WhatsApp Business for Lebanese shops: catalog, quick replies, labels, away messages

Most people in Lebanon who want to ask a price, check if you are open or place an order will send a WhatsApp message first. This guide walks through the features that matter for a small shop, in the order you should set them up.

Why use the separate WhatsApp Business app

WhatsApp Business is a separate app, free to download on Android and iPhone, designed for small businesses. It works like the WhatsApp you already know, and adds a business profile, a catalog, automatic messages and tools to sort and answer chats quickly.

The first thing your customers notice is the business profile. When someone opens your chat, they can see your business name, description, address, opening hours and category, plus your website and email if you add them. For a shop in Hamra or a workshop in Zahle, that means fewer "where are you exactly?" and "are you open now?" messages.

Set up your business profile properly

In the app, open Settings, tap your business name and fill in every field:

• Business name: the name on your sign, the same one you use on Google Maps and Instagram.
• Category: you choose from WhatsApp's list of suggested categories (you cannot type your own), so pick the closest match.
• Address: start typing, pick the right suggestion and confirm the location. If your street is hard to find, add a landmark in the description ("next to the pharmacy, second floor").
• Business hours: tick the days you are open and set the hours for each day. There are also options for "always open" and "by appointment only".
• Description: two or three lines on what you sell, the areas you serve and whether you deliver. Our guide to writing a business description has examples you can adapt.
• Website and email: if you have no website, a free business page on a directory such as Lebanon Local works as your link, with your map pin, hours and photos in English, Arabic and French.

Keep the hours accurate. Customers rely on them, and one of the away message options described below only works when your hours are filled in.

Build a catalog with clear prices

The catalog shows your products or services inside WhatsApp, on your business profile. Each item needs a name and at least one photo, and you can add a price, a description, a website link and a product code. WhatsApp reviews catalog items before customers can see them, so add new items a little before you need them.

WhatsApp's help pages note that adding prices to a catalog is only available in certain countries. If you see the price field, use it. If you do not, write the price at the very start of the item description instead.

Customers in Lebanon will ask "how much in dollars?" and "how much in lira?" on the same afternoon. Decide how you show both, then stay consistent:

1. 1Pick one main currency for every item (most shops use USD).
2. 2Put the other currency in the description, with the rate you used.
3. 3When the rate you work with changes, update the lira figures, or write "LBP at the day's rate" and give the figure when asked.

For the thinking behind dual prices, read pricing in dollars and lira, and use the USD to LBP converter to get the lira figures right. Before you publish a price list, run your main items through the profit margin calculator, so a price that looks competitive still pays you.

Quick replies and labels

Quick replies

Quick replies are saved messages you can send with a shortcut. Set them up in the app's business tools. In any chat, type "/" in the message field and your saved replies appear. Tap one and it drops into the text box, where you can adjust it before sending.

Save the answers you type ten times a day:

• /location: your address, a landmark and a Google Maps link.
• /hours: opening hours, including what happens on Sunday.
• /delivery: the areas you deliver to, the delivery fee and the usual waiting time.
• /pay: how customers can pay (cash in USD or LBP, card, or the transfer apps you accept).
• /thanks: a short thank you after an order, with a line asking for a review.

Labels

Labels let you tag a chat with a name and a colour, then filter your chat list by label. Create labels that follow the steps of an order, for example:

• New customer
• Pending payment
• Order ready
• Delivered
• Follow up

At the end of the day, filter by "Pending payment" or "Order ready" and you can see in a minute what still needs doing.

Greeting and away messages

A greeting message is sent automatically when a customer writes to you for the first time, or after 14 days without any messages. Use it to set expectations: what you sell, how to order and how quickly you usually reply.

An away message is sent automatically when you cannot answer. You can have it sent all the time, on a custom schedule, or outside your business hours (this last option needs your hours to be set in your profile). You also choose who receives it: everyone, or only people who are not in your address book.

In Lebanon, "away" does not only mean closed. Update the away message for:

• evenings and Sundays, saying when you will reply;
• long power cuts, when the shop or your phone is off;
• holidays such as Eid, Christmas or Easter, with the date you reopen.

Short link and QR code

In the business tools, the app gives you a short link and a QR code that open a chat with your business. You can attach a default message, such as "Hi, I would like to order", which the customer can edit before sending. Your QR code does not expire unless you reset it.

You can also build a link yourself: wa.me followed by your full number in international format, without the plus sign, zeros in front, spaces or dashes. For the mobile number 03 123 456, the link is wa.me/9613123456.

Put the link and the code where customers already look:

• a printed QR code on the counter, the door and your delivery bags;
• the link in your Instagram bio and on your Facebook page;
• your Google Maps listing (see adding your business to Google Maps);
• every directory where your business is listed.

Broadcasts, consent and quiet hours

A broadcast list sends one message to several contacts at once, and each person receives it as a private message. Only contacts who have saved your number in their phone will receive a broadcast.

WhatsApp's Business Messaging Policy, which covers the WhatsApp Business app, says you may only contact people who gave you their number and agreed to receive messages from you, and that you must respect every request to stop. In practice:

• ask before you add someone ("Can we send you our weekly offers on WhatsApp?");
• never buy lists or message numbers you found online;
• remove anyone who asks to stop, straight away and without argument.

Respect quiet hours too. Send offers during the day, not late at night or early on a Sunday morning, and not several times a week. A customer who feels spammed simply blocks you.

Finally, keep the chat list tidy. When an order is delivered, change its label and archive the chat, so your main list only shows conversations that still need you. Answer the oldest unread messages first.