WhatsApp as a business channel: how to build trust and drive upselling

I'm opening this post to gather feedback, insights, experiences, and tips on leveraging WhatsApp as a communication channel. With its impressive open rates and ability to engage users on a highly personal level, WhatsApp offers a unique opportunity for businesses.

However, especially in industries or use cases where receiving messages via WhatsApp is uncommon, the key challenge I see is how to earn user trust when introducing upselling campaigns. The goal is not only to achieve high open rates but also to minimize spam reports and generate real value through user actions.

From my experience, the most effective approach has been to start with value-driven messages—communications that aren’t focused on a direct call-to-action (like a purchase or promotion) but instead offer informative, useful content. After at least two interactions of this nature, which establish a relationship with the user, it becomes more appropriate to initiate upselling campaigns via WhatsApp.

Questions for discussion:

- What strategies have you found successful for building trust with users on WhatsApp?
- How do you balance promotional content with providing value to the user?
- Are there particular industries or use cases where WhatsApp works better for upselling?
- How do you mitigate the risk of users reporting messages as spam?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!