Send WhatsApp templates to customer segments in Kenya

Dispatch day: sixty buyers ordered Tuesday but the 24-hour window closed overnight. Free-form "Your rider is on the way" fails — Meta requires an approved template for outbound after the window. Typing sixty individual messages burns an hour. Campaigns in Timi sends one approved template to a CRM segment — up to 200 eligible contacts per run — while Timi keeps handling new inbound "bei gani?" chats in Feed.

For when templates are required vs free-form see WhatsApp message templates. For building segments see CRM guide.

Campaigns vs Feed one-to-one

• Reply inside 24h window → Feed (free-form or Timi auto-reply)
• One outbound update, window closed → Feed (pick approved template)
• Same template to many buyers → Campaigns + CRM segment
• Create / submit template → Campaigns → Message templates

Campaigns is not a spam blaster — Meta restricts promotional sends to people who have messaged you, and Timi skips imported-only and opted-out contacts.

Before you send

Confirm:

• WhatsApp Business connected in Settings
• Meta payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account (required for template sends at scale)
• At least one approved template in Campaigns → Message templates
• A CRM segment with eligible contacts (messaged you on WhatsApp, not STOP opted out)

Building the right segment

The segment is the strategy. For a dispatch run, use Paid customers from the last seven days — everyone who paid, so the template is utility and approves fast. For a win-back, use Cold / inactive or Ad chats no sale, keep the wording marketing-grade, and expect a stricter review. Preview the count before sending: if a "big" segment shows 12 eligible, the filter is doing its job — the other 200 are imported-only or opted out, and Meta would have rejected most of them anyway.

Step-by-step: segment campaign

1. Open Campaigns in the sidebar
2. Create or select an approved template (utility for order updates; marketing for win-backs — stricter review)
3. Click New campaign and pick a CRM segment — e.g. Paid customers from last week, or Waiting to pay
4. Preview recipient count — imported-only contacts are excluded automatically
5. Send — Timi paces messages one at a time (up to 200 eligible customers per run)
6. Track delivery status on the campaign send detail page

For one buyer only, skip Campaigns — open the chat in Feed and send the template there.

Good campaign use cases

• Rider dispatch — utility template to everyone who paid yesterday, window now closed
• Payment reminder — Waiting to pay segment, balance due template
• Win-back — Cold / inactive or Ad chats no sale with careful opt-in wording (marketing category)
• Back in stock — Waiting for stock segment when inventory lands (message from Feed if the list is small)

Bad use cases: cold numbers who never messaged you, vague "Exciting news" promos, three blasts to the same segment in one day.

A worked segment campaign

Friday, 4pm: 46 buyers paid Tuesday, but the 24-hour window has closed. Your CRM has them under Paid customers, all messaged you, none opted out. You pick a utility template — "Your order is ready for dispatch, expected today. Reply RIDER if you need the tracking pin." The campaign preview shows 38 eligible (eight are imported-only or opted out — Timi skips them). You send; Timi paces the messages one at a time. Riders get pins from the replies, and the dispatch update reaches everyone without an hour of typing. The same run next week takes two minutes.

Frequency and opt-out rhythm

Templates are a privilege, not a default. Keep one campaign per segment per week unless there is a real event (dispatch, restock, payment due). Every marketing template should carry opt-out language where Meta requires it; when a buyer replies STOP, Timi logs the opt-out and skips them on future runs until they message you again. A buyer who opted out once and messages you with a new order is eligible again — reset the relationship, not the spam.

Templates vs Timi nudges

• Timi nudges — automatic, max two, during business hours, free-form inside the 24h window on quiet qualified chats
• Template campaigns — seller-initiated, Meta-approved wording, required after the window closes (or for certain notification categories)

Do not copy template wording into live chats — sounds robotic mid-conversation. See follow-up without being pushy.

Readiness gates

Timi blocks sends when setup is incomplete — common blockers:

• Template still pending Meta approval
• No payment method on the WABA
• Segment has zero eligible contacts (all imported-only or opted out)
• Template category mismatch (utility body with marketing intent)

Fix in Campaigns or Settings, then retry preview before sending.

Common mistakes

• Blasting imported CSV contacts who never chatted — Meta restricts; Timi skips them
• Using marketing templates for pure order facts — utility approves faster
• Same template for first reply on inbound — use Timi auto-reply instead
• Ignoring STOP replies and resending promos
• Sending 200+ in one mental batch without checking segment filter first

FAQ

How many can I send per run? Up to 200 eligible customers per campaign run, paced one at a time.

Do campaigns cost extra on Timi? Included in your Timi plan. Meta bills WhatsApp conversation categories separately — a template send typically costs far less than the margin on one recovered sale, so dispatch and win-back runs pay for themselves.

Can I cancel a running send? Yes — cancel from the campaign send detail page; already-delivered messages cannot be recalled.

Feed or Campaigns for one person? Feed — Campaigns is for segment batch sends.

Need template approval help? See template examples and rejection fixes.