Step by step
- 1
Build the list with permission
Put a QR deal at your counter. A customer who scans and saves it has joined your list by choice. Never add numbers from receipts, group chats or bought lists.
- 2
Set up WhatsApp Business on your shop number
Add a profile photo, hours, address, a catalogue and quick replies. Use the Business app, not your personal account, so the shop can hand it over.
- 3
Decide your cadence
Two to four messages a month is plenty for most shops. A payday special and one mid-month reminder is a good start. Every message should carry an offer or useful news, never "just checking in".
- 4
Write short, specific messages
Name the deal, the dates and the shop. "Bula Mere, Friday and Saturday only: 2-for-1 coffee at Bean Street, Suva. Show this message." Two lines and a reason to act.
- 5
Segment when you can
Send win-back offers only to people who have not been in for six weeks, and birthday offers only to the birthday people. Relevance keeps people on the list.
- 6
Measure in customers, not ticks
Count redemptions at the counter, not blue ticks. If a campaign brought in 20 people who spent $15 each, you know what the next one is worth.
Why WhatsApp beats email and social posts in Fiji
Email is barely read by Fiji consumers, and a Facebook post reaches only the fraction of followers the algorithm chooses. A WhatsApp message from a business the customer chose is opened almost every time, usually within minutes. For a shop with a few hundred regulars, that is the most reliable way to make Thursday busier.
What to avoid
The fast way to lose a list is to treat it like a loudhailer.
- Daily messages, or messages with no offer in them
- Forwarding the same image to everyone with no name and no reason
- Adding people to a broadcast list or group without asking
- Sending at 11pm
- Ignoring replies
Doing it by hand versus doing it with a tool
You can run all of this from the WhatsApp Business app with broadcast lists if you have under 100 customers and the patience to type names. Past that, a tool that keeps one customer list across your counter, page and WhatsApp, sends with names filled in, and reports redemptions is the difference between a campaign a month and none. That is what the eCity campaigns module does, and it is live today.
Start free today
A business page and a QR deal, in about 30 seconds.
No credit card, no contract. Add loyalty, referrals and WhatsApp campaigns when they would pay for themselves. The first 100 Fiji businesses lock their Growth rate and get a dedicated local consultant.
Questions, answered
- Is bulk WhatsApp messaging allowed?
- Messaging people who opted in and can opt out is fine and is what WhatsApp's own rules require. Scraped or bought lists get numbers banned.
- WhatsApp or SMS: which should a Fiji business use?
- WhatsApp for anyone on your list, because it is free for them and supports images and links. SMS as the fallback for customers without data at that moment. eCity sends on both from one list.
- How many messages a month is too many?
- More than one a week is too many for most shops. Two to four a month, each with a real offer, keeps opt-outs low.