Threading SMS Messages to Interactions

Threading SMS Messages for Individual Contacts

When a message is sent or received from a Contact, an Interaction is created in Talisma. To enable subsequent SMS messages to be threaded to the Interaction, you must type a specific string in your SMS message. You must type the string when you first send the SMS message, and when you reply to an Interaction that is created when an SMS message is first received from the Contact. Similarly, the Contact must type the string in the reply SMS message. The Contact's message is then threaded to the previously created Interaction.

Consider a scenario where the ID of the Interaction created as a result of the Contact's first SMS message is 000-123.

When you reply to the Contact, you must include a string in the TLI#<<digits of the Interaction ID>> format in the body of the reply SMS message by substituting the Interaction ID in the <<digits of the Interaction ID>> placeholder. For Interaction 000-123, you can suffix the complete ID of the Interaction to the TLI# string, and include TLI#000123 in your Interaction reply. Alternatively, you can type the last few digits of the ID, and then include the string in your Interaction reply. Thus, the string can be in one of the following formats: TLI#000123, TLI#00123, TLI#0123, TLI#123, TLI#23, or TLI#3.

Consider that you typed TLI#123. It will be used to thread incoming SMS messages to the Interaction. The Contact must then type the string in reply SMS messages.

When the Contact replies with the TLI#123 string in the body of the SMS message, Talisma scans the message for the string. When it is located, Talisma Main Database is searched to locate the Interaction in which the latter digits of its ID match the digits specified in the string. When the Interaction is located, the Contact's SMS message is threaded to it as the most recent SMS message in the Interaction.

If the string typed in the incoming SMS message is not found in Talisma Main Database, a new Interaction is created in Talisma.

As you will be responding to the Contact from the SMS Reply pane of the Interaction, subsequent messages will automatically be threaded to this Interaction. Hence, it is not mandatory for you to specify the threading string in subsequent SMS messages to the Contact. However, it is recommended that you continue to do so as this reminds the Contact to type the string in the reply SMS message.

Example

The Contact Parker Roy sends the following SMS message to WorldWaves Insurance Support:

Please ask Peter from Equity Linked Plans to call me.

An Interaction of Parker Roy’s SMS message, with ID 012-483 is created in Talisma.

As a customer support representative (CSR) at WorldWaves Insurance Support, you send the following SMS message to Parker Roy:

Hi Parker, Peter will call you at 2 P.M. this afternoon.

Please add the text TLI#483 in your reply.

Parker Roy responds to your SMS message with the following content:

Great, 2 P.M. is a good time. TLI#483.

As Parker Roy specified the string TLI#483 in the SMS message, it is threaded to Interaction 012-483.

Resolution of SMS messages also occurs if you suffix the TLI# string with fewer digits than the complete Interaction ID. However, in such a scenario, there is a risk of incorrect resolution of SMS messages with Interactions.

Consider the following scenario in which the same value is specified in the Mobile Property for Contacts A and B:

• Contact A is set as the Contact for Interaction ID: 001-123

• Contact B is set as the Contact for Interaction ID: 999-123

For both Contacts, you specified that the string TLI#23 must be included in reply SMS messages to Talisma. If Contact A's SMS message comes into the Talisma system first, it will get threaded to Interaction 999-123 instead of 001-123. The logic works as follows:

The characters 23 are the last two digits of both Interactions.

In addition, Interactions occur in reverse chronological order in Talisma Main Database based on their ID. Hence, when Talisma searches the database to locate the Interaction in which the last two digits of the ID match the digits in the string, Interaction 999-123 is encountered prior to Interaction 001-123.

When a large part of your organization's communication occurs through SMS, it is recommended that you suffix the TLI# string with the complete Interaction ID to ensure that SMS messages are resolved correctly with the Interaction.

In the above scenario, incoming SMS messages are threaded accurately to each Contact's Interaction if they are specified as follows:

• For Contact A: TLI#001123

• For Contact B: TLI#999123

When the Contact sends an SMS message into Talisma, the Contact is resolved based on the value in the Mobile Property of the Contact.

Consider a scenario where Interactions 063-385, 082-123, and 091-123 are associated with a Contact, and are displayed in the Interactions tab of the Contact window. When the Contact specifies the TLI#123 string in the reply SMS message, the Contact is resolved based on the value in the Mobile Property, and the incoming SMS message gets threaded to Interaction 091-123. This occurs as Interactions are sorted in a reverse chronological order in Talisma Main Database based on their ID.

When an SMS message is received from a mobile phone number whose details are not available in Talisma, a new Contact is created with the value of the mobile phone number stored in the Name, and Mobile fields of the Contact. Further, an Interaction is also created in the Talisma system.

For more information about the TLI# text, your administrator must see Talisma Business Administrator Help.

Threading SMS Messages for Multiple Contacts

When you send a message to multiple Contacts, it is recommended that you insert a Canned Response with the Interaction ID merge field in the outbound message. This ensures that the IDs of Interactions that are thus created are merged in the field when the SMS message is dispatched from Talisma. Thus, the first message from Talisma includes the ID of the Interaction that is used to thread subsequent SMS messages to the same Interaction.

See the Usage Scenario for Threading SMS Interactions for information on how you insert a Canned Response to ensure correct threading.

Consider a scenario where Nick (refer to the Usage Scenario for more information) did not include the following text in the outbound SMS message:

Please type the text TLI#<<Interaction ID>> in your reply.

Presuming that all 10 recipients of Nick's message respond, twenty Interactions are created in the system. Ten Interactions are created when Nick sends out the initial SMS message. Ten additional Interactions are created when the Contacts respond to Nick because the Contacts did not type the string TLI#<Interaction ID> in their return SMS message. This prevents their messages from being threaded to the Interaction that was created as a result of the initial outbound SMS message. Nick will then need to refer to two Interactions to work with a Contact on a single issue. To do so, in the Interactions tab of the Contact, Nick must locate and merge the two Interactions that were created.

To prevent a scenario where Talisma creates an Interaction for a fresh outbound SMS message, and its resultant inbound SMS message, after you type the TLI# string in the SMS message, we recommend that you insert a Canned Response in which the Interaction ID merge field is inserted.

You must also request the Contact to type the TLI#<Interaction ID> string in the return SMS message.

Note

For more information about the TLI# string, your administrator must see Talisma Business Administrator Help.