Campaign Heatmaps and Visual Analytics in Kenya.

In Kenya’s mobile‑first market, the fastest‑growing brands aren’t sending “more” messages; they’re sending smarter ones. Campaign heatmaps and visual analytics let you see when, where, and who responds — so you can optimize send times, offers, and budgets with confidence. In this guide, we’ll break down what heatmaps are, the views that matter for Kenyan audiences, and how to launch visual analytics with SMSLeopard.

What is a campaign heatmap?

A heatmap is a visual grid that uses color intensity to show performance. Darker cells = better results. In messaging, you can plot:

• Time vs. Response Rate (e.g., hour of day × day of week)

• Location vs. CTR/Reply Rate (e.g., county or town)

• Segment vs. Conversion (e.g., customer tier, product line, industry)

• Keyword vs. Engagement (for short code campaigns)

• Channel vs. Outcome (SMS, WhatsApp, USSD, RCS)

Done right, you spot the sweet spots (and the dead zones) at a glance.

Why heatmaps matter in Kenya

• Mobile‑only realities: Many customers prefer SMS for speed and reliability — heatmaps reveal the best hours when networks are less congested and attention is highest.

• Regional variety: Behavior differs across counties, towns, and urban vs. rural clusters; geospatial views prevent one‑size‑fits‑all scheduling.

• Cost control: Sending at the wrong time wastes budget; heatmaps shift spend to the hours/segments that convert.

• Faster iteration: Visual signals make it easy to A/B test, learn, and scale what works.

The three core views you need

1) Time‑of‑Day × Day‑of‑Week

Goal: Find the highest reply/CTR windows.

• Track Send Volume, Delivery Rate, Reply Rate, CTR, Opt‑Out Rate, Conversions.

• Bucket by hour; compare weekdays vs. weekends.

• Pro tip: Build separate heatmaps for transactional vs. promotional traffic.

2) Location (County/Town) Performance

Goal: Tune content and timing by geography.

• Plot response metrics by county; drill into top towns or ward clusters when available.

• Enrich with store catchments, field agent zones, or service routes.

• Pro tip: Pair heatmaps with choropleth maps for quick regional scans.

3) Segment & Keyword Heatmaps

Goal: Align offers with audience personas.

• Segments: SACCO members (by tier), student prospects (UG/PG), retail loyalty tiers, insurance plan types, donor cohorts.

• Keywords: Compare JOIN, BALANCE, FEES, DEALS, VOTE, etc., by segment to see intent hotspots.

• Pro tip: Flag rising keywords week‑over‑week for content ideas.

Metrics that matter (and how to compute them)

• Delivery Rate = delivered / sent

• Reply Rate (2‑way) = unique repliers / delivered

• CTR (with links) = unique link clickers / delivered

• Conversion = target action / delivered (or / unique repliers)

• Opt‑Out Rate = unsubscribes / delivered (keep <1%)

• Cost per Conversion = total cost / conversions

• Revenue per Message = attributed revenue / sent

Tip: Always de‑duplicate by unique MSISDN for fairness, and filter out auto‑replies (out‑of‑office, wrong keyword).

What great dashboards include

• Executive panel: Today, 7‑day, 30‑day KPIs; trend spark lines.

• Time heatmap: Hour × weekday grid with filters for brand, campaign, and segment.

• Geo map: County/town choropleth with drill‑downs and top/bottom regions.

• Keyword matrix: Keyword × segment performance; alert on rising/falling keywords.

• Funnel view: Delivered → Replied/Clicked → Converted → Opt‑out.

• Attribution: Last‑touch and blended models for revenue/goal impact.

How SMSLeopard powers visual analytics

• Unified data: SMS, WhatsApp, USSD, and Short Code events stream into one model.

• Auto‑tagging: Campaign, keyword, segment, and channel tags applied at ingestion.

• Heatmaps out‑of‑the‑box: Time, location, and segment heatmaps available in the dashboard.

• Custom views: Build filters for operator, county, branch, agent, or product line.

• APIs & Webhooks: Pipe data into BI tools (Power BI, Data Studio, Tableau) or Google Sheets.

• Privacy & Compliance: Role‑based access, audit logs, consent capture, and Kenyan data‑handling guardrails.

Implementation blueprint (step‑by‑step)

1. Define the North Star metric (e.g., completed loan application, paid order, verified registration).

2. Tag everything: campaign codes, keywords, segments, store/branch IDs, and counties.

3. Collect consent: Use clear opt‑ins and default opt‑out handling (STOP/TOKA/ONDOKA) for promos.

4. Clean data: normalize MSISDN formats, remove deactivated numbers, dedupe contacts.

5. Ship v1 dashboards: start with time heatmap + county map + funnel; schedule weekly email snapshots.

6. Experiment: A/B test send hour, copy, and offer. Promote winners automatically.

7. Close the loop: push outcomes back to CRM/ERP; update segments based on engagement.

Sample use cases (Kenya)

• SACCOs & Microfinance: Identify hours when BALANCE and LOAN keywords produce the most callbacks; retarget silent members in their top hour.

• Higher Education: Map counties with high ADMISSION reply rates; schedule regional open days and geo‑targeted follow‑ups.

• Retail & eCommerce: Compare CTR by town for DEALS; promote regional bestsellers and shift inventory accordingly.

• Healthcare & Insurance: Track COVER and claims support by segment; deploy nurse call‑backs in peak response windows.

• County Governments: Visualize BURSARY and PERMIT inquiries by ward; adjust communication calendars to key deadlines.

• Events & Media: Heatmap VOTE participation by time; concentrate reminders in high‑propensity blocks.

Interpreting heatmaps (patterns to watch)

• Commuter windows (6–8am, 5–8pm) often spike replies; mid‑morning can work for transactional updates.

• Month‑end effects can boost retail and finance conversions.

• Regional holidays & exam calendars drive education and government demand.

• Keyword fatigue shows as fading intensity over weeks — rotate copy or value props.

Data ethics, privacy & governance (Kenya)

• Consent first for promotional messaging; keep transparent logs of source and timestamp.

• Clear opt‑outs in every promo SMS; respect STOP/TOKA/ONDOKA across campaigns.

• Data minimization: Collect only what you need for targeting and analytics.

• Retention windows: Define how long you keep raw events vs. aggregates.

• Access control: Role‑based permissions for dashboards and exports.

SMSLeopard includes opt‑out automation, consent records, data retention settings, and export controls to help you stay compliant.

Mini case example

A retailer runs a 4‑week promo across Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu.

• Week 1 heatmap shows Nairobi evenings (6–8pm) and Mombasa late mornings (10–12) are hot. Kisumu is flat.

• They shift send times to those windows; create coastal‑specific copy for Mombasa.

• Result: +27% CTR, −18% cost per conversion, opt‑outs steady at 0.6%.

Common pitfalls (and easy fixes)

• One heatmap for everything → Split by objective/campaign type.

• Biased segments → Rebalance or weight small cohorts when comparing.

• Dirty location data → Validate county names and geo‑tags at ingestion.

• Over‑sending in hot hours → Watch opt‑out rate and fatigue signals.

Quick start checklist

• Define goals & KPIs

• Tag campaigns, segments, keywords, and locations

• Enable time/location/segment heatmaps in the dashboard

• Schedule weekly insights email to stakeholders

• Launch 2–3 A/B tests per week

• Review opt‑outs and deliverability daily

Launch visual analytics with SMSLeopard

Whether you need plug‑and‑play heatmaps or a custom analytics layer, SMSLeopard gives you the data model, dashboards, and APIs to turn insights into action.

• Book a demo: smsleopard.com → Schedule a Demo

• Try it fast: Start on shared short code + keyword analytics in days

• Scale up: Add WhatsApp, USSD, and advanced BI exports when ready

See what your customers respond to — and do more of it.