11 Creative Welcome Message Examples for WhatsApp Business

As the saying goes: you never get a second chance to make a good first impression 👋

And when 70% of consumers prefer to communicate through messaging apps like WhatsApp, a great welcome message becomes essential to building that connection from the very first moment. 

But what should your welcome message say? How do you greet your customers so they feel valued and taken care of?

In this article, I'm sharing 11 creative welcome message examples to inspire you as you craft your own.

First, we'll look at the essential elements of a great welcome message, then I'll walk you through six types of effective greetings and break down five real WhatsApp Business messages. And at the end, I'll leave you a quick guide to set up your own welcome message on WhatsApp.

Let's get started!

Key elements of a great welcome message on WhatsApp Business

Let's quickly review the elements that make up a great welcome message. This will help us stay on the same page as we analyze each example, and you'll have a clear picture of what to keep in mind when you write your own greeting on WhatsApp Business.

On top of that, Sebastián González, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at yavendió!, recommends: "A welcome message should include a greeting, be warm, friendly, super short (no more than 120 characters), and let you steer the conversation toward a sale."

Your customer's name 🙋

Did you know that one of people's favorite words is their own name? Use that to your advantage in your greeting and include the customer's name. You can usually add it as a variable, since each person sets how they'd like to be called in their WhatsApp profile. 

This shows you value each customer as an individual and makes a great first impression. No more generic greetings!

Emojis 😀

The great thing about WhatsApp Business is that you can add visual elements to your conversations. In this case, emojis are a simple yet effective way to convey your brand's personality right from the greeting. You can use friendly-face emojis or objects tied to what your business offers. 

They're also a great way to break up a monotonous message and give each bubble some visual breathing room. Let your brand express itself, in moderation, with emojis right from the welcome message.

Communicate the action ✅

A very common mistake when greeting customers on WhatsApp is focusing only on the welcome and not opening the door to a conversation. This is where the famous call-to-action (CTA) comes in. It's that "and how about you?" after saying hi to a friend. 

Remember to include that question or prompt that helps keep the contact going. Some common CTAs are: "how can we help you?" or "what's your question?" Encourage your customer to keep the conversation going.

Specificity 🎯

If you use ads to drive leads to your WhatsApp, Sebastián from yavendió! recommends that the referral message include the product name. That way, when you receive it, you can respond in a specific, tailored way about that particular product. 

For example, instead of getting a "Hi, I'd like more info," we set it up as "Hi, I'd like more info about product X." This helps your team understand what the customer is interested in and tailor the first message around it.

Don't forget personalization

It's extremely important to personalize your welcome message depending on the traffic source. You can do this by creating different opening messages for the user, setting a default message for each call to action you have.

For example, if they come from Instagram, you could make the customer's opening message something like "I'm coming from Instagram, I'd like more info about product XXX." That way you'll know what content they've already seen about the product and can personalize your welcome message even further.

Smooth interaction 💬

Going a step beyond the greeting, your team needs to be able to respond quickly to keep the conversation flowing. There's no point in setting up the perfect welcome message if you're slow to answer the customer's questions. 

For this, some businesses rely on WhatsApp quick replies, traditional chatbots, and AI-powered chatbots. You can try yavendió!'s here.🤖

6 Types of greetings for WhatsApp Business (with example messages)

General welcome message on WhatsApp

This is a short greeting that sets a positive tone. With just a couple of lines, you can show your customers you're here to help.

• Example:

"Hi there! 👋 Thanks for reaching out to [your brand name]. How can we help you today?"

Welcome message with response times

A welcome message that includes information about wait times or your brand's hours of operation. This is key to managing expectations. That way, your customers know when to expect a reply and feel valued.

• Example:

"Hi, [customer name]! 😊 Thanks for writing to us. Right now we're outside our business hours, but we'll be back tomorrow starting at 9 a.m. 🕘 Leave us your question and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."

Humanized greeting message on WhatsApp

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

• Example:

"Hi there! 👋 I'm [advisor name], a sales rep at [your 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:

"Hi, [your customer's name]! 🎉 Welcome to [your brand name]. Use code SHOP10 for 10% off 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're looking for. You can use buttons or simply list the options.

• Example:

"Hi, [your customer's name]! 👋 We're [your brand name], the best grills 🥓🍖 in town. What are you in the mood for today?

1️⃣ Browse products

2️⃣ Place an order

3️⃣ Something else

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

Seasonal welcome message

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

• Example:

"🎄 Enjoy 15% off all our holiday products right now. Tell us, is there anything we can help you with, [customer name]?"

Let's analyze 5 real WhatsApp Business welcome messages

In this section, I've picked five WhatsApp welcome messages from real businesses so we can see the elements in action and get you inspired before you create your own greeting. 

Example 1: Topitop - Welcome message from a clothing store

Topitop uses the welcome-message-with-promotions approach, taking advantage of the Cyber shopping season. It also includes a direct call-to-action with its "Let us know how we can help you." 

Here we can see emojis used to grab attention at the start of the greeting and to convey friendliness as the message wraps up.

Short, concise, and full of personality 😉

Example 2: Coolbox - Welcome message from a tech service

Coolbox Perú has a creative welcome message of the frequent-options type. In this example, you can see a numbered list based on the type of query.

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

Here we see room for improvement, because there's no clear CTA telling the user how to select an option or what they can type after the welcome message. Did you notice that?

Example 3: KFC - Welcome message from a restaurant

Fast-food restaurant KFC in Peru has a WhatsApp channel to register, charge for, and deliver orders. Let's look at the elements we find here: 

To start, it naturally works the customer's name into the welcome. Then it gives a quick introduction to the bot, named CoronelBot, and includes emojis strongly tied to the product.

This kind of creative greeting makes an instant impact. It's direct, clear, and shows off the brand's personality. It also gives a call to action both in writing ("Please choose an order type below") and in an image. A perfect 10 out of 10!

Example 4: IPAD - Welcome message from an educational institute

With the Peruvian Institute of Art and Design, we can see a humanized greeting where the name of the assigned agent or salesperson is mentioned. 

We also see the use of emojis directly related to the services they provide. In fact, since they teach classes on art and design, they could lean into this visual resource even more. 

We see a clear call-to-action, as they ask for the person's details and whether they prefer online or in-person classes.

Finally, this welcome message comes with an image listing all of their courses as if it were a product catalog.

Example 5: T-imprimo - Welcome message from a printing service

For our final example, I picked this creative welcome message from a printing service. The first time you interact with them on WhatsApp, they greet you in a friendly way with a fun fact tied to the customer's pain point. 

Then, in just a few lines, they introduce the company, what they offer, and their purpose, closing with a call to action: "Send us your PDF for a quote. If you don't have it, send me the title, author, and publisher of the book and we'll track it down for you." Brilliant! ✨

Quick guide: How to set up your welcome message on WhatsApp Business 

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

1. 1Tap the more options icon (⁝) on the main screen.
2. 2Select "Business tools" > "Greeting message".
3. 3Turn on the "Send greeting message" option.
4. 4Tap "Greeting message" to edit it and tap OK.
5. 5When choosing who to send the message to, I recommend selecting "Everyone" or "Everyone not in address book".
6. 6Finally, tap "Save" and you're all set!

“You might also like: A quick guide to selling on WhatsApp”

How to create a WhatsApp welcome message with Artificial Intelligence 

Honestly, there are no steps to follow here. An AI-powered chatbot doesn't need you to create a welcome message, because it creates one for you, along with handling your customers end to end (at least, yavendió! pulls it off 🚀).

At yavendió!, we've used the same technology we offer our clients to build our own AI agent. If you want to see how it works, chat with yavendió!sita! on WhatsApp (and then tell us how it welcomed you 😉).