Ways to collect customer data with consent: 7 doors that work today, and a customer database template
How to collect data on customers and leads with their consent: from the chat, an ad that opens WhatsApp, comments, the order page, a QR code, website chat and WhatsApp forms, with a customer database template and why not to buy number lists.
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataOn this page 4
The short answer
Collect it from people who contact you themselves, not from lists you buy: everyone who messages you on WhatsApp, comments on your post, types their number on the order page or scans a QR code in your shop becomes a customer whose name, number and source you know. Collect the least you need, ask for consent before any offer, and keep it all in one list with tags and groups. In ArabyBot each contact is saved automatically with its source, and whoever stopped marketing gets no marketing broadcast.
Also asked as: «طرق جمع بيانات العملاء» · «كيف اجمع بيانات العملاء» · «تجميع بيانات العملاء المحتملين» · «قالب قاعدة بيانات العملاء» · «قاعدة بيانات العملاء مجانا» · «كيف اجمع داتا عملاء» · «how to collect customer data» · «customer database template»
7 doors for collecting customer data that work today
One rule runs through every door: the customer starts, so you learn their name, number and what they want without chasing them. The last column is the source recorded on the contact in ArabyBot.
| The door | What you get | The source in ArabyBot |
|---|---|---|
| A direct WhatsApp chat | Name, number and what they asked | «Direct» |
| An ad that opens a WhatsApp chat | The number of everyone who tapped the ad and wrote | «WhatsApp Ads» |
| A comment, then a private message | Whoever wrote «how much?» gets a private reply and a chat begins | «Comment» |
| The store's order page | Name, number and address with every order | «Orders» |
| A QR code in the shop or on the bag | Whoever scans it opens a chat with your number | «QR Code» |
| The chat window on your website | Website visitors who write to you | «Website Chat» |
| A form inside WhatsApp | City, interest and preferred time on one screen | WhatsApp forms |
From the order page: whoever typed their number and did not finish gets a WhatsApp reminder. From comments: turning comments into private messages.
A customer database template: the least you need
Collect what you actually use and no more; the law in Saudi Arabia and Egypt asks that collection serve a specific, disclosed purpose, and every extra column lengthens the customer's path.
| Column | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Sara | To address them by name |
| WhatsApp number | +9665XXXXXXXX | For contact and orders |
| City | Jeddah | For shipping and local offers |
| Source | WhatsApp Ads | To know which door brings customers |
| Interest | Men's fragrances | To send only what fits them |
| Agreed to offers | Yes, 21 October | No offers without consent |
| Last order and total spent | 3 orders, SAR 620 | To know your best customers |
| Tags and notes | «wholesale customer» | For what the columns do not say |
In ArabyBot each contact has its source, its groups, «Notes & tags», its orders and «Total spent», and you import old numbers from a CSV, Excel or TXT file. Whoever stopped marketing messages shows «Marketing stopped», so marketing broadcasts do not reach them. WhatsApp as a CRM.
Consent before any offer
- Ask where it feels natural
A box on the order form, «send me offers on WhatsApp», or a question at the end of the chat: «would you like to receive our offers?».
- Record the consent and its date
A tag or group, «agreed to offers», so you target only that in broadcasts.
- Make stopping easy
Whoever asks to stop gets no more offers; that is required in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and by Meta too. Write it into your privacy policy: the store privacy policy template.
Frequently asked questions
Is it allowed to buy a ready database of numbers?
Do not. In Saudi Arabia promotional material may not be sent over personal contact channels without the recipient's consent (Article 25 of the Personal Data Protection Law), and in Egypt direct electronic marketing needs the person's consent (Article 17 of Law 151 of 2020). On WhatsApp people who never asked for your messages block and report you, so your number's quality drops until it is restricted.
How do I build a customer database for free?
A Google Sheet with the columns in the template below is enough to start. As conversations grow, typing by hand becomes a burden and sources get lost; in ArabyBot each contact saves itself from the chat or the order with its source and its orders.
Can I import my old customers' numbers?
Yes: in «WhatsApp Tools» → «Contacts» → «Import Contacts» you upload a CSV, Excel or TXT file or paste the numbers, and put them in a group. Message them with a Meta-approved template, and send offers only to those who agreed. Sending a WhatsApp campaign.
How do I know which door brings the most customers?
From each contact's source: in «Contacts» the «Source» filter shows who came from orders, WhatsApp ads, a QR code, a direct chat or an import. Compare the counts, then the orders from each source.
How we write these guides Figures come from our platform and Meta's actual invoices, dated with their sample; we describe what works today, not what we plan, and say what we do not do and when someone else is the better choice. Reviewed by the ArabyBot team on 21 October 2026.
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