Salesforce text messaging – SMS-Magic https://www.sms-magic.com Simple Business Text Messaging Tue, 05 Sep 2023 07:16:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Rising to the Top with Salesforce AppExchange: The SMS-Magic Journey https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/salesforce-appexchange-smartest-app/ Tue, 05 Sep 2023 07:16:40 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=61843 In a world where instant communication has become an absolute necessity, SMS-Magic has ascended as a luminary in the realm of digital messaging services for businesses. Our rise to becoming the 2nd smartest app on the Salesforce AppExchange is a tale of innovation and resilience. Our 15-year journey in providing rich business messaging solutions stands as a beacon to our vision and relentless pursuit to deliver the pinnacle of conversational messaging available today.

Becoming a Category Leader with Salesforce AppExchange Partners From the very onset, our aim wasn’t just to be another entity on the Salesforce AppExchange. It was to redefine how businesses connect with their audience. Texting, in its essence, is immediate, personal, and direct. To harness its potential, we had to delve deep, understanding the nuances of businesses and the expectations of customers, especially when aiming to be among the top 5 smartest apps on Salesforce.

Unparalleled Features – Our Cornerstones of Success on Salesforce AppExchange

Compliance – In today’s digital age, data privacy and regulations cannot be an afterthought. Recognizing this, we’ve been proactive. By integrating TCPA, GDPR, CCPA, and CASL compliance mechanisms, we’ve provided businesses with a safe platform free from the worries of unintended regulatory breaches.

Omnichannel Connectivity – The digital consumer is omnipresent, spanning various platforms. Our solution ensures that businesses can meet consumers wherever they are. Be it SMS, MMS, Facebook, Chat, WhatsApp, or Line, the promise of conversational messaging remains unbroken.

Analytics – Data drives decisions. Our robust analytical tools provide detailed insights, helping businesses fine-tune their strategies and foster more meaningful customer interactions.

Global Text Messaging – Conversations know no boundaries, and neither do we. With our global text messaging capabilities, we’ve erased geographical barriers, bringing businesses and customers closer.

SMS Delivery – It’s not just about sending a message; it’s about ensuring it’s received. Our commitment to robust delivery mechanisms remains unwavering.

SMS Templates – We understand that in business, time is of the essence. Our advanced SMS Templates not only speed up the communication process but also ensure that every message sent is impactful and aligned with the brand’s voice.

Conversational Messaging – Building and maintaining customer relationships is at the core of any successful business. With our Conversational Messaging feature, businesses can now have meaningful two-way conversations, deepening trust and enhancing customer loyalty.

Each feature aligns with our goal of being the smartest app on Salesforce, ensuring that when businesses talk, customers listen. Whether it’s adhering to compliance standards, enabling omnichannel connectivity, providing robust analytics, offering global text messaging solutions, ensuring SMS delivery, or crafting impactful SMS templates – each element of our service is meticulously crafted.

Salesforce AppExchange Partners: A Journey of Trust and Innovation 

Integration with platforms like Salesforce is not just a feature – it’s a commitment to excellence. Our partnerships with Salesforce AppExchange partners and others like Zoho elevate the CRM experience, making it more insightful and enriching. Our Conversational Messaging Hub is a culmination of years of learning and innovation, and our reviews on platforms like Salesforce and Zoho bear testimony to this commitment.

Voices of Trust – The true Measure of our Success on Salesforce Appexchange

Feedback from our esteemed clients who have discovered us through the Salesforce AppExchange underscores the value we bring to the table. Words from pioneers in various industries only further our belief in the transformative power of our solutions.

2nd Smartest App on Salesforce AppExchange: Crafting Trusted Conversations

At the heart of our journey is an unwavering commitment to facilitate meaningful interactions. It’s not just about being a smart app on Salesforce, but about enabling businesses to have conversations that matter.

And the rise of our company is not just our rise, as this recognition makes us aim higher, and thus we welcome you at the Dreamforce 2023, as we will be unveiling the future of Messaging Solution. 

Join Us at Dreamforce by Salesforce

As we pen this journey, we’re thrilled to announce our latest venture in the world of AI x Messaging. If you’ve been keeping up with our recent emails, you’ll know that something groundbreaking is on the horizon. We’re unveiling our latest innovation at Dreamforce, organized by Salesforce. As partners and patrons of SMS-Magic, this is your chance to get a sneak peek into the future of conversational messaging.

To ensure you don’t miss out on this revolutionary unveiling, Register with us now and be part of the conversation that reshapes business communication.

As we look to the future, we’re excited about the countless conversations and transformative stories waiting to unfold. SMS-Magic is more than just a tool. It is a revolution in conversational messaging for businesses, crafted with passion, driven by innovation, and trusted by the best.

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3 Ways SMS Marketing Helps the Tech Industry https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/3-ways-sms-marketing-helps-the-tech-industry/ Wed, 12 Oct 2022 04:59:00 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=60444 If you’re in the tech industry, you know that fast-paced innovation is the name of the game. Your products and brand need to stay on the cutting edge, and you constantly need to make your customers aware of new developments so they’ll be excited to buy.

If you haven’t already implemented SMS marketing into your business strategy, there couldn’t be a better time. Text messages can help you build and maintain your customer base and stand out from the rest of the pack. What makes this form of marketing so powerful? Read on to find out what SMS marketing can do for your tech company!

Nurture Leads and Customers

Nurture Leads and Customers With High-Value Content

Your leads might be interested in your products, but may not be ready to buy yet. Maybe a customer bought from you several years ago, but they’re due for an upgrade soon. Your challenge is to nurture a relationship between them and your brand, so they’ll stick with you until the right time comes.

SMS marketing offers an organic way to become a valuable source of facts, tips and useful information for your leads. Since text messages have around a 98% open rate, your leads will see your outreach. By sending helpful information that meets their needs, you’ll keep them subscribed to your messaging list, and your brand will add value to their lives. Consider reaching out with:

  • Common problems your leads might be facing and explanations of how your product or service can help.
    • “Worried about security on your company’s devices? We can help  . . . “
  • Interesting statistics or facts relating to technology in your leads’ specific industries or interests. With advanced SMS marketing solutions, it’s easy to both personalize and automate your outreach.
    • “A federal judge recently ruled against scanning students’ rooms during virtual test proctoring. Does your institution need new remote testing solutions? We’ve got options.”
  • Creative shortcuts, tricks and strategies to help your leads solve tech-related headaches
    • “Record podcasts that sound better with these simple tips!”

Remember to keep messages short, to-the-point, and properly spaced (typically, once a week is a good schedule for promotional outreach). You can also use text messages to invite recipients to more in-depth sources of information, like your company’s blogs or how-to web pages.

Keep Customers Excited About New Innovations

Keep Customers Excited About New Innovations

Text messaging is a great way to let your customers know when you’ve rolled out a new product or upgrade. Texts are unobtrusive and easy to read, and your customers typically prefer them over any other channel. With multimedia messaging solutions (MMS), you can not only send product stats and information, but also multimedia files, like product images.

To quickly gauge interest in new products, whether you’ve already developed them or they’re still on the drawing board, you can message your customers with a quick survey. Asking for their opinion helps you tailor your offerings to their specific needs, and it also helps them know that you care about them and hear their concerns.

Offer Quick, Seamless, Multichannel Support

Offer Quick, Seamless, Multichannel Support

In the tech industry, product support and customer service are key. Today’s tech users don’t want to sit on hold for an hour waiting for someone to help. They want responsive, in-the-moment support that fits seamlessly into their busy lives. Your customers need to know that you’re there for them, not just before the sale, but afterwards as well.

Advanced conversational messaging solutions make it easy for your support team to answer questions and solve customers’ problems. Using keyword automation, your customers’ questions can easily be routed to the right agent. Members of your team can seamlessly collaborate on the same conversation, and messages from multiple channels will appear in a single inbox. Easy access to message history ensures every agent who works on a particular issue has all the facts they need to quickly resolve it. Your customers will appreciate the convenience of a text-based support conversation, which can take place while they’re on the clock, in the field or juggling other tasks.

With SMS marketing, your tech company can drive revenue, boost customer satisfaction and improve agent efficiency and workflow. Want to get started with SMS-Magic? Contact our customer support team for a demo or a free trial!

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Is Your Company Ready for Conversational Messaging? https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/is-your-company-ready-for-conversational-messaging/ Tue, 21 Jun 2022 23:10:00 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=59990 The short answer is: Yes, you’re ready for conversational messaging!

How you implement conversational messaging, however, will depend on several factors. Here are our suggestions for evaluating your messaging readiness:

  1. How many messages do you expect to send per month?
    SMS-Magic is a powerful tool, no matter how many messages you send, but our platform really shines as your volume increases. You can send thousands of text messages in just a few minutes, or you can send eye-catching multimedia files at a slightly slower pace. It’s easy to tailor your message volume to your goals and budget.
  1. Do you work with a CRM like Salesforce or Zoho?
    If you send just a handful of messages each month, you can use SMS-Magic without using a customer relationship management tool like Salesforce or Zoho. If, however, you have conversations with more than a few clients or customers, a CRM can help you track your conversations, segment your delivery lists and customize your messaging campaigns. SMS-Magic is a top-rated partner for Salesforce and Zoho, and it integrates with them seamlessly.
Do you need to track all your conversations in one place
  1. Do you need to track all your conversations in one place?
    Once you’ve integrated messaging and your CRM, SMS-Magic will store all your messages to a single customer in one record. If you use a practice management tool like Litify, you can see the conversation history in Litify – there’s no need to open both applications. Accessing a conversation history allows contact centers to work more efficiently and reduces customer frustration. Customers don’t have to repeat their stories time and again because the conversation is available to the rep immediately.
  1. Do all your employees need the ability to message?
    We can provide messaging access to all your employees – not just your marketing team – if that helps you respond to your customers faster. Some of the law firms that use SMS-Magic have found that empowering all their employees with messaging access allows their staff to respond to client questions and concerns, even if the lead attorney on the case is in court. The message history is available to everyone, so staff members can relay information to clients, follow-up on missing documents or send appointment reminders.
  1. Do your employees need messaging access on the go
    The SMS-Magic Mobile App is a great solution when your staff members can’t be in the office. One of our customers, a property management company, has streamlined maintenance requests by converting to messaging. Tenants can use their preferred communication method to report maintenance issues, and staff members can respond promptly, even if they are visiting a property at the time. Because SMS-Magic is integrated into Salesforce for this customer, all conversations are stored for easy access back at the office.
Do your employees need messaging access on the go

You know how powerful conversational messaging can be. Your customers love it! They read 98% of the messages they receive and respond within three minutes to 95% of them. You can deliver a message at your convenience and your customer can respond at theirs.

Billions of people use messaging platforms like SMS, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp – allowing them to make payments, talk to their bankers, and submit applications from their mobile phones. Conversational messaging has become the preferred business communication channel around the world.

Are you ready to switch to conversational messaging? We’d like to help make your decision easier. Our customer support team would love to show you how SMS-Magic can make reaching your customers easier and more effective with a demo or a free trial!

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How to Conduct Surveys and Collect Feedback with Conversational Messaging https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/how-to-conduct-surveys-and-collect-feedback-with-conversational-messaging/ Wed, 11 May 2022 10:50:29 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=59666 Would you like to know what your customers think about your products or service? If so, you might want to ask them to complete a survey about their experience. If you’re using email or social media to invite them to participate, you might not be getting the results you want. We’d like to suggest trying conversational messaging to issue invitations to take a survey because messaging is such an effective way to reach your audience.

One caveat: Before you send surveys via text messaging, your respondents must have opted into receiving messages from you. Like other types of solicitations, you must have their permission before the first message is sent. If you’re already working to grow your opt-in list, this requirement will just be another part of your overall marketing strategy.

Designing your survey

Designing Your Survey

Conversational messaging lends itself to two different kinds of surveys. The first is a survey conducted entirely through messaging; the other is a text invitation that links to a web-based survey.

Using messaging for the first type of survey is growing in popularity so it’s possible that you might have taken a “quick” survey that only has one or two questions. Responses are generally limited to yes or no and numerical ratings.

For example, the text might read, “Reply and rate your experience today between 1 and 10.” If you reply “8,” your message goes through. If you answer anything other than a numeral between 1 and 10, however, you might receive a message to try again.

When you use this type of survey in your business, it will be powered by an automated messaging sequence that you’ve designed and written specifically for this task. The first message is generally triggered by something your customer does online or with their mobile phone. You determine the trigger, the sequence of messages and the wording of the messages.

You’ll have to consider what message to send if the input you’ve asked for isn’t what you get. For example, if your customer answers the question above with “Loved it!” you’ll have to write a message that asks them to try again.

The second type of survey invitation contains a link to a web-based survey that lives on your website. You can use any survey design software you prefer to create the survey. Customers will use the link in the texted invitation to access the survey, but they will complete the survey on your website. The survey questions can be yes-no, multiple choice or fill in the blank. You can even provide space for longer qualitative answers, if you want those responses.

How Effective is Conversational Messaging in Surveys

How Effective is Conversational Messaging in Surveys?

Researchers at the Pew Research Center wanted to know how effective text messaging is when it’s used as an invitation to take a survey. They didn’t have to worry about getting permission to text during the experiments because they already had a study group whose members had opted into text messaging.

The Pew researchers sent invitations by both text and email to one group and just by email to another. Within 30 minutes of sending the invitations, 15 percent of the text-and-email group had competed the survey, and only 6 percent of the email-only group had. Although the research showed that text recipients initially responded faster to the survey than those invited with an email, by the end of the experiment the responses were equal between the two groups.

Text invitations may be especially effective if your campaign values quick responses. Some contests, for example, could benefit from leveraging fast response times.

Researchers also found that, when invited by texts, more respondents completed surveys using smart phones. A little more than half the respondents invited by text completed the survey using their phones. Only 33 percent of those in the email group completed the survey with their phones.

That result may impact your survey design. If you use text to invite respondents to take your survey, you’ll also want to be sure the survey is easy to read and complete on a smart phone.

Finally, researchers found that using short codes to deliver survey invitations allowed cellphone carriers, device manufacturers and/or individuals to block delivery. Short codes are five- or six-digit codes that allow transmission of messages faster than a traditional 10-digit phone number.

Pew researchers chose to use short codes because of the volume of messages they intended to send. Short codes allowed messages to be transmitted faster, even though some of the messages were blocked.

If you are sending a high volume of messages, you’ll need to determine if short codes will perform better than long codes overall. Using long codes would allow access to those respondents who have blocked short codes but would take longer to send.

How Can SMS-Magic Help You?

Staying in touch with your existing customers and getting to know your potential customers has become a requirement in today’s business world. SMS-Magic, through conversational and automated text messaging, can help you reach out to customers with surveys about their experience with your company.

SMS-Magic offers a free trial so that you can get a feel for our product. If you’re as pleased as we think you will be, you can choose the level of service that’s best for your company.

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how you can engage your customers in new ways!

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6 Things Your Boss Expects You to Know About Text Messaging Compliance https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/6-things-your-boss-expects-you-to-know-about-text-messaging-compliance/ Wed, 04 May 2022 13:16:47 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=59652 If you’re launching a new text messaging program in your business, we’re sure you’ve done your homework. But as you explore the possibilities of reaching your customers with text messages, you should be sure you understand the laws and regulations that govern how you use text messaging.

Launching Text Messaging for your business

To help you master this part of text messaging campaigns, we have compiled 6 things that we’re sure your boss wants you to know. Here they are:

  1. You must have express written consent before your company can legally send text messages to anyone. That means more than just asking for their phone number. It doesn’t matter who it is – an existing customer, a former client, a trade-show lead, or someone on a purchased marketing list. Before that first message goes out, your customer must say it’s okay. In other words, they must opt in.
  1. Several governing bodies regulate commercial text messaging. They include individual countries, including the U.S., consortiums of countries like the European Union, state or local governments, and the carriers who deliver messages around the world. Your text messaging partner, like SMS-Magic, should be able to help you navigate the rules for your campaigns.
  1. Include the following in your first text:
    • Your company name. Don’t make your customers guess who’s sending the message.
    • The promotion premium. If you’re offering a coupon, discount or e-book in exchange for permission to text, do it at the beginning of the text.
    • Message frequency. Let your customers know how often you plan to send.
    • Message and data rates. Remind customers that they might be charged to receive SMS messages.
    • How to opt out. “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” works well.
    • How to reach customer service or ask questions.

You’ve probably received opt-in requests from companies you do business with. Take a look at how well they’ve provided information to their customers. Some of the offers we’ve seen have been really creative. One was on a parking meter. Learn from the best.

First text should looks like this
  1. Track opt-in and opt-out requests so that you send only to the customers who have specifically asked you to. European laws also require you to “forget” a customer at their request. That means purging all their information from your system and being able to show your work. If regulators ever ask, you must be able to prove you have permission to text.
  1. In the United States, commercial text messages are governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). It prohibits the following types of text messages:
    • Unsolicited Text Messages – businesses are not allowed to text consumers without their permission.
    • Requesting Payment – businesses may not request payment or additional identifying information before revealing the actual message.
    • Scrambled Messages – businesses must send readable texts. They may not scramble the message or use unintelligible audio.
    • Do Not Call Registry – businesses must respect the Do Not Call registry established by the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
    • Robocalling & Automated Dialing – businesses may not use robocalling to generate phone numbers or send text messages.
Meeting text compliances
  1. The last thing we think your boss wants you to know has nothing to do with rules and regulations. Instead, it’s about being authentic in all your customer interactions. Behaving like a trusted friend helps you build customer relationships that can last for years. Text messaging is the perfect channel for building trust.

Staying in touch with your existing customers and getting to know your potential customers has become a requirement in today’s business world. SMS-Magic, through conversational and automated text messaging, can help you reach out to customers in new ways.

SMS-Magic offers a free trial so that you can get a feel for our product. If you’re as pleased as we think you will be, you can choose the level of service that’s best for your company.

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how you can engage your customers in new ways!

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Are You Looking for Great Ideas that Work? Let Our Customers Share Their Text Secrets. https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/are-you-looking-for-great-ideas-that-work-let-our-customers-share-their-text-secrets/ Wed, 27 Apr 2022 14:22:00 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=59658 On a scale of one to 10, how hard is it to reach your customers, clients, patients or prospects?

Most of our customers say it’s virtually impossible to get a customer to return an email. And we hear comments like, “No one answers the phone anymore” or “They won’t answer if they see a strange number on caller ID.”

So the question is: If you can’t reach customers and prospects, how can you provide a service or sell a product?

As a software-as-a-service company developing SMS and MMS texting solutions, we think we know how to reach your customers, but we thought it might be better to let our customers show you how text messaging works in their businesses.

Why Use Text Messaging?

Why Use Text Messaging?

Before we get to the great ideas, let’s take a minute to talk about the reality of communication in 2022. Emails were great when everyone read them sitting in front of their desktop computers and the alternative was sending mail through the postal service. Voice mails, too, served their purpose.

These days, however, emails are easy to ignore. In fact, we only open 22% of the emails we receive. And the more mobile we’ve become; the more unwieldy emails have become. It’s just not convenient to reply on the run.

And most of us don’t even listen to the voice messages we receive. It’s likely we will wait for a text.

Texts are quick, easy and always with you. We send more than 5 billion texts every day, and we read 98% of the ones we receive. Clearly, text messaging is the channel we prefer.

Here are some great ideas from two of our customers. You can apply these ideas directly to your own business or modify them to fit your unique situation.

When You Have Seconds to Respond?

When You Have Seconds to Respond

In the high-stakes legal world, the key to winning new business is responding quickly. When legal prospects have a need, they normally shop for an attorney online. One of our customers estimates that he has seconds to reach out to a prospect before they move on to a competitor.

To engage a prospect quickly, our customer has developed a series of automated text messages that are triggered by where the prospect is on the firm’s website. Different practice areas are housed in different sections of the website, so it’s possible to tell where the prospect’s interest lies and tailor messages specifically for that need.

No matter what the prospect needs, the initial messages introduce the law firm and ask how the firm can help. As the prospects reply, the conversations continue with pre-programmed messages. And when it’s appropriate, a member of the intake team takes over with live messaging and continues the conversation.

The system is designed to be active 24/7. The automated messages launch even if the prospect is searching at 3 a.m. National practices can benefit from a time-neutral system because prospects may shop for an attorney at any hour of the day.

Once a prospect becomes a client, SMS-Magic makes staying in touch easier than ever. Our customer uses Litify to manage his firm, and SMS-Magic is designed to work seamlessly with Litify. Messages are tracked by SMS-Magic in the Litify environment. That means everyone in the firm opens one application, rather than two. They can see all the client’s information, including all text communications, in one place.

If an attorney is away from the office, anyone at the office can respond to queries and a different attorney can continue working on the case. The case doesn’t stop because the lead attorney is unavailable. It saves the firm time and better serves the client.

When You Must Respond on the Fly

When You Must Respond on the Fly

Another of our customers manages large rental properties. They wanted to handle maintenance issues as quickly as possible, and they asked their residents to email maintenance requests to a dedicated address. Staff members responded as soon as they were in front of their computers.

It was a great plan, but it didn’t work. Residents complained that their requests weren’t handled quickly enough and started texting requests instead using email. Residents liked the immediacy and the convenience of texting.

The workflow, however, wasn’t designed to accept requests via text. Trying to make sure texts were transferred promptly and accurately created extra work for the management staff. The staff was missing requests and couldn’t always be sure issues had been addressed. And staff members could only respond to requests when they were in the office.

Our customer’s CRM was Salesforce. SMS-Magic is designed to work with Salesforce, as well as other CRMs, and the integration made using a text-based system for maintenance requests easy. Once our customer installed SMS-Magic to handle all their text messages, maintenance requests began to flow smoothly.

SMS-Magic tracked all customer contacts, no matter what the source of the contact. Our customer was able to track all maintenance requests – by email, phone or text. And anyone on the staff could access the record. That meant anyone could give a resident an update on their request.

It also made sense to equip each staff member with the mobile version of SMS-Magic. With the app, they could answer texts from either their own phones or from company phones. The system would track the contacts in Salesforce no matter what phone was used. No longer were staff members tied to their desks. They could visit company properties and respond to maintenance requests at the same time. Our customer said it was a game changer for their business.

How Can You Test Drive SMS-Magic?

How Can You Test Drive SMS-Magic?

Would your business benefit from an integration between your CRM and your texting platform? We’d love to help you start texting or help scale your texting to a higher level.

We have experts ready to help you take SMS-Magic for a spin for FREE! Schedule a demo or start a free trial today! We think you’ll love what you see!

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Why Your Developers Will Love Working with SMS-Magic https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/why-your-developers-will-love-working-with-sms-magic/ Wed, 01 Sep 2021 13:39:47 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=58018 Have you noticed all the promises messaging companies have been making about how easy their product is to use? One reviewer we saw recently said he was delighted when he set up a new messaging service and could send a text message to his own phone. We’re delighted for him, too, but we wonder if maybe your use case involves sending more than one message at a time. And we think you might be tracking messages with a CRM, too.

Messaging solution for businesses of all sizes

SMS-Magic is a great messaging solution for businesses of all sizes, but our experience tells us that it’s especially effective if you’re working with a CRM like Salesforce and a developer or two. Making all the moving parts work together seamlessly is critical to your success, and SMS-Magic works to make it so.

Michael Copley, chief technology officer for Barsala, an SMS-Magic client, said his Salesforce developers have easily been able to access the functionality of SMS-Magic and share it with other developers on their team. Developers working on Barsala’s API can ping a simple endpoint to send a message through the SMS-Magic package. It shows up in Salesforce attached to the appropriate records and in all relevant user interfaces for their support team.

Product to make life easier

Your developers will find that our team has created a product to make life easier. Here’s how:

  1. SMS-Magic integrates directly with Salesforce automation.

Salesforce Flow is one of the tools that helps developers build complex processes easily inside Salesforce. Just to give you an idea of how it works, it makes things easier by providing automated triggers, reusable building blocks and prebuilt solutions, among other functions. With these tools, a developer doesn’t have to create everything from scratch every time something is needed. Similarly, Lightning Platform helps to build enterprise mobile apps. The good news is that SMS-Magic fully integrates with Salesforce automations like these, enabling messaging from just about anywhere in the CRM.

  1. SMS-Magic contains well-documented APIs.

Developers already know what that means. For the rest of us, an application programming interface (API) helps two computers or computer programs talk to each other. For example, an API can update, add, delete or move a record, helping an outside solution, like SMS-Magic, work with Salesforce. Some APIs work well but aren’t well documented. That means developers have to figure out how the API works and how to use it without any help from the team that created it. On the other hand, well-documented APIs make the job much easier by providing background information necessary to integrate the API. Documentation saves time and effort, which means it saves money. SMS-Magic is a well-documented API, ensuring your developers will have the information they need to do the job.

  1. SMS-Magic is a managed package easily installed inside of Salesforce.

When SMS-Magic is embedded into Salesforce a developer can leverage any Salesforce object and extend the function of texting to work with the parts of Salesforce they create. That means any new function your developers might create inside Salesforce can work with SMS-Magic. Think of the possibilities that gives you! If your use case requires something new in Salesforce, SMS-Magic is available to you without extra effort.

  1. SMS-Magic manages all your carrier interactions …

… so you don’t have to. We obtain all the short codes and long codes your team needs, and we deal with the provider or carrier if any issues arise. Long codes are the 10-digit phone numbers most of us use to text our friends. Businesses use them too, but it takes about a second per code to send those messages. Too long if you’re sending thousands. Short codes are five- or six-digit codes that customers use to reach you. For example, pizza customers might receive the message “Text CHEESE for a 10% coupon.” CHEESE is the short code. No matter how many codes your campaigns require, we take the hassle out of managing them.

SMS-Magic is an expert with Salesforce integrations. The company is a Salesforce Partner and the top-rated messaging application on the Salesforce AppExchange. We also work with other CRMs like Zoho, and we have a product designed to work without a CRM.

Does SMS-Magic sound like the answer you’ve been looking for? We hope so!

Book a demo with SMS-Magic

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you why your developers will love working with SMS-Magic!

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How to Fix a Flawed Messaging Integration with Salesforce https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/how-to-fix-a-flawed-messaging-integration-with-salesforce/ Wed, 25 Aug 2021 05:31:40 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=58008 Patrick McClure, HeyTutor’s director of operations, didn’t originally choose SMS-Magic when his company needed a messaging platform. He should have.

That first company said they could provide customization within Salesforce,” he said in a recent Zoom chat, “but they really screwed it up.

The chosen company’s inability to work in the Salesforce architecture caused HeyTutor to delay their outreach at a critical time and slowed their growth. “We ended up circling back to SMS-Magic

Now, McClure said, everything that HeyTutor wanted to integrate has been integrated. “These guys (the SMS-Magic team) made it effortless and got everything set up right away. It’s been a pleasure to work with you.”

McClure said

We hear similar stories all the time. Salesforce is a powerful tool, but you need experienced people who understand both the Salesforce architecture and the structure of their own messaging platform. Otherwise, you run the risk of crashing both systems – something no one wants!

No one wants to spend time, money and resources on a new platform just to learn that they don’t have what you need. So what should you keep in mind as you search for a messaging integration platfform to use with Salesforce?

1. Hire Experienced Salesforce Developers.

It doesn’t matter if you have Salesforce developers on staff or use contract developers; you must ensure you have experienced people at critical points like initial implementation or integration. We hear horror stories of inexperienced people changing security settings and unwittingly shutting down entire systems. Salesforce is very flexible, so your team must have a strong background in the basics.

2. Clarify What Customization Means to Potential Messaging Developers.

There’s a difference between “our messaging system can work with Salesforce” and “our messaging system is designed to integrate with Salesforce.” You want to choose a messaging platform that is ready to mesh with Salesforce. McClure said SMS-Magic had already built many of the customizations he needed, and quickly created new “stuff” to support the independent use case his company required. Don’t be taken in by promises. Ask for references from satisfied customers.

3. Always Test in a Testing Environment.

One of the first tasks your integration team should undertake is to create a testing environment. If something breaks there, no harm done because they haven’t made changes to the live system. Experienced developers will tell you that testing in a live environment is very risky, and it hinders trying new ideas. If you get the new idea wrong, it might take your system off line until you can fix it. Delays cost money.

4. Find a Team Already Using Salesforce Best Practices.

Salesforce is a great partner and can help your developers use best practices to get the most out of your system. Check your potential partner’s relationship with the Salesforce team. Are they a preferred client? Do they regularly discuss modifications with Salesforce? Do they have an easy working relationship with Salesforce? If not, you’ll want to move on to a provider like SMS-Magic that has a great relationship with Salesforce.

5. Ditch the Potential Messaging Vendor and Contact SMS-Magic.

You may want to interview other messaging companies, but we bet you’ll end up with SMS-Magic. We are a preferred integration with Salesforce, top-rated on the AppExchange, and enjoy incredibly high ratings with Salesforce customers. You can even give us a test drive without spending a penny. SMS-Magic offers a free trial so that you can get a feel for our product. If you’re as pleased as we think you will be, you can choose the level of service that’s best for your company.

Salesforce Compatible Messaging Platform Checklist

Barsala, another of our customers, has two Salesforce developers on staff. Michael Copley, their chief technology officer, said his developers have been able to access the functionality of SMS-Magic and share it with other developers on their team. Developers working on Barsala’s API can ping a simple endpoint to send a message through the SMS-Magic package. It shows up in Salesforce attached to the appropriate records, and shows up in all relevant user interfaces for the support team.

We can provide the same service to you.

Let’s Go!

Does SMS-Magic sound like the answer you’ve been looking for? We hope so!

Contact us to set up a demo or to start your free trial. Let us show you how we can help you make the most of the conversational messaging!

Book a Demo
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5 Tips for Leveraging WhatsApp in Business https://www.sms-magic.com/blog/5-tips-for-leveraging-whatsapp-in-business/ Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:28:14 +0000 https://www.sms-magic.com/?p=56894

With over 1.5 billion active users monthly, WhatsApp has proved to be a convenient messaging platform for users.

Whatsapp Business

What started as a medium of day-to-day communication has now become an important and useful channel for business communication. Today, WhatsApp is looked to as a channel for building faster connections with customers.

Why You Should Use WhatsApp For Your Business

Since WhatsApp was first introduced in 2009, as a day-to-day messaging platform, the tool has come a long way. Group calling, video calling, read receipts, status updates, etc. are now some of its valuable features that have helped businesses to create engaging user experiences.

In addition to interacting with customers, businesses can also leverage the tool to sort, automate, and quickly respond to messages. WhatsApp messaging should definitely be considered as one of the primary channels for engaging your customers.

5 Tips to Leverage WhatsApp in Business and Engage Customers

Customer Engagement

Once you’ve set up your WhatsApp business account there are a few things you can do to make it a better experience for both you and your customers.

1. Respond Promptly

No matter what channel you use to communicate with your customers, it is critical to be mindful of the response time. Whether your customer is asking a question, providing any feedback, filling out a review form, or asking about your product, responding to them immediately is what matters. Customers appreciate quick response times. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to create customer loyalty and satisfaction.

WhatsApp for business allows you to promptly respond to your customer queries by leveraging its automation features. You can set templatized ‘away’ messages or ‘greeting’ messages to respond to your customers. With this, ensure that every query you receive from a customer is answered on time.

2. Ensure Consistent Brand Experience

WhatsApp messaging ensures a consistent brand experience. Whether it is the message that you share or the logo that you present, giving your customers a consistent brand experience is important.

3. Optimize Your Business Profile

By creating your business profile on WhatsApp, your customers will be able to easily identify the business and have access to required information such as your website, products, services, hours of operation, etc.

4. Be Concise

Like other platforms, it’s important to be concise with your messaging and include customized short links. For most businesses, sending long messages with vague answers to questions won’t work. It could hinder your relationship with your customers.

5. Personalize Messages

Personalized text messages increase customer loyalty. Generic emails and messages are always ignored or sent to spam. Personalized messages will always give you a higher response rate. While addressing your customers through WhatsApp you can be friendly and unique and make them feel important and comfortable.

With WhatsApp’s capability to send GIFs, images, short videos, etc, your personal messages can be more targeted. By using the features provided, you can send personalized messages and leverage WhatsApp in business to its full potential.

Enhance Your WhatsApp Experience

It’s likely you are using multiple channels to connect with your customers. You might already be using Facebook Messenger and emails as part of your multichannel marketing strategy. Adopting WhatsApp can enhance your messaging experience and help you reach even more people via their preferred channel.

With so many benefits of WhatsApp messaging, you can definitely leverage it in your business and start talking with your customers seamlessly. WhatsApp can now be integrated with CRMs so you can seamlessly include this channel in your marketing campaigns and easily respond, all within the same platform as your other messages.

 


 

Using SMS-Magic you can have interactive, automated, and bulk messaging on WhatsApp and other messaging channels. Reach out and we would be happy to give you a personal tour and share examples from our clients on how they are using multichannel messaging with SMS-Magic!

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