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CRM – How to setup SMS Text Messaging

SMS & MMS Message Services

SMS & MMS Message Services cost $5 per month or $50 for 12 months if prepaid. The Fee includes 100 SMS Message Segments each month, or, 12oo Message Segments when 12 months are prepaid.

Additional SMS or MMS Message Segments may be purchased. Message Segments are prices with a reduction in per unit pricing for larger volume purchases. Volume purchases of Segments are added to the segments included with the base service fee and remain in your ‘pool’ of available segments until used.

Outbound vs Inbound vs Forwarded

There are three separate ways that you can spend your Message Segments.

  1. Outbound Messages: These are the segments that you use to send messages to people in your CRM system database.
  2. Inbound Messages: These are the segments that are used when someone you sent a message too responds to you.
  3. Forwarded Messages: These are the segments that are used if and when you elect to have Inbound Messages forwarded to your personal phone.

Outbound Messages have an ‘overhead’ component of 23 characters because the following text must be added to each segment… “Text STOP to Stop Texts”

The required ending text informs recipients that they can STOP you from sending Text Messages. This is necessary because some people are charged a fee for each message that they receive and they CANSPAM laws require that they be given a simple way to opt out of your messaging processes. This means that you are actually limited to 117 characters for the 1st Message Segment.

Inbound Messages arrive when the recipient of your outbound SMS replies to your message. You have no control over Inbound Messages. If the recipient decides to reply you must pay for the message segments that they send to you. You can review the inbound messages from the Inbound Messages selection under SMS Messages in the left menu.

Anytime someone decides to text STOP they cost you an inbound message segment.

Forwarded Messages are an optional setting that you must turn ON if you want to receive them. The default setting is OFF. You will find the checkbox for ON / OFF under the SMS & MMS Menu section by clicking the SMS & MMS Account Info tab selection.

If you do not turn the setting to ON you will not receive replies to your cell phone and will have to review your Inbound Messages tab selection to see what replies have been sent.

Message Types

There are two types of Text Messages… SMS and MMS.

SMS = Short Message System and is limited to text messages. HTML Links can be included.

MMS = Multimedia Message Service and includes embeded photos and videos along with text.

Message Segments

Message Segments = 140 character blocks of standard characters. Standard Characters include most of the standard QWERTY keyboard characters… A-Z plus a-z plus 0-9 plus most of what you can access with the shift key.

 
Message Segments = 70 character blocks if any of the characters are Special Characters. Special Characters include letters commonly found outside of the English Language character set… such as ç, á, é, í, ó, ú, ñ, and ä.
 
When sending SMS or MMS messages it is important to understand that you are charged based on the length of the message and the type of content… Multimedia and / or Special Characters. Multimedia has a higher cost and Special Characters equate to shorter message segments. Shorter message segments means that you need more segments to convey your message and therefor will be charged more.