Imagine greeting a person and never hearing back. Not a pleasant experience, right? When customers reach out to your brand, they expect a response, too. This is where WhatsApp business messages can act as greetings to start a conversation.
The first step of a successful WhatsApp marketing strategy is to welcome people in. However informal communication on the messaging app may be, basic courtesy will get you a long way.
It’s a way to set expectations and get your customer relationships off to a good start. That’s why it’s good to set up a WhatsApp Business greeting message to welcome new subscribers.
But where do you start? We strongly recommend that you begin by picking great message templates. This post features the best business greeting message examples that you can adjust for different use cases.
Why use WhatsApp business messages to greet people?
Using WhatsApp Business messages for welcoming new users is beneficial in many ways:
- They confirm user actions — You need to acknowledge you’ve received a message to show subscribers you don’t ignore them.
- They create a good first impression — A cheerful greeting message will set a positive tone for your customer communications.
- They reduce response time — 88% of consumers expect to hear back from a brand within an hour after they’ve initiated a conversation. With WhatsApp quick replies, you’ll manage to decrease the wait time and reduce the pressure on your customer service agents.
- They set clear expectations for your customer communications — A welcome message is an opportunity for you to explain your next steps.
- They improve customer experience — All the above-mentioned benefits create a positive customer experience and help you build stronger customer relationships.
WhatsApp users won’t be surprised by automated business messages. They feel a lot like chatbots on Facebook Messenger or like SMS.
13 Examples of WhatsApp business greeting messages
All things considered, how do you create WhatsApp greeting messages that spike engagement?
No need to reinvent the wheel. Use the message examples below as templates for your own WhatsApp greeting messages.
Note: Curly brackets in the templates stand for variables used to personalize your messages. For instance, {{1}} usually indicates the customer name.
One-size-fits-all WhatsApp business greeting message
If you need an all-purpose welcome message to connect with your customers without setting up a dedicated automation workflow for every case, use the example below.
Brand awareness greeting message
Oftentimes, people interacting with your brand for the first time will have little to no idea of what you actually offer. Why not boost brand awareness with your WhatsApp greeting message? Here’s how.
Note: An unsubscribe link is as important on WhatsApp as it is in emails.
Engaging new subscribers
It’s a good practice to welcome new WhatsApp newsletter subscribers so they know they’re in the loop now.
Welcome discount message
It’s not uncommon to offer discounts and gifts to users that subscribe to your brand communications. It helps fill your contact list with people interested in your products or services fast. Use this template to share discount codes with new subscribers.
Lead welcome message
Do you generate leads with downloadable lead magnets such as an ebook or a checklist? Why not add a WhatsApp opt-in checkbox on the signup form and follow up with those leads on there later?
Form submission welcome message
When customers fill in the contact form on your site to get in touch with your team, you must let them know you’ve received their submission. If you don’t, and your sales rep calls them in a week out of the blue, they may well learn the prospect has already turned your competitor.
Set up an automation flow that will trigger a form submission confirmation message the moment a user submits their request on your website. Include this template in the flow:
Order confirmation message
In addition to order confirmation emails, you can send similar messages on WhatsApp for Business. This way, you can be sure contacts get this important notification.
Onboarding welcome message
Once a customer signs up for your web product or places an order through your ecommerce store, it’s good to guide them through their next steps. An onboarding welcome message on WhatsApp is a perfect way to do so.
Customer support greeting message
Whenever existing customers reach out to customer support, you should respond immediately. Customer satisfaction often depends on it, even outside of your working hours. But how do you make this a reality?
A customer care greeting message is an automated notification confirming you’ve received a customer inquiry and are going to resolve their issue as soon as possible. Here’s a template you might want to use.
Out-of-office greeting message
You may also want to set up an automated WhatsApp message specifically for when customers reach out to you outside of working hours.
Waitlist notification
When customers subscribe to be alerted when their favorite product is back in stock, send them a WhatsApp message to tell them when the restock is expected and offer similar products for those who can’t wait.
Outage update message
You can’t avoid issues disturbing the customer experience, but you can make it feel less frustrating by informing your customers you know there’s a problem, and that you’re on it. Use this template to create an outage update message that will help you win some time.
Loyalty program welcome message
You also need to send a welcome message when a customer joins your loyalty program. This is your chance to explain how your program works and what they should do to get rewards.
Referred customer welcome message
And what do you do when your affiliates refer customers to you? You welcome referrals with a greeting message!
Read more to learn how to use automatic replies on Whatsapp.
Business messages on WhatsApp: Best practices
These simple practices will help you create great WhatsApp Business greeting messages.
Follow WhatsApp’s content rules
Before a WhatsApp business message reaches the recipient, it’s reviewed by the WhatsApp team. You need to follow WhatsApp’s Message Template Guidelines to get your messages approved.
The most important things to keep in mind are:
- Proofread your content for spelling and grammar
- Use valid URLs
- Make your message content match the language you’ve selected
- Only reach contacts who have opted in to receive communications from your brand
- Follow formatting rules when you add variables
- Familiarize yourself with the WhatsApp Commerce Policy before you create your messages
Personalize your messages
You might have noticed we used the name attribute in most of the template messages. This simple step helps you to make your welcome messages sound more personal and drives open rates up.
With WhatsApp Business Platform (or any of the WhatsApp Business API Partners), you can insert variables that will be dynamically replaced with your contacts' attributes when messages are triggered.
Use WhatsApp message templates
WhatsApp message templates are pre-approved messages that you can save and use over and over again. Whenever you as a business want to initiate a conversation, you’ll need to create a template that will be first approved by the review team.
As you identify which templates result in the highest engagement rates, you can reuse the best performers in different campaigns by adjusting them to fit the context.
And don't forget, interactive messages with quick reply buttons are also available to speed up and spice up your customer engagement.
Turn to a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider
Did you know WhatsApp offers two platforms for businesses?
The WhatsApp Business App is a simple solution for small businesses with limited resources. You can set up basic welcome messages to be triggered in response to clients reaching out. All communications can be managed through your WhatsApp Business account.
WhatsApp Business Platform is a professional solution for businesses looking to scale their marketing campaigns on WhatsApp. It’s the only way to send WhatsApp advertising messages to thousands of contacts at once. You’ll also get a professional business profile. All you need to access it is working with a WhatsApp marketing software.
