457 registrations at SAR 13 each, and 31% showed up live: how we ran our webinar for decision makers

The goal

At BMD we build marketing departments and measure them with four numbers: what a customer costs you, what they're worth, when your money comes back, and where it leaks. We wanted to show that method to decision makers in Saudi Arabia, and to run it on our own campaign before asking anyone else to.

Our plan assumed SAR 40 to 70 per registration and about 60 live attendees.

What we did: before, on the day, and after

Before the webinar

1. One question as the title. «How much does a customer cost you, and what are they worth?» Every owner hears it in budget meetings, and knows they can't answer it.
2. A two-question form. Annual sales, and which of the four numbers you can't calculate. The second question fed everything after it: 68% of registrants said they couldn't calculate any of the four.
3. Meta ads in two ad sets: broad and retargeting. Nine ads with different hooks, behind a budget gate: spend only continued if cost per registration stayed under a set line. The best ad was a short video at under SAR 11 per registration.
4. Personal outreach before the event. Every registrant got a personal link to a four-numbers calculator. For decision makers at companies above SAR 1M in sales, we recorded a video opening with their name and company: 120 videos in 9 days. We also called the registrants with the clearest need before the webinar, to hear their situation and their questions.
5. Reminders on three channels. Email, a calendar invite, and WhatsApp on the day: 4 hours before, and at the start.

On the day

6. A webinar built on one example. A hypothetical online store, with the four numbers worked out live, then the cost of not knowing them. We asked permission to present our offer at the start, rather than springing it at the end.

After the webinar

7. A call to everyone interested. A list of 50 people, each with what they said or asked during the webinar and what to say on the call. Anyone we couldn't reach gets the recording on WhatsApp.
8. The recording, in chapters. We edited the recording into 26 chapters and put it on a page open for 4 days, with one message for attendees and another for those who missed it, by email and WhatsApp.
9. Ongoing follow-up. A reminder on the replay's last day, and calls and messages with everyone who asked for a follow-up, until the offer closes.
10. The webinar became content. 10 short videos from the strongest moments and the audience's questions, a 21-minute teaching cut on YouTube, and an article on the four numbers.

What made the difference

• WhatsApp on the day. People who got the two reminders attended at 36%; people who didn't, at 8%. The WhatsApp list was the warmest to begin with (250 people, because of the daily sending limit), so not all of the gap is WhatsApp. It was still the clearest difference we saw in the whole campaign. Email open rates on the day were only 8%.
• Personal video. People who got a video with their name attended at 33%, and 18 of the 22 saved calculators came from those video links.
• Content before the offer. The room peaked at 98 during the third number, and 85 people were still there when the offer started.
• A phone audience. 80% joined from a phone, which changes how we think about slides and links.

What we'll change

• The close. The content convinced the room of the problem, but the ask was weak: links only in the chat, the chat hidden behind an icon on phones, and a deadline 8 days away. Next time: a short URL on screen, a one-tap step on phones, and a clear reason to act that night.
• The example. 6 of the 7 voice questions came from services and B2B companies. We'll add a services example next to the store.
• WhatsApp templates. Meta took about 24 hours to approve them, so we missed the day-before reminder. We'll submit them a week ahead.

Every number on this page comes from our own campaign, not from clients. Sources: Meta Ads, MailerLite, Google Meet, WhatChimp. Costs in SAR (USD 1 = SAR 3.75).

About BMD

Most companies don't have a marketing problem. They have a marketing department that was built to underperform. BMD is a boutique consultancy based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that builds structured, measurable marketing departments inside mid-market companies across the GCC. We don't run your campaigns, and we don't hand over a strategy deck and leave. We build the structure, the measurement and the clear responsibility that turn marketing into a function leadership can rely on. Delivered in Arabic and English, founder-led.

Redha Alayesh

Redha Alayesh, founder of BMD, is a marketing consultant who has worked with 40+ marketing departments.