Using the RechargeSMS dashboard
RechargeSMS is a transactional SMS tool that empowers customers to manage their subscriptions by text message. This guide provides an overview of the RechargeSMS dashboard and guides for connecting a customer service integration and using the messaging Simulator.
- Shopify Checkout Integration
- Migrated Shopify Checkout Integration
Using the My Shop page
The My Shop page launches immediately after logging into RechargeSMS. This page displays your shop's unique phone number and contains Messaging Insights, Opt-in Tools, and Customer Support Integrations.
My Shop's Phone Number
When you install RechargeSMS, your shop is assigned a unique phone number. This phone number that customers will receive text messages from when they interact with the service. We recommended adding your shop's phone number to your contact list for testing purposes.
Messaging Insights
The Messaging Insights chart displays the number of SMS messages sent between your shop and customers. This data is broken down by Total SMS, Outbound SMS, and Inbound SMS metrics.
Note: RechargeSMS opt-in metrics are not available in the Dashboard or Recharge Analytics.
To filter this data, use the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly toggles or Set a custom date range.
For comprehensive Analytics on RechargeSMS, use the Recharge Analytics Reports dashboard:
- From the Recharge merchant portal, click Analytics.
- Click Reports.
- Click Actions.
- Click Action Source and choose is SMS to display RechargeSMS analytics.
Note: RechargeSMS analytics data only applies to customers who have opted in to receive SMS messages.
Opt-in Tools
To use RechargeSMS, customers must opt-in to receive text messages from your store. The My Shop page contains Opt-in Tools to help you configure your opt-in methods. Use the Opt-in Tools to enable opt-in, customize your opt-in widget, and more. For more information on Opt-in Tools, see Installing RechargeSMS.
Customer Support Integrations
RechargeSMS connects to a number of customer support integrations. For more details, see Using Customer Support Integrations with RechargeSMS.
Understanding the messaging status indicator
After installing RechargeSMS, the service status indicator displays as Offline by default. RechargeSMS is both activated and managed using the messaging status indicator. Click the messaging status indicator tool to toggle on/off customer segments and turn on/off the service.
The RechargeSMS messaging status indicator displays whether the service is Offline, Limited, Online, or Optimal. The messaging status indicator also displays messaging status updates when there are new features in the app and error statuses when there is an error with the service.
Messaging status indicator statuses
Status |
Definition |
Condition |
RechargeSMS is offline. No messages can be sent or received. | SMS Service toggle is set to Disabled in the service status indicator. | |
RechargeSMS is enabled for a limited number of customers. This is typically the status indicated when testing RechargeSMS with a test segment. |
SMS Service toggle is set to Enabled. Both Current Subscribers and Future Subscribers Opt-in are disabled. |
|
RechargeSMS is enabled. Messages are sent to either new customers or all customers. |
SMS Service toggle is set to Enabled. Either Current Subscribers or Future Subscribers Opt-in is enabled. |
|
RechargeSMS is enabled. Messages are sent to new and current customers. |
SMS Service toggle is set to Enabled. Both Current Subscribers or Future Subscribers Opt-in is enabled. |
|
RechargeSMS has a new update. Follow the directions in the update message to explore the new update. |
|
|
There is an error with RechargeSMS. Follow the directions in the error message to fix the error. For more details on fixing errors, see Error status for missing phone numbers. |
|
Error status for missing phone numbers
Customers must have a phone number associated with their Shopify account to use RechargeSMS. RechargeSMS has a built-in error state that detects when more than 10 customers are missing phone numbers and prompts you to resolve this error.
When the error state is triggered, the RechargeSMS status indicator displays a Messaging Error status. To resolve the error, you need to enable the Shipping Address Phone Number field in your Shopify settings. This field enables you to collect customers' phone numbers at checkout.
- Open the status indicator and click Show me how! to watch a tutorial video on resolving this error.
- Open your Shopify admin.
- Click Checkout settings.
- Locate the Customer Information setting.
- Locate the Shipping Address Phone Number setting.
- Change the value from Don't Include to Optional or Required.
- Open RechargeSMS and click I've done this on the error modal to verify that your Shopify settings have been updated.
Using customer support integrations with RechargeSMS
Adding a customer support integration to RechargeSMS provides customers with a seamless support experience. RechargeSMS works with the following customer support integrations:
- Freshdesk
- Intercom
- Gorgias - Gorgias is a preferred customer support integration for RechargeSMS. In addition to email support, Gorgias allows agents to respond directly to customers via SMS. This is possible with the use of Gorgias's built-in SMS widget.
- Kustomer
- Re:amaze
- Zendesk
When a customer experiences any issues with RechargeSMS, the customer will receive a text message that your support team will follow up via email. RechargeSMS automatically creates a customer support ticket with the SMS message details pre-filled. RechargeSMS also imports the last 50 customer interactions into the ticket so that your support agents have the additional context they need to assist your customers. From here, your customer support team can troubleshoot the issue and follow up with the customer via email.
A ticket is automatically created for the following scenarios:
- A customer uses
help
or operator keywords - A customer sends at least one unrecognized message
- A customer's payment fails and at least one dunning notification is sent
- A customer tries to end their subscription and the end subscription setting is disabled
Connecting a customer support integration
You can enable your customer support integration from the RechargeSMS settings page. Each customer support integration requires specific authentication fields to be filled out.
Freshdesk
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Freshdesk from the list and click Connect.
- Input your Freshdesk Portal URL. This URL is typically formatted as:
https://yourshopname.freshdesk.com
- Input your API Key. Your API key can be found on the Profile Settings page.
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Note: Freshdesk requires a paid account to integrate your help desk with third-party applications.
Intercom
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Intercom from the list and click Connect.
- Input your Email. The email address must be the email address that was used to register for Intercom.
- Generate an Access token by creating an Internal App in Intercom’s Developer Hub. From your Intercom application, open the menu at the top left-hand corner and click on App Store.
- Click Build your own app at the top of the page.
- From the Intercom Developer Hub, click Your apps in the top right corner.
- Create an Internal integration and click Create app.
- This creates an Access token. Input your Access token in the corresponding field in RechargeSMS.
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Gorgias
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Gorgias from the list and click Connect.
- To access your Gorgias login credentials, open Gorgias, click Settings, and open REST API.
- Input your Base API URL, Username, and API Key as your password into RechargeSMS.
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Kustomer
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Kustomer from the list and click Connect.
- In Kustomer, click Settings and expand Security.
- Click API Keys and Add API Key.
- Give the new API Key a relevant name, set the role to org, and the expiration date to No expiration.
- Click Create.
- Input your API Key into RechargeSMS.
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Note: The name you assign your API Key in Kustomer will inform the Assigned User tag in help desk tickets.
Re:amaze
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Re:amaze from the list and click Connect.
- In Re:amaze, click Settings and select Developer Settings.
- Click API Token and generate a new token.
- In RechargeSMS, input your Account Subdomain, Username, and API Key (API Token).
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Zendesk
- Launch RechargeSMS and locate the Customer Support Integrations widget on the Homepage.
- Select Zendesk from the list and click Connect.
- In Zendesk, click Apps and integrations from the sidebar menu.
- Click Zendesk API and click Settings.
- Enable Password Access and Token access.
-
In RechargeSMS, input your Base API URL. This is formatted as:
https://yourshopname.zendesk.com/api/v2
- Input your Username. Your username is the email address you used to sign up for Zendesk.
- Input your Zendesk Password.
- Click Confirm to enable the integration.
Using the messaging Simulator
The RechargeSMS messaging Simulator allows you to preview your SMS communications from the customer's point of view. Use the dropdown menu to simulate different customer interactions. The messaging Simulator only shows a simulator of the settings and features of RechargeSMS, it does not actually make any changes to subscriptions.
- From the RechargeSMS dashboard, click Simulator.
- Select a product from the dropdown Product menu. You can select multiple products at one time.
- Click Trigger an action and select the action you wish to trigger. This automatically updates the messaging that displays in the Simulator.
- Type a message in the chatbox and click Send to test how your SMS messages look and function.
You can edit your store's messages directly from the Simulator by clicking the Help hyperlink. The message template will open in a new tab. See Managing SMS messages in RechargeSMS for more details on editing messages in RechargeSMS.