SMS integration for Customer Support Systems / Helpdesk

For some companies, it may make sense to offer their customers, members, clients etc. to contact the company via SMS. Below you can read how to implement SMS in a helpdesk/customer support system. What the do's and dont's are and what we recommend when doing so.

The first consideration you need to make is how accessible you want to be to your customers. You've probably already done this and if you're reading these pages you've probably also considered being available by SMS. You should be aware that customer expectations for SMS response time are much lower than their expectations for email response time. Maybe you already have chat on your website and can learn from this experience.

Once you've decided to offer SMS in your helpdesk/customer support, it's all about implementing it so that it's as easy as possible for your customers to use and causes you as little extra work as possible.

Which number

You need to decide which phone number your customers should contact you on. In general, you have three options:

1. 1. Same number as the main company number or support phone number.

 

1. 1. A special support-by-SMS number

 

1. 1. A four-digit number with a so-called keyword

 

Which number is right for you depends on your situation. Below is a summary of the pros and cons of the different ones.

For example, if you have a number that your customers call for support, it would make sense to let them send SMSes to this number as well. They may already do this today and you answer support SMSs via a physical phone. The advantage is that the customer has one number and you answer it - whether they call or text.

You can also choose a special support-by-SMS number. It will then be a number in our number range. This is a good solution if, for example, you don't have phone support at all but only email, chat and SMS support. Then you still have to go out and get a number and here our two-way VLN is a good solution.

The last one is a four-digit number with a keyword. For example, it could be 1414 and the keyword SUPPORT. This means that your customers should send an SMS to 1414, start the message with Support and then type the message. This can be a good solution if your customers are in a situation where their memory is strained and it needs to be easy.

 

Same number for voice and SMS

If you think that the solution with the same number for both calls and SMS is the best, we can elaborate a little further. Technically, the solution is that you

1. 1. Get a new SIM card from your provider (often called shadow SIM)

 

1. 1. Routes the phone from your support number to your shadow SIM card

 

1. 1. Send your Support SIM card to us

 

1. 1. Ask your telecom provider to change the a-number on outgoing calls on your shadow SIM card to your support number

 

Now we install your support SIM card in our GSM rack. When an SMS arrives on the number, we forward it to your customer support/helpdesk system. You receive incoming SMSes just like emails in your system. You can use bots, automation, templates and everything you know from your customer support system for SMS. When you want to reply to an SMS you have received, you just reply in your CSC and we send the reply as an SMS.