Scenario​

This scenario creates the following use case for SMS messaging.

  • A contact sends an inbound SMS to the group. You can optionally limit the automation to SMS replies that contain a certain word or words.

  • In response, Engage automatically moves the contact to a different Engage group. The contact is removed from the source group.

Prerequisites​

SMS messaging is an extra feature of Engage. Before you can send SMS messages, you must do the following.

  1. Work with your account manager to register the necessary codes and keywords for SMS messaging. For more information, see ​SMS Code Types​.
  2. Create one or more dedicated groups for SMS sendout. For instructions, see ​Create a New Group​.
  3. In the group settings, define the inbound mobile ID, outbound mobile ID, and reply handling. For instructions, see ​Define the Inbound Mobile ID​.

For this scenario, the SMS reply handling method of the source group must be ​Initiate Event-based Automation​.

The SMS reply handling method of the target group can be anything.

Procedure

  1. Create a new event-based automation. You can create the automation on a whiteboard or manually. Enter a name and description for the automation.

  2. Create the settings for the event and job as follows:
    Automation Settings

    Event

    Job

    ​Message Reply Received (C)​

    ​Add and Remove Member (C)​

    ​Group​: Select the SMS group.

    Note: The event ​Message Reply Received (C) ​only fires if Engage recognizes the mobile number that sends the incoming SMS. Incoming SMS messages from unregistered mobile numbers are ignored.

    ​Contact:​ Select the ​Use Event Parameter​ check box.

    ​Source Group Name​: Select the ​Use Event Parameter​ check box.

    ​Target Group Name:​ Select the group the contacts should be moved to.

    Select whether the contacts should receive a notification when they are moved.

    To add contacts to another group without removing them from the original group, use the following job: ​Add Contacts to Group​. After the automation executes, the contacts is a member of both groups.

  3. Click the ​Time Frame​ button. Define the time frame by selecting a ​Start Date​ and an ​End Date​. Within this time frame, every time the event takes place, the job is executed.
  4. Click ​Save & Activate​ to immediately activate the automation.
    ⇒ The automation is saved and activated. The automation has the status ​Activated, Running​ if the start date is immediate and ​Activated, Scheduled​ if the start date is in the future.