Text messaging allows you to use the emailing feature with an SMS counterpart. Primarily the Appointment Confirmations, Appointment Reminders, and Appointment follow-ups.
Let's look at Appointment Confirmations for example. Click Settings > Under Email & SMS > System > Appointment confirmations:
You can check the Enable box to enable automated confirmations, then edit the SMS message in the field below.
The SMS variables will automatically pull the customer's information into their text message. For example, the [::client_first_name::] variable will automatically add the customer's first name.
Note: Please do not copy and paste email variables into the SMS fields, they will not work.
SMS Short URL
You can include a [::short_url::] SMS variable within the text message to provide a link for your customer to confirm or request to reschedule an appointment. This can be found in the Insert Variable dropdown menu below the SMS body.
The customer will receive an SMS message that looks like this:
The [::short_url::] link brings them to a page where they can confirm their time or request to reschedule.
SMS Bot
Another SMS variable that can be used to confirm/reschedule your customers accordingly is the [::sms_bot::] SMS variable. This can be found in your SMS variable list as well.
Note: You should only be using [::sms_bot::] OR [::short_url::] in your SMS. You do not need both.
You can also customize the SMS bot replies. Go to Settings > Templates > SMS Bot Reply. From there, you can edit the automatic replies sent when customers confirm or reschedule appointments through the SMS Bot or Customer Portal.
Note: SMS Bot Reply templates can be edited, but new templates cannot be created.
SMS Per Credit Charge Notice:
SMS credits are based on message segments.
Plain text uses up to 160 characters per credit.
Emojis, special characters, and personalized fields may reduce the character limit and increase credits used.
For example, using a single emoji reduces the limit to 70 characters per credit.
When an SMS contains Emojis, Accented characters, or Special characters, the system switches to Unicode encoding. This drastically reduces the character limit per segment, resulting in higher credit charges.
Triggers & Examples:
Emojis:
😀,🚀,🔥(Note: Complex emojis like the family icon👨👩👧👦can use up to 8 Unicode characters alone).Accented Characters: Vietnamese tones or letters not in the standard Latin alphabet (e.g.,
á,ạ,ồ,ử,ệ,đ).Special Characters / Smart Punctuation (often from Copy-Paste): Smart quotes (
""instead of", or‘’instead of'), long dashes (—), and ellipses (…).
Character Limit & Segment Rules:
Plain Text (GSM-7): The 1st segment holds up to 160 characters. From the 2nd segment onwards, it drops to 153 characters/segment. (Example: 161 plain characters = 2 segments).
Unicode Text (With Emojis/Accents/Special Chars): The 1st segment holds up to 70 characters. From the 2nd segment onwards, it drops to 67 characters/segment. (Example: 71 characters containing a single emoji = 2 segments).
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keywords: SMS Bot, SMS Short URL
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