How to write the 20 answers that cover most customer questions
Most small businesses get the same questions again and again, so writing one short, approved answer to each of your twenty most common questions covers a large share of what your team types every day. Find the twenty from your real messages, not from memory, write each answer in two to four sentences with the facts that change kept in one place, and give every answer an owner and a review date. This worksheet walks through it in an afternoon.
Step 1: collect the real questions
Open the last 100 customer messages you can find: website chats, WhatsApp, e-mails, notes from phone calls. For each one, write the question in the customer's words on a line. Then group lines that mean the same thing. "Are you open Friday?", "Friday timing?" and "Is the branch open on the weekend?" are one question.
Count each group. Sort by count. The top twenty are your list. If you have fewer than 100 messages, ask the person at the front desk to write down every question for one week.
Step 2: the worksheet
Copy this table into a sheet and fill one row per question.
| # | Question (customer's words) | Short answer (2-4 sentences) | Facts that change | Owner | Review by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "What are your opening hours?" | Hours by day, holidays note | Ramadan hours, public holidays (checklist) | Manager | Before each holiday |
| 2 | "How much is…?" | Point to the price, include tax wording | Prices | Owner | Every price change |
| 3 | "Where are you exactly?" | Area, landmark, parking, map link | Branch moves | Reception | Twice a year |
| 4 | "Do you deliver to…?" | Areas, fee, time | Areas, fees | Operations | Monthly |
| 5 | "Can I book for today?" | How to book, how fast you confirm | Slot rules | Reception | Monthly |
| … | … | … | … | … | … |
Step 3: write each answer well
- Answer first. "Yes, we deliver to Al Nahda in Sharjah, usually the next working day." Then the detail.
- Two to four sentences. Longer answers get skipped; if you need more, link to a page.
- One fact, one place. Do not repeat the delivery fee in five answers. Keep it in the price list and say "the delivery fee shown on our price list".
- Say what happens next. "Send us your order number and we'll check it" beats "please contact us".
- Write it as you would say it, in both the languages your customers use (examples that do not sound canned). A translated Arabic answer should read as Arabic, not as English in Arabic letters.
- Mark what needs a person. Some questions should never get a ready answer: a complaint, a refund, a medical symptom, a special discount. Write "a person answers this" in the row instead of an answer.
The 20 questions most businesses end up with
Your list will differ, but these groups appear for clinics, salons, rental desks and shops alike:
- Opening hours, holidays and weekend days
- Location, parking and how to get there
- Prices for the top services or products
- What is included in the price, and tax wording
- How to book, and how fast you confirm
- Cancelling or changing a booking
- Payment methods and deposits
- Delivery areas, fees and times
- Order status and what the customer needs to send you
- Returns, exchanges and how long they take
- Documents the customer must bring
- Languages your staff speak
- Facilities: wheelchair access, waiting area, Wi-Fi
- Waiting times on busy days
- How to reach a person
Step 4: publish, then keep it current
Answers only help if everyone uses the same version. In StayReplied, documents and price records are written as drafts, reviewed and then published, and every version is kept and can be rolled back, as the docs describe. Your team answers from the published text, and if you use AI replies, the AI answers only from published knowledge and approved prices; when two facts disagree it does not pick one but hands off and creates a task for your team (AI sales and support, and how to stop wrong prices). Web chat reads only a knowledge base set to Public, and a new one starts as Internal, so check that setting once; staff-only facts stay in an Internal base.
Set a calendar reminder for each review date in the table. A wrong answer published once is copied many times.
Step 5: find the 21st question
Your list is never finished. Once a week, look for questions your team answered by hand that are not on the list, and add the ones that came up twice. If you use AI, StayReplied keeps a list of questions the assistant could not answer, with suggested facts a person can approve into the knowledge base.
When this is not for you
If your business changes its offer every day, such as a market stall with daily prices, a written answer list will always be behind; keep it to the questions that do not change, such as location and payment. And if only you answer customers, you may not need a formal worksheet: a notes file with your twenty answers will do the same job. Is StayReplied right for your team? sets out who it fits, and the pricing page shows what each plan holds.
Questions and answers
How many FAQ answers does a small business need?
Start with twenty, chosen from real customer messages. That usually covers the questions your team types most; add more only when a new question comes up twice.
How long should each answer be?
Two to four sentences, answer first. Link to a page for anything longer.
Who should own the answers?
Give each answer a named owner and a review date, usually the person who knows the facts that change, such as prices or delivery areas.
Can a chat AI use these answers?
Yes, if you add one. No plan includes AI today: it needs your own Anthropic key (what that means). The AI then answers only from published knowledge and approved prices, and hands the chat to a person when it is unsure.
Turn your worksheet into published answers.
start your free trial, 14 days, no card needed.