If you want to send out a series of SMS messages over time relating to the same campaign (e.g. a series of reminders counting down to an event), you can create a Drip Campaign.
1. Start in the Zoho CRM, and in the menu ribbon at the top, find the Settings cog icon in the top right and click it. Then look for the Automation tile and click on Workflow Rules:
2. Click on Create Rule over on the right:
A) Module - use the dropdown box to select a Module where this workflow to take effect, for example Leads.
B) Rule Name - set a Rule Name, for example SMS Drip Campaign.
C) Description - this field is optional.
D) Then click on Next:
4. Choose when you want to execute the rule, for this example we'll click On a record action, and we're going to choose Edit. Then we're going to click Specific fields(s) gets modified and set a record action on editing by selecting Lead Source is modified to any value.
Then click on Next:
5. Now you need to decide if you want to include any Conditions to the workflow. In this example we've selected Leads matching certain conditions and chosen to run multiple rules to run together:
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Lead source is Web Research
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Number Inbound Smooth Messenger = 0
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Number Inbound Smooth Messenger is Empty
Then click Next:
6. After you've set the Conditions and clicked Next, Instant Actions will appear underneath, click it and select SendSmoothSMS:
7. When the SendSmoothSMS window pops up, follow the normal steps for configuring a workflow SMS but before you click save, open Advanced Settings.
8. In Advanced Settings, there are two fields to complete:
A) Tick the Drip SMS cancel on prior reply checkbox - this will ensure that if the contact responds to any message in the drip sequence, that subsequent messages will be cancelled.
B) In the Campaign field, put the ID of a campaign record you'll use for this drip sequence. This is necessary if you have multiple drip SMS sequences you want to trigger. The added benefit is you'll see stats about the drip sequence in the campaign record. If you don't specify the campaign ID, we will cancel all future drip SMS to the contact if they reply. Often you'll want to enrol the contact in another drip sequence if they respond to the first one.
To get the campaign ID, open the Campaigns module in your CRM, find a relevant campaign (or make a new one) and then copy the ID from the URL. As an example, if the URL is https://crm.zoho.com.au/crm/org7001912722/tab/Campaigns/40656000002877452 the campaign ID is 40656000002877452.
9. To turn this workflow into a Drip Campaign, you will need to create a Scheduled Action alongside your Instant Action as a follow up. You can choose how many Hours, Days, or Minutes after the initial action you would like to execute your scheduled action. Once you've set the Rule Trigger Time, click Next:
10. After you've set your Rule Trigger Time, click on Action and select SendSmoothSMS from the list:
11. Here's where the Deja Vu kicks in... you just need to follow the same steps you did when creating the Instant Action back at Step 8, except this time we're going to change the Workflow SMS Description and Message Template. Make sure you use the same campaign ID.
12. Add additional scheduled actions for any further drip SMS you want to include in this sequence.
13. Your configuration should now look something like this:
A) Instant Action - the initial message that will be sent as soon as the workflow rule triggers
B) Scheduled Action - the 2nd of 3 messages
C) Scheduled Action - the 3rd of 3 messages
If the contact replies to message A, messages B and C will not be sent.
14. Now you definitely don't want to lose all that hard work, so make sure you click Save in the bottom left corner!