Automated Messages
Last updated: 15th February, 2022
Automated Messages are messages that get delivered through the GoSquared Assistant when a user matches a certain criteria or performs a specific action.
How are Automated Messages different to Chat Prompts?
Automated Messages are designed to engage existing users and leads that you’ve previously started conversations with. Chat Prompts are only designed to engage new/anonymous visitors on your site.
Why use Automated Messages?
Automated Messages are a great tool for building loyalty by nurturing your contacts and customers all the way through the funnel from the initial acquisition phase. To make things easier for you, we have created these Playbooks to help with each stage of the funnel.
Key Engage Concepts
Automated Messages are powered by Smart Groups in Contacts. They can be triggered when a contact enters a Smart Group or exists a Smart Group.
Smart Group Triggers
In Contacts you can group users based on their online activity and user properties (attributes), such as location, or company name etc. Create a group by saving any combination of filters, such as 'Last seen online 2 weeks ago' AND 'Company name is GoSquared'. They're Smart because they update in real time.
These real time updates can be used to trigger Automated Messages. Send a message when a user...
- Enters a Smart Group – when a new user matches the filters
- Exits a Smart Group – when an existing user stops matching the filters
Read the full guide to Smart Groups.
Tracking Events and Custom Properties
Out of the box, Contacts comes with a range of default user properties that you can filter on. However, Automated Messages become a lot more powerful if you also track custom data in Contacts. For example you could target Messages based on:
- Key actions (events) that users take on your site (signed up, downloaded case study, viewed pricing page) – learn more
- Important user properties for your business (plan value, lead status, subscription renewal date) – learn more
How to set up an Automated Message
Automated Messages are setup on a per project basis, so make sure you've selected the correct project before heading to Engage > Messages
Select '+ New Automated Message' - Here you can either start from scratch or select and edit one of our playbooks.
Composing your message
When should the message be sent?
Automated Messages are triggered by Smart Groups. Therefore you need to have an existing group ready to go, or head over to the People dashboard to make one. Once you're happy with your filters, hit the Save Smart Group button in the top right of the screen and give it a sensible name.
Delivery Throttling
To stop your Automated Message running wild, there are few options to prevent your Messages from irritating your users. These options are:
- Only send during office hours – If you're trying to make your Messages personal, you really give the game away if nobody is available to follow up when a user replies. This option ensures the Message only triggers during your open office hours.
- Don't interrupt a conversation – If a member of your team is already chatting with a user in Inbox, block the Automated Message from sending. This works by checking if the user has sent or received a message in the last 20 minutes.
- Frequency – This setting allows you to limit how often the message gets sent to a user. For example, your Smart Group may be set up to send a message when a user views your pricing page. If they view the page repeatedly within the same session, you probably don't want to keep spamming them with the same message.
What the Message should say?
Are you trying to start more conversations or encourage your users to take action on something? You can customise the following options:
- Sender – who the Message is from, the message can be sent from anybody on your team.
- Style – how the Message is presented. Either as a 'Invitation to chat' or a 'Call to Action'.
- Message – what should the Message say. You can include text, emoji, links, and buttons (if you choose the Call to Action style).