SMS Program With Import, Unsubscribe, Automations

Scenario​

This scenario creates the following use case for SMS messaging.

• You import mobile numbers into Mapp Engage with a file (CSV, XML, or text file).

• Contacts can send inbound SMS messages to Mapp Engage to take part in programs or deals.
  Incoming SMS messages that contain certain words (like coupon or vote) trigger the corresponding event-based automation in Mapp Engage.

• Contacts can unsubscribe from the SMS messaging program at any time.
  To unsubscribe, a contact sends an SMS to Mapp Engage that contains a word such as quit, unsubscribe or cancel.

This scenario assumes that you import mobile numbers with a file. If you want to allow contacts to subscribe via SMS, you must use two Mapp Engage groups. This is described separately. For instructions, see ​SMS Program With Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Automations​.

Prerequisites​

SMS messaging is an extra feature of Mapp Engage. Before you can send SMS messages, you must obtain the necessary mobile codes and keywords.

This scenario can work with any type of mobile code (dedicated short code, shared short code, or long number).

For more information, see ​SMS Code Types​.

Procedure

A) Create SMS Campaign Group​

1. Create a new group. For more information, see ​Create a New Group​ .
2. In the group you want to use for SMS campaigns:
   1. In the ​Reply Handling​ tab, set up the ​Inbound Mobile ID​ and ​Outbound Mobile ID​. These settings depend on the type of mobile code you use. For instructions, see ​Set Up SMS Messaging​.

   2. From the ​Reply Handling​ drop-down menu, select ​Initiate Event-based Automation​.

B) Import SMS Contacts

Import contacts into the group you created in step 1. You can import contacts from a CSV, XML or text file. The maximum size of the import file is 50 MB.

Make sure the file is formatted correctly.

• ​XML Format for Contact Imports​

• ​CSV Format for Contact Imports​

For import, mobile numbers must include the international code. Do not include any optional extra zeroes. Import will work correctly with or without a plus sign (+) before the number.

Examples of valid mobile numbers:

49123456789

+49123456789

For instructions, see ​Import Mobile Numbers for SMS​.

C) Create SMS Campaigns​

You can use event-based automations to react to incoming SMS messages from your contacts. The event initiated by the inbound SMS message is always ​Message Reply Received (C)​. You can set up many different automations that fire depending on the words in the body of the SMS. This allows you to set up different campaigns and programs that all run in the same SMS group.

If you use a shared short code and SAP-registered keywords, the inbound SMS message must contain both the keyword and the word that initiates the automation. For example, the shared short code is 12345 and the keyword is PIZZA. To get a coupon for free breadsticks, a contact texts PIZZA breadsticks to 12345.

This event only fires if Mapp Engage recognizes the mobile number that sends the incoming SMS. Incoming SMS messages from unregistered mobile numbers are ignored.

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:

   Event	Job
   Select the following automation event: ​Message Reply Received (C)​ ​Group​: Select the SMS campaign group. ​Body​: From the drop-down list, select ​Contains​. In the input field, enter the word that initiates the automation. For example: coupon, vote, etc. You can also select the ​Regex (matches) ​option and use a Regex in the input field. Select the ​Case Insensitive​ check box.	Select the job. The job is the task that Mapp Engage automatically carries out every time that the event takes place. The following jobs make sense here: ​Send Prepared Message to Contact (C)​ ​Store Data in Profile Attribute (C)​ ​Add Contact to Group (C)​ ​Contact:​ Select the ​Use Event Parameter​ check box. The other settings depend on the job.

3. Click the ​Time Frame​ button.
   ⇒ The ​Define Time Frame​ window opens.
4. 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.
5. Click ​Save & Activate​ to immediately activate the automation.
   ⇒ The automation is saved and activated.

Repeat steps 1-5 for every automation you want to set up.

D) Unsubscribe Contacts from the SMS Campaigns Group​

This automation unsubscribes contacts from the SMS campaign group when they send an SMS to Mapp Engage that contains a word such as quit, unsubscribe or cancel. The unsubscribe is recorded in the statistics. This is the following automation job: ​Unsubscribe Member From One Group (C)​.

As an alternative, you can move the contacts to a different group, or add them to a group blacklist or a system blacklist. In that case, use one of the following jobs.

• ​Add and Remove Member (C)​

• ​Add to Group Blacklist (C)​

• ​Add to System Blacklist (C)​

1. In the ​Automations​ area, create a new event-based automation. Enter a name and an optional description for the automation.

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

   Event	Job
   ​Message Reply Received (C)​	​Unsubscribe Member From One Group (C)​
   ​Group​: Select the SMS Campaigns group. ​Body​: From the drop-down list, select the ​Contains​ option. In the input field, enter the word that initiates SMS unsubscribe. Or, select the  ​Regex (Matches) ​option. In the input field, enter a Regex. See below. Select the ​Case Insensitive​ check box.	​Contact​: Select the ​Use Event Parameter​ check box. ​Group​: Select the ​Use Event Parameter​ check box. ​Send Confirmation​: Select whether to send a confirmation SMS. This is the system message​SysMsgUnsubscribeFromGroup​. You must make sure this message is not suppressed for SMS. See ​System Messages via SMS​.

   

   You can use Regex to enter a combination of words.

   From the drop-down, select ​Matches [Regex]​.

   In the third field, enter the Regex.

   Example: .*\b(quit|end|cancel|unsubscribe|remove)\b.*

   \b finds a match at the beginning or end of a word

   ​.*​ indicates that additional text or no text can appear before or after.

   ​|​ represents an "or" and indicates that only one of the patterns must appear in the email

   

   If a contact sends an inbound SMS to a shared short code with the word STOP, SAP blacklists the mobile number. It is not possible to remove a contact from the SAP blacklist from within the Mapp Engage system. This applies only to shared short codes and not to dedicated short codes or long numbers.

3. Click the ​Time Frame​ button.
   ⇒ The ​Define Time Frame​ window opens.
4. 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.
5. 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.