Getting your first customers to message you
The flows are built, the templates are approved, and nobody has messaged you. This is the missing half.
Every conversation on WhatsApp starts with the customer, so the most valuable thing you can build in week one is a way for them to start one.
It is also the cheapest half of the whole channel. A customer who messages you first opens the 24-hour customer service window, per Meta's sending messages documentation, and replies inside it are free and unlimited under Meta's pricing documentation. Every entry point below is therefore a way of turning paid outreach into free conversation.
The five entry points
| Entry point | Lives | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Click-to-chat link | Anywhere you can put a link | Email signatures, social bios, invoices, WhatsApp status |
| Chat button | Your website or storefront | Visitors who have a question mid-browse |
| QR code | Print, packaging, shopfront | Offline customers, parcel inserts, table cards |
| Landing page | A short public URL | Anywhere a raw link looks untidy — posters, radio, a bio |
| Click-to-WhatsApp ads | Facebook and Instagram | Reaching people who do not know you yet |
The first four cost nothing. The fifth costs whatever you spend on ads, and it is the only one that reaches strangers.
The click-to-chat link
A link that opens a chat with your business, optionally with a message already typed in for the customer.
The prefilled message is the part worth thinking about. "Hi, I have a question about my order" is better than an empty box, because it removes the small hesitation of composing an opening line — and because a predictable opening message is something your automation can recognise and act on.
You can also attach a short reference to the prefill so a flow knows which button or which storefront the customer came from. Worth knowing: that reference is part of the visible message text rather than hidden tracking, so keep it short, keep it non-secret, and be comfortable with the customer seeing it.
The chat button on your site
A floating button in the corner of your storefront, which you configure and then paste into your theme. You choose the label, the colour and which side it sits on.
Two things make it work better than it usually does:
- Say what it is for. "Chat with us" is fine; "Ask about delivery" or "Check your order" converts better because it answers the question the visitor already had.
- Prefill accordingly. A button on a product page that prefills the product name saves the customer explaining and saves you asking.
Because the snippet is self-contained — a single link with its styles inline, no external script — it renders the same everywhere and adds nothing to your page weight.
The QR code
The one most stores skip and the one with the least competition. A QR that opens a WhatsApp chat, downloadable as an image, works anywhere you can print something:
- A parcel insert — the moment a customer has your product in their hands is the moment they might have a question.
- The shopfront window, for people arriving when you are closed.
- Table cards, receipts, business cards, packaging.
- Your delivery note, which is the single best place for a "problem with your order?" code.
Prefill it with something specific to where it is printed and you know what the customer is asking about before they say a word.
The landing page
A short public URL of your own that bounces the visitor into the chat. Useful wherever a long link is awkward: printed material, a spoken address, a social bio, a poster.
It is also the tidier thing to hand to somebody who will put it on a page you do not control — a marketplace profile, a directory, a partner's site.
Click-to-WhatsApp ads
The only entry point that reaches people who have never heard of you, and the only one that costs money. The conversation it produces is a normal inbound message, so everything you have built works on it unchanged.
Two things make it different. The customer's ad origin is recorded, so flows can treat ad arrivals differently, and you can report conversions back so Meta optimises towards people who actually buy. Both are covered in Click-to-WhatsApp ads automation.
What to do first
- Put the link in your email signature and your social bios. Five minutes, no cost.
- Add the button to your site, with a prefill that matches what people ask.
- Print the QR on your delivery notes. Highest value per unit of effort of anything on this list.
- Set up the landing page so you have one tidy URL to hand out.
- Only then consider ads, once you know the conversations convert and your flows handle them.
The order matters. Paying to start conversations you are not yet ready to handle is how a channel gets a reputation inside your own business for not working.
Make sure something answers
An entry point with no automation behind it is a promise you may not keep. Before you publicise any of these, have at minimum a greeting that says what you can help with and when a person is available.
That single flow costs nothing to run and it is the difference between an inbound message and a missed one. What to build in which order is in how to build your first automation.
Frequently asked
Do customers need to save my number?
No. That is the whole point of a click-to-chat link — the chat opens without anyone adding a contact.
Can I use these before my templates are approved?
Yes, and it is a good reason to. Every one of these produces an inbound message, which needs no template at all.
Does a prefilled message annoy people?
Not if it is short and accurate. What annoys people is a prefill that claims something they did not mean.
Which one produces the most conversations?
For most stores, the website button and the parcel QR — because both catch a customer at the moment they already have a question.
What each entry point is worth
Not in conversions — that depends entirely on your business — but in effort against reach, which you can judge before building anything:
| Entry point | Effort | Cost | Reaches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Link in signatures and bios | 5 minutes | Nothing | People already in touch |
| Website button | 15 minutes | Nothing | Everyone who visits |
| QR on delivery notes | 1 print change | Nothing | Every customer who ordered |
| Landing page | 5 minutes | Nothing | Wherever you put it |
| Click-to-WhatsApp ads | A campaign | Ad spend | People who do not know you |
Four of the five are free and take under half an hour in total. That is an unusually good ratio, and it is why this is week-one work rather than something to get to later.
Where stores forget to put it
- The order confirmation email. The most-opened message you send.
- The delivery note in the box. The moment questions happen.
- Your marketplace listings, where policy allows it.
- Your Google Business profile and any directory you appear in.
- The out-of-stock page, where a customer who wanted something is about to leave.
Each is a place a customer already is, at a moment they already have a reason to ask. None require anybody's permission or budget.
Prefills worth writing
- On a product page: "Hi, I have a question about [product]".
- On a delivery note: "Hi, about order [number]".
- On an out-of-stock page: "Hi, when will [product] be back?"
- On a shopfront QR: "Hi, I'm outside the shop".
Each of those tells your automation what the conversation is about before the customer types anything, which means the first reply can be useful rather than a menu.
Do not forget the free window
Every one of these produces an inbound message, which opens the 24-hour customer service window under Meta's sending messages documentation — and while it is open your replies are free and unlimited under Meta's pricing documentation.
That is worth designing around. A QR on a delivery note does not just answer a question; it opens a free conversation with a customer who has your product in their hands, which is the best moment you will get to ask for a review or offer a reorder — as covered in review requests after delivery.
The short version
Five entry points, four of them free and quick. Put the link in your signatures and bios, the button on your site, the QR on your delivery notes, and the landing page wherever a raw link is untidy. Prefill each one with something specific to where it sits, so your automation knows what the conversation is about. Then, and only then, consider ads.
Frequently asked, part two
Should I put the link on printed material before I am ready?
No. Printed things are expensive to change, so publicise them once your greeting flow is live and somebody is watching the inbox.
Can I track which entry point a customer used?
Yes, by attaching a short reference to the prefilled message. It appears in the message text, so keep it readable and non-secret rather than treating it as hidden tracking.
What about a link in a marketing email?
Good idea, and it is one of the highest-performing places to put one — the customer is already engaged and moving them to WhatsApp opens a free window.