Marketing · 6 min read · Savina Bansal
A Dhanteras rush on WhatsApp, handled hour by hour
A sweet shop’s busiest day, walked through hour by hour: the broadcast the week before, the questions, the orders, and what still needed a person.
Building the platform this article is about
This is an illustration of how the product behaves on a festival day, not a customer story, and it carries no numbers because we have none to report. Picture a sweet shop in Jaipur that takes WhatsApp orders for Dhanteras and Diwali boxes.
The week before: one broadcast, to people who opted in
The shop sends one marketing template to customers who agreed to hear from it: the festive boxes, the last date for delivery, and a button that opens the catalog. A marketing message to India costs Meta’s rate plus the plan’s percentage, from ₹0.91 on Pro to ₹1.04 on Pay as you go. One clear broadcast is cheaper, and less annoying, than three.
A coupon template puts a code on a Copy code button, if the shop runs an offer.
Morning: the same five questions
Is the kaju katli box available? What is in the dry-fruit box? Do you deliver to Malviya Nagar? Can I pay on delivery? Until what time? The answers are in the price list and the delivery note the owner gave the AI agent. It answers each in the language it was asked in, and shows the boxes as product cards.
Delivery is set by PIN code in the Store, so a customer outside the area is asked for another address in the WhatsApp address form instead of being promised a delivery the shop cannot make.
Afternoon: orders without typing
Customers send carts from the catalog. Checkout runs on its own: address, then Pay now or Cash on delivery. For cash-on-delivery orders, the COD confirmation flow asks the customer to confirm before the box is packed, so the shop does not send a box nobody will pay for.
Each order gets a GST invoice once it is paid or confirmed.
Evening: what needed a person
A company wants a bulk order of gift boxes with its logo on the ribbon. A customer’s box arrived late and they are upset. The agent does not negotiate prices or handle complaints it has no answer for; both conversations go to the Team Inbox, where the owner’s son takes the bulk order and the owner calls the upset customer back.
What made the day work
Not the AI on its own. The catalog was filled before the rush, the delivery area was set, the agent had the price list, and someone was watching the inbox. The automation took the repeat questions so the people could take the ones that needed them.
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Questions this answers
- How do I handle festival orders on WhatsApp?
- Fill your WhatsApp catalog before the rush, set your delivery PIN codes and charges, give your AI agent your price list and delivery rules, send one broadcast to opted-in customers, and keep someone on the inbox for bulk orders and complaints.
- What does a WhatsApp festival broadcast cost per message?
- To India, Meta’s marketing rate plus your plan’s percentage: from ₹0.91 on Pro to ₹1.04 on Pay as you go, before GST.
