WhatsApp Marketing: Strategies and Tools for Businesses in 2026

WhatsApp marketing has become one of the most profitable commercial communication channels for businesses of all sizes in Spain. With a 98% open rate and over 36 million active users in the country, WhatsApp is no longer just a personal messaging app. It is a direct marketing channel with conversion potential that email and SMS simply cannot match.

If you are looking for ways to reach your customers in a more direct, personalized, and measurable way, this guide explains everything you need to know about WhatsApp marketing: what it is, why it works, which strategies to apply, which tools to use, and how to comply with current regulations in Spain.

What Is WhatsApp Marketing and Why It Works in 2026

WhatsApp marketing is the strategy of using WhatsApp as a commercial communication channel to attract, nurture, and retain customers. It ranges from sending promotional campaigns and personalized offers to post-sales support and lead nurturing through automated conversations.

It is not simply about sending bulk messages. Well-executed WhatsApp marketing combines segmentation, personalization, automation, and regulatory compliance to create conversational experiences that convert.

WhatsApp Statistics in Spain

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 36 million active WhatsApp users in Spain, over 95% of smartphone users.
• 98% open rate, compared to 20-25% for traditional email marketing.
• 45-60% response rate, while email barely reaches 2-3%.
• 2 billion active users worldwide.
• The average user checks WhatsApp between 23 and 25 times a day.

These figures explain why more and more companies are incorporating WhatsApp as a priority marketing channel. It is not a fad: it is the channel where your customers already are.

WhatsApp vs Email Marketing vs SMS

Before investing in WhatsApp marketing, it is worth understanding how it compares to traditional channels.

The conclusion is clear: the cost per actual interaction on WhatsApp is significantly lower than email or SMS. You pay more per message, but each message generates between 15 and 30 times more interactions. The ROI of WhatsApp marketing campaigns consistently outperforms other direct channels.

WhatsApp Marketing Strategies for Businesses

Implementing WhatsApp marketing is not about sending promotions without criteria. You need a strategy that covers every stage of the conversion funnel and respects the channel's rules of the game.

Segmented broadcast lists

WhatsApp broadcast lists allow you to send the same message to multiple contacts individually, without recipients seeing each other. It is WhatsApp's official alternative to newsletters.

The key is segmentation. Do not send the same message to your entire database. Segment by:

• Funnel stage: cold leads, qualified leads, active customers, inactive customers.
• Purchase history: products purchased, average ticket, frequency.
• Interests: product categories they have asked about.
• Location: localized campaigns by city or region.

A well-segmented broadcast list can achieve conversion rates of 15-20%, compared to 1-3% from a generic email campaign.

Promotional campaigns

Promotional campaigns are the most direct use of WhatsApp marketing. They work especially well for:

• Product launches: send interactive catalogs with images, descriptions, and direct purchase buttons.
• Flash sales and limited-time offers: WhatsApp's immediacy is perfect for time-limited offers.
• Abandoned cart recovery: a WhatsApp reminder converts between 15-25% of carts, compared to 3-5% for email.
• Key dates: Black Friday, Christmas, seasonal sales with exclusive offers for WhatsApp subscribers.

The ideal format combines a brief message (no more than 3 paragraphs), an eye-catching image or video, and a direct action button ("View offer", "Buy now", "Book appointment").

Nurturing and follow-up

WhatsApp marketing does not end with the first sale. Nurturing through WhatsApp is extraordinarily effective because the channel creates a sense of closeness and personalization that email cannot achieve.

WhatsApp nurturing strategies:

• Welcome sequences: when a lead signs up, send a sequence of 3-4 messages spaced over a week with valuable content.
• Post-sale follow-up: ask about the customer's experience 48 hours after purchase.
• Educational content: share guides, tutorials, and tips related to your product.
• Satisfaction surveys: a simple "From 1 to 5, how would you rate your experience?" on WhatsApp gets response rates 10 times higher than email.

Click-to-WhatsApp Ads

Click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram are one of the fastest-growing WhatsApp marketing strategies. Instead of directing users to a landing page, the ad opens a WhatsApp conversation directly with your business.

The advantages are significant:

• Friction reduction: users do not need to fill out forms or navigate a website.
• Immediate qualification: a chatbot or AI agent can qualify the lead within the conversation itself.
• Lower cost per lead: Click-to-WhatsApp campaigns typically generate leads 30-50% cheaper than form-based campaigns, because the abandonment rate is much lower.
• Real-time conversation: the lead is "hot" and available to interact immediately.

To set them up, you need a WhatsApp Business API account linked to your Meta Business Suite account.

WhatsApp Marketing Tools: 2026 Comparison

Choosing the right WhatsApp marketing tool depends on the size of your business, your message volume, and the level of automation you need.

Official Meta tools

Meta offers two native options:

• WhatsApp Business App: free, ideal for freelancers and micro-businesses. Allows broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts, product catalog, and quick replies. Limited to 4 devices.
• WhatsApp Business API (Cloud API): the professional option. No native interface, accessed through BSP providers or direct integration. Allows bulk messaging, advanced automation, CRM integration, and unlimited multi-agent support.

To do WhatsApp marketing at scale, the API is the only viable path. The free app falls short once you exceed 256 contacts per broadcast list.

Third-party platforms

The WhatsApp marketing tools ecosystem has matured significantly. These are the most relevant platforms for the Spanish market:

• GuruSup: specialized in automation with AI agents. Combines WhatsApp Business API with conversational artificial intelligence for marketing, sales, and support. Ideal for companies that want to automate the entire customer lifecycle.
• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): multichannel marketing platform that integrates email, SMS, and WhatsApp. A good option if you already use Brevo for email marketing and want to add WhatsApp to the mix.
• Respond.io: omnichannel platform focused on messaging. Allows you to manage WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram from a single dashboard.
• WATI: platform specialized in WhatsApp Business API. Simple interface, good for SMEs without a technical team. Chatbot with visual builder.
• 360dialog: BSP with transparent pricing and no hidden margins. A good option for businesses that prioritize cost per message.
• Twilio: API-based communications platform. Maximum flexibility for development teams that want to build custom integrations.

Price comparison table

On top of these prices, you need to add the per-conversation cost charged directly by Meta (~0.06 EUR per marketing conversation in Spain).

The choice depends on your priorities. If you are looking for WhatsApp as a marketing tool with intelligent automation and AI agents, GuruSup is the most complete option. If you want to integrate WhatsApp into an existing multichannel strategy, Brevo or Respond.io may be more suitable.

How to Create Your First WhatsApp Marketing Campaign

Setting up your first WhatsApp marketing campaign is not complicated if you follow a structured process. Here is the step-by-step guide.

Define objective and audience

Before writing a single message, answer these questions:

• What is the objective?: Generate sales, recover carts, nurture leads, retain customers, reactivate inactive users.
• Who is the audience?: A specific segment of your database. Do not send to everyone.
• What action do you want the user to take?: Buy, book, reply, visit a page.
• What is the success metric?: Open rate, click rate, conversions, revenue generated.

Without these clear parameters, you will be shooting blindly. And on WhatsApp, blind shots have consequences: user reports that lower your account quality.

Create an approved template

To send bulk messages on WhatsApp, you need a template approved by Meta. The process is as follows:

1. Draft the message: brief, direct, with clear value for the recipient. Include personalized variables (name, product, date).
2. Add interactive elements: quick reply buttons ("View offer", "Not interested") or URL buttons ("Go to store").
3. Submit for approval: through your BSP or directly from Meta Business Suite. Review takes from minutes to 24 hours.
4. Test before launching: send the campaign first to a small group (5-10% of the list) to measure results before scaling.

Example of a promotional campaign template:

Hi {{name}}, we have an exclusive offer for you. 20% discount on {{category}} until {{end_date}}. Only for WhatsApp subscribers.[View offers] [Not interested]

Launch and measure results

Once the template is approved and tested with the pilot group, launch the campaign to the full segment. The key metrics you should monitor:

• Delivery rate: percentage of messages delivered. If it drops below 95%, review the quality of your list.
• Open rate: on WhatsApp it should be above 90%.
• Click-through rate (CTR): percentage of users who press the action button. A CTR of 15-30% is typical.
• Conversion rate: percentage of users who complete the desired action.
• Block/report rate: if it exceeds 2%, reformulate the message or review your segmentation.
• ROI: revenue generated divided by total cost (Meta + BSP + creation).

If you can schedule WhatsApp messages for the optimal time (campaigns sent between 10:00 and 12:00 and between 17:00 and 19:00 tend to perform better), the results improve significantly.

WhatsApp Marketing Regulations and Best Practices in Spain

WhatsApp marketing in Spain is subject to strict regulation. Ignoring it can cost you from a WhatsApp account ban to financial penalties from the AEPD. Do not risk it.

GDPR and consent

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Organic Law on Data Protection (LOPD-GDD) are mandatory for any company operating in Spain.

To do WhatsApp marketing legally, you need:

• Explicit consent (opt-in): the user must have given their permission actively, informedly, and documentably to receive commercial communications via WhatsApp. A pre-checked checkbox is not valid.
• Right to withdraw (opt-out): every marketing message must include a simple way to unsubscribe. A "Not interested" button or instructions to send "STOP" are valid options.
• Specific purpose: consent must clearly state that WhatsApp will be used as a commercial communication channel. A generic consent "for communications" may not be sufficient.
• Record of consent: you must keep evidence of when, how, and for what purpose each contact gave their consent.

WhatsApp Business Policy

In addition to GDPR, Meta has its own policies you must comply with:

• Mandatory opt-in: WhatsApp requires businesses to have prior consent before sending business-initiated messages. You cannot buy contact lists or send messages to numbers collected without consent.
• Account quality: Meta monitors your account quality based on user responses. If many users report or block your messages, the quality drops and your sending limit is reduced.
• Approved templates: every business-initiated message must use an approved template. Misleading content, spam, or aggressive practices will result in template rejection.

Avoiding account bans

To protect your account and maintain a high reputation:

• Only send to opt-in contacts: it seems obvious, but it is the number one cause of bans.
• Segment: a relevant message for the recipient does not generate reports. A generic message does.
• Reasonable frequency: no more than 2-4 marketing messages per month. Daily sending is spam, no matter how good your content is.
• Valuable content: every message must provide something to the recipient, not just ask them to buy.
• Gradual scaling: if you have just set up the API, do not send 10,000 messages on the first day. Start with hundreds and scale up progressively.
• Monitor quality: if your account quality drops to "yellow" or "red" in the Meta dashboard, stop sending and analyze what is going wrong.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is WhatsApp marketing?

WhatsApp marketing is the strategy of using WhatsApp as a commercial communication channel for businesses. It includes sending promotional campaigns, personalized offers, transactional notifications, lead nurturing, and post-sales support. It differs from personal WhatsApp use in that it requires professional tools such as the WhatsApp Business API, prior user consent, and message templates approved by Meta. With 98% open rates, it is one of the most effective digital marketing channels in Spain.

How to activate marketing messages on WhatsApp?

To activate marketing messages on WhatsApp, you need a WhatsApp Business API account through a BSP provider like GuruSup, Brevo, or WATI. The process involves: creating a Meta Business Suite account, verifying your business, registering your phone number with the API, and creating "marketing" type message templates that Meta must approve before use. The free WhatsApp Business app does not allow bulk marketing sends beyond broadcast lists limited to 256 contacts.

How to send 1,000 messages on WhatsApp at once?

To send bulk messages on WhatsApp to 1,000 or more recipients, you mandatorily need the WhatsApp Business API. The free app limits broadcast lists to 256 contacts and does not allow sending at scale. With the API and a BSP, you can create a template approved by Meta, import your contact list (all with opt-in), and launch the campaign to thousands of recipients simultaneously. The cost in Spain is approximately 0.06 EUR per marketing conversation.

What to say on WhatsApp to sell?

Sales messages on WhatsApp should be brief, personalized, and action-oriented. Use the recipient's name, mention a specific benefit (not a feature), and end with a clear action button. Example: "Hi Maria, we have prepared an exclusive 20% discount on your favorite category. Only until Friday." Avoid long texts, aggressive language, and excessive capitalization. The key is that the message feels like a personal conversation, not an advertising brochure.

How GuruSup Improves Your WhatsApp Marketing

Effective WhatsApp marketing requires more than just sending messages. It needs intelligent automation, advanced segmentation, and the ability to maintain personalized conversations at scale. That is where GuruSup makes the difference.

Key GuruSup Features

GuruSup combines the WhatsApp Business API with conversational AI agents that transform your marketing campaigns into real conversations:

• Intelligent automatic responses: when a user responds to your marketing campaign, the AI agent continues the conversation naturally, resolves questions, recommends products, and guides toward conversion. It is not a chatbot with predefined responses: it understands context and natural language.
• Behavior-based segmentation: GuruSup analyzes each contact's interactions to create dynamic segments and send hyper-personalized campaigns.
• Full funnel automation: from the Click-to-WhatsApp Ad to post-sale follow-up, the entire flow is managed automatically with human intervention only when necessary.
• CRM integration: bidirectional connection with HubSpot, Salesforce, Shopify, and other systems so that every WhatsApp interaction is reflected in the customer profile.
• Escalation to human agents: when the AI agent detects a complex sales opportunity or an unhappy customer, it transfers the conversation to a sales rep with full context.

How to Get Started with GuruSup

Getting your WhatsApp marketing up and running with GuruSup is fast:

1. Connect your WhatsApp Business API account to GuruSup in minutes.
2. Configure your AI agent with your documentation, catalog, and brand tone.
3. Create your first campaign with templates optimized for conversion.
4. Measure and optimize with detailed analytics for every campaign and conversation.

The result: WhatsApp marketing campaigns that are not only opened, but generate real conversations and measurable sales. Without needing a marketing team of 10 people.

Try GuruSup for free and discover how AI agents can multiply the ROI of your WhatsApp marketing. Request free demo