New Web Banners for National Text Platform - 898211

Exciting news! We have added several new web banners to the ftp website, which is available here: 211 Folder for 898211 Services on PreventionPays

You may download and use any of these for your agency's marketing/outreach strategy. Simply go to the FTP and click the folder: "Sample JPG Banners/Promotional Materials" All files are high resolution and can be modified using an editing application like Photoshop or Illustrator.

With text, agencies are now reaching demographics across all age groups and use rates keep climbing. According to PEW Research, adult cell phone owners text more than they use any other function on their phone, more than social media, web browsing, apps, and calling. Making a voice call is #6 on that list. Who would've thought that one day we would all have smart phones where we are using them for doing virtually everything EXCEPT placing voice calls? We're seeing these trends in real time and the data is fascinating and supports the behavior we've all been experiencing already in our personal lives. This paradigm shift in communication needs is now reverberating across social services. Gen Y and Millennials are the biggest users of SMS, but older groups, Gen X, and now Baby Boomers are a close second.  The 65 and older group has grown by a factor of 3 in just the last year!  2-1-1 contact centers are now being texted by seniors on a daily basis! Veterans (of all ages/demographics) love that they can text their local 211 for help finding resources that are tailored to their unique needs. They appreciate the convenience and ease of texting... that help to critical, life-saving resources are just a click away, that help is truly at their fingertips!

Your 211 may use any of these new banners. Just let us know with a quick email. Also, if you need to modify them, a staff with a little experience with Photoshop can easily manage those changes. Replace the logo with your agency's logo or modify any of the text. The files are very easy to alter. If you bump into an issue, you can contact us here at PreventionPays Text, just email "support@preventionpaystext.com" with your need. In most cases we've modified the banners at no additional cost! (Depending on the complexity, we may charge a small graphics fee... far less than if you were to design these in house and from scratch).

Please send comments and questions to us! We want to help. A good call to action and launch plan is the first step to building awareness about your text service and getting the word out that your agency is Text-Enabled! Are you just getting started and would like to learn more about the "call to action"? Check out our past blog posts 

Do you have news about your program? A successful launch or a specialized use case that demonstrates an exciting, new engagement strategy that you want to share with others? Just send us an email and we'll consider it for publication on our blog! Email jonathan@emsmail.org and include the subject "Best Case Use Scenario" or "Case Study Submission" We love to talk about the successes of our clients and partners. In fact, we only blog about what our clients do with PreventionPays so please send us your "Best Case Use Scenario!" and we'll blog about it!

Have You Seen the Email from AIRS?

“Text allows I&Rs to explore innovative opportunities to push information and messages out to clients within seconds (think disaster, think public health, think appointments).”

— clive jones, AIRS

You’ve probably seen or heard a reference to the email from AIRS called “It Is No Longer All About the Calls…”

The ideas expressed in the email mark a significant shift in the way AIRS members communicate with their clients. With the rapid growth of text across all demographics (Americans under 55 text more than they talk on the phone and email) this is also an important time to learn about the crucial role of texting and how to differentiate between services and capacity. 

In fact, here at PreventionPays we are hyper-focused on making the platform more useful to contact centers. To further demonstrate our commitment to the AIRS sector, PreventionPays Text has partnered with AIRS to bring members a significant cost reduction in the standard I&R package!  Read more about our partnership with AIRS by going here: http://www.preventionpaystext.com/airs-ems-specialoffer/

Join us in an upcoming webinar or schedule a live demo today by going to:  http://www.preventionpaystext.com/contact/

If you haven’t seen the AIRS email, here it is in its entirety:

Is your I&R service answering fewer calls than two years ago?

Maybe that question reads hollow as your I&R phones seldom stop ringing but even if you are struggling to handle existing demand without more staff … there is still a fair chance that fewer calls are coming in, even if you still can’t answer them all …

However, we do know that for many I&Rs, decreasing call volume is a discernible pattern. And this should not be surprising as it reflects the reality of changing demographics and personal preferences that has been widely predicted within I&R circles.

Economic improvements might be one factor but what we are seeing is the continued shift to web-based assistance and the use of Chat and Text. Put crudely, every year at one end of the age spectrum, a percentage of I&R clients who prefer the telephone leaves our active market and are replaced at the other end of the spectrum, by I&R clients who use voice interactions far less. And as for the folks between those extremes – people like you and me – to varying degrees, phoning has become what you do when you don’t have other options.

This is something that we all know and within I&R, we need to keep translating this knowledge into actions.

This is far from a complete list of the enhancements, improvements and opportunities that make up everyone's I&R to-do list. But it is a snapshot of what every I&R should be looking at...

Website:

• It needs to be promoted as much as your phone number.
• If there is an online resource database, it should be easily found (i.e. your website either opens up on the database or it is the most central and most visible click on the page).  
• Your online database should not look like a database. It should use graphic guided searches geared to the most common needs of your community.
• You should also add extensive meta-tags to ensure it shows up in relevant Google searches
• And it must be mobile friendly

Online Chat

• You need to have it available or be moving quickly towards it.
• Many I&Rs have introduced Chat over the past 2-3 years (while some have been offering it for 5+ years). Chat is being used by all ages and all sectors. ADRCs that offer Chat find it being used by clients with disabilities and by caregivers.
• The number of I&R Chats is increasing exponentially every year.

Text

• This is the next growth area for I&R coverage.
• One 2-1-1 launched Text service early this year and now handles more than 1,500 text inquiries a month.
• Text allows I&Rs to explore innovative opportunities to push information and messages out to clients within seconds (think disaster, think public health, think appointments).
• Logically, the use of Text skews to lower income individuals (people who only have mobiles and where Text usage is the cheaper option).

Here is some information from the commercial world to consider … Texting to Surpass Phone Calls for Business Communication … and … Can I Text Your Call Center … and from a different angle, this is from Innovations for Poverty Action … and this on the ‘Art and Science of Reminders’ (and could this seem to signal a potentially new dimension to I&R follow-up?! – some I&Rs are already exploring variations of this for income tax programs).

Essentially, we need to continue to provide communities with I&R services that meet everyone’s current and future preferences.

In case you missed them the first time around, here is an AIRS website self-assessment template and an AIRS guide to providing online Chat. Going on the AIRS Networker and entering “Text” into the main search box will bring up a number of discussion threads on this topic that have been part of an active dialogue over the past year.

AIRS

Pew Internet Says "Over 70% of Americans Prefer Text Over Calling"

“We started using PreventionPays Text for our I&R and we are seeing tremendous pickup that’s proportional to our decreasing call volume. ”

— United Way Heart of Florida 2-1-1

According to Pew “Over 70% of Internet users will opt for mobile service applications as their first option.” This is a significant shift that brings with it enormous challenges and opportunities. Agencies and brands that honor this “mobile first” preference must understand the intimate relationship that people have with their mobile device, and how their brand experience on these devices will shape the relationship they are building with each individual.

It is also important to understand how people are currently using their mobile phones, and to extend existing behavioral patterns into the new context of SMS client support. For example, despite the popularity of email, social networks, and web browsing on mobile devices, text messaging is by far the most common activity people do on their phone with 81% of American adults texting. Texting is vastly more popular than phone calls: on average, people receive 42 texts a day, compared to six calls.

What End Users Expect From Text

To implement a text support strategy, agencies must consider what the implied promises are of SMS as a channel. For example, most people who text are usually doing so with someone they have a relationship with, it's intimate. Whether it’s friends, family members, or co-workers, people tend to text with those that are closest to them. This means that they expect to get a reply, or to offer one. In other words, text is inherently conversational.

Grammar and spelling rules may not always apply, but people expect some sort of indication that you got their message. Even a simple “ok” will suffice. Still, the second someone doesn’t reply to a text, people naturally assume that either something went wrong, or that they’re being ignored. In either case, it has a negative impact on the overall end-user experience. 

So how does this impact SMS as a viable channel for live help? Simple! Agencies that prioritize the end user experience should commit to the fact that people are used to texting with other people and let them text directly with one of your responders/specialists. Simply put–text support is a two-way street.

Another way to show that you understand your clients’ preferences and the implied promises of this channel is to allow them to initiate a text message the same way they are used to doing it with friends and family- to a number already saved in their contact list. Enterprise short code texting helps you brand your service and simple click to text widgets on your website can even launch the sms app with the short code pre-populated. If you're browsing this article from a smart phone, try it! Click To Text Now!

How To Implement a SMS Live Help Strategy

How can agencies manage the inbound text messages they receive? Step one is to answer them, of course. However, this isn’t just with a robot (though a sophisticated Automated Triage  system can be used to effectively allow for appropriate levels of self-service and pre-chat data collection for routing purposes). The agencies who are truly committing to offering a delightful experience will answer each inbound text message with a response from a real person.

Contact center managers are realizing that companies like PreventionPays Text can help combine automated intakes with live help that will be seamless for the end user and also reflect the same way in the data, as if a live conversation was completed from stem to stern (which will be to the delight of both your constituents as well as your funders!).  

Imagine the following - a client initiates a text conversation and asks for help finding energy assistance. That request is responded to by a real person, who then sends the customer into an automated interaction that walks the customer through the process of obtaining the requested referral. Even better, at each step the automation engine uses relevant information pulled form a CRM product to personalize the interaction. So really, it’s personal interaction blended with personalized automation. This blended experience will result in happy end users while cutting down on responder time and overall costs per encounter!

Are you an I&R? Do you have ideas for how you can put PreventionPays to work for you? Contact us! We want to hear from you!

AIRS Member? We're offering your AIRS members our lowest prices yet!  

Demystifying Short Codes!

What Are Short Codes?

The US is a highly regulated market for SMS where carriers have established rules for how agencies are to send text messages. Any messages generated by an application are considered Application-to-Person (A2P) and must be sent over a Short Code.

While typical phone numbers in the US are 10-digits and are meant for enabling communication between two mobile phones, Short Codes are 5-6 digits and are leased by businesses intended for (A2P) Application-to-Person traffic.  PreventionPays is unique as we have developed a suite of web-based services that use enterprise Tier 1 short codes to power live, one-on-one communication and tailored group messaging, all under the same, intuitive, easy-to-use application!   

How Are Short Codes Obtained?

Provisioning a Short Code can be a very long and complex process that requires approval by carriers. After committing to your message content you must submit an application to get it approved  by each individual carrier (Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile etc…). The timeline is unpredictable and any changes to the application or the message content can require re-provisioning. This impacts your ability to plan, your time-to-launch and overall agility.

Due to the complex approval process described above, provisioning a Short Code typically takes three months and can take longer if you do not have experience with the application process or if your application gets challenged.

Get Started Today!

 PreventionPays Text offers an innovative solution that enables agencies to begin sending messages with Short Codes today. To mitigate the long Short Code provisioning process, PreventionPays offers fully provisioned Tier 1 Short Codes which allow you to get started immediately!

With PreventionPays fully provisioned Tier 1 Short Codes you can begin sending the following types of messages right away:

Two-way, conversational texting!  Provide live help using Enterprise, Tier 1 short codes! A2P use of short codes to create real-time, IM-style conversations. De-escalate crisis, deploy information and referrals, increase client engagements, reach the next generation of help-seeker with secure, live help from your pc, laptop, tablet!

Education/Awareness: With read rates of over 95% within minutes, SMS is a great way to make sure your clients are receiving timely information. A highly sophisticated message track solution that enables you to deploy messages in a series. Create learning programs via text... providing tailored content at the exact moments when your audience will be most receptive. 

Fully-automated referrals with our unique Triage Tool!  Have high contact issues that are over-burdening your call center? Put our smart triage to work and take a big bite out of repetitive referrals. 

New this year!  Appointment reminders with live help!  Send appointment reminders with confidence. Our unique message tracking will update each time an appointment or medication reminder is not delivered. And then, allow your clients to reschedule or engage with live help via two-way text! if you offer sms appointment reminders, it also makes sense to offer rescheduling via the same channel! Your clients will love it!

Ask about our development groups! We're constantly working on new, creative ways to expand uses and push the envelope on texting! 

PreventionPays' Tier 1 Short Codes make it easy for any agency, regardless of resources and budget, to get up and running right away.

The benefits include:

Faster launch times: hours instead of months

Save money with one annual cost or pay by the month!

Avoid application complexity: Spend time on things that matter and let us handle the rest
With fully automated opt in/opt opt we remove the hassle so you can focus on what matters! 

Alerts: Have something that your clients need to know right now? SMS is the most effective channel for reaching large audiences quickly and efficiently!  According to PEW Internet Research, 80% of tweets are ignored, while 98% of texts are read in the first 5 minutes of receiving them!

Create fully-automated post encounter surveys!  Offer live help and then create an exit Q&A and delay delivery for hours, days, weeks.  Funders are always seeking followup data. But agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to collect qualitative data. With voice calls are rarely answered. However, as a preferred channel, text simplifies this process making end user feedback a mutually rewarding experience.  

Are there per message fees or additional charges?

With PreventionPays you can take comfort in knowing you have unlimited messages with absolutely no per message fees. PreventionPays Text was developed for health and human services... the system supports your agency with everything needed to provide deep engagements and elevate your service across all programs and priority groups!

Need a dedicated short code?  Contact us today and we'll get your application underway! 

We make texting the right way! Safe and simple!

PreventionPays services strictly adhere to all FCC and CTIA regulations! End user privacy is our highest priority.

Always FCC and CTIA Compliant!

Ho, ho, ho! Exciting New Features... and More Coming Soon!

Case Manager Settings:

Now admins can set up staff to only see certain cases. This is optional so please discuss with your staff using the system.

So, when staff log in they will just see the cases that are in their caseload.  The case manager setting is separate from the responder setting. So, now, they no longer have to be assigned as responder to be assigned to the case.  

You can start using the queue this way by having staff go through the queue and "assign" themselves as the "case manager".  

They access this by clicking on each case, and then in the middle of the screen in the attributes section, there's another link next to the "assign responder" called "assign manager".  So, they will want to click the "assign manager" link and then select their name in the pull-down menu.   Once they've assigned all their cases to themselves admin can modify their profile settings so they just see their “assigned” cases.  To do so, you remove the check box in “all” under “users tab permissions"  when they log in they only see the cases they are assigned to manage.  If you don’t want to restrict staff to just their assigned cases, don’t change their profile.  They will still have access to “all” cases, but, when they click the sub tab “mine” they will see all cases they are assigned as responder and case manager.

Pass status:  “pass” option/status has been deployed however we have not updated this in the guide yet.  We have a few more deployments that we’re getting ready for and we're waiting to include those and the pass button in the next iteration!

Pass button is as follows:  
Some cases don't need a response. So it gives the option to pass so that it gets recorded that way. Agencies can create protocols around when and when not to use pass instead of opening case and sending a live response. When the case is "passed" the yellow turns off and the status changes to "passed".

So passing on the response versus taking it, opening, responding and then closing.

The other way is one responder has already tried to offer help and then another person's eyes are needed on the case. There could be a specialist who just takes the passes… so if you have a question that needs more support or if there’s a language barrier issue, or if first level response just needs some extra guidance with a case, the case manager setting can help guide these tasks and support your site's custom protocols.

Pass button does not change the functionality of the open and close. You can operate the system without ever using pass. And if you use pass by mistake you can open and close to change back to closed status. 

New Message Notifications

You will now be alerted when new messages enter the queue regardless of whether you're looking at Users tab. The alert appears in the bottom right corner and will update every time a new message arrives. And if you manage more than one queue, you will also receive alerts for the other queues. The alert automatically turns off when you click the X in top corner or click the message inside the alert, or click the Users tab to view the queue.  No more toggling back and forth between queues. We'll let you know when you have to switch locations! 

You can also choose to disable the notifications. Disable is located directly above the queue to the right of the disable buttons for audio alerts.  You disable the alerts the same way as audio, by clicking the check-box to off.

User Guide Version 7 is available for download here:  http://www.preventionpaystext.com/news/2014/10/28/our-new-user-guide-is-ready
V 7 covers features up though “case manager” settings

Thank you and as always, Happy Texting!