What is SMS/Text?

1. Choose between using an existing call report form in your system, or creating a new call report form.
   
2. Full access to your settings in order to personalize your messaging service to meet your business needs.
   
3. Unlimited Standard Messages can be created for your Vols-Staff to send to help seekers throughout the conversation.
   
4. Resources maintained in your iCarol database are easily accessible to be sent as referrals during SMS/Texting conversations.
   
5. Use of Pre and Post-Text Surveys to send help seekers at the beginning and end of conversations.
   

1. What would you like your SMS/Texting Portal named?
   
2. What color would you like associated to this portal in the Portal Legend on the Messaging interface?
   

1. iCarol can provide a new SMS/Texting number for you. If you'd like iCarol to provide a phone number that visitors will text to contact your counselors, please let us know the area code you'd prefer, as well as any number preferences. Number choice depends on availability.
   
2. iCarol can text enable a number you already own. If you'd prefer us to text enable phone number you have, please let us know and we will send you documentation to be completed.
   
3. iCarol can setup a number you have already text enabled in iCarol for one-way texting (for example, to use when sending referrals via SMS/Text from within a call report, or conducting a follow-up activity via SMS/Text) to also be used for your SMS/Texting portal.
   
4. iCarol can procure a “short code” number. There are additional items and costs to consider when choosing this option, please let us know if you’d like additional information.

If you choose to text enable a phone number you already own, please be aware of the following important information and make sure it is shared with others in your organization who have authority to make changes to your phone number:

In the future if you ever switch phone providers or carriers for this phone number (since you would still have your provider for voice capabilities), in order to avoid possible disruption to your SMS/Text service in iCarol, you must consult with iCarol Support prior to switching your phone provider or carrier. There is a process that needs to occur before the switch is made, and there are some providers and carriers who restrict being able to "split" the phone number, so we need to be consulted prior to the switch in order to avoid any disruptions.

1. Do you want to use a new or an existing call report form?
   
2. What do you need to collect on your SMS/Texting call report form? If it is a new form, or if you are adding questions to an existing form, you will need to provide all of the data fields (categories, groups/questions, and items/answers) you’d like to have; be sure to also include if the possible answers should be in a pull-down list, check boxes, or a text box. Typically, we see clients define data fields to comply with reporting requirements, as well as to track issues to help analyze the types of sessions you experience. Many clients need to capture the same data no matter how the help seeker contacts them. So we do have many clients ask us to make a copy of their Call Report Forms and then they make a few additions/changes that may be specific to the SMS/Texting sessions. Please provide the list of the data fields you’d like to have in your SMS/Texting call report form in Word or Excel format.
   
3. What do you want to name your SMS/Texting call report form? If it is a new form, we usually see clients name the form the same thing as the Portal name, but that is entirely up to you.
   

1. Would you like to setup Pre-Text Survey questions for help seekers to answer before initiating a conversation? If yes, please provide the additional information outlined in the related help article linked above.
   

1. Would you like to setup Post-Text Survey questions for help seekers to answer after a conversation has ended? If yes, please provide the additional information outlined in the related help article linked above.
   

Note, this feature may have an additional cost associated with it. If your organization is interested in enabling this feature, then a designated Support Contact from your organization can go to 'Help' in the left side menu and submit a case to request more information.

Understanding Charges For Help Seekers When Texting Toll-Free Numbers