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8. Deploy the SMS Inbox

Inbox Quickstart​

  • Open your Inbox

    • A Green Dot will notify you of incoming messages
    • Select a conversation to start

    Select

  • Select and Send pre-written Quick Replies to speed things up

    Notify & Auto

  • Pick the Airplane icon to start a Record

  • Click AI Auto-fill to generate Fields → in the blink of an AI

    Airplane

  • Go to the related Dashboard and act on SMS-generated Records → ex. change status from Open to On Scene

    Dashboard

Toolbar Features​

Take a quick look at the Toolbar features → explained in the Filters & Actions section of this article

Quick look

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SMS Setup​

Setting up SMS with SwitchBase couldn't be easier — we do it for you!

That said, SMS implementation requires a bit of planning, so we'll need to learn a few things about your needs:

  • A. Target Audience → Who will benefit from SMS?

    • Patrons, guests, fans?
    • Staff?
    • VIP Guests?
    • Other?

  • B. Distribution → How do you want to share your SMS number?

    • Printed/posted?
    • Text number?
    • QR code?
    • NFC tag?

  • C. Venues → How many separate venues are you planning on?

  • D. Expected Volume → How many messages do you expect for:

    • Various Event types?
    • Ongoing operations?

What we'll do​

SwitchBase will set your system up with Twilio — the popular, scalable, legally compliant, and reliable cloud-based platform for sending and receiving SMS messages. And we'll complete the following tasks:

  • A. Number Acquisition → SwitchBase will acquire the standard 10-digit long code number to be used by your organization

    • If you have numbers already in use for SMS, let us know!

  • B. Opt-out → SwitchBase will provide a clear and legally compliant way for recipients to opt-out → ex. by replying STOP

  • C. Training → We'll get your SMS Group trained, including the tips and tricks you'll need to get the most from your SMS experience

  • D. Support → SwitchBase will provide ongoing support, including training, troubleshooting, and assistance with compliance

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Activate, Share, Rename & Pin​

Activate-Deactivate SMS​

To turn your SMS service on and off:

  1. Open your Inbox

  2. Switch to Active → to start receiving messages

    Activate inbox

  3. Toggle to Inactive → and temporarily turn off SMS

    Inactive

Share your Inbox​

SwitchBase sharing ensures that the Group assigned to your Inbox stays focused on the messages they need to see.

  1. To start sharing:

    • A. Click the Share Button, or

    1-Share button

    • B. Click Settings (. . .) → and pick Share inbox

    Share Inbox

  2. Pick the Group(s) or Users you wish to Share your Inbox with:

    • A. Groups → ex. Guest Services, Housekeeping, Usher, etc.
    • B. Users → ex. Austin, Benji, etc.

    2 sharet

  3. Set the *Permission level → ex. usually Member

    Permissions 3

  4. Click Save Changes

dive deeper into inbox Sharing
  • We've added a lot of SMS Sharing options to meet the security needs of a vast variety of venues
  • Complete instructions are found in our Share Inbox article
  • Learn about *Permission levels in our Set the Permission Level section

Rename Threads​

To change the name of a thread so it can be referenced easily:

  1. Open the thread → and click the Rename Thread pencil

    Pencil

  2. Make your name change → and record it by:

    • A. Clicking the ✓ - or pressing Enter
    • B. Clicking X to start over

    Alpha

Pin & Reposition Inboxes​

Pin your Primary Inbox to the top of your list for quicker access. Drag the Waffle icons to move your Inbox to the preferred spot.

To pin, unpin, and reposition:

  1. Hover over any Inbox to reveal its Pin → ex. Guest Services

  2. Click the Pin!

    • Pin as many Inboxes as you wish

    Pin

  3. To reposition → click and drag the Waffle icon up or down

    waffle

  4. To remove a Pin → just click it!

Show more / Show less​

  1. Choose Show more → to display unpinned Inboxes

  2. Select Show less → to minimize the list

    Show less

five tips
  1. Pinned Inboxes always appear in the order you set
  2. Unpinned Inboxes appear when a new message is sent to you
  3. The number of new messages appear in a bubble
  4. New, unpinned, and idle Inboxes float alphabetically below pinned messages
  5. Click Show More to view all of your Inboxes → and Show Less to view only Pinned and Active messages

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Create Records with AI Auto-fill​

AI Icon

Turn inbound messages into actionable Records by:

  • Clicking the Create Records arrow
  • Selecting the AI Auto-fill icon → to instantly pre-fill Forms based on the conversation
  • Filling in additional Fields as needed

flow

How AI works!​

  1. Open your Inbox

  2. Click the Create Record Arrow → to start a new incident Record

  3. Pick a Form (or even a Shortcut) → ex. Wet Spill

    Create Issue

  4. Click the AI Auto-fill button to pre-fill your Form

  5. Make additions or corrections → then click Create

    AI generate

After you create a Record from a Thread, you can open and update it by:

  • A. Clicking the View related records button → to open a thumbnail of the Record

    all

  • B. Selecting the View in sidebar option → to pop open the Record in a right-side panel

    Sidevar

  • C. Picking the Page View option → to display the Record on a full page

    full view

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Filters, Actions & Settings​

Your SMS Toolbar is divided into two sections:

Filt archivet

A. Inbox & Thread Filters​

Use filters to organize and simplify your Inbox:

All Filters

  • A. Inbox → to display the active threads in a list

  • B. Starred threads → to star Threads to be remembered

  • C. Closed threads → to show your Closed or hidden threads

  • D. All threads → to show all new, starred, and hidden threads

  • E. Rename threads → to add a name or a descriptive title

B. Thread Archival Actions​

Take actions to highlight, retire, or reorganize threads that have been fulfilled.

Actions

  • A. Mark as Unread → to archive for possible later action

  • B. Close / Reopen thread → to close threads to clear your list

    Closed Reopen

  • C. Star thread → to mark key threads with a Star to spot and filter easily

    Star

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Quick Replies​

To save time, pre-write and use Quick Replies. Open the Replies Library by clicking the Chevron, and pick from the list.

quick replies

Manage your Quick Replies​

To open your Quick Replies library:

  1. Click the Settings (. . .) menu

  2. Pick Edit inbox settings

    alt text

  3. Review the parts of the Quick Replies Library:

    QR lib

Add a Quick Reply​

To add a Reply:

  1. Click + Add Quick Reply

  2. Give your Reply a recognizable Quick Reply Name → ex. Sending Guest Services

  3. Enter your Quick Reply's text → ex. Thank you. We are sending a Guest Services representative to you

  4. Click Save Settings

    Quick Replies

Edit a Quick Reply​

To reword your quick Replies:

  1. Click inside any of the text boxes

  2. Make your edits

    edit

  3. Click Save Settings

Delete a Quick Reply​

To Delete a Reply:

  1. Click the Trash icon next to the Quick Reply you wish to delete

    Trash

  2. Click Save Settings

Move Quick Replies Up or Down​

You'll want to prioritize how your Quick Replies pop up in the list.

alt text

To adjust the order of your replies:

  1. Snag a Quick Reply by its Waffle icon

  2. Drag it up (or down) within your list

Movealt text

  1. Click Save Settings

Edit the Inactive Message​

The Inactive Message is sent whenever the Inbox has been Paused or Deactivated → ex. a text message arrives after hours

To reword your Inactive Message:

  1. Click inside any of the text boxes

  2. Make your edits

    edit

  3. Click Save Settings

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Notifications​

SwitchBase can ping your phone with notifications when:

  • A Record is created or updated (including via SMS AI)
  • A Chat (DM or Group) is sent

The settings for notifications are set to your Mobile Devices → iOS or Android

Visit our Mobile App article called Notifications → Enable, Pause & Customize to learn all about it

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