Opt-in request and opt-out confirmation messages

A WhatsApp opt in message is sent by restaurants, cafes, cloud kitchens and tiffin services before they send a single offer, because sending promotions to people who did not agree is the fastest way to get a number reported and restricted. Order updates do not need consent; the customer asked for the order. Offers, new menu announcements and festival messages do. The one thing that makes an opt-in message work is being specific: say what you will send, how often, and how to stop, and make the yes a one-word reply. "Can we message you?" gets ignored. "Reply YES for one weekend offer a week, STOP any time" gets a yes from the people who actually want it.

Ask once, at a moment when the customer is happy with you: right after the first order is delivered, or at the end of a dine-in meal. Keep it under 200 characters. Record the yes with the date, and send a confirmation so the customer has it in writing too. Honour every STOP within the same day and confirm it, without a "are you sure" follow-up. If you have been sending offers without consent, send a re-permission message once and remove anyone who does not reply. The rules behind this are covered in WhatsApp marketing rules in India.

Hi [Name], hope you enjoyed your order from [Restaurant]. We send one message a week with that week's offer or a new item, and nothing else. Reply YES to get it. You can reply STOP at any time and we remove you the same day.

नमस्ते [Name], उम्मीद है [Restaurant] का order आपको पसंद आया। हम हफ्ते में सिर्फ एक message भेजते हैं, उस हफ्ते के offer या किसी नई item के बारे में, और कुछ नहीं। पाने के लिए YES लिखें। कभी भी STOP लिखेंगे तो उसी दिन हटा देंगे।

Thank you for dining at [Restaurant] today. If you would like to hear about new dishes and weekend specials, reply YES and we will message you at most twice a month. No reply means no messages; your bill and this chat stay as they are.

आज [Restaurant] में खाने के लिए शुक्रिया। अगर नई dishes और weekend specials के बारे में जानना चाहें, तो YES लिखें, हम महीने में ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा दो बार message करेंगे। Reply नहीं किया तो कोई message नहीं आएगा; आपका bill और ये chat वैसे ही रहेंगे।

Thanks [Name], you are on the [Restaurant] offers list from today, [Date]. Expect one message a week, usually on [Day] around [Time]. Reply STOP at any time to leave the list. Your order updates are separate and will continue as normal.

शुक्रिया [Name], आज [Date] से आप [Restaurant] की offers list में हैं। हफ्ते में एक message आएगा, आमतौर पर [Day] को [Time] के आसपास। List से हटने के लिए कभी भी STOP लिखें। आपके order updates अलग हैं और हमेशा की तरह आते रहेंगे।

Done, [Name]. You will not get offer messages from [Restaurant] any more. Order confirmations and delivery updates for orders you place will still come through. If you ever want the offers back, reply START.

हो गया, [Name]। अब आपको [Restaurant] से offer वाले messages नहीं आएँगे। आपके order के confirmation और delivery updates पहले की तरह आते रहेंगे। कभी offers फिर से चाहिए हों तो START लिखें।

Hi [Name], as a [Restaurant] subscriber you can get tomorrow's menu every evening at 8 pm with a skip option. Reply YES to receive it daily. Reply STOP any time to switch it off; your deliveries will continue either way.

नमस्ते [Name], [Restaurant] के subscriber होने के नाते आप रोज़ शाम 8 बजे कल का menu पा सकते हैं, skip करने के option के साथ। रोज़ पाने के लिए YES लिखें। बंद करने के लिए कभी भी STOP लिखें; आपकी delivery दोनों हालत में चलती रहेगी।

Hi [Name], it has been a while since you heard from [Restaurant]. Before we send anything else, we want to check: would you still like our weekly offer message? Reply YES to stay on the list. If we do not hear back by [Date], we will stop messaging you.

नमस्ते [Name], काफी समय हो गया आपको [Restaurant] से कोई message नहीं आया। कुछ और भेजने से पहले एक बार पूछना चाहते हैं: क्या आप अब भी हमारा weekly offer message चाहते हैं? List में बने रहने के लिए YES लिखें। [Date] तक जवाब नहीं आया तो हम message भेजना बंद कर देंगे।

Hi [Name], [Restaurant] can send you a message when your order is confirmed, when it leaves the kitchen and when it is delivered, for each order you place. These are updates only, no offers. Reply YES to turn them on for this number.

नमस्ते [Name], [Restaurant] आपके हर order पर message भेज सकता है: जब order confirm हो, जब kitchen से निकले और जब deliver हो जाए। ये सिर्फ updates हैं, कोई offer नहीं। इस number पर चालू करने के लिए YES लिखें।

Hi [Name], a quick check on what you want from [Restaurant] on WhatsApp. Reply 1 for order updates only, 2 for order updates and the weekly offer, or STOP for nothing at all. Whatever you pick applies from today and can be changed any time.

नमस्ते [Name], एक छोटा सा सवाल कि [Restaurant] से WhatsApp पर आप क्या चाहते हैं। सिर्फ order updates के लिए 1 लिखें, order updates और weekly offer के लिए 2, या कुछ भी नहीं चाहिए तो STOP। जो चुनेंगे वो आज से लागू होगा और कभी भी बदला जा सकता है।

Hi, thanks for scanning the [Restaurant] code. This is our ordering number; menu and orders here: [Link]. If you also want our weekend offer message, once a week, reply YES. If not, no problem, you can still order any time from this chat.

नमस्ते, [Restaurant] का code scan करने के लिए शुक्रिया। ये हमारा ordering number है; menu और order यहाँ: [Link]। अगर हफ्ते में एक बार हमारा weekend offer message भी चाहिए, तो YES लिखें। नहीं चाहिए तो कोई बात नहीं, इसी chat से कभी भी order कर सकते हैं।

Understood, [Name], and sorry for sending more than we should have. You are off the [Restaurant] offers list as of now. If you would like to hear from us occasionally, reply MONTHLY and we will message you once a month at most. Otherwise, nothing more from us.

समझ गए [Name], और ज़रूरत से ज़्यादा message भेजने के लिए माफ़ी चाहते हैं। आप अभी से [Restaurant] की offers list से बाहर हैं। अगर कभी-कभार सुनना चाहें, तो MONTHLY लिखें, हम महीने में ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा एक बार message करेंगे। वरना हमारी तरफ से और कुछ नहीं आएगा।

Tips for sending these on WhatsApp

• Ask after a good moment, not before. The customer who just got a hot order on time says yes; the one who has not ordered yet has no reason to.
• Say the frequency and keep it. "One message a week" means one. If you want to send two in a festival week, say so in the opt-in or skip the second message.
• Record the consent with a date, and keep order updates and offers as two separate lists. The legal way to build a WhatsApp customer list explains what to store.
• Process STOP the same day and confirm it. A customer who replies STOP and gets another offer the next week reports the number, and reports are what get numbers restricted; see the mistakes that get restaurants blocked.
• On Tezzu, campaigns go only to customers marked as opted in, and a STOP reply removes the customer from the campaign list on its own, so the opt-out confirmation above is the only manual step left.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need opt-in to send order updates on WhatsApp?

Order confirmations, status updates and payment receipts are replies to something the customer asked for, so they do not need a separate marketing opt-in. Offers, new menu announcements, festival messages and win-back messages do. Keep the two apart: a customer who opts out of offers should keep getting updates on orders they place, and your message should say so.

What is the best way to get WhatsApp opt-in from customers?

Ask once, right after a good first order or at the end of a dine-in meal, with a short message that names what you will send and how often, and asks for a one-word YES. Add the same question to your QR code table card and your order confirmation flow. Avoid pre-ticked boxes and silence-as-consent; a yes that the customer typed is the only one that holds up when someone complains.

What happens if I message customers who have not opted in?

Some will block the number and some will report it. Enough reports and WhatsApp restricts the number's messaging, which also stops your order confirmations and delivery updates. On the WhatsApp Business API, marketing templates sent to people who did not consent also show up as low quality ratings. The fix is cheap: ask first, honour STOP, and send only to the yes list.