How to manage customer enquiries on WhatsApp
To manage enquiries on WhatsApp, do three things every time: reply quickly, collect the same few details, and write down what happens next. Estate agents, coaching institutes, consultants and anyone whose customers think before they buy get most of their enquiries this way, mixed in with every other chat on the phone. This guide covers what to ask, how to follow up, and how to keep track.
Why enquiries get lost
- They sink. A new chat pushes yesterday’s enquiry out of sight.
- The details are in pieces. The budget is in one message, the area in another, the phone number in a voice note.
- Nobody owns the follow-up. Two people saw it; each thought the other would call.
- “Call me later” is never written down. The time they asked for passes, and so does their interest.
Reply first, then ask
People who send an enquiry are often asking more than one business at the same time. A short reply within your working hours (“Thanks, we’ll call you this evening”) keeps them with you even when you can’t answer fully yet. Set an away message for the hours you don’t answer, and say when you will.
The questions worth asking every time
- What they’re interested in. Which property, course or service, so you don’t have to guess.
- Their situation. Buying or renting, for themselves or someone else, a beginner or not.
- Budget or size. As a range, which people find easier to give than a number.
- Timing. When they want to move, start or decide.
- When to call. Morning, afternoon or evening, and on which number.
Ask one question at a time, with buttons where you can. People answer a tap faster than a paragraph, and the answers come back in the same words every time.
Give every enquiry a status
An enquiry is either new, contacted, interested, at a visit or meeting, won, or lost. Writing it down turns a pile of chats into a list you can work through: who to call today, who is waiting on you, who has gone quiet. Keep the reason when one is lost (the budget didn’t fit, they bought elsewhere); after a few months, those reasons tell you what to change.
Follow-ups that don’t depend on memory
- Write the next step and its date against every enquiry that isn’t closed.
- Call when they asked to be called. It’s the one time they told you they’ll pick up.
- Send something useful when you follow up: the details, photos, a time to visit. “Any update?” rarely gets one.
- Stop after a clear no, and mark it lost.
The WhatsApp rules worth knowing
- The 24-hour window. On the WhatsApp Business Platform, you can reply freely for 24 hours after someone’s last message. A follow-up after that must be a template Meta has approved.
- Offers need permission. A follow-up about their enquiry is one thing; a promotion is a marketing message, which needs their agreement and costs more.
- Some messages cost money. In India, from 1 Oct 2026, each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month (your replies inside the 24-hour window); after that, Meta charges ₹0.115 plus GST a message. Templates sent outside the window are charged by category, with marketing the most expensive.
By hand, or with a system
By hand, the WhatsApp Business app’s labels (new, follow up, closed) and a sheet with the name, number, interest, budget, next step and date will carry a few enquiries a week. It gets harder when several people answer, when enquiries arrive at night, or when you can’t say who is due a call today.
A system on WhatsApp asks your questions in the chat, gives you each enquiry with its answers and a time to call, and keeps the status and your notes in one list. Sellly is one: it captures enquiries on your own WhatsApp number, and nobody is asked to pay. See enquiries and leads in Sellly.
Sources
- Sending messages and the customer service window (Meta for Developers)
- Template categories (Meta for Developers)
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (Meta for Developers)