https://sleekflow.io/blog/whatsapp-business-restaurants

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WhatsApp Business for restaurants is created to help food merchants market, sell, and support through messaging. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurants have learnt to survive by making food deliveries and self-pick-ups available. Popular platforms such as FoodPanda, Grab, Lalamove, Beep, Shopee Food, and more opened up new paths to bridge food merchants and customers, offering convenience to the local community. However, the commissions often range from 15% to 35%, which can take a toll on food sellers, especially small to medium businesses.

This is where WhatsApp Business for restaurants comes in. To reach out to customers without spiking food prices, restaurant owners must learn to make use of a WhatsApp food ordering system through WhatsApp Business or WhatsApp Business API. This way, you can get your own riders or drivers to deliver your food orders, save costs, and boost sales without covering the demanding commissions on these food delivery platforms.

Ready to start using WhatsApp Business for restaurants? Read on.

Over 2 million users on WhatsApp, and they all need to eat! Since WhatsApp is the preferred channel of communication for most, allowing your customers to order food through WhatsApp will increase the speed and convenience of ordering food and cut down on the waiting time, thus increasing sales for your restaurant.

How to take orders on WhatsApp Business

For your customers to order food through WhatsApp, you will only need to follow these few steps:

Create a WhatsApp Business account and profile

Having more business details on your WhatsApp Business account helps with gaining the trust of your customers. Instead of using a personal WhatsApp account, you can create a free WhatsApp Business account to benefit from useful tools and features.

  1. Open the app and create an account.
  2. Verify your phone number with the 6-digit verification code sent to your phone. (Note: Use a new number for your business. The phone number of your personal WhatsApp account cannot be used for your business at the same time.)
  3. Enter your business name and business category, and upload your business logo as the profile picture.
  4. Tap on “More Option/Settings” (the three vertical dots), go to “Business Tools” > “Business Profile” and fill in details such as a business address, website, operating hours, and description.

Upload your WhatsApp food menu using the WhatsApp catalog

The WhatsApp catalog feature enables your customers to browse through your WhatsApp food menu online without downloading images or pdf files. If your restaurant runs out of some ingredients or a certain dish gets sold out, you can update the catalog easily to avoid disappointing the customers. After you learn more about how to take orders on WhatsApp Business, you can also upload a step-by-step image as one of the products on your WhatsApp catalog to guide your customers on how to order food on WhatsApp.

  1. On your WhatsApp Business App, go to “More Option/Settings” (the three vertical dots), go to “Business Tools” > “Business Profile”