Introduction to Text Message Capabilities
SMS (short message service) triggers (also known as text messages) may be set up to alert your customer of important status changes in orders or shipments. To take advantage of SMS triggers in Boomer, you'll need to sign up for a text messaging subscription with a third party called Twilio (http://www.twilio.com/sms). The cost for this service is modest. Once you have an account established, you'll need to enter your Twilio account information as described in this help topic: SMS Setup.
Some examples of text message triggers that can be configured include:
Order Closed
The customer's order has been fulfilled, all items delivered to their booth and payment made in full.
Shipment Has Been Delivered
The customer's shipment has been delivered to their booth and the shipment's status in Boomer updated.
Order Text Messages
Communicating with customers regarding orders is usually handled via email templates since the content can be long (such as an order confirmation). However, good example of an order text message might be to notify your customer that all their items have been delivered to their booth. By marking all items as delivered and settling an order's balance to zero, an order's status becomes "Closed".
Shipment Text Messages
With the introduction of shipment triggers, your system was automatically populated with standard text messages that can be configured to fire off to the customer when the status of a shipment changes. There are three requirements for the recipient to successfully receive the text message:
- He/she must be the shipment contact.
- He/she must have a mobile number defined in their contact detail.
- He/she must not have chosen to "Opt Out" to text messages.
While the standard Boomer shipment text messages are a part of your system, it is up to you to activate them since only you know which statuses your business uses and you have the best idea of when you want to notify your customers. Instructions on how to activate text message triggers are below.
Standard Text Messages Available
Boomer has several standard text messages already configured. They are all marked as Inactive and will not fire off unless they are activated (instructions in the next section). The "out of the box" triggers include:
| Trigger Event | Trigger Name | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Items are marked as delivered in an order and the order balance is $0.00 | Order is closed | All items from Order #1000 ordered through Spring Hills Exposition Services have been delivered to Booth #500. Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Inbound driver has checked in" | Inbound driver has checked in | The inbound driver with shipment #9999 for Booth #500 checked in at 8/27/2014 5:30PM Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Inbound driver has been dispatched" | Inbound driver has been dispatched | The inbound driver with shipment #9999 for Booth #500 has been dispatched Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Inbound driver is at the dock" | Inbound driver is at the dock | The inbound driver with shipment #9999 for Booth #500 has arrived at the dock Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Inbound driver has been unloaded" |
Inbound driver has been unloaded | The inbound shipment #9999 for Booth #500 has been unloaded at 08/27/2014 5:45PM Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart *Note: if there is no unload time defined in the shipment, the date/time will not be included in the text. |
| Shipment's status changes to "Shipment has been delivered to booth" | Shipment has been delivered to booth | Shipment #9999 has been delivered to Booth #500. Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Empties have been placed in booth" | Empties have been placed in booth | Empties for Shipment #9999 have been placed in Booth #500. Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Outbound driver has checked in" | Outbound driver has checked in | The outbound driver for Shipment #9999 has checked in Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Outbound driver has been dispatched" | Outbound driver has been dispatched | The outbound driver for Shipment #9999 has been dispatched Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Outbound driver is at dock" | Outbound driver is at dock | The outbound driver for Shipment #9999 is at the dock Reply STOP to cancel - START to restart |
| Shipment's status changes to "Outbound driver has been loaded" | Outbound driver has been loaded |
Outbound shipment #9999 has been loaded at 08/28/2014 5:00 PM onto the truck *Note: if there is no load time defined in the shipment, the date/time will not be included in the text. |
Activating Text Message Triggers
Access the available text message triggers as follows:
- Click on Store Configuration.
- Click on "Templates & Triggers"
- Click on "SMS Triggers" down the left hand navigation menu. A grid of triggers appears.
- Each trigger's status is "Inactive" by default, meaning the trigger will not fire off.
- Click Edit on each and any trigger you want to activate.
- Check the Active flag.
- Click Update.
Creating Your Own Shipment Status Based Text Messages
Creating text messages based on an order or shipment event is fairly straight forward if the text does not need to reference a field in an order or shipment (such as the order # or shipment #). To add a trigger, click "Add New" from the Triggers grid and fill in the fields as explained below:
| Field Name | Content | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger Name | Name of the trigger | For reference only to display in the Triggers grid. |
| Based On | Choose Shipment Status | |
| Trigger |
Choose which status you want to trigger the text message. | |
| SMS Number |
Copy and paste the following: #if($shipment.EventContact.DoNotPhone == "False") $shipment.EventContact.MobilePhone; #end |
This will pull the shipment contact's mobile phone number into the SMS number field as long as the contact does not have the Opt Out flag set for text messages. |
| Active Flag | Check "Active" once you are ready to use the trigger. | |
| Message Body | Enter your message here. If you want to reference specific shipment fields, look to the right in the explanation field for popular tags to use |
Most tags below have names which are self explanatory. Where the name is not self explanatory, its explanation appears after it in parentheses. Do not include the parentheses or explanation in the field when using it in your text message. $shipment.Shipment ID (The Shipment's Receiver #) Copy/paste the tag where you want to use it in the message. See the standard available text messages for examples. |
Creating Your Own Order Status Based Text Messages
Creating text messages based on an order or shipment event is fairly straight forward if the text does not need to reference a field in an order or shipment (such as the order # or shipment #). To add a trigger, click "Add New" from the Triggers grid and fill in the fields as explained below:
| Field Name | Content | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger Name | Name of the trigger | For reference only to display in the Triggers grid. |
| Based On | Order Status | |
| SMS Number | For Orders- copy and paste the following: #if($order.OrderContact.DoNotPhone == "False") $order.OrderContact.MobilePhone; #end |
|
| Active Flag | Check "Active" once you are ready to use the trigger. | |
| Message Body | Enter your message here. If you want to reference specific order fields, look to the right in the explanation field for popular tags to use |
Most tags below have names which are self explanatory. Where the name is not self explanatory, its explanation appears after it in parentheses. Do not include the parentheses or explanation in the field when using it in your text message. $order.OrderID (The Order #) Copy/paste the tag where you want to use it in the message. See the standard available text messages for examples. |
Testing Your Text Messages
The best way to test your text messages is to set up a fictitious exhibitor and contact in one of your events:
- Create a new exhibitor and contact or use one you have already set up.
- In the contact's mobile phone number field, put the mobile number to which you want your test text to go.
- Depending on the type of text message, create an order or shipment and then change the status to the status you defined in the Trigger.
- You should receive a text message almost instantly. If you want to make changes to the text and retest, change the status of your order/shipment to something else and then change it back. The updated text message should arrive.