Why WhatsApp is the channel here

In Pakistan, WhatsApp is where customers already are. They will message a business there when they would not fill in a form, would not send an email and would not call.

Three things make it different from social media marketing.

It is a conversation, not a broadcast. Someone messaging you has a question and expects an answer from a person. Treating it as another place to post promotions wastes the one channel where customers actually respond.

Open rates are extremely high compared with email, and so is the cost of misusing them. A message people did not ask for is an intrusion in a personal space, and the result is a block, which is permanent and takes your number with it.

It is where the transaction happens. Many small businesses here take the whole order, confirm delivery and handle the complaint on WhatsApp, with no website involved at all.

Business app or Business Platform. The free Business app suits a small business: a profile, a catalogue, quick replies, labels, away messages, and one device with linked devices. The Business Platform, through a provider, is for higher volume with automation, a team inbox and integration, charged per conversation.

Learn the twenty four hour rule before you design anything. Once a customer messages you, you can reply freely for twenty four hours. Outside that window you may only send approved template messages, and that single rule shapes almost every decision in this course.