Configure and Send SMS/Text Notifications

Configure and Send SMS/Text Notifications

SMS Add-on in Zoho Desk lets you notify your customers and agents via Text Messages (SMS). Say, when a ticket is raised by your customer or a new activity has been added for an agent, an SMS notification would acknowledge them. All you need to do is choose who should be notified and when.

Prerequisites
  1. Subscribe to one of the paid plans of Zoho Desk.
  2. Purchase SMS credits from one of the following technology partners of Zoho Desk: SMS-Magic and Clickatell.
  3. Configure the authentication credentials received from the vendor in Zoho Desk.

Configuring SMS Add-on
Setting up SMS Add-on is quite straight forward in Zoho Desk. To begin with, you must enter the credentials provided by your SMS vendor in your help desk.
To configure SMS Add-on:
  1. Click the Setup icon (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing page, click Others under Marketplace.
  3. In the Others page, click SMS Add-on.
  4. In the SMS Add-on page, click Configure SMS Settings (Step 2).



  5. In the SMS Settings page, do the following:
    • Select the SMS vendor from whom you have purchased the credits.
    • Enter the Authentication details issued by your vendor.
      For SMS-Magic, provide the Username, Account ID, API Key, and the SMS Sender ID.
      For Clickatell, provide the Username, Password, API ID, and the       SMS Sender ID.
  6. Under SMS Recipient Number section, do the following:
    • Specify the Fields, whose number will be used to send SMS messages.
      For customers, specify their Phone number or Mobile number or the Phone number contained in the tickets.
      For agents, specify their Phone number or Mobile number.



  7. Click Save.

Note:
  • You can configure only one SMS gateway at any given time.
  • For an SMS to be sent successfully, it is best to use the International number format, i.e, the mobile or phone number should be prefixed with the appropriate country code.
  • SMS Sender ID is the name or number which flashes on the recipient's mobile phone when they receive an SMS. Ensure that you have entered a valid ID. It can be the one provided by your SMS vendor or a custom ID.

Viewing SMS History
You can track the status of the SMS messages that were sent from Zoho Desk. A detailed break-up of the number of messages: Sent, Delivered, and Failed can be viewed.
To track SMS history:
  1. Click the Setup icon (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing page, click Others under Marketplace.
  3. In the Others page, click SMS Add-on.
  4. In the SMS Add-on page, click View SMS History.
It displays the SMS metrics for each month. Click the individual number to view additional information like message sent time, recipient number, gateway used (i.e, the SMS Vendor) and the response received from your vendor.

Checking SMS Credits
You can monitor the usage of SMS credits in Zoho Desk.
To check SMS credits:
  1. Click the Setup icon (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing page, click Others under Marketplace.
  3. In the Others page, click SMS Add-on.
  4. In the SMS Add-on page, click Configure SMS Settings (Step 2).
  5. In the SMS Settings page, click Show Available SMS Credits.
You can view the remaining SMS Credits immediately below the button.

Configuring Notifications Rules for SMS
Zoho Desk will provide you with a set of notifications rules by default. You can enable or disable the rules for SMS messages as per your preference.
To enable notification rules:
  1. Click the Setup icon (  ) in the top bar.
  2. In the Setup Landing page, click Notify under Automation.
  3. In the Notification Rules page, select a Department from the drop-down.
  4. Under , click the toggle corresponding to the notification rule you want to enable.


The rules will be enabled instantly. You can click the Edit icon (  ) corresponding to a rule to customize its template.

Note:
  • The template for SMS messages should not exceed 500 characters.

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