WhatsApp link and QR code generator

Why use click-to-chat in your business?

When moving prospective customers along their buying journey, adding as few bumps and obstacles to their path is essential. That’s where the WhatsApp "Chat-in" link generator becomes a genuine game-changer for your business. It takes one click – or one scan if it's embedded in a QR code – for a potential lead to enter your inbox.

A WhatsApp Chat-in link or wa.me feature takes the person clicking it to a WhatsApp chat with your business profile. You can even add a pre-written message to make it extra easy for the client to communicate with you. 

Once in direct contact, it is easier for trained sales personnel to convert prospects who otherwise would abandon their carts. So let’s say a person adds a 1,500€ bed to their cart but has a burning question before actually hitting that “Buy” button. In this case, a WhatsApp chat-in link will shorten the time they spend contemplating considerably. 

Woodboom, the manufacturer of said 1.5k bed, used their WhatsApp chat-in link to shift the conversation with customers from email to WhatsApp. Before deciding to buy, their customers ask an average of 7 questions. This could easily take 2-4 weeks via email, meaning they lose several potential buyers before completion. With WhatsApp chat-in links, woodboom managed to shorten this sales cycle to just 2-4 days and increase conversions considerably. By now, 70% of their sales occur in chat.

How to Use The WhatsApp Link Generator for Your Business to create Chat-Ins in 2 steps

Did you know that an increase of just 5% in customer retention can equal an increase of 25% in profit? On top of this, 75% of customers are more likely to spend on a brand if they can message rather than call. That’s why WhatsApp chat-in links and QR codes are so in-demand: They’re ideal to jumpstart conversion and achieve the kind of high-quality customer service that delights both prospects and regulars alike.

While creating a WhatsApp link or QR code is easier than spelling “10x-ing your revenue” (more on that later), every business should have a clear strategy in place before using this tool of conversational commerce. 

That’s why we’ve created this guide to show you how to use a WhatsApp chat-in links and QR code generator to best benefit your business in 2024.

Create Your WhatsApp Click-to-Chat Link in 2 Steps

Before you can reach similar numbers, however, you need to create your WhatsApp click-to-chat link or QR code. How do you do this? Fortunately, that is the easiest part of the entire process and accomplished in two quick steps. 

Step 1: Enter the number of your WhatsApp Business account

The beauty of wa.me links, as they’re sometimes called, is their easy setup. Simply add your number with your country code at the end of one of these links: 

• https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone= 
• https://wa.me/

Be sure to leave out the “+” or “00” at the beginning of your country code. So if your number starts with +49170, the link would start like this: https://wa.me/49170, followed by the rest of your number. 

Technically you’re done after this step. Everything your customers need to enter your inbox is your number, which they now have – no saving your company’s phone number on their private phone required!

Step 2: Add a pre-written message (optional)

If you want to make the experience extra special for your customers, as we at Charles recommend you do, there is a second step: Adding a pre-written message that will appear on your customer’s side of the conversation. 

A pre-written message in a chat-in has several benefits: 

• Less effort for the potential customer: Typing out a question can be what prevents a prospect from reaching out and makes them abandon their cart. The less hassle, the better. 
• Feeling appreciated: What’s more, if you add a well-crafted message to your wa.me link that goes beyond ‘Hello’, the customer will recognize that you considered their needs and feel appreciated. 
• Clarity for your team: It’s not just the customer who benefits. Let’s say you provide a message that’s tailored to a specific product page. When customers send it with a simple click, your service team will know exactly which product they refer to.

How do you add a pre-written message to your WhatsApp chat-in link or QR code? That depends on how long your message should be. Here’s how: 

Single sentence: 

• Take the wa.me link with your company phone number,
• add ‘?text=’ after your number without spaces, 
• type the text you want to add
• while using ‘%20’ to indicate a space

This is what a link might look like, with XX as placeholders for your number:  ‍https://wa.me/49170XXXXXXX?text=Hi%20there%20!

Multiple sentences: 

• Take the wa.me link with your company phone number,
• add ‘?text=’ after your number without spaces, 
• type the text you want to add
• while using ‘%20’ to indicate a space
• and end each sentence with ‘0A’.

If you want to send, for example, “Hi there! Tell me more about this product?”, your link would look like this: 

‍https://wa.me/49170XXXXXXX?text=Hi%20there%20!%20Tell%20me%20more%20about%20this%20product?.

Yeah, setting this link manually can be quite time-consuming, especially if you wish to tailor the message to each chat-in you embed in your site or channels. 

That’s where this free chat-in link and WhatsApp QR code generator comes in handy. They don’t provide a strategy to go along with these links, however – read on for more!

Best Practices: Where to best embed your wa.me link

As easy as creating a WhatsApp chat-in link or QR is, the real art is embedding it where it benefits your business most. You have several options that, depending on your intent, will suit your wa.me link best: 

• Popups on your website
• Chat-ins on product pages
• Thank you pages
• QR codes on flyers sent out with your product
• Social Media
• Email

If your aim goes beyond providing a low-threshold way for customers to pose their questions and engage with you, you can catch their attention – and capture their contact information – by offering them an incentive like a discount or early access to an upcoming sale. Adapting the principle of a lead generator from email marketing also works for WhatsApp newsletters. 

HOLY Energy, for example, doubled their subscribers by offering early access to their new flavor, only available if they sign up through WhatsApp chat-ins. This strategy helped them 10x their revenue on launch weekend, prompting them to scale their opt-in collection through post-order flows.

Another successful case, this time featuring chat-in QR codes, is the beauty brand Maniko. In addition to several touchpoints on their website, many customers come into chat via flyers with QR codes. These offer an application guide and get sent out with Maniko's products.

After scanning the QR code, users are directly taken into chat where they can send a pre-written message. This message triggers an automated flow that sends out a video explaining the application. This decreases Maniko's service effort, opens the door for further conversation with the customer, and amounts to a 20x higher value of chat-ins vs. email.

Closing Thoughts On The Click-to-Chat Link & WhatsApp QR Code  Generator

Easy to create and easy to use, WhatsApp chat-in link and QR code generators are a perfect tool for any brand that wants to take their customer service to the next level. By simply adding your WhatsApp business number and a pre-written message to the wa.me link, you unlock a smooth path for your customers to start a conversation, ask questions and even place their order. 

If you want to go beyond the basics, you need a partner at your side to help you leverage the chances of chat-in links and QR codes. 

We at Charles are experts at building the type of profound brand-customer relationship that will have a long-lasting positive impact on your bottom line. We have helped over 120 brands unlock the power of conversation and are eager to help you fulfill your full potential. 

Ready to find out how we can help you take your customer journey to the next level with chat-in links and conversational commerce? Reach out today to book a demo!