Store Telegram Channel: How to Plan and Evaluate a Marketing Test

Start with a limited marketing test of a Telegram channel. Define the product range, duration, spending limit, and acceptable cost per fulfilled order. After it ends, compare the actual result with this plan and decide which offer to test next.

Count views, inquiries, placed orders, and fulfilled orders separately. Combine follow-up messages about the same request. Fulfill orders through the store’s regular, separate process; transfer the actual results to the marketing summary.

Prepare products, budget, and counting rules

The owner selects specific SKUs and product variants. The salesperson checks actual availability, specifications, and prices. The post author prepares content based on this information. If the owner handles all the tasks, schedule time for them in the calendar.

Plan the budget together with the test duration. Before launch, write down:

• the start and end dates and times;
• the product list, photos, specifications, prices, and offer terms;
• who is responsible for posts, replies, and daily record-keeping;
• costs for materials, placement, the salesperson’s work, and the share of the Premium subscription allocated to the test;
• the budget cap and acceptable cost per fulfilled order;
• the rule for attributing inquiries to the Telegram channel.

Define what “inquiry,” “placed order,” and “fulfilled order” mean in the spreadsheet. For example, count a separate question about a product as an inquiry, and count an order as fulfilled when it is closed as completed in the store’s regular records. Keep cancellations and uncompleted orders in separate categories.

Set up the channel and check post content

A public channel has a username: people can find it through Telegram search and join it. Use the store name and product range in the channel name. Include the salesperson’s contact details and reply hours in the description. Pin navigation to product posts and a contact; Telegram allows multiple messages to be pinned.

Propose one product-post template: photo, name, SKU, variant, key specifications, price, date availability was checked, and how to get in touch. Before publication, the salesperson checks the product and price again. Assign a staff member to correct posts when availability or terms change.

Write advertising posts in Ukrainian and clearly separate them from other information so readers can identify them as advertising. Commercial messages must provide direct, simple access to seller information: the legal entity’s full name or the sole proprietor’s full name; the legal entity’s location or the sole proprietor’s registered and actual residential addresses; email and/or online-store address; and the entity identification code or the sole proprietor’s tax number. For a sole proprietor who refused a tax number because of religious beliefs, officially notified the relevant tax authority, and has the required passport notation, provide the passport series and number. If the activity requires a licence, provide its series, number, validity period, and issue date. Put this information on an accessible page and link to it. Before advertising products requiring mandatory certification, a permit, or a licence, check that the required documents are in place. If an advertiser resident in Ukraine commissions advertising distribution, also check that the relevant licensing or permitting authority’s register contains a record of the required licence or permit being issued. Advertised product prices for Ukraine must be stated exclusively in hryvnias. Provide accurate and timely information about products. State a price that includes all taxes and mandatory non-tax charges payable by the consumer when purchasing the product. In e-commerce price information, state that taxes are included and, if delivery is available, give its cost.

If you test a discount, set a limited period and a price below the regular price. In the ad, state the location, start and end dates, and discount amount or the ratio between the new and previous prices. Tell customers both the pre-discount price and the discounted price. Check that these terms match the store’s actual offer.

Use one business link for inquiries

All Telegram Business features are available to Premium subscribers at no extra charge. A business link opens a chat and inserts suggested message text for the user. Each business link created has a view counter.

For the first test, place one business link only in the selected channel. Add a test label to the suggested message and ask the customer to specify the SKU, variant, and quantity. The salesperson attributes inquiries using this label. Record requests with no identified source separately.

Prepare reply templates about specifications, availability checks, and business hours. Quick replies support text, links, media, and files. They can be sent in private chats between users; Premium is required to send them. Before using a template, check that the price and availability are current.

Telegram Business lets you set business hours and an away message for when the business is closed or the team is on holiday. In the message, state when the salesperson will next reply. During the test, answer incoming questions without sending mass personal advertising messages. Telegram recommends contacting people when you are confident they expect a message.

Build a 14-day calendar

Use the calendar below as a proposed working plan. Schedule posts around the salesperson’s availability. The number of posts in this plan is an organizational choice for the test.

Place a link to the channel on your own website and store pages. For this test, track channel inquiries together. Plan a comparison of individual acquisition sources as a separate next task with its own counting rules.

Record results without an extra questionnaire

In the daily spreadsheet, include the date, number of inquiries, placed, fulfilled, canceled, and uncompleted orders, and costs. For cancellations, record short reason categories: product unavailable, unsuitable variant, customer declined. Do not count a follow-up clarification within one request as a new inquiry.

Transfer summary counts to the marketing spreadsheet without names, phone numbers, or copies of correspondence. Do not add a questionnaire for the test. The personal data collected must be appropriate and not excessive in relation to the purpose of processing.

Checking stock and sales in Torgsoft

Before posting, decide which warehouse the store will use to offer the product. In Torgsoft’s “Аналіз стану на складах” (Warehouse Stock Analysis), selecting an accounting center displays that center’s data and the data for all warehouses subordinate to it. Compare these data with the actual availability of the required variant. Do not use the combined stock of several warehouses as a promise of availability at a specific location. Details are described in warehouse stock analysis.

To check results, use sales analysis by product type. It shows sales results and has filters for period, accounting centers, customers, and manufacturers. Select the test period and the required accounting center. This feature is described on the store sales analysis page.

Compare actual sales with the separate record of inquiries carrying the test label. The employee makes this comparison manually. Do not attribute all sales of the selected product type during the period to Telegram: determine the source of each order counted according to the adopted rule.

Illustrative example of calculating results

All figures in this example are fictional. A shop offers an in-stock blue L-01 organizer for 300 hryvnias, taxes included, with free pickup. One business link is used only in its Telegram channel for 14 days. Over that same period, the link receives 100 views; these are not treated as unique visitors.

The salesperson records 20 separate inquiries with the test label and 10 placed orders. Of these, 8 are fulfilled through the store’s regular, separate process, and 2 are canceled. There are no uncompleted orders. Costs total 800 hryvnias: materials — 300 hryvnias, salesperson’s work — 400 hryvnias, and the share of Premium costs allocated to the test — 100 hryvnias.

• Orders relative to inquiries: 10 ÷ 20 × 100% = 50%.
• Fulfilled orders relative to placed orders: 8 ÷ 10 × 100% = 80%.
• Fulfilled orders relative to inquiries: 8 ÷ 20 × 100% = 40%.
• Cost per inquiry: 800 ÷ 20 = 40 hryvnias.
• Cost per fulfilled order: 800 ÷ 8 = 100 hryvnias.

These are metrics from an illustrative test. Record post views separately: their counters are approximate and include forwarded copies. Do not equate business-link views with customers or fulfilled orders either.

Compare the resulting 100 hryvnias per fulfilled order with the limit set before launch. For the next test, keep the 14-day period, counting rules, and cost categories. Change one condition, such as the product offer. If there are no fulfilled orders, record zero; do not calculate cost per fulfilled order for that result.

Sources for legal questions

• Law of Ukraine “On Advertising,” Articles 6 and 8 — advertising language, prices, and the content of discount advertising.
• Law of Ukraine “On Consumer Rights Protection,” Article 15 — accurate product information and requirements for notifying customers about discounts.
• Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Commerce,” Article 7 — information about tax inclusion and delivery costs.
• Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection,” Article 6 — whether the data collected is appropriate to the purpose of processing.