D2CCookwareWhatsAppBuilt on MoEngage
Three in four WhatsApp messages never arrived. A month later, delivery nearly doubled.
Cumin Co's WhatsApp delivery rate had slid to 23%. A month later it was 44%, with no new offers, no new vendor and fewer messages sent.
The brand
Cumin Co, premium cast iron cookware sold direct.
The problem
WhatsApp delivery at 23%, down from 27% three months earlier.
The cost
Every broadcast reached fewer customers, so channel revenue shrank with it.
The bet
A number people actually talk to gets delivered more often.
Pain point
WhatsApp was meant to be Cumin Co's most direct line to customers. Instead, fewer than one in four messages were landing, and the rate slipped about two points a month. The open rate looked healthy the whole time, because it only counts messages that arrive.
More sends didn't help. Customer replies went to a separate service number, so the marketing number looked like it only ever talked at people. Each ignored broadcast told WhatsApp the same thing, and pushing harder would only have deepened the hole.
The channel needed a different kind of traffic before it could carry more of it.
Delivery is earned one conversation at a time.
What I did
- 01
Earned trust on the number.
Applied for the verified blue tick and completed the WhatsApp business profile and catalog, so messages came from a business customers could recognise.
- 02
Moved conversations to the marketing number.
Quick-reply buttons on every message, and an AI assistant with a human handoff, so replies stayed on the number that needed them.
- 03
Sent less, at better moments.
Capped marketing at two messages per customer a week, moved sends into intent-triggered journeys, and kept broadcasts away from anyone messaged in the last three days.
- 04
Led with service.
Care and seasoning guidance for what each customer had bought. Useful messages earned clicks from people who had stopped engaging.
Before and after
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery rate | 23%, falling with every send | 44% within a month |
| Where replies went | A separate service number | The marketing number |
| Messages per customer | Three to four a week | Two a week |
| How messages went out | Fixed-time broadcasts | Journeys triggered by what customers did |
| Channel health | Declining each campaign | Improving with each conversation |
Results
WhatsApp delivery rate, from 23% to 44% in one month
More messages reaching customers
CRM revenue in the same month, most of it through WhatsApp
The 44% blends marketing and utility messages, which were reported together. Utility messages deliver more reliably, so they lifted the average alongside the fixes.
Read the full breakdown: the five causes, the error codes and the 30-minute audit