Most sales on WhatsApp are lost to silence, not to a "no". A follow-up sequence in ReploChat sends a series of approved WhatsApp templates with a wait between each one: a thank-you now, a reminder in two days, a last offer in a week. It stops on its own as soon as the customer replies. This guide shows how to build a sequence, the three ways to start one, and some follow-up message templates you can adapt.
Follow-ups are part of Automation, included on every plan. How many sequences you can have switched on depends on your plan; see pricing.
Why follow-ups use templates
WhatsApp only lets a business send free-form messages within 24 hours of the customer's last message. A follow-up usually lands after that window has closed, so every step is an approved template message. Create and get your templates approved first. If the number has none, the editor says so and links to WhatsApp Templates.
Build a WhatsApp follow-up sequence
- Open Automation in the sidebar, then the Follow-ups tab, and click New follow-up.
- Give it a Name (e.g. "Quote reminder") and choose the WhatsApp number it sends from.
- Under Starts, choose a trigger (explained below). For a label trigger, also choose the Label.
- Leave Stop when the customer replies ticked for almost every sequence. Tick Active to switch it on when saved.
- Set up the steps. A new sequence starts with two: send right away (wait 0 minutes), then wait 2 days. For each step:
- Set the wait in minutes, hours or days (0 to 1,000). The first step waits from the moment the sequence starts. Each later step ("Then wait") waits from the previous message.
- Choose an approved template for this number.
- Fill each template variable with Customer name, Customer phone or Fixed text. For the name, type a fallback ("If the name is unknown, use…"), such as "there".
- If the template has an image, video or document header, paste a link to the file.
- Click Add step for more steps, up to 10 per sequence.
- Click Save follow-up.
Three ways to start a sequence
| Starts | What happens | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Started by hand from the inbox | An agent opens a chat, clicks Follow-up in the chat header and picks the sequence under Start. | Quotes sent, price lists shared, "let me think about it" customers |
| When a new customer writes in | Every brand-new chat on that number joins the sequence. | Lead nurturing from ads or your website |
| When a label is added to the chat | Adding the chosen label, by an agent or by a chatbot's Add label step, starts the sequence. | Stages like "Quote sent", "Demo booked", "Payment pending" |
When a sequence stops
A chat leaves a sequence when:
- the customer replies, if Stop when the customer replies is ticked;
- the customer opts out (sends STOP). Opted-out contacts are never messaged;
- an agent clicks Stop next to the running sequence in the chat's Follow-up menu;
- you switch the sequence off. Chats in it stop when their next step is due;
- the last step has been sent (counted as finished);
- a step can't be sent: the template was deleted or isn't approved, the number was disconnected, a variable is empty, or Meta rejected the message (counted as failed).
A chat can't be in the same sequence twice at once. Starting it again while it's running keeps the existing run.
Follow-up message template examples
Create these as templates first (Marketing or Utility, depending on the content). {{1}} is the customer name.
| Step | Wait | Sample template text |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 minutes | "Thanks {{1}}! Here's the quote we discussed. Reply here if you have any questions." |
| 2 | 2 days | "Hi {{1}}, just checking whether you had a chance to look at the quote. Happy to adjust it for you." |
| 3 | 5 days | "Hi {{1}}, our prices for this month are valid until the 30th. Shall we go ahead and book your order?" |
More sequence ideas
- Clinic or salon: label "Consultation done" → day 1 aftercare tips, day 14 "time to book your follow-up visit".
- Real estate: label "Site visit" → same day thanks with brochure (document header), day 3 "any questions about the payment plan?".
- Education: new chat → instant course details, day 2 "admissions close soon", day 5 "talk to an advisor".
- E-commerce (COD): label "Payment pending" → a reminder after 6 hours, then a second one the next day.
Track how a sequence is doing
Each sequence on the Follow-ups page shows its trigger, its steps (e.g. "Start right away → quote_thanks", "Wait 2 days → quote_reminder") and counters: running, finished, replied/stopped and failed. A high replied/stopped count usually means the sequence is working: people answered. Every message sent also appears in the chat in the inbox.
Good practice
- Two or three steps is usually enough. More than that starts to feel like spam, and customers who block or report you can affect your number's quality.
- Only follow up with people who expect it. Someone who asked for a quote expects a reminder; a stranger doesn't.
- Give a reason in each step: new information, a deadline or an easy next step, not just "following up".
- Mind the cost. Each step is a template message billed by Meta to your WhatsApp Business Account by category and country. ReploChat adds no markup.