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Have you ever heard of the saying ‘never judge a book by its cover?’ You probably have.
The reason why this saying is used so much is that - you guessed it - people judge books by their cover all of the time. And trust me, your business is one of those books.
If you are using WhatsApp Business, your greeting message is the cover of your book. Greeting messages allow you to make a strong first impression, even if you are being contacted outside of business hours.
In this blog, I will tell you everything you need to know about greetings messages for WhatsApp Business and how to use them to your advantage:
- What is a WhatsApp Business greeting message?
- Why should you use a greeting message for WhatsApp Business?
- WhatsApp Business greeting message examples
What is a WhatsApp Business greeting message?
When somebody sends you a message on WhatsApp Business for the first time, you can automatically send them a so-called WhatsApp greeting message. It's simply a welcome message for customers on WhatsApp Business. You can make multiple greetings for different types of situations.
With Trengo, you can create one greeting message for all of your communication channels. Think of email, live chat, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp Business.
What is the difference between a greeting and an away message in WhatsApp?
You can set a "greeting message" to welcome your customers and make them feel special.
If you are not available to respond to your customers, you can set an "away message" to inform them that you will be back soon to assist them.
Here is an example of a greeting message:
“Hi, welcome to Trengo! How may we help you?”
Here is an example of an away message:
“Thank you for your message. We’re unavailable right now but will respond within 24 hours.”
Why would you use a greeting message for WhatsApp Business?
Using the right type of greeting message at the right time can help you achieve the following:
- Lower your response time
- Improve the customer experience
- Increase customer satisfaction by guiding customers towards the right information
- Don’t leave customers that message you outside of business hours hanging
- Collect valuable leads
Learn how a retail company manages to receive more than 500 orders via WhatsApp Business per day.
Note: you can only use WhatsApp Business greeting messages when using the WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Business API. In the video below, you get a 3-minute explanation of what the exact differences are between WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business:
What does an effective WhatsApp Business greeting message look like?
Even though there are countless variations of greetings, an effective greeting via WhatsApp Business should follow the following best practices:
1. Set clear expectations
Your primary goal should be to set a realistic expectation of when your customer can expect a message. It simply feels better for a customer to know for certain when they will be responded to.
Be very specific in setting these expectations. To illustrate why let’s look at two quick examples.
1) “We’ll get back to you ASAP.”
2)“We’ll get back to you within 24 hours.”
The first example is a bit of a vague promise and doesn’t set a specific expectation. ‘As soon as possible’ could mean anything between one minute and 10 hours.
The second example, on the other hand, sets a clear expectation and gives your team the opportunity to overdeliver.
2. Be as transparent as possible
The second best practice is to simply be honest and transparent.
Nobody likes lame excuses for slow response times. If your team just so happens to be a little in over their head that day, there is no shame in simply saying that you are busy.
3. Give it a human touch
In a lot of greetings, whether it is via email, live chat, or WhatsApp, I have noticed how the tone is often quite formal.
But just because the message is automated, doesn’t mean you have to come off as a robot.
I would advise you to always sound as human as possible. Keep it professional, sure, but avoid sounding like a lawyer. Well, unless you are a lawyer, of course. You get the point. Struggling to give a human touch to your messages? No worries! An online AI humanizer tool can work wonders by adding a human touch to your messages.
How to send greeting message on whatsapp
To send a greeting message on WhatsApp, you can use tools like Trengo, which allows for automated and personalised messaging.
1. First, set up your WhatsApp Business account on Trengo.
2. Then, navigate to the automation settings to create a new flow.
3. Design your message by selecting the appropriate triggers, such as when a new customer sends a message. Personalize the greeting to include the recipient’s name and any relevant information.
For a detailed step-by-step guide, refer to Trengo’s help centre article on setting up WhatsApp Business automation here.
💡 Looking for a WhatsApp Business greeting message template, read on!
21 WhatsApp Business greeting message examples
In all honesty, there is no such thing as ‘the best greeting message for WhatsApp Business’. It really comes down to your situation and what it is you are trying to achieve. That’s why I have put together a list of WhatsApp Business greetings for different situations.
Let’s dive in to the, shall we?
General WhatsApp Business greeting messages (copy now)
1. "Thank you for your message! We will get back to you within 24 hours. Kind regards, [your business] Team."
2. "Hiya! Welcome to [your business]. We will get back to you within 3 hours. In the meantime, you can check out our help center [link]. We have put a lot of effort into it, so the answer to your question may already be in there!"
3. "Hello! Good to see you. Did you already know we currently offer a 50% discount on all of our products? The code is XXXX. Don't tell anybody ;-) Let me know if you have any other questions and I will get back to you shortly!"
4. “Hi [Customer name], welcome to [your business]. We have a special 15% discount on all plans for our new customers. Would you like to get yours now? [link] Reply ‘Stop’ to unsubscribe.”
5. “Thank you for becoming a part of our community! We’re so happy to have you on board. Check out the services that we offer [your services]. Let's also connect on Instagram for some fun: [Instagram link]. Cheers, Team [your business name]”
6. “Thank you for contacting us. Please let us know the reason for your inquiry so we can direct you to the right person.
1) Payment queries
2) Return policy
3) Order update
4) Other
We will get back to you shortly!”
Now, that wasn’t exactly rocket science, was it?
The key to using any type of messaging app is that you don’t overdo it. WhatsApp offers a quick and informal way of getting in contact with a person or organization. Keep your company’s tone of voice and overall brand in mind, but always keep it short and sweet.
At Trengo, we use the first message during business hours.
Customer support greeting examples (copy now)
7. "Hi, thanks for your message! Our support agents will check your message and make sure it is forwarded to the best-fit person. We will respond to you within 24 hours."
8. "Dear [Customer Name], we’ve received your request and are currently looking for an agent who will be able to resolve it in the best way. It might take up to 8 hours, but we'll do our best to get back to you as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience.”
9. "In the meantime, you can check out our help center full of answers to frequently asked questions here: [link]."
An important trend in customer support is that a growing number of customers want to be able to use self-service. With Trengo, you can easily create your own help center. This way, customers can always have access to information, even outside of business hours.
Event-based greeting messages (copy now)
Sometimes, your company may be in the middle of dealing with seasonal activities or special occasions. Whether it is busy because of Christmas time, or at the other extreme because of the covid-19 outbreak, you need to inform your customers. I'll give you two examples for both cases.
10. ”Hey [Customer Name]. Merry Christmas! We're receiving a lot of messages right now, but we want you to know that your message is important to us. Santa's agents will get back to you within 2 hours.”
11. "Ho ho ho! 🎅 Please let me know if you have any questions. Our elves are very busy packing all the gifts, so we may not reply as fast as you are used to from us."
12. "Hey there, how can I help you? Please be aware that we may answer a little less fast than usual in these unprecedented times."
13. "Hi [Customer Name], Ramadan Mubarak! May your home be filled with light, love, and laughter. Due to the holiday season, we are currently overwhelmed with orders. We will get back to you in 24 hours.”
14. ”Happy Valentine's Day 💖 Thank you for contacting [business name]. We are currently selecting the most beautiful flowers for your bouquets and will respond to you within the next two hours.🌷”
15. "Hey [Customer Name]. Happy Mother's Day! To celebrate this special day, we're offering a 25% discount on all of our products. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us and we'll get back to you within an hour.”
Business update greeting messages (copy now)
When you are dealing with a technical issue, it's important to inform your customers that you're aware of the problem and trying to resolve it.
16. “Dear customer, we are facing technical issues with [product name]. ⚠️ Our team is working hard to resolve it. For issues unrelated to [product name], please leave your message below and we will respond within the next 24 hours. Thank you for your patience.”
17. "Hello there! We are currently experiencing some technical difficulties with our website. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We are doing everything we can to fix the issue right now. We will notify you when the problem is resolved. Thank you for your understanding."
Greeting messages for out-of-office usage
When business hours are over and there is nobody in the office to answer incoming WhatsApp messages, your customers may have to bridge some time before getting a reply. There are multiple ways to tackle this.
Use an auto reply WhatsApp Business greeting message example and:
Send to homepage
18. "Thank you for your message! We are currently out of the office, but we will get back to you first thing in the morning."
For more information, please head over to our website: www.trengo.com."
Reply with your business hours
19. "Thanks for getting in touch with us. We're currently unavailable, but we'll get back to you during our business hours: [your business hours]. In the meantime, feel free to check out our website [your website] for more information about our products and services."
At Trengo, we use the following out of office greeting:
20. "Thanks for contacting Trengo!
We'd love to help, but we're *currently closed* 🕦 (See our schedule at trengo.com/businesshours). We'll come back to you the next working day ⏰.
In the meantime, did you know we have a Help Center at help.trengo.com that answers our most frequently asked questions? Perhaps you’ll find your answer without the help of our agents.
Cheers,
Team Trengo"
As you can see, we also incorporate our help center and give customers a clear reason why we can't respond right away.
Collect a lead
21. "Hey there! Sorry, we are currently not able to respond to your message. Please leave your name and email address, and we will get back to you within 24 hours. Team Trengo."
Using WhatsApp is a valuable way to get leads, even when you are out of office. Ask the potential customer to leave their contact information and you can get back to them the next day.
Use quick replies to answer FAQs
A WhatsApp Business quick reply is a templated message that you can easily search, edit, and send to your customer. They are often used by customer service agents to answer frequently asked questions.
Quick replies can include greeting messages, business opening hours, return policies, and more. As long as you reply to a message within 24 hours, you don't need to get anything approved by WhatsApp. You can store up to 50 quick replies at a time.
Here’s a quick reply greeting message for Business WhatsApp example for return policy:
WhatsApp Business message templates
As I already mentioned earlier, WhatsApp Business welcome messages are the messages that you can automatically send once a person messages you on WhatsApp Business. If you would like to proactively get in contact with your customers, you should look into using WhatsApp Business message templates.
My colleague Luuk wrote an insightful blog about WhatsApp Business message templates, and on how to send greeting message for WhatsApp which you can read here.
What does a good WhatsApp Business greeting look like?
What does the best WhatsApp Business greeting message look like? Well, let's start with a really good WhatsApp Business greeting message. Because a solid message is:
Engaging
An engaging WhatsApp Business greeting captures immediate attention. That takes a friendly tone and a warm welcome. It might include a friendly "Hello" or "Hi" and a statement that shows enthusiasm to assist the customer. The use of emojis can also make the message more inviting and personable, enhancing the overall user experience.
Personal
Personalisation is really important when it comes to making customers feel valued. And WhatsApp is the channel to do that on. Think about it, this is the channel that people use to talk to friends and family.
Use the customer's name and referencing their previous interactions or preferences. Personal greetings show that your business recognises and appreciates the individual, fostering a stronger connection, before, during and beyond purchase.
Concise
Being concise is crucial in WhatsApp Business greetings. Customers appreciate getting the essential information quickly. It's a social media messaging channel!
So make sure your greeting is short, clear and shows the most important points up front. Think about purpose of the message, available assistance, and any next steps or calls-to-action, ensuring clarity and efficiency.
Branded
Don't forget to reflects the voice and personality of your business! Ensure the message aligns with your company's style and values, whether that's formal, casual, professional, or playful. Consistent branding in your greetings helps reinforce brand identity, making your business more recognisable and trustworthy to customers.
Now you know what a greeting message for Business WhatsApp ought to look like!
Provide the best customer experience via WhatsApp Business
With Trengo, our smart customer engagement platform, you can provide the best possible customer experience via WhatsApp Business. It allows you to receive WhatsApp messages together with all your other channels in one inbox (such as email, voice, and live chat), use WhatsApp Business with multiple users, create your own WhatsApp chatbot, and more.
Get started with greeting messages for WhatsApp
Greeting message for business WhatsApp hold no secrets for you anymore! Take from the greeting message for business WhatsApp templates and start reaching out to your customers.
A well-crafted greeting message for customers on WhatsApp can make customers feel welcome and valued, creating a positive customer experience. Set the tone for the many more conversations to come!
Ready to start sending greeting messages to your customers on WhatsApp?
