How do I create an automated journey based on SMS responses?

SMS users can include sending SMS messages and emails in their automated journeys. At certain points in the journey, you may want to ask your subscriber a question and have them send a response that would send them down a different path in the journey.

Examples may include appointment/event confirmations, questions about interest or hearing more, geographical information, etc. 

Best Practices

There are a few things to keep in mind when including SMS response in your automated journey. 

1. Be very specific about what you want the recipient to respond with. You will need to determine a path based on this response and responses need to exactly match one of your set accepted responses. 
2. Do not request responses like "STOP" or "HELP" that are common responses used by phone providers to unsubscribe users or direct to help. 
3. Do not ask too many questions in a row. Give your users time to respond. There is a line between engaging and annoying—be wary of crossing it!
4. When testing your automation it is key to test all possible versions. Make sure to do that separately— for ease of testing we recommend assigning one tester per variation/response.

How-To

To learn more about creating your overall journey, please see our guide here. This section will specifically outline how to use the SMS response feature.

1. Navigate to the Automation Dashboard. Either open an existing automation or choose a template to start a new automated journey.
   
   
2. Set up your initial SMS message with the "Send SMS" function.
3. Drag the "Wait for Event" function to your automated workflow directly after your Send SMS.
   
   
4. Click the Pencil icon to edit your Wait for Event.
   
   
5. Choose "Evaluate SMS response" as your Action Item.
   
   
   
6. Choose the SMS mailing that the subscriber will respond to.
7. Determine your different paths. In the example below, we've asked the respondents to say "Yes" or "No". 
   To add possible responses to each path, type the response (like "Yes") into the text box and click the "+" button. If you have already written out a list you may import that list using the paperclip icon.
   
   
   
   
8. Under Maximum Tries, enter how many opportunities the recipient has to enter one of the validated responses you've listed. We recommend keeping this number fairly low as each incorrect response will still count towards your SMS volume.
   
   
9. Optional: Under Maximum Wait, you can enter an amount of time to wait for a response. If you receive no response by that amount of time the recipient will continue down the "No" path.
   You do not have to have a Maximum Wait. If no amount of time is entered the recipient will remain in that step indefinitely. 
   
   
10. Click Ok.