How to edit SMS order reminders
A friendly text before the order cutoff is the single best way to stop customers from forgetting to order. "Menu closes tonight at 9pm, what's for lunch next week?" Your site sends it on the same day and time every week, to everyone who asked for it.
SMS reminders are available on every Eat Fresh site and billed per message. See eatfresh.tech/pricing. For the big picture on texting, see SMS text messaging: reminders, updates and replies by text.
Where the reminders live
Open Messaging (SMS & Email) > Message Prefs to see your recurring reminders. Each reminder's page shows how many customers are subscribed, with a link to the list. Last sent at the top shows when it last went out and, for a bulk send, to how many customers.
On each reminder, the Public Display Name and Public Description are what customers see on their account page when they choose to sign up, so make them inviting.
A reminder repeats every week on the same day and time while it is Active and its Recurring switch is on. With Recurring off, it sends once at its Next Send Date & Time and then stops. Make changes before that time. Messages send gradually from the start time, so a long list can take a while to get through. How fast depends on your plan.
To send a message right away, click Send Now under Other Functions. The confirmation shows how many customers will get it: customers who opted out are left out, and accounts that share a phone number get one text. On a weekly message, this also sets the current day and time as the default for future sends. Click Change to reset it or pick a different one.
Skipped and missed weeks
- Skip a week, next to Change, moves the next send one week later. Use it when you are closed for a holiday.
- Skip when no menu takes orders at the send time, under Recurring, skips those weeks for you. Your team gets an email for each skip.
- A weekly message that misses its time, for example while SMS is off, does not send late. It goes out at its next weekly time. A one-time message that misses its time does not go out.
- The send time stays the same when the clocks change for daylight saving time.
Writing the message
Click Edit next to a reminder on the Message Prefs list, then click edit under the message text. As you type, the editor shows:
- The character count and number of segments. A text that runs into two segments costs two.
- A warning on any character that makes a text cost more, such as some emoji, so you can swap it out.
- Click-to-insert tokens for your company name, a link to your site, the order page and the customer's account page. They fill in when the message sends.
Switches save as soon as you flip them. Text fields save when you click Save, and the send date when you click Confirm. The bottom of the page shows how many customers are subscribed, with a link to the list.
Welcome, HELP and MENU replies
Messaging (SMS & Email) > Canned SMS Messages holds the automatic replies your number sends: the welcome message, and the replies when someone texts HELP or MENU. Edit them with the same editor. Editing needs the Admin Edit Canned SMS toggle on the Features page.
How customers opt in and out
Nobody is signed up by surprise. When they create an account, customers can tick an optional Opt-In for SMS box. They turn each reminder on or off later under Notifications under My Preferences on their account page. A customer who skipped the box turns texts on there first with the Enable SMS notifications button, or by texting START to your number. Replying STOP to any message turns texts off, and only a START text turns them back on. Accounts that share a phone number share one text setting.
Keywords: text reminder
Related