to about 5% first and pause themselves on failures or STOP replies, and opt-outs are checked as each message is sent. Payment details and card numbers never belong in a chat.
What does the first month look like?
- Week 1: list the numbers and what each answers.
- Week 2: write the saved messages for the commonest questions.
- Week 3: set the ticket policy for returns.
- Week 4: send a first offer to a small opted-in group.
What are the usual mistakes?
- Offers to anyone who ever ordered.
- Returns with no order number.
- Pre-sale and support in one queue.
- Order status typed from memory.
Offers in WavesFlo go to a list you import, about one in twenty first, and the send pauses itself if failures or STOP replies come back, which keeps an opt-in list honest. Campaigns, tickets and the inbox are set out on the features page.
Questions
Can an online store handle WhatsApp orders with a team?
WavesFlo handles the conversations: owner, notes, tickets and campaigns. The orders and payments stay in your store platform.
Can returns be tracked?
Yes, as tickets with required fields such as order number.
Can order updates be automated?
Through the REST API and signed webhooks with n8n or Power Automate, which you build.