About this customer profile update flow
Contact records decay quietly. People change email addresses, move closer to a different branch, or never told you they prefer to be called "Jo" rather than "Joanna". This flow gives existing customers one screen to put that right, inside the chat they already use with you, with no login and no web page to find.
Each field feeds something concrete. The preferred name goes into message greetings and booking confirmations. The birthday powers a birthday offer, and customers share it far more willingly when the label says why you are asking. The branch and language fields decide which location's updates they get and which language your team replies in, and the interests list lets you segment without guessing from purchase history.
A consent checkbox at the bottom records that the customer agrees to you storing these details, with a link to your privacy policy. It is separate from marketing consent on purpose: a customer can happily share their birthday and branch for better service without agreeing to promotional broadcasts, which you should collect with a dedicated opt-in.
Fields this flow returns
When the customer taps the final button, the complete action sends these keys back in response_json. Fields from earlier screens are pulled in with global references (${screen.SCREEN_ID.form.field}), so nothing is lost between screens.
| Key | Component | Screen | Required | Returns | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
preferred_name |
TextInput | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | string | "Jo" |
profile_email |
TextInput (email) | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | string | "[email protected]" |
birthday |
DatePicker | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | YYYY-MM-DD | "1990-04-12" |
preferred_branchdowntown, riverside, north_mall, online_only |
Dropdown | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | item id | "riverside" |
preferred_languageenglish, spanish, french, portuguese, arabic |
Dropdown | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | item id | "english" |
interestshair_styling, skincare, massage, wellness_packages, retail_products |
CheckboxGroup | PROFILE_UPDATE | No | array of ids | ["skincare","wellness_packages"] |
data_consent |
OptIn | PROFILE_UPDATE | Yes | boolean | true |
Optional fields the customer leaves empty may be missing from response_json or arrive empty. Treat every optional key as nullable in your handler.
Send the Customer Profile Update flow without touching code
You do not need to be technical to use WhatsApp Flows. Connect your WhatsApp number, set the flow up in our drag-and-drop editor and send it to customers in a few clicks. No JSON, no API calls, no WhatsApp Manager.
Connect your number
Log in with Facebook and connect your WhatsApp number in a few minutes. No API keys or servers to set up.
Set up the flow
Start from a ready-made form or import this one, then drag fields in, change the wording and try it on a live phone preview. Click Publish when it looks right.
Send it anywhere
Send it from any chat in the Team Inbox, on web or mobile, send it automatically from an automation, or broadcast it to a list.
Get the answers
Every answer is saved on the customer's profile and chat, and your team can be notified the moment a form comes in.
Sample webhook payload (nfm_reply)
This is what your webhook receives when a customer submits the flow. response_json is a JSON string: parse it, then match flow_token to the record you created when you sent the message. The customer's WhatsApp number is in messages[0].from.
{
"flow_token": "bk_8f2c41",
"preferred_name": "Jo",
"profile_email": "[email protected]",
"birthday": "1990-04-12",
"preferred_branch": "riverside",
"preferred_language": "english",
"interests": [
"skincare",
"wellness_packages"
],
"data_consent": true
}
{
"object": "whatsapp_business_account",
"entry": [
{
"id": "WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID",
"changes": [
{
"field": "messages",
"value": {
"messaging_product": "whatsapp",
"metadata": {
"display_phone_number": "15550001234",
"phone_number_id": "PHONE_NUMBER_ID"
},
"contacts": [
{
"profile": {
"name": "Alex Morgan"
},
"wa_id": "14155550123"
}
],
"messages": [
{
"context": {
"from": "15550001234",
"id": "wamid.SENT_FLOW_MESSAGE_ID"
},
"from": "14155550123",
"id": "wamid.INCOMING_MESSAGE_ID",
"timestamp": "1760000000",
"type": "interactive",
"interactive": {
"type": "nfm_reply",
"nfm_reply": {
"name": "flow",
"body": "Sent",
"response_json": "{\"flow_token\":\"bk_8f2c41\",\"preferred_name\":\"Jo\",\"profile_email\":\"[email protected]\",\"birthday\":\"1990-04-12\",\"preferred_branch\":\"riverside\",\"preferred_language\":\"english\",\"interests\":[\"skincare\",\"wellness_packages\"],\"data_consent\":true}"
}
}
}
]
}
}
]
}
]
}
Deploy with the WhatsApp Cloud API
Prefer code over WhatsApp Manager? Save the template as customer-profile-update.json and run these calls with a system user token that has whatsapp_business_management and whatsapp_business_messaging permissions.
1. Create the flow
curl -X POST 'https://graph.facebook.com/v23.0/{WABA_ID}/flows' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"name": "customer_profile_update", "categories": ["SIGN_UP"]}'
# => {"id": "{FLOW_ID}"}2. Upload the Flow JSON
curl -X POST 'https://graph.facebook.com/v23.0/{FLOW_ID}/assets' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-F '[email protected];type=application/json' \
-F 'name=flow.json' \
-F 'asset_type=FLOW_JSON'
# => {"success": true, "validation_errors": []}3. Publish it
curl -X POST 'https://graph.facebook.com/v23.0/{FLOW_ID}/publish' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}'Publishing is permanent: a published flow cannot be edited. To change it later, create a new flow (or clone it with clone_flow_id) and publish the new version.
4. Send it to a customer
Inside the 24-hour customer service window, send an interactive flow message. Outside it, create a message template with a Flow button that points to this flow, and send the template instead.
{
"messaging_product": "whatsapp",
"recipient_type": "individual",
"to": "14155550123",
"type": "interactive",
"interactive": {
"type": "flow",
"header": {
"type": "text",
"text": "Keep your details up to date"
},
"body": {
"text": "Update your name, email and preferences in under a minute, and add your birthday so we can send you a treat on the day."
},
"footer": {
"text": "Your details stay private"
},
"action": {
"name": "flow",
"parameters": {
"flow_message_version": "3",
"flow_token": "bk_8f2c41",
"flow_id": "YOUR_FLOW_ID",
"flow_cta": "Update my details",
"flow_action": "navigate",
"flow_action_payload": {
"screen": "PROFILE_UPDATE"
}
}
}
}
}curl -X POST 'https://graph.facebook.com/v23.0/{PHONE_NUMBER_ID}/messages' \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer {ACCESS_TOKEN}' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d @send-customer-profile-update.jsonWhen to send it
Annual data refresh
Once a year, send the flow to active customers through a Flow-button template so birthdays, emails and branch preferences stay current.
Bounced email or wrong name
When a receipt email bounces or a customer corrects their name in chat, reply with the form so every detail is updated at once rather than one field at a time.
Opening a new location
Ask existing customers to choose their preferred branch when a new site opens, so location-specific updates reach the right people from day one.
Loyalty programme sign-up
Use the flow as the enrolment step for a loyalty or birthday club, where the birthday and interests are the whole point of joining.
How to customise this template
- List your real branches in the Dropdown and keep an "Online only" option if you also sell or consult remotely. Use stable ids such as downtown rather than full addresses, which change.
- Offer only the languages your team can actually reply in. Listing a language nobody on staff speaks sets up a disappointing first reply.
- Change the interests to your own service lines. A spa might list massage, facials and wellness packages; a gym might list classes, personal training and nutrition.
- If you already hold the email address, move this flow behind a keyword such as "update details" and keep the field optional, so customers are not forced to retype it.
Open this template in the Flow Builder to make these changes visually. The builder keeps field names unique and regenerates the completion payload for you.
Common mistakes to avoid
- A static flow cannot pre-fill the customer's current details, so every field starts empty. Treat blank optional answers as "no change" in your handler, not as an instruction to clear the stored value.
- Birthdays arrive as YYYY-MM-DD including a year. If you only need the day and month for an offer, store just those, and say in the label that the year is not used if customers seem reluctant.
- Do not bundle marketing consent into the data-storage OptIn. Agreeing to store a profile is not the same as agreeing to promotional messages, and mixing them makes both harder to rely on.
- Language and branch fields return ids, not labels. Map them to your own locale codes and location records in the webhook handler, and keep the ids stable when you rename a branch.
Keep consent and contact data in one place
In Whautomate, import this flow into the built-in flow editor, click Publish and send it from the Team Inbox, an automation or a Flow-button template. Answers are saved on the client's profile, tags are added on submit, and automations can manage your suppression list so opted-out contacts stop receiving broadcasts.
- Tags added automatically on submit
- Suppression list for opt-outs
- Every answer kept on the client profile
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