Collect SMS Subscribers via Recart's Messenger Bot

Messenger bots can (and should) be used for more than just customer support purposes. Imagine if you could extend your help beyond just assisting customers with their orders or questions, but also provide them with the opportunity to always stay updated about your special promotions.

With Yotpo SMS & Email and Recart you can do just that. Connecting the two apps will allow you to activate a Messenger bot to collect phone numbers and subscribe users for your text marketing.

Increase your revenue by engaging customers on the platform they actively use: Facebook Messenger, and keep an ongoing conversation with them on a channel with 98% open rate - SMS. Let’s show you how to integrate the two apps so you can quickly start growing your list!

Before you start

The first step to connecting Recart and Yotpo SMS & Email is to obtain the secret API key. If you're not sure how to find it, see Finding your Yotpo App Key and Secret Key.  

Now open up your Recart web application, and from the side menu select Integrations. The first tab is Email & SMS Notifications, and you will see SMSBump there. Click Activate. 

You will be redirected to where you need to paste the API key you just got from your Yotpo SMS & Email admin. Press Connect to SMSBump to complete the integration.

Create a new list

If the process was successful, Recart will ask you to either create a new list or select an existing one in your Yotpo SMS & Email account. The purpose of this list is to store all numbers you obtain via the integration. For better navigation and to easily track how effective the integration is for your subscriber growth, we advise you to create a brand new list, which will only contain contacts that came from your Messenger bot. When you hit Create new list, the system will automatically name it New Recart List (for optimal recognition) so go ahead and click Save selected list to finalize this step.

Customize the SMS subscription messenger text

The last step of the setup process is actually configuring when your Messеnger bot will be asking customers to leave their phone number.

To do this, go to the flow you’d like to enable and drag the Add save user input section to where you want it to be activated. Don’t forget to connect it with the rest of the flow by dragging the little firebolt icon and linking it to the step before and after.

To make sure you are collecting phone numbers compliantly, we’ve also added the appropriate verbiage, letting visitors know what exactly they are opting in for. This is the first thing they will see after your initial welcome message. We have also provided you with the opportunity to link your Privacy Policy and Terms&Services for additional information and even more transparency.

Scrolling further, customers will see your message that is prompting them to enter their phone number. You can change this message to fit your brand voice, you can add or discard emojis, and make it more interesting and vibrant.

Customers will then have the option to opt-in without even having to type in their phone number: Recart will show a quick reply that they can click or tap to send you the phone number, associated with their Facebook account. Of course, in case they’d like to subscribe with a different number, they can still type it in manually.

When the customer enters a number, Recart will validate it. In case the user typed in an incorrect number, a second step of the flow will indicate that they might have made a mistake and will ask them to double-check. They will also have the option to simply SKIP if they don’t wish to give out their digits. This will activate the next step of your flow, if you've set up one.  

When a valid email or phone number is received, Recart will add it to the list you created. You can track your subscribers (and all information related to them) either from your Recart account under Subscribers… … or like we already showed you - your SMS & Email Lists and Segments section.

From then on, you can launch text marketing campaigns from Yotpo SMS & Email, targeting specifically this list of subscribers, enable automations that will also be directed solely at them, or combine it with some of our personalized segmentation filters. Just like with any other regular list.

Congratulations! You are now a proud member of the Yotpo SMS & Email<>Recart family! Refer to our partner’s useful guides on how to make the most out of their flows, and put the knowledge into use to collect more SMS subscribers and ensure steady growth of your business.