WhatsApp follow-up for leads in India: templates, the 24-hour window and what you pay for
How the WhatsApp Business Platform works for lead follow-up: why the first message must be a template, how the 24-hour customer service window works, what changed in pricing, and a simple follow-up flow.
For most Indian businesses, WhatsApp is where a lead actually replies. A call from an unknown number gets ignored. A message from your business name, in the person's language, gets read.
Doing it from the WhatsApp Business app on one phone works until you have more than a handful of leads a day. Beyond that you need the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API), and it has rules worth knowing before you plan your follow-up.
The first message is a template
When a lead fills your form, they have not messaged you yet. To message them first, you must use a template: a message you submit for approval in advance, with placeholders for the name and business. Meta places each template in a category based on its content: marketing, utility or authentication.
Templates can include quick-reply buttons. Use them. A lead is far more likely to tap "Hair fall" than to type a sentence.
The 24-hour customer service window
When the person replies, a customer service window opens for 24 hours. Inside it you can send normal, free-form messages (Meta calls these service messages): your follow-up questions, answers, a location pin. Each new message from the person restarts the 24 hours. Once the window closes, you are back to templates.
This is why the first message should ask a question. A reply opens the window, and the rest of the qualifying conversation happens inside it.
If the person came from a Click to WhatsApp ad and messaged you first, Meta opens a free entry point window instead, which can stay open for up to 7 days, and the messages you send in it are not charged.
What you pay for
Meta's pricing page is the place to check current rates. The main points as of October 2026:
- Per message, not per conversation. Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges for each delivered template message, with a rate that depends on the category and the recipient's country. India has its own rates.
- Messages from customers to you are free.
- Service messages are charged again from 1 October 2026, with the first 1,000 delivered service messages per month free for each business phone number.
- Utility templates sent inside an open customer service window, which were free from July 2025, are also charged from 1 October 2026.
- India billing is moving to rupees. Accounts billed to India need to move to INR billing by 31 December 2026; Meta says it will stop delivering messages from non-INR accounts from 1 January 2027. Your WhatsApp provider should handle this, but ask.
Rates change several times a year, so check the rate card for India rather than relying on a number you read in a blog.
A simple follow-up flow
- Within a minute of the form: a template from your business name, in the person's language, with a thank you and one question with quick-reply buttons.
- When they reply: two or three more questions inside the window. What they need, where they are, when they want it.
- If they do not reply within the time you choose: a phone call inside your calling hours, asking the same questions.
- When they qualify: a message saying who will contact them, and the lead goes to your team with the answers.
- If they book: a confirmation and reminders, with an easy way to reschedule.
Keep it short and honest. Say who you are, never pretend to be a person if you are not, and stop when someone says they are not interested.
How Streakstone handles this
Streakstone sends the first WhatsApp message within a minute of each lead, in Marathi, Hindi, English or Arabic, asks your questions, and calls people who do not reply. You can connect your own WhatsApp Business number, or start on Streakstone's shared number while yours is being approved. See what the first message looks like for your industry.
Sources
- Meta for Developers: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform