In this guide, we will cover the steps to setting up and managing SMS Marketing via MessageBird on the ePOS Hybrid Admin Panel.
MessageBird allows you to send SMS marketing messages to customers who have opted in to receive marketing communications when placing orders.
Firstly, log onto your Admin Panel at https://www.eposhybrid.uk/ or via the ePOS Hybrid Operator App.
Once logged in, select Marketing, followed by SMS Marketing. This will open the SMS Marketing screen, allowing you to download a copy of this ePOS Academy Guide using the Download Integration Guide button. The MessageBird API Key and MessageBird Originator fields will be entered once your MessageBird Account is set up.
To begin the MessageBird signup process, open a separate tab/window and visit https://dashboard.messagebird.com/en/sign-up.
Step 1 allows you to Create Your Account and sign up via Email, Google or Facebook. After clicking the checkbox to agree to MessageBird’s Terms & Privacy Statement, click Create an Account.
Step 2 provides two options on the What’s Your Goal Today? Screen - select I’m evaluating MessageBird for my business.
Enter the relevant information in Step 3 - What’s Your Name and Role? After the fields have been entered, click Continue to last step to enter the information needed in Step 4 - Tell Us About Your Company. Once this information is complete, click Complete Sign Up.
After completing your MessageBird signup, the MessageBird Dashboard will open. Select SMS from the panel on the left-hand side of the screen, then select API Getting Started.
From here, complete Steps 1&2 to get your free test credits (Step 3 is not required), and send a test message in Step 4.
After completing these steps, move to the Your API Keys section on the right-hand side of the screen and click Show to display your Live API Key.
Copy the text of your Live API Key, and return to the ePOS Hybrid Admin Panel.
On the MessageBird screen, paste the Live API Key in the MessageBird API Key field.
For the MessageBird Originator field, enter what you want customers to see as the name of the sender of the SMS they will receive. This must include your business name, to avoid messages being identified as being from fraudulent originators. Ideally, it will be between 9 and 12 characters.
Once entered, click Connect to MessageBird to complete the MessageBird integration.
You will receive a notification confirming that the connection has been successful, and the SMS Marketing Suite screen will now open.
The Balance section on the top row of the screen will confirm the balance available for SMS messages to send to customers. Clicking the Add Funds button will open a separate tab to the MessageBird Add Funds screen, where you can top up your MessageBird Account Balance (minimum spend of £15.00) - click HERE to access also.
To send an SMS to your customers, enter the text in the SMS Message Text textbox. As you type the message, the number of available characters will update automatically.
You can choose how you wish to send SMS messages to customers by selecting either To all the Opt-In customers (to send to every customer who has opted in to receive marketing communications) or Only to Specific Customers to further customise how you wish these to be sent.
If Only to Specific Customers is selected, all customers who have provided their contact number and opted into marketing communications will be listed - you can click the checkbox next to their name and contact number to add them to the group of customers who will receive an SMS message and the Selected total displayed next to Only to Specific Customers will update accordingly. The Select All toggle can also be clicked to have all customers selected for the SMS message.
In addition to individually selecting opted-in customers or selecting all, the Filter column is visible when Only to Specific Customers is selected, and this section allows for customers to be filtered by Last Order Date, Number of Orders Placed and Average Order Value, with the list of customers meeting the specific criteria updating automatically.
Click the button next to the relevant filter and enter either the number of Days, Orders or Order Value in the textbox and click Apply to update the list of opted-in clients who meet the criteria selected.
Multiple options can be chosen, and to clear the filters, click the Clear button.
After typing the content of your SMS Message and selecting the customers who will receive it (whether specific or all opted-in customers), you can choose to send the SMS immediately via the Send SMS Now button. Once this is selected, you will receive a notification confirming the cost of the action and clarifies that this action cannot be refunded before proceeding.
If insufficient funds are available in your MessageBird account, the below pop-up will appear, advising a balance top-up is required before proceeding.
Once the SMS is sent, the SMS History section of the screen will update accordingly, listing the content of the message itself, the date and time sent, the cost of the action (sending the messages to customers) and the number of customers the message was sent to.
If you wish to schedule SMS Messages to customers, you can do so by selecting the Schedule SMS option.
This will open the option to select a date and time to schedule the SMS, click Schedule once the options have been entered.
Once selected, a notification will confirm the price of the action (sending the SMS) and this cannot be refunded once scheduled.
After the SMS has been scheduled, this will appear highlighted in the SMS History section and once sent will be shown in white as per the non-scheduled SMS messages in this section.
To Disconnect MessageBird if needed, click Disconnect on the top-right corner of the screen.
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