The quick question. The deal that moves in three messages. The client who only ever replies on WhatsApp. More and more of the work happens there, and for good reason: it's where people actually answer. In the UK, most people are on WhatsApp every day, and plenty have messaged a business on it.
The problem is that WhatsApp is brilliant at the conversation and useless at the memory. Nothing's saved, nothing's followed up, and the person you meant to reply to on Tuesday is now three weeks cold. Here's how to fix that.
Why WhatsApp alone lets things slip
WhatsApp has no record of who's owed a reply, no note of what you agreed, no view of your pipeline, and no nudge when someone goes quiet. So the admin migrates somewhere: to a CRM you don't keep up, or to your head, where it leaks. Neither survives a busy week.
What good looks like
- Every conversation saved to the right person, automatically.
- Follow-ups drafted and waiting in your inbox.
- A short brief each morning: who you're seeing, what's open, who's gone quiet.
- Your pipeline kept current without you updating it.
Option 1: do it by hand
You can hold the line with discipline. After every chat, log the note, set the reminder, update the sheet. It works right up until a busy week, and then it doesn't. Manual upkeep is exactly the habit that kills every CRM. Honest answer: for most people, this fails within a month.
Option 2: let Aldous do it
Aldous lives in WhatsApp. You talk to Aldous like a colleague, "just spoke to James, he wants the proposal Friday", and Aldous saves the note to James, keeps the deal current, and drafts the proposal follow-up in your inbox. In the morning, Aldous briefs you on the day. When someone's gone quiet, Aldous flags them. You keep doing business in WhatsApp. Aldous keeps the record and does the admin.
Because it works over the app you already use, there's nothing new to learn and no dashboard to live in. It's the same for one person or a whole team: everyone keeps working in WhatsApp, and the record stays current on its own.
Common questions
Is it secure?
You chat over WhatsApp's own encryption, and you connect your own email and calendar. Your data stays yours, and you can export or delete it whenever you like.
Do I need another app?
No. WhatsApp is the main way in. There's a web app if you want it, but you don't have to live in it.