Handoff channels

Configure channels, messaging keywords, and automations for clients.

Restriction: This feature or information is available to Medallia employees only and it is not to be shared outside the company.

A Handoff channel designates a phone number or email address through which to send notifications and/or messaging automations to customers. Channels are necessary for an organization to use notifications and automations within Mindful Callback.

On the Channels page of the Platform Admin UI, you can:

Define the channels that Handoff uses for sending messages to customers (SMS and email).
Configure the automations each channel will offer, like @callme, @cancel, and @status.
Configure keywords, which allow clients to offer a more complete customer experience by sending pre-written automatic responses to specific words in customer replies.

Note: Clients will not be able to use notifications and automations until the steps outlined in this guide are completed.

Channels page

This section provides an overview of the Channels page in Platform Admin.

The following info and actions are available on the page:

Select an Organization — Select an organization in this drop-down menu to view the organization's channels.

If no messaging channels are in use, the table will remain empty.
Name — The name of a Handoff channel.
Channel — The phone number or email handle that sends outbound messages.
Message Type — Indicates the type of messages sent via each channel (SMS or Email).
Rate — If the channel is rate-limited, the limit is displayed.
Edit — Change general and automation settings for the channel.
Delete — Delete the channel and all of its settings from the organization.
Add Channel - Add a new channel to the organization.

Add a Handoff channel

A Handoff channel must be added to an organization before the organization can send notifications and offer automations to customers.

On the Channels page, click Add Channel. This opens the New Channel page, which contains two tabs: General and Automations.

General tab

The General tab contains basic configuration for the channel:

Description — Enter the name of the channel.

It is best to use a descriptive name related to the client (for example, Acme Notifications and Automations).
Organization — Select the organization associated with this channel.
Channel — Enter an email address or phone number for the channel.

Include the country code for a phone number. The phone number can be found in the Aerialink platform under Codes and Numbers > Current Codes.
Service — Select the service (SMS or Email) that will handle messages from this channel.

When setting up SMS:
- For Commercial clients, select "Aerialink" in the drop-down menu. Enter the API Key and the API Secret in the fields that appear. This information can be found in Aerialink on the Credentials (HTTP/SMPP) page.
- For Government clients, select "AWS PinPoint" in the drop-down menu.
Note: In most cases, you will not be setting up email service. If you find yourself setting up email service, ask your supervisor for guidance. WhatsApp appears in the UI but is not available at this time.
Rate Limited — Select the checkbox if the selected service throttles or imposes rate limits on messages.
- Leave this box unselected for email and WhatsApp (when available).
- Select the box when setting up SMS. This reveals additional fields that define the number of messages to be sent:
  - Number of Seconds — Select the time limit (in seconds) in which the Message Count must be sent.
  - Message Count — Enter the number of messages that can be sent per Number of Seconds.
When configuring a regular 10-digit number, select "1" for Number of Seconds and enter 3 for Message Count, as shown below:

When configuring a toll-free number, select "1" for Number of Seconds and enter 20 for Message Count, as shown below:

You have two options after configuring the General tab:

If you are done configuring this new channel when you come to the end of the General tab, click Save before moving on.
If you want to configure Automations, do not click Save yet!

Configure messaging automations

The Automations tab contains configuration for messaging automations.

Important: Do not click the Clear Automation button unless you want to remove the displayed automation from the channel. This deletion is permanent, and the deleted automation cannot be recovered.

Client Moniker — Enter the name that the client wants to display in the channel's callback-scheduling link. It is best to recommend that the client keep this short.
Organization ID — Enter the ID that corresponds to this client in Scheduler for the active Widget or Intent. To find this ID:
- Log in to the UI for the organization.
- Open Scheduler > Widgets.
- For the active widget, click the Embed button located in the Actions column.
- Copy the Organization ID.
- Paste the Organization ID into the Organization ID field back in Platform Admin.
Automations Type — Select the type of automation you want to use. This reveals an ID field for the selected type:
- For "Widget" — Enter the ID string for a Widget. To find this ID string:
  - Log in to the UI for the organization.
  - Open Scheduler > Widgets.
  - For the active widget, click the Embed button located in the Actions column.
  - Paste the Widget ID into the Widget ID field back in Platform Admin.
- For "Intent" — Enter the ID string for an Intent. To find this ID string:
  - Log in to the UI for the organization.
  - Open Scheduler > Intents.
  - For the active intent, click the Embed button located in the Actions column.
  - Paste the Intent ID into the Intent ID field back in Platform Admin.

Callback, Cancel, Status, Cancellation Confirmation — Select the checkboxes corresponding to the automations you wish to enable for the channel.
API Access Token — Enter the Scheduler API token from an Access Control Policy.

This is used to bypass the requests-per-second limit. This is only used for testing purposes, so it is unlikely that you will ever set this up for a client. You can find the API Access token in the Mindful Callback UI for the organization at Scheduler > Access Control Policies.
Scheduler Host — If Scheduler is already configured, this field will auto-populate with the URL of your Scheduler host. If this field is blank, enter the URL of your Scheduler host. To find this URL:
- Log in to the UI for the organization.
- Open Scheduler > Widgets.
- For the active widget, click the API Endpoints button located in the Actions column.
- Copy the URL.
  
  For example, a host for a widget in QA would be something like a27cbe72c74adab5.scheduler-rt.getmindful-qa.com
- Paste the URL into the Scheduler Host field back in Platform Admin, without the http:// or https:// prefix.
Expiry — Define the duration (in minutes) that the callback automation (@callme) link should be active.

After this time expires, recipients will no longer be able to use the message link to request a callback. We usually set this to 30 minutes.

When finished, click Save to apply your changes and return to the Channels page.

Configure keywords

Important: The Keywords tab is available only after you have saved a new channel.

Adding keywords to a channel allows a client to offer a more complete customer experience by sending pre-written automatic responses to specific words that customers use in replies.

For example, the keyword START can trigger a message to the customer saying "You are now receiving texts from this number, send STOP to stop receiving texts." Clients can even craft custom responses and define custom keywords to support their brand.

Keyword categories

Keywords are separated into categories. Pre-defined keywords in the Start, Stop, and Help categories cannot be edited, but you can add or edit additional keywords, as needed.

Start keywords are used to initiate subscriptions to SMS messages.

Stop keywords are used to unsubscribe from SMS messages.

Help keywords are used to request callbacks or other forms of assistance.

Custom keywords can be anything a client needs, according to their customer service strategy.

To create custom keywords:

In the Action column for your Channel, click the Edit icon to open the Edit Channel page.
Near the top of the Keywords tab, in the Create a Keyword section, configure the required fields, then click the + button.
- Keyword Type — Select the category of keyword you want to set up: Custom, Start, Stop, or Help.
- Keyword — Enter a single-word keyword.
  
  Do not use phrases or hyphenated words.
- Keyword Response — Enter the message you want the end user to receive in response to the keyword.
Click Save when finished.