By Charles Lee Mathews. MarkLives MEDIA spoke to industry experts on how brands can use WhatsApp to build more direct, useful, and meaningful customer connections.
With open rates of 98% and click-through rates of up to 60%, WhatsApp is delivering results that look almost too good to be true for marketers. The question is no longer whether it belongs in the media mix. It is whether brands have the discipline, data infrastructure, and the restraint to use this media without burning it down.
“Globally, and amongst some clients, we are seeing up to a 40% decrease in cost-per-lead when utilising clicks to WhatsApp ads compared to standard web-redirects,” says Charne Munien, strategy director, Rogerwilco. “Consumers are instinctively gravitating towards the path of least resistance, and in this instance, the least invasive and time-consuming.”
The results from Meta’s mobile messaging app are compelling, Munien says. “When you consider that WhatsApp boasts a 98% open rate, with 88% of messages read within five minutes, the gradual migration of investment towards mobile-first, low-data-conversion channels is a matter of survival. I’m seeing brands deploying high-performing WhatsApp service engines that facilitate real-time quotes and self-service. The goal is no longer broadcast messaging, but conversational intent, where the chat thread is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate a brand owns,” she says.
The relationship cure
“WhatsApp isn’t a reach channel; it is a relationship channel,” says Zodwa Vundla, managing director at MediaHeads 360. “You earn your way in; you don’t buy your way in. What we are seeing is not necessarily a full budget shift, but a shift in how brands think about value. Public platforms drive reach, while WhatsApp is where conversion and ongoing engagement are starting to happen.
“In an African context, this becomes even more important. WhatsApp is where most South Africans communicate, transact and influence each other daily. If anything, it’s becoming foundational rather than experimental,” Vundla says.
“WhatsApp’s role from a campaign-specific point of view has predominantly been as facilitator within a broader campaign ecosystem- but WhatsApp’s ability to integrate constantly and consistently across the Four P’s over time is proving to be a game changer,” says Graham Deneys, chief strategy officer of media brands at dentsu. He expects significant investments in this media space going forward.
Restraint of invasion
But used without restraint, WhatsApp’s reach becomes a liability. “Brands can be their own worst enemy in the quest for attention. We’ve already seen how access to consumers via email, SMS and calls has been abused. WhatsApp is different. It’s a personal space because it holds your closest relationships and conversations, so the expectation is completely different. The fastest way to get blocked on WhatsApp is to behave like email,” says Vundla.
“The brands that succeed are the ones that respect that access. That means clear opt-ins, simple opt-outs, and communication that feels relevant rather than constant. There’s also a regulatory layer to this. POPIA and global frameworks require that opting out is as easy as opting in, but beyond compliance, this is just good business. It builds trust, improves data quality and ultimately drives better engagement,” Vundla adds.
“The line between a valued service and intrusive spam is defined entirely by the immediate utility a brand provides. In categories like insurance and FSPs, where product parity is the norm, customer experience is the only true differentiator left,” says Munien.
Be the concierge
“When we shift the focus from being purely information-driven to being action-oriented (for example, allowing a user to submit a claim photo or receive a personalised quote through a simple voice note), we move the brand from an intruder to a trusted concierge,” Munien explains.
“To maintain this intimacy, I advocate for a closed-source AI approach. This ensures that every interaction is vetted and brand-safe, avoiding the misinformation common with open-source models. By replacing a 10-minute hold on a traditional service line with a 10-second WhatsApp interaction, you become an essential tool rather than a nuisance. Recent research suggests that users now expect proactive, utility-based messages, such as reminders and exclusive offers, via WhatsApp. If you treat the inbox like a billboard, you will be blocked. If you treat it as a utility, you will be saved in the contact list,” she advises.
Customer utilities that create intimacy are valuable, but what are the returns on WhatsApp campaigns, and how are they calculated? “We see strong ROI in tactical campaign environments, particularly where WhatsApp serves as a simple, low-friction entry point driven by radio. A listener hears a call to action, sends a keyword, and immediately enters a conversation. That simplicity drives high participation and strong lead generation and qualification. When integrated with the client’s CRM system, WhatsApp enables automated verification, such as confirming whether a competition entrant is an existing customer,” says Vundla.
Deliver customer value
“Consumers are already comfortable engaging and transacting in chat environments. So while WhatsApp can drive immediate action, it can also enable long-term customer value. What was glaring is that CIOs and CTOs manage the building of owned Enterprise WhatsApp solutions, the CMO and their team are accountable for delivering ROI once the solution is live. The real opportunity is in connecting those two. There is no amount of Marketing that can make up for the failure of products that were not designed with customers in mind,” Vundla notes.
“Measuring success on WhatsApp requires a mindset shift. You’re not just looking at impressions or clicks; instead, you are looking at conversations, intent and outcomes. That’s a very different level of accountability,” she says.
“For tactical campaigns, the focus can be on metrics such as cost per lead, conversion rates, engagement depth, and insights. For platform solutions, metrics would include operational efficiency, cost savings, sales, and the like. A brand can also learn valuable information about its customers through those interactions because the data is often richer and more actionable than that provided by traditional channels.”
The art of retention
“The strongest ROI in the current landscape lives in the synergy of a hybrid funnel where ads initiate the spark, but the compounded yield is found in the CRM retention engine. Across Africa, WhatsApp serves as a bridge over a massive digital divide, offering a sophisticated interface to a population that is often time-starved and data-poor. For many consumers, the brand doesn’t exist on a desktop or a high-speed fibre connection; it exists in a data-light chat thread,” says Munien.
“The real value for brands is the zero-party data harvested within that conversational thread. Every interaction in which a user chooses a product preference or answers a sentiment poll provides insight that third-party cookies simply cannot replicate. We are seeing conversational commerce achieve conversion rates as high as 60%, which is nearly 12x higher than traditional email or SMS,” she says.
“This isn’t just a short-term sales play; it is about using the WhatsApp line as a direct-to-consumer engine that radically shortens the path to purchase. In 2026, the real yield is found in meeting the audience where they live, rather than forcing them to adapt to legacy technology,” says Munien.
The measurement imperative
And Deneys ‘ advice on measurement? “I would look to longer-term success indicators. Seamless value-adding and scaled problem-solving over time builds brand satisfaction and consideration, and therefore, Brand Health and NPS gains, to name a few,” he says.
For Vundla, best practice for brands centres on fitting into existing behaviour rather than forcing new habits. “That requires a shift from campaigns to conversations, from messaging to value exchange, and from control to participation,” says Vundla.
“We must move from attention-based marketing to intention-based marketing by identifying the highest-friction point in your customer journey and solving it on WhatsApp first. In a world where the average human attention span has plummeted to just 7.9 seconds, your brand cannot afford to be an obstacle; it must be a shortcut that respects your audience’s time poverty,” adds Munien.
In 2026, brands win by meeting audiences where they already are, rather than forcing them to adapt to legacy technology. As attention shrinks and scepticism grows, shifting from interruption to utility isn’t just a tactical win, it’s a structural survival strategy.
Charles Lee Mathews is a senior editor to MarkLives MEDIA and a senior writer to MarkLives.com, as well as co-founder of The Writers, a writing consultancy.
