What changed in WhatsApp and SMS activities?
Areas of change:
Journeys - Journey creation flow.
Segments - Segmenting flow.
Changes in Journeys
Actions Blocks - Send SMS and Send WhatsApp:
The "On Sent" flow option in the "Send SMS" and "Send WhatsApp" action blocks in the Journeys module will be removed and replaced by the existing “On Delivery” flow.
Why are we making this change?
The "On Sent" flow is triggered when contacts are successfully sent from the CRM to messaging service providers such as Meta - for WhatsApp campaigns or Gupshup/Twilio - for SMS campaigns, not when the message is sent to the end user. And, the action of a message being sent to the contact is denoted by the “On Delivered” flow in the CRM.
Sometimes, the "On Sent" flow could be mistaken as the "On Delivered" flow during the Journey creation. This could lead to a mismatch in the metrics count we display on Journey blocks and Analytics reports.
For example: A marketer would want to send out a WhatsApp message or SMS to the users after they have successfully placed the order and received a confirmation message, requesting them to provide a review. If they had used "ON SENT", the end users would receive the "review request" message before they received the order placed message, and the end users might get annoyed.
To avoid this confusion and provide more clarity, we've decided to remove the "On Sent" option from both Send SMS and WhatsApp action blocks within journeys.
Impact on existing "On Sent" flows in the Journeys module:
If you currently have "On Sent" flows set up in your SMS and/or WhatsApp journeys, you need not worry. These flows will automatically be treated as "On Delivered."
The metrics displayed throughout the app will be adjusted accordingly, so there's no action required from your end.
What flows need to be used going forward?
While creating a journey, if you want an action to be triggered after the message (SMS/WhatsApp) is delivered, please use the “On Delivered” flow in the “Send SMS” and “Send WhatsApp Message” blocks respectively.
Changes in Segments module - WhatsApp and SMS activity:
Similar to the events in journeys, the option to filter based on whether a message was "Sent" or "Not Sent." will be covered under “Delivered” or “Not Delivered”
Why are we making this change?
We are making this change in the segments module to keep the segmentation criteria, message statuses, metrics, and analytics consistent across the CRM. By reducing redundant options we want to make the experience simpler for our users.
What filters need to be used going forward?
If you want to group contacts on message delivery, you need to choose “Delivered” or “Not Delivered.” This will help you filter contacts accurately.
Impact on existing "Sent and Not Sent" based segmentation?
The metrics displayed throughout the app will be adjusted accordingly, so there's no action required from your end.
If you have any further doubts related to these changes, feel free to contact your account manager or write to us at crm-support@freshworks.com