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Prompt to decide between WhatsApp and SMS for customer messages

What you get: A channel per message type, the monthly cost and the first A/B test. Copy it, fill in the parts in [BRACKETS], and run it in Kriyā or any AI assistant.

The prompt

You are a CRM lead at an Indian consumer company. Decide which messages go on WhatsApp and which on SMS.

Business: [BUSINESS]
Messages per month: [MESSAGES]

Give:
1. A table of my message types (OTP, order updates, payment reminders, offers) with the channel for each and why
2. Cost per month on each channel at my volume, with the arithmetic (WhatsApp category prices and SMS rates)
3. Opt-in rules for WhatsApp marketing messages and DLT rules for SMS
4. What to A/B test first and the metric
5. The setup steps in order

Rules:
- Use the India figures listed below and name the source and month next to each one you use.
- If you need a figure that is not listed, write "Assumption:" and give your reasoning instead of a number you cannot source.
- Plain words. Short sections with headings. No filler.

India figures to use (from productgrowth.in/numbers):
- A WhatsApp marketing message to an Indian number costs roughly ₹0.78 to ₹0.88 in 2026 (Robylon's rate table). Source: https://productgrowth.in/numbers/whatsapp-business-api-cost-india/
- An SMS OTP in India costs about ₹0.15 to ₹0.25 per message at small volume in 2026 (Message Central). Source: https://productgrowth.in/numbers/sms-otp-cost-india/
Run this in Kriyā → Kriyā opens with this prompt in its box; nothing is sent until you press send. Replace the [BRACKETS] first.

What to fill in

ReplaceWithExample (used for the sample answer)
[BUSINESS]Your businessAn online pharmacy
[MESSAGES]Monthly messages by type3 lakh order updates, 50,000 refill reminders, 1 lakh offers

The numbers this prompt uses

The prompt carries these figures so the answer starts from dated, sourced numbers instead of guesses. Each page shows the source, the month and the history.

Sample answer

Sample answer from Kriyā, 26 October 2026, for the example inputs above. Kept as it came back; links added beside each figure.

1. Channel by message type

MessageChannelWhy
OTPSMSWorks without data, fastest delivery, no template-category fuss. Add WhatsApp OTP later as a fallback.
Order updates (3 lakh) Kriyā's estimateWhatsApp first, SMS fallbackHighest volume. WhatsApp opens 4–8x more than email [1] and carries tracking links and rich status. SMS only if undelivered after ~30 minutes.
Refill reminders (50,000) your inputWhatsAppNeeds a one-tap "Reorder" button. Send 7–9pm, when savings and reminder nudges perform best [1].
Payment remindersSMS for failed or pending paymentsShort, urgent, works on any phone. WhatsApp as second touch.
Offers (1 lakh) Kriyā's estimateWhatsApp, opted-in users onlyPriciest category, so target it. Cap at 3 unsolicited messages a week to avoid fatigue [1].

2. Monthly cost

WhatsApp (Assumption: order updates and refill reminders are Utility, offers are Marketing):

  • Offers: 1,00,000 × ₹0.78–0.88 = ₹78,000–88,000 (Robylon rate table, 2026, from our numbers page) source Kriyā's estimate
  • Order updates + refills: 3,50,000 messages. Assumption: Utility rate ≈ ₹0.15–0.30 per message (not in my sources; verify with your BSP). That is roughly ₹52,500–1,05,000. source Kriyā's estimate
  • Total WhatsApp: roughly ₹1.3–1.9 lakh, before any BSP platform fee. Kriyā's estimate

SMS, if all 4.5 lakh went there: Kriyā's estimate

  • At ₹0.15–0.25/SMS (Message Central, 2026) = ₹67,500–1,12,500 source Kriyā's estimate
  • MSG91 pack rates [6] (checked 17 Oct 2026): ₹0.17 at 60,000–4,50,000 packs, ₹0.16 at 9,62,500. 4.5 lakh × ₹0.17 = ₹76,500.

Your mixed plan: OTP and payment SMS volume isn't given, so assume 1 lakh SMS × ₹0.17 = ₹17,000. Add fallback SMS on, say, 10% of order updates (30,000 × ₹0.17 = ₹5,100). Add the WhatsApp total. Expect ₹1.5–2.1 lakh/month. source Kriyā's estimate

3. Rules

WhatsApp marketing:

  • Explicit opt-in before any marketing template. Capture it at checkout and signup with a clear tick-box and record the timestamp.
  • Marketing goes through pre-approved templates. Honour opt-outs instantly.
  • Utility templates (order status) can't carry promotions, or Meta may reclassify them as Marketing.

SMS (TRAI DLT):

  • Register your entity on an operator DLT portal, register your headers (sender IDs) and every template. Unregistered content is blocked.
  • Promotional SMS needs consent and must respect DND preferences.
  • I'm not certain of current TRAI timing and consent-revocation details, so check them with your SMS provider.

4. First A/B test

Test refill reminders on WhatsApp with a Reorder button vs plain SMS, on a 50:50 split of the 50,000 base. Metric: refill conversion within 48 hours, not open rate. Tie it to cost per reorder. your input

5. Setup order

  1. Capture and store WhatsApp opt-ins.
  2. Complete DLT entity, header and template registration.
  3. Pick a BSP/SMS provider (MSG91 does both [6]).
  4. Get Meta Business verification and WhatsApp number approval.
  5. Submit Utility and Marketing templates.
  6. Build the SMS fallback logic.
  7. Launch order updates first, then refills, then offers.

Next action: pull last month's order-update counts by user and check what share has a WhatsApp opt-in today.

Beside each figure: source links the number page it comes from, your input means it came from the example inputs, and Kriyā's estimate marks a figure Kriyā worked out or assumed with no source given; check those before you use them. Your own run will differ.

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