Cafes and coffee shops · WhatsApp marketing

Take the birthday booking on WhatsApp without annoying everyone else.

WhatsApp is where a cafe's booking and catering enquiries arrive, and where the number printed on your bill ends up. It is also the easiest channel to ruin, with a daily specials broadcast nobody asked for. GullySales sets up the business account, the catalogue and the rule for what goes out.

Tell us what you needor call +91 80958 58589

Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.

Realistic editorial illustration of cafes and coffee shops at work in India

What WhatsApp marketing means

WhatsApp marketing is sending updates, offers and reminders to customers on the app most Indian buyers already check daily. GullySales sets up business WhatsApp, writes the message templates and keeps the list consented and current.

Also for cafes and coffee shops

Sales and marketing for cafes and coffee shops, the overview.

Last updated 8 Nov 2026. Rules for this trade differ by state and professional body, and they change. We describe restrictions in general terms, so check the current position with your own council or adviser before you publish anything.

For cafes and coffee shops

Where it usually goes wrong, and what we would do.

“The daily special broadcast is why people mute you”
A message every day about the drink of the day teaches the list to ignore you. Save the broadcast for a festival menu, a new outlet or a booking window that closes.
“A catalogue answers what do you have in one tap”
A catering enquiry wants the menu and the prices. A catalogue on the business account gives both, instead of a photograph of a printed card that nobody can read on a phone.
“Consent is asked for at the till, not assumed from a booking slip”
A number written down for a Saturday table was given for that table. Ask at the counter whether they want to hear about festival menus and events, and write the answer next to the number.

What we do

What we deliver for cafes and coffee shops.

Every deliverable, what it covers for you, and the result it is there to produce. Nothing here is an extra.

A WhatsApp Business account set up properly
Opening hours, the address, the menu catalogue and a greeting that tells somebody messaging at eleven at night when they will hear back.
Result: A late enquiry gets an answer rather than silence.
A catalogue of the group and catering menus
Group menus, catering trays and bean packs listed with prices in the catalogue, so an enquiry can see the cost without the manager being on shift.
Result: A group enquiry sees prices without waiting for a call back.
Quick replies for the questions asked every day
Saved answers for wifi, parking, seating for eight, the vegan options and whether you hold tables.
Result: The counter answers in seconds during the rush.
A broadcast rule, written down
What is allowed to go out to the list, how it is worded, and who checks it before it is sent.
Result: The list stays subscribed because the messages are worth opening.
Consent captured when the number is taken
A line for staff to say at the till and a place to record the answer, keeping booking numbers apart from the marketing list.
Result: You message only the people who agreed to hear from you.

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How the result is measured

Messages delivered
Reply rate
Enquiries from WhatsApp

Recorded as a baseline before work starts, so every later report has an honest comparison.

Read the full WhatsApp marketing and automation page

What must be in place first

Settle these before the cafe messages a regular.

Consent at the till: Ask whether you may message about bookings and the odd event when you take a number for a table or a bill, and note the yes. A number from a Zomato order is not consent for your own list.
The cafe's own number: Put the Business app on a SIM the cafe holds, with hours, address and menu link in the profile. Managers change more often than customers do.
Group booking and catering terms: Write the minimum spend, advance and cancellation line once, and paste the same message to every customer before you quote a group booking or a catering order.
Reminders you start after the last chat: A confirmation sent the evening before a booking may need an approved template if the customer has not written recently. Check WhatsApp's current business policy and pricing before promising reminders.
Photographs of guests: If you post event pictures to status or a broadcast, ask guests at the event and take a picture down when someone asks. Do not tag anyone from a booking name.
One line on how to stop: End every broadcast with how to stop messages. A guest who cannot stop them will block and report you instead.

Who it is for

This is written for these cafes and coffee shops.

Independent single-outlet cafes
Specialty coffee roasters with a cafe
Cafes inside co-working spaces
Bakery cafes
Cafe chains opening new outlets
Cloud kitchen and delivery-only cafes
Cafes attached to bookstores or art spaces
Late-night and student-area cafes

Not for

It is not the right fit if.

The cafe number is a staff member's personal phone, and chats would leave with the person.
Nobody can reply during the lunch rush, and a late answer to a booking is a lost booking.
You plan to send offers to people who only gave their number for a table reservation.

How it works

How the whatsapp marketing work runs

The work itself, in order. How an engagement starts, from your brief to a written scope, is set out on our method page.

1
Read the chats you already have
We read how customers write to you, which questions repeat and where a chat goes quiet. The repeated questions decide what gets automated first.
2
Sort the list and the permission
Contacts who asked to hear from you are separated from numbers that only sit in a phone book. We agree the wording new contacts will see before they say yes.
3
Choose the app or the API
One phone and a small team can stay on the ordinary app. Several people on one number, templates or a CRM link need the API through a provider, which is its own piece of setup work.
4
Write the replies and the plan
The greeting, away message, saved replies and handover rule are written in your words and approved by you. The message plan and its templates follow.
5
Connect the record and test
Each link carries its source line and each chat lands in the CRM. We test on real phones, including a customer who asks for a person.
6
Read the unanswered questions
A question the first reply could not answer becomes a new saved reply or a fixed handover. Stop requests are watched too, with the number's quality rating where the API is used, since both show a message plan that has gone too far.

Where this fits

Three pieces of sales work, in this order.

This work sits inside sales process design, at stage 0, foundation. The audit comes before it, and sales management keeps it running.

Step 1
Sales audit
Find where deals are being lost and what to fix first.
Start here if you cannot say where orders are lost.
Step 2 · you are here
Sales process design
One written way to sell, from first enquiry to repeat order.
Start here if every salesperson sells differently.
Step 3
Sales management
A target, a review routine and someone who owns the number.
Start here if the team has targets and no routine.

Tell us what you need Your brief is read before we call. Scope, fee and term in writing.

FAQ

Questions owners ask before they call.

Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.

Tell us what you need

How much should we message the list?

Less than you want to. A message about a festival menu or a new outlet gets read. One sent because the afternoon is slow gets you muted, and you do not get that customer back on the list.

Should we use a group or a broadcast list?

A broadcast list. In a group every customer can see every other customer's number and reply to all of them, which turns one announcement into a hundred notifications and a request to be removed.

What happens if customers block and report the cafe's number?

Enough blocks and reports can lower the number's standing and WhatsApp may limit it, so check its current rules. Look at what you sent before the blocks, cut the list to people who said yes, and add the stop line.

Can customers pre-order coffee for pickup by message?

For a small outlet, yes, if one named person owns the chat. Reply with the items, total and pickup time before anything is made. If orders outgrow one phone, move them to a proper ordering link.

How soon will we see results?

It depends on the trade, the channel and what is already in place. After we have read your brief and spoken to you, we say what we would expect to move first and how it will be measured against the baseline. Nothing here is guaranteed.

Who will actually do the work?

The person you speak to before anything starts. We work from one office in Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru, with no account managers in between.

What do you need from us?

Your brief, and a conversation. After that, access to whatever this work touches, such as your website, your accounts or your enquiry record, and time with the people who handle your enquiries.

What if we are not happy with the work?

Tell us and the plan changes. Everything is reported against the baseline, so a number that is not moving is visible to both sides. The term is in your written scope, and the refund and cancellation policy sets out the rest.

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