Automated Texts: How to Send Triggered Messages via SMS

What are automated text messages?

An automated text message is an SMS or MMS that’s sent automatically when a set condition is met, such as a purchase, a booked appointment, a missed call, or a scheduled time, instead of a person writing and sending each message. Triggered texts are the most common type: a customer’s action sets off the message.

People interact with your business every day. They shop, click, buy, book, apply, inquire, and more.

All of these interactions can be triggers that set off one (or many) automatic messages to people who need information. Basically, triggered messages are a form of business texting en masse, that are triggered by the actions your customers take.

Here’s a very common example. You’ve most likely received order confirmations and shipping updates via SMS automation. In this case, your purchase is the trigger. Once you buy something online, a series of triggered text messages are automatically sent to your phone. These messages keep you in the loop and reduce customer service inquiries. Win-win.

However, triggered texts are much more than reminders and notifications. Using integrations and your automated text message service, you can add SMS capability to many of the applications you already use, often without writing code.

That means that many actions a customer, employee, or client takes can trigger an SMS automation.

That opens up a lot of possibilities, especially for time-sensitive messages people need to see quickly.

The power of a triggered text message strategy

A triggered messaging strategy allows you to give people the information they need, right when they need it, making your communications timely.

Once you automate this process, your messages become more relevant. Especially when your texts are triggered at key points in a customer lifecycle (rather than when you have time to write and send).

Personalization takes relevance a step further. A text that uses the customer’s name and references what they just did is more likely to feel useful than a generic blast.

When you set up a triggered SMS strategy, you send relevant, timely, and personalized messages that also get your audience to take action. That’s the goal of most communication strategies.

Nine ways to use trigger SMS automation in your business

Now you know the why of triggered SMS, here are a few ideas about what triggers you can set up.

Just a heads up: how you set up your triggered messages will depend on what SMS tool you use and the integrations or API docs available. Look for a provider with reliable delivery, delivery status reporting, and support for carrier registration.

1. Automated replies

Set up automatic responses to be sent whenever someone texts you a keyword or a query. Auto replies or autoresponders are sent as soon as the keyword is received. They are also fully customizable.

This is a common use case for companies who receive a large volume of messages. They set up automatic responses to answer FAQs without picking up the phone. But small businesses can also use auto responses to respond fast, for great customer experience.

Plus, there are many other ways to use automated SMS replies. You can thank customers, send offers, or confirm preferences. You can also build two-way conversations by prompting customers to reply to questions with keywords. It’s a great way to understand more about your audience.

2. Drip campaigns via SMS

Do you create automated email journeys or use drip campaigns for email marketing? You can level up your marketing automation strategy with text messages.

When someone signs up to be an SMS subscriber, keep them engaged with your brand via a drip campaign. Their sign-up triggers a series of text messages sent over days or months that move them towards another action (for example, to buy or book a call).

Customer segmentation is important to creating successful drip SMS marketing campaigns. This ensures that messages are relevant and add value.

3. Collecting customer feedback

Automated text surveys are a practical way to collect ongoing feedback.

Using a triggered strategy, text surveys can be set up to send right away, such as right after a call, which can lead to faster responses. This allows you to identify problems sooner and increase your chances of getting a reply while a customer’s experience is fresh in their mind.

In Dialpad, contact centers can send a customizable SMS survey as soon as a call ends. SMS surveys are available with the AI CSAT feature.

A screenshot of creating a SMS survey in the Dialpad app with the details of the survey on the left an a mockup of a phone with a preview of the survey on the right

Although it’s really helpful to receive and analyze this feedback, the reality is that not everyone will respond. If your customers contact you by phone, AI CSAT can use call transcripts to predict customer satisfaction on eligible calls. That means you aren’t relying only on the customers who answer a survey.

That means for customers who may not have had a positive experience, you can send automated text messages to follow up and attempt to make amends.

4. Update employees with critical business information

When you need your employees to receive important information, fast, sending a message to an internal messaging tool is one way of quickly getting your message across. But, if some employees have temporarily paused their instant message notifications to focus on deep work, they might not receive time-critical updates.

Many people keep their phones nearby during the workday, so an SMS notification is more likely to be seen. This can be used, for example, when your website is down, or when you’ve run out of stock and need to update your supplier ASAP.

Aside from employee text updates, this can also be used for customer support notifications and tracking high-value clients.

With Dialpad, you can either send SMS messages to colleagues or use instant team messaging. Both live in one app, so teams can reach each other on whatever device they’re using.

Screenshot of direct messaging through Dialpad

5. Win back abandoned carts

Shopping cart abandonment is a part of doing business online. But many shoppers who leave items in a cart still intend to buy, and a well-timed triggered text can bring some of them back.

SMS can be an effective way to nudge customers back to their cart. Many online retailers set up triggered text messages based on how long the customer is inactive after they’ve added items to their cart.

Abandoned cart follow-up texts should be friendly, personalized, and sent at the right time. If your margins allow, you can even offer a little incentive like a discount to sweeten the deal.

6. Send meeting and appointment reminders

Using SMS reminders can help reduce no-shows and missed appointments. This is popular in industries like medical, health, and fitness businesses. With Dialpad, you can text a customer a video meeting link. It’s a convenient way to stay connected without having to download additional software.

A mockup of a mobile phone that received an SMS notification about joining a call with a link to the meeting

Public health systems have tested this too. In New South Wales, Australia, reminder texts helped reduce missed outpatient appointments, especially when the message mentioned what a missed appointment costs the hospital.

These also work well for teams who work across multiple locations and need meeting reminders.

7. Connect and nurture new leads

Get more out of your sales and marketing efforts. It’s best to catch potential customers or clients when they’re most engaged. That way you have a higher chance of making them stick.

You can use triggered SMS to alert your sales team whenever a new lead signs up via a form, landing page, or ad. Because texts tend to be seen quickly, your sales team can provide flawless follow-up while the lead is still engaged.

You can also use triggered SMS to set up a welcome series for new leads. Just note that this is only worthwhile if it fits with your strategy and doesn’t compete with an existing welcome email series.

8. Customer rewards

This is another way to surprise, delight, and re-engage your audience.

The premise is simple. You set up an automated text message offer to send after someone engages with your brand. It might be a discount, some credit, or a small voucher. Using the correct triggers, the SMS can be sent immediately or after a period of time.

For example, a store might invite customers to text a keyword to its number and automatically reply with a discount code. That simple automation encourages customers to opt in to marketing messages while giving them something of value in return.

SMS works well for rewards because people can open the offer, tap the link, and act on it right away from their phone.

9. Birthday and event-based promotional texts

Text messaging is a powerful marketing tool that, combined with automation, can send VIP offers or promotions to your subscribers, triggered on their birthday. Or if you notice a segment of customers have seasonal buying patterns, create SMS templates for these events and automate texts right when customers are most likely to buy.

The above examples are by no means an exhaustive list, but they are good places to start.

SMS automation best practices and compliance

Before you set up triggered SMS, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Make sure there are no ‘trigger collisions’. This happens when a subscriber takes multiple actions that trigger contradictory or conflicting messages. For example, they receive an abandoned cart nudge when they’ve already gone back and purchased an item.
Remember that SMS needs to feel personal. Texts are usually reserved for friends and family, so don’t overload your subscribers with too many messages and remember to personalize messages by including their first name.
Make it easy to opt in or opt out. Get clear consent before sending automated or marketing texts, and give people an easy way to stop receiving them. The compliance section below covers the specifics.
Add value. Give your audience something in return for the time they spend reading your message, like peace of mind that their order is on the way or a discount for loyalty.
Think like your audience. If you wouldn’t like to receive a message after business hours, be sure to schedule text messages when customers are most likely to be engaged.
Have a clear call to action. Your messages should have a clear call to action so that your subscribers always know what to do.
Test what works for your audience. Evaluate your opt-outs, replies, and click-throughs to see what volume and type of messages are working.

You could even ask your SMS subscribers what kind of communication channels they prefer to get messages from. You can segment your contact list from there.

Tip: Never stop testing (even if you’re really happy with your ROI)! There could be simple improvements that make your triggered messages more effective.

Compliance requirements for automated texts

TCPA consent requirements. You must have clear, documented consent before sending automated or promotional texts. Consent should be easy to understand and stored in case you need to show proof. Transactional messages require an existing relationship and should not include marketing content unless the recipient has opted in to it.

A2P 10DLC registration. Businesses that send automated texts from local numbers must register through A2P 10DLC. Carriers can block or throttle unregistered numbers and assign daily sending limits based on campaign type. High complaint rates can lead to suspension of messaging, so proper registration is essential.

Opt-in and opt-out rules. Every texting program needs a clear opt-in method and an easy opt-out option. Recipients should be able to reply STOP at any time and be removed promptly. No promotional messages should be sent after someone opts out. In Dialpad, when a recipient replies STOP, Dialpad sends an opt-out confirmation and stops further texts to that number from your organization. Dialpad also checks outbound texts against carrier content standards before they’re sent. Refer to Dialpad’s SMS Messaging Compliance guide for setup details.

Clear content and allowed message types. Texts should identify your business and provide accurate, transparent information. Content related to restricted categories like alcohol or firearms may require additional compliance steps. If you send behavior-based triggers such as reminders or follow-ups, the customer should understand this when opting in.

International requirements. Canada, the UK, and the EU have their own rules around consent and privacy. Make sure your automated SMS flows follow the standards for each region you message.

Recordkeeping. Save timestamped consent records, review automations regularly, and keep marketing and transactional content separate unless the customer has agreed to both.

Your organization is still responsible for how it collects and stores consent, so review TCPA and carrier requirements with your legal team as you set up automations.

Add triggered SMS to your apps, tools, and websites

This might come as a surprise, but it’s not hard to set up triggered messages or to add SMS capability to your favorite business tools. You don’t need to be a developer either. You just need to find the right method (and automated texting service) for your needs and skill level.

Below, we’ll share a few options to consider.

Triggered messages via a dashboard

Best for: beginners.

Most texting services have a dashboard. Most of these dashboards are very user-friendly. If you’ve ever used email marketing software, it will be very similar.

Depending on the service, you can usually set up basic triggered messages like auto responders right from the dashboard.

You’ll also be able to check analytics and pull reports too. Just keep in mind that functionality may be limited using this method.

Integrations, plugins, or connectors

Best for: no-coders, tinkerers, or anyone willing to learn.

Integrations connect two tools together without any coding. Luckily, they are not difficult to master and there are plenty to choose from. But setting up your first one might take a little time or have a slight learning curve.

For example, you can connect your Google Calendar to your SMS tool and set up automatic appointment reminders whenever someone books in.

Tools such as Zapier and IFTTT are great places to start if you’re new to using integrations. Or create more complex automated workflows using Make (formerly Integromat) or Integrately.

If you use Dialpad, its Zapier integration can use events like a new SMS or a call state change as triggers for workflows in other apps, such as logging a text to a spreadsheet or creating a follow-up task.

Be sure to choose an SMS provider with clear help docs and responsive customer service. That way you can get assistance if you get stuck.

Open API

Best for: programmers or coders.

If you want full control over your SMS functionality, this is the way to go. It’s also the perfect fit for businesses that can’t find the integration they need. Or, have a team of developers to support them.

Using an open API, you can build text message automation into your existing applications exactly how you want. You’ll just need to provide your developer with the technical docs from your preferred SMS tool.

Dialpad’s SMS API lets developers send texts and MMS from Dialpad numbers, including department and contact center lines, as part of their own workflows.

Automated texting with Dialpad

Dialpad includes several ways to automate texting alongside calls, meetings, and your contact center:

Scheduled texts: Schedule individual texts to go out at a specific time, and on eligible plans, send scheduled bulk messages for reminders and notices from a personal or shared line.
Contact center automation: With digital channels enabled, Dialpad Support for contact centers can send an automated greeting to inbound texts, collect contact details before an agent joins, and handle after-hours messages based on your business hours.
Post-call surveys: Send an SMS survey when a contact center call ends (with the AI CSAT feature).
CRM logging: Texts can log automatically to Salesforce and HubSpot, so follow-ups stay connected to the customer record.

Because texting runs on the same platform as your calls, every text a customer sends is part of the same conversation history your team can see. That makes it easier to understand each customer and respond in context. The business text messaging page covers the full feature set.

Ready to start automating your texts?

A small time investment now can save you hours in the future. Setting up automated texts is a practical way to keep your customers (and employees) informed and improve their experience with your brand.