11 examples of creative welcome messages for WhatsApp

As they say: There is no second chance for a good impression 👋

And when 70% of consumers prefer to communicate through messaging apps like WhatsApp, a good welcome message becomes important to establish that connection from the start. 

But, what welcome message should you put? How to greet your customers in a way that makes them feel valued and attended to?

In this article, I share 11 examples of creative welcome messages to inspire you in creating your own.

First, we will look at the essential elements to create a welcome message, then I will introduce you to six types of effective greetings and we will analyze five real WhatsApp Business messages. And at the end, I leave you with a quick guide to put your own welcome message on WhatsApp.

Let's get started!

Elements to create a good welcome message in WhatsApp Business

Let's briefly review what elements make up a good welcome message. This will help us be aligned when analyzing each example and you will be clear on which aspects to consider when you make your greeting message on WhatsApp Business.

Furthermore, Sebastián González, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of YaVendió!, recommends: "The welcome message must have a greeting, be warm, friendly, super short (no more than 120 characters) and allow you to steer the conversation towards a sale".

Your client's name 🙋

Did you know that one of people's favorite words is their own name? Use this to your advantage when greeting them and add the user's name. Generally, you can include it as a variable, since each person has configured how they like to be called on their WhatsApp profile. 

This shows that you consider the individuality of each customer and generates a good first impression! No generic greetings!

Emojis 😀

The great thing about WhatsApp Business is that you can include visual elements in your conversations. In this case, emojis are a simple yet effective resource to convey your brand's personality from the greeting. You can use friendly smiley faces or objects that are linked to what your business offers. 

Additionally, they are a good way to break up a monotonous message and give a visual break in each bubble. Let your brand express itself moderately with emojis from the welcome message.

Communicate the action ✅

A very common mistake when greeting customers on WhatsApp is focusing only on the welcome and not paving the way for conversation. Here we talk about the famous call-to-action (CTA). It's that "and how are you?" after greeting a friend. 

Remember to include that question or instruction that helps to continue the contact. Some common CTAs are: How can we help you? or What is your query? Encourage your customer to keep the conversation going.

Specificity 🎯

If you use advertising to send leads to your WhatsApp, Sebastián de YaVendió! recommends that the referral message includes the name of the product. So when receiving it, you can respond in particular and specifically about that type of product. 

For example, instead of sending you a "Hi, I want more information", we place "Hi, I want more information about X article". This helps your team understand what the customer is interested in and tailor the first message around that.

Don't forget personalization

It is extremely important that you can personalize your welcome message depending on the source of traffic origin. You can achieve this by generating different starting messages for the user by placing default messages in each of the calls to action that you have.

For example, if they come from Instagram, you could make the initial message with which the client starts be "I come from Instagram, I want more information about the XXX product" so that you know what content they have already viewed about the product and can further personalize your welcome message.

Fluid interaction 💬

Going a step beyond the greeting, your team must be able to respond quickly to maintain a fluid conversation. It serves no purpose to set up the perfect welcome message if there are delays in responding to the customer queries. 

To this end, some businesses rely on WhatsApp's quick replies, traditional chatbots, and chatbots with artificial intelligence. You can try YaVendió!'s here.🤖

6 Types of greetings for WhatsApp Business (with message examples)

General welcome message on WhatsApp

This is a brief greeting that sets a positive tone. With just a couple of lines, you can show your customers that you are here to help them.

• Example:

"Hello! 👋 Thank you for contacting [brand name]. How can we help you today?"

Welcome message with response times

A welcome message that includes information on wait times or your brand's service hours. This is key to managing expectations. Thus, your customers know when to expect a response and feel valued.

• Example:

“Hello, [customer's name]! 😊 Thank you for writing to us. At the moment, we are out of office hours, but we will return tomorrow from 9 a.m. 🕘 Leave us your query and we will respond as soon as possible”

Humanized greeting message on WhatsApp

This type of message introduces the agent or person who will assist your customer, adding a personal and human touch to the interaction. 

• Example:

"Hello! 👋 I'm [advisor's name], commercial executive at [brand name]. Tell me how I can help you."

Creative welcome message with promotions

Using the welcome message to offer promotions is an effective strategy. A good incentive can motivate customers to make their first purchase.

• Example:

"Hello, [client's name]! 🎉 Welcome to [brand name]. Enjoy the code COMPRA10 for a 10% discount on your first purchase. Would you like info on any of our products?"

WhatsApp greeting with frequent options

Offering alternatives makes it easier for customers to find what they are looking for. You can use buttons or simply list the options.

• Example:

"Hello, [client's name]! 👋 We are [brand name], the best grills🥓🍖 in the city. What would you like today?

1️⃣ View products

2️⃣ Make an order

3️⃣ Other query

Respond with the number. I'm here to help you 👩‍🍳"

Seasonal welcome message

Seasonal messages are a great opportunity to emotionally connect with your customers. Take advantage of the festivities and offer something special.

• Example:

"🎄 Enjoy now a 15% discount on all our Christmas products. Tell us, can we help you with anything, [customer's name]?"

Let's analyze 5 real WhatsApp Business welcome messages

In this section, I have selected five welcome messages on WhatsApp from real companies to see the elements in action and inspire you before creating your own greeting. 

Example 1: Topitop - Clothing store welcome message

Topitop uses the welcome message with promotions, taking advantage of the Cyber season. Additionally, it includes a direct call-to-action with their "Tell us how we can help you". 

Here we notice the use of emojis to capture attention at the start of the greeting and convey friendliness when closing the message.

Brief, concise, and with personality 😉

Example 2: Coolbox - Technology service welcome message

Coolbox Perú has a creative welcome message of the frequent options type. In this example, you can see a numbered list according to the query to resolve.

Although it does not mention the name of a human advisor, it does introduce the bot or virtual assistant in the greeting. It uses emojis both at the start and to accompany each option.

Here we see an opportunity for improvement because a clear CTA is missing to tell the user how to select an option or what they can write after the welcome message. Did you notice?

Example 3: KFC - Restaurant welcome message

The fast food restaurant KFC in Peru has a WhatsApp channel to register, charge, and send orders. Let's see what elements we find: 

For starters, it naturally inserts the customer's name in the welcome. Then, it gives a brief introduction of the bot named CoronelBot and includes emojis strongly related to the product

This creative type of greeting creates an instant impact. It is direct, clear, and shows the brand's personality. Additionally, it provides a call to action both in writing (“Please choose a type of order below”) and in the image. An excellent 10 out of 10!

Example 4: IPAD - Educational institute welcome message

With the Instituto Peruano de Arte y Diseño, we can see a humanized greeting where the name of the agent or assigned seller is mentioned. 

We also have the use of emojis directly related to the services they provide. Even, as they teach art and design classes, they could use more of this visual resource. 

We see a clear call-to-action as they request the person's details and ask if their preference is online or in-person classes.

Finally, this welcome message is accompanied by an image where they list all their courses as if it were a product catalog.

Example 5: T-imprimo - Printing service welcome message

For our last example, I selected this creative welcome message about a printing service. When interacting with them for the first time on WhatsApp, they greet you friendly with an interesting fact linked to the customer's pain. 

Then, in a few lines, they present the company, what they offer, and their purpose, to end with a call-to-action “Send us your PDF for a quote, if you don't have it, send me the name, author, and publisher of the book and we'll find it for you” Brilliant! ✨

Quick guide: How to set your welcome message in WhatsApp Business? 

Set your new welcome message by following these steps in WhatsApp Business:

1. Press the options icon (⁝) on the main screen.

2. Select "Business Tools" > "Welcome Message".

3. Activate the "Send welcome message" option.

4. Tap "Welcome Message" to edit and hit OK.

5. When choosing who to send the message to, I recommend selecting “Everyone” or “Those not on your contact list”

6. Finally, tap "Save" and that's it!

You might be interested in: Quick guide to selling on WhatsApp

How to create a welcome message for WhatsApp with Artificial Intelligence? 

Actually, there are no steps to follow here. A chatbot with artificial intelligence does not need you to create a welcome message because it creates it for you, as well as providing end-to-end customer service (At least, YaVendió! achieves this🚀)

At YaVendió!, we have used the same technology we offer our clients to create our AI-powered chatbot. If you want to see how it works, chat with YaVendiosita! on WhatsApp (and then tell us how you got welcomed😉)