In Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, WhatsApp is where customers actually read messages. That is exactly why it is easy to overuse. Send the same offer to everyone a few times and customers mute you, block you or report you, and your messages stop arriving at all.
The businesses that do well on WhatsApp send fewer messages, to the right people, at the moment the message is useful. Here is how to do that, and what it costs.
How WhatsApp Business pricing works now
Since 1 July 2025, the WhatsApp Business Platform charges per message rather than per conversation. Templates fall into three categories, marketing, utility and authentication, each with its own rate by country. Utility templates sent while a 24-hour customer service window is open, after the customer has messaged you, are free, as are replies inside that window. Marketing templates are always charged.
In practice, this means every marketing message has a direct cost. A message sent to someone who was never going to buy is money spent and goodwill lost.
Get opt-in first
WhatsApp's business policy requires that people agree to receive your messages. Collect that consent clearly, at sign-up or checkout, record it, and make it easy to stop. Consent is not just a rule. Customers who chose to hear from you are the ones who read and act on your messages.
Segment by behaviour, not just by city
Age and city tell you little about what someone wants this week. Behaviour tells you a lot: what they browsed, what they bought, what they bid on, how recently they were active, and what they ignored. Build segments from that, such as "active in the last 7 days and interested in SUVs", and each message becomes relevant to the person who receives it.
The best WhatsApp campaign is the one that sends 1,800 messages instead of 80,000.
Send at the moments that matter
- Something they care about is about to end: an auction closing, a booking slot filling up, a price ending.
- Something changed for them: they were outbid, an item they watched is back in stock, a payment is due.
- They went quiet: a regular customer has not ordered in their usual time.
These moments can be automated, so the message goes out on time for each person rather than in one daily blast.
Measure what matters
Delivery and read rates are a start, but what counts is the action: a bid, an order, a booking, a payment. Compare each segment against a small group that did not get the message, and you will see which campaigns actually earn their cost.
How Marvis does it
Marvis, our AI marketing hub, learns your business from your own data. Every night it rebuilds customer segments and finds the best audience for each item, then sends campaigns on WhatsApp and app push with your brand. Its automatic reminders go out at the moments that matter, such as when a customer is outbid, and an AI analyst answers questions about your customers in plain words. Marvis keeps no names, phone numbers or national IDs in its model, and runs in our cloud or yours.
