Proactive Conversation tools like Proactive SMS and Proactive Email are not meant to replace large-scale marketing communication tools like MailChimp 
(email) and Attentive (SMS), especially for kinds of communications that may require opt-in permission. We suggest not using these Proactive Conversation features for that reason. Tools like MailChimp and Attentive are designed to transmit hundreds — if not hundreds of thousands — of outbound bulk communications to Customers at the same time, and they have mechanisms in place not bound by the same restrictions telecom carriers or email providers impose on tools like Proactive Conversation.
The simplest way to distinguish when to utilize Proactive Conversation tools like Proactive SMS and Proactive Email is to ask yourself this question: “Is this communication a Service or Marketing communication?” If the answer is Service, Proactive Conversations are probably the right tool.
Proactive Conversations vs. mass marketing communication tools #
Proactive Conversation features like Proactive Email and Proactive SMS employ Gladly’s email and SMS providers, so it’s bound to follow specific rules and policies, like those related to spam. For example, a company may use an email provider like Gmail. Gmail is not designed to transmit hundreds of emails simultaneously, and doing so could flag your email as spam and block you from sending emails.
Another example is SMS. Proactive SMS does not use short codes to send out SMSes to Customers and traditionally requires a recipient to opt-in to receive messages. Instead, it uses an existing SMS-capable 10-digit phone number, so this means there is more carrier oversight and does not necessarily require opt-in. Gladly utilizes Twilio to transmit SMS/MMS and is bound by Twilio’s Messaging Policy and Acceptable Use Policy Gladly built Proactive SMS to abide by the Messaging Policy to avoid prohibited activities. Still, there is SMS content you should not include. Prohibited uses include:
- Anything illegal in the jurisdiction where the message recipient lives. Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Cannabis. Messages related to cannabis are not allowed in the United States as federal laws prohibit its sale, even though some states have legalized it. Similarly, CBD-related messages are not permissible in the United States, as certain states prohibit its sale. Twilio defines a cannabis message as any message that relates to the marketing or sale of a cannabis product, regardless of whether or not those messages explicitly contain cannabis terms, images, or links to cannabis websites.
- Prescription Medication. In the United States, offers for prescription medication that cannot legally be sold over the counter are prohibited.
- Hate speech, harassment, exploitation, abuse, or any communications that originate from a hate group.
- Fraudulent messages.
- Malicious content, such as malware or viruses.
- Any content that is designed to evade filters intentionally
See Twilio’s Messaging Policy for more information.
Maintaining sender reputation #
Maintaining a high sender reputation reduces the chances of communications being tagged or flagged as spam.
Proactive Conversation tool as built-it guard rails to maintain sender reputation and prevent your communications from being tagged as spam by systematically limiting outbound communications. For example, Proactive Email and Proactive SMS Campaigns can send a maximum of 10 emails/SMSes every five minutes per Campaign. So, if you have 500 recipients on a Campaign, it will take four hours to send emails/SMSes to 500 Customers. Still, this is not a guarantee of maintaining the sender’s reputation.
Below are common activities that may hurt sending reputation.
SMS #
SMS are typically flagged as spam if they exceed certain attributes, like Volume (the number of SMSes sent per day), Throughput (how many SMSes are sent within a timeframe), Repetition, and other measures.
Email #
A couple of factors can go into calculating email reputation, these include, and are not limited to:
- The number of emails sent by a company.
- The number of unsubscribes.
- How often do email recipients mark a company’s emails as spam or complain to their ISP about a company’s emails.
Voice #
A couple of factors can go into calculating Voice reputation, which may cause carriers to flag a number as spam. These include, and are not limited to:
- The number of outbound calls per day (per phone number) is high.
- Your phone number was flagged by spam in their carrier’s network
- If the Caller ID number is not set properly, invalid or incomplete, that causes your phone number to be marked automatically as spam.
Chat #
Chat doesn’t rely on any carrier, so it’s not governed by external communication bodies.
Flagged accounts #
Gladly Support may contact you if carriers or email providers flagged or throttled any of your Proactive Conversation activities. Flagged accounts may have trouble sending emails or SMSes.
