In many shop windows, even those of large multinational companies, we often see messages like:
“Visit our website for more information: flyer, opening hours,” and so on.
The user visits the website, downloads the flyer, checks the opening hours, and then disappears. You lose any trace of that potential customer, and the opportunity for further contact is gone.
Asking users to register in order to download a flyer isn’t an ideal solution. Many give up because they don’t want to fill out long registration forms, especially from their mobile phones.
Moreover, collecting email addresses has limited value nowadays, since inboxes are flooded with messages and people frequently change their email accounts. A phone number, on the other hand, is rarely changed, and SMS messages are much more likely to be read.
Now imagine if the message in the window said:
“Send an SMS to 347 123 123 with the word FLYER to receive the download link,”
or
“Send an SMS to 347 123 123 with the word PROMO to instantly receive a 30% discount code.”
In this way, you would automatically obtain the customer’s phone number.
In your control panel , you can create campaigns and send SMS messages to everyone who has interacted with you, whether through autoresponders or surveys.
Technically, these contacts are added to the list associated with the phone number that receives SMS messages, but they are organized into specific categories.
When creating a campaign, you can choose which categories to target, such as: users subscribed via “OK,” manually uploaded contacts, or numbers imported from a device’s contact list.
Autoresponder: Static and Dynamic Automatic Replies
The autoresponder allows you to automatically send replies to incoming messages, either in a static or dynamic way, using variables .
Static Autoresponder
Using variables, a static autoresponder can automatically reply with a predefined message.
For example, by creating a variable called INFO, you can associate it with a fixed text response.
A practical example:
A store displays a sign in its window that reads:
“Send an SMS to 333 333 333 with the word PROMO to receive a promotional code.”
Users who send the SMS will automatically receive the preset response (for instance, the promotional code).
These users will not be automatically subscribed to any list, but you can still send them future messages by selecting “Send to SMS” , as explained in the Bulk SMS Sending guide.
Dynamic Autoresponder
The dynamic autoresponder works similarly to the static one but with one key difference:
instead of defining the reply message directly, it forwards the request to an external script .
For example, suppose you have created the variable PROMO and configured a dynamic autoresponder that sends the request to the following URL:
www.mysite.com/auto.php
When an SMS containing the keyword PROMO is received, the application calls the auto.php script (the script name can be anything). The content returned by the script will be sent as the reply message to the user. The script receives the data using the HTTP POST request method .
With a dynamic autoresponder, you can, for example:
● Generate unique promotional codes for each customer.
● Store the assigned code and the customer’s phone number in your database.
● Implement custom logic for applications such as home automation, information requests, or data verification.
Parameters Received via POST
Important: The request method used is POST , not GET.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| v | Autoresponder variable. Corresponds to the message received from the user. For example, if the user sends “PROMO”, the value will be `v=PROMO`. |
| from | Phone number of the user who sent the SMS. |
| to | Phone number of the device receiving the SMS (i.e., the one with the GenioSms app installed). |
| id | ID of the device that responds. If multiple devices are active, the first available one will reply. |
| idm | Unique ID of the message received by the device. |
Example Script for a Dynamic Autoresponder
In the control panel , under the *Autoresponder* section, you’ll find a button labeled “CODE.”
Clicking it opens a page containing sample code in PHP and Perl , ready to be integrated into your website.
In the following video, we’ll demonstrate how to create autoresponders directly from the control panel.
The possible applications are virtually endless, let your creativity guide you to make the most of their potential.
Video, autoresponder sms reply
In the video below, we show how sending an sms triggers the autoresponder to reply to our
promo message.
