Option 1:

Request consent when clients make their initial contact with you.

When a consumer has already contacted you for assistance, it is easiest to ask them to opt in. Your representative might ask the customer whether they would like to opt-in to get notifications and updates in the future after solving their issue.

Option 2:

Use your website.

No matter which industry you operate in, your website is a great channel to invite new and existing customers to receive messages over WhatsApp.

Option 3:

Use third-party channels.

Oftentimes, the best way to reach out to customers is over the channels you already use to communicate with them. SMS, Voice, or ATM notifications will quickly grab their attention and help you get an immediate response.

Option 4:

Use your existing process flow.

Since customers can use WhatsApp to receive essential notifications like order confirmations, boarding passes, and delivery notifications, they are more inclined to opt-in during the purchase process, increasing their opt-in rate.

This is often the best option for retailers, airlines, and logistics companies since they can easily include a checkbox at various touchpoints where the customer would enter their phone number – for example, when entering their billing or delivery information.

Option 5:

Include it in your customer contact preferences section.

During sign-up or when filling out contact forms, businesses usually offer new customers a choice of channels they want to be contacted. If you’re using the same approach, you can include WhatsApp as a part of this list.

Having WhatsApp as a part of your contact options can increase sign-up conversion rate since it’s the preferred channel for many consumers and may influence their decision to engage with you.

Some businesses may provide an option to opt out of receiving marketing messages by tapping the Opt out of marketing messages button in your chat with the industry (the exact text on the controller may differ).
Tapping this button will notify the company that you want to remove your WhatsApp number from their marketing mailing lists. Businesses may have to manually remove your number from their mailing lists, so there could be a delay between when you opt-out and when you stop receiving marketing messages.

Businesses may ask you to provide a reason for opt-out; you can elect not to give a reason. This way, companies can learn from your feedback and ensure their messages are relevant to their customers.
Additionally, when they send you an opt-out confirmation, some businesses may include the option to opt back into receiving marketing messages in case you change your mind or if you opted out accidentally.

Opting out of marketing messages versus blocking a business

While blocking a business stops the business from sending you messages, it also stops you from being able to send messages to that business. Using the Opt out of marketing messages button sends a request to the company to remove you from its marketing mailing list but still allows for individual messages between you and the business to continue.
This way, you can still reach out to the business with questions about their products or services, and they can send you messages related to your transactions, such as shipping updates.