The New SMS Feature in Microsoft’s D365 Customer Engagement Apps

May 17th, 2023 Intech Systems CRM, customer engaement, customer service, Dynamics 365

Today’s customer is mobile-savvy, tech-reliant, and easily distracted. They expect businesses to engage with them on-the-go with relevant content and clear call-to-actions. That’s why the launch of SMS capabilities in Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement App is a powerful feature that enables businesses to connect with their customers through SMS/Text messages from within the app. It also enriches customer data insights that business can use to make smarter decisions. With SMS capabilities, businesses can empower their sales and marketing teams to connect with customers on their preferred channel, deliver personalized and actionable messages, and boost their customer engagement impact.

Benefits of SMS Messaging for Businesses 

SMS messaging is a simple and effective way to communicate with customers. It can benefit an organization’s customer engagement process in the following ways: 

1. Drive Higher Open Rates: Unlike email, which can get lost in a crowded inbox, text messages are almost always opened and read. 
2. Enable Real-Time Communication: SMS messages are delivered instantly, making it easy to have real-time conversations with customers. 
3. Increase Cost-Effectiveness: SMS messaging is often less expensive than other forms of communication, such as direct mail or phone calls. 
4. Add a layer of Personalization: SMS messaging allows businesses to send personalized messages to individual customers, helping to build stronger relationships. 

Features of the New SMS Feature in D365 Customer Engagement Apps 

The new SMS feature in D365 Customer Engagement Apps includes a range of features designed to make it easy for businesses to send and manage text messages. The key ones to note are –  

1. Two-Way Messaging: Send and receive text messages on the app, allowing for real-time conversations with customers. 
2. Inbuilt Message Templates: Create message templates or use existing ones to cut down on time required. 
3. Contact Lists: Create and manage contact lists, making it easy to send messages to specific customer groups.  
4. Reporting: Track and analyze customer interactions with your SMS campaigns. 

How to enable the New SMS Feature in Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement? 

1. Activate in settings: The SMS feature is not enabled by default, but you can activate it in your D365 Customer Engagement Apps account. Go to Settings > Administration > System Settings > General and select Yes for the option Enable SMS.
2. Set Up a Twilio Account: To send SMS messages, you will need to set up a Twilio account and link it to your D365 Customer Engagement Apps account. You can opt for a free or paid account with Twilio depending on your needs.
3. Create Message Templates: You can create your own SMS template repository to send personalized and automated messages to your customers. To create SMS templates, go to Settings > Templates > SMS Templates and click on New.
   
4. Build Contact Lists: You can create and manage contact lists to make it easy to send messages to specific groups of customers.
5. Start Sending Messages: With everything set up, you can start sending text messages to customers directly from within the D365 Customer Engagement Apps. 

Conclusion 

The new SMS feature in D365 Customer Engagement Apps is a powerful tool for businesses looking to connect with customers on the go. With a range of features designed to make it easy to send and manage text messages, businesses can take advantage of the high open rates and real-time communication of SMS messaging to build stronger relationships with their audience. 

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