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Two-way SMS

Whether you are already using SMS campaigns or want to get started with this new channel in Custobar, it is possible to upgrade to two-way SMS.

Two-way SMS needs to be ordered from Custobar and Custobar will set it up with our SMS partner.  The monthly fee is currently 40€ / month for the upgrade.

Two-way SMS is switched “on” by replacing the sender name with the configured phone number in the advanced settings. To switch it “off”, simply replace the sender name back.

Note that the number must be given in normalized form, beginning with the + sign (+358123456789 for Finland). Also, for non-numeric sender names, there is 11 character limit.

The biggest benefit of a two-way SMS is that it gives customers the option to directly opt-out from SMS marketing. It is possible to use API imports or manually change the SMS permission, but letting the customer do it is only possible with a two-way SMS number.

Two-way SMS also makes it possible for customers to ask different things using SMS replies to your campaigns, for example they can fetch their own loyalty member number by sending an SMS with “club”. A new SMS is sent in response with their unique ID.

With two-way SMS, when enabled, you can also send the Customer Satisfaction Survey to your customers, and they can then respond directly with a number from 0-10, after which they will receive a second SMS where they can comment freely. This can be used when a customer buys an item from the store or contacts the support line for example.

Should you have specific needs, custom logic can be setup with Custobar staff, to have specific answers trigger specific actions. SMS unsubscribe and Satisfaction scores logic are configured by default.

Another feature is that the number will also look like any other local mobile number from the designated country, and normal SMS charges are applied when the customer replies.

Please note! Since the SMS is displayed as originating from a regular phone number, it is important to always sign and specify the sender inside the message body. This will avoid a situation where the customers cannot determine which company the SMS originated from.

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