All outbound and inbound communication sent to and from Pendula is synced back to your Salesforce environment as Pendula_Message__c records.

A message record not only contains the contents of what was sent, but also the recipient record it matches back to and if available, the context of the message in regards to Pendula (the flow it was sent regarding).

Quick links:

How to view message records within Salesforce

Message overview

Inbound messages

Message syncing

Message events

Message recipients

How to view message records within Salesforce

1. Click on the Messages tab in the top navigation bar

2. You'll be able to view message records based on the following list views

   - Recently Viewed

   - All

   - Inbound Messages

   - Invalid/Unexpected Responses

3. To change a list view, click on the drop down arrow next to the title of the current list view
   
   

We'll run through what an invalid or unexpected response consists of in further detail below.

Message overview

Let's take a closer look at the message object and its fields.

Inbound messages

Inbound SMS sent back to your mobile number fall under one of the following categories:

• Valid responses

• Invalid responses

• Unexpected responses

All three types of Inbound SMS are synced to Salesforce and Pendula CRM, and can be viewed using the Inbound Messages list view.

Valid responses

A valid response is a reply which matches an expected keyword or phrase of a flow.

A valid response will contain the flow that it matched to in the Flow Name field, so that you can associate the reply to the relevant journey or communication Pendula is automating.

Let's use a typical appointment reminder flow as an example, which automates an inbound response of CONFIRM. An inbound SMS from recipient of this flow who responds back with CONFIRM would be a valid response.

Invalid responses

An invalid response is a reply from a number Pendula was expecting a response from, but it did not match an expected keyword or phrase of a flow.

As such, an invalid response will not contain a Flow Name value, but will have the Invalid Response field marked as true (it will be ticked).

Continuing from the example above, if a recipient of the appointment reminder flow replies back with yes I can attend this would be an invalid response.

You can try to anticipate as many possible responses when configuring your flow, in order to reduce the number of invalid responses.

Unexpected responses

An unexpected response is a reply from a number Pendula is not expecting a response from.

An unexpected response might occur if a recipient is responding to a message sent from the console, or has previously sent a valid or invalid response but is now responding with an additional question or comment.

An unexpected response will not contain a Flow Name value, or have the Invalid Response field marked true.

Both invalid and unexpected responses can be viewed using the Invalid/Unexpected Responses list view. 

The syncing of an invalid or unexpected response will also trigger the creation of an inbox record, which allows you to easily manage and respond to exceptions. See Managing exceptions with the Inbox for more information.

Message syncing

Depending on how many messages are being sent, and how frequently, will determine how quickly they sync back to Salesforce.

Generally speaking, an outbound or inbound message should sync to Salesforce in a matter of seconds. However if no messages have been synced for a while, this may take up to 5 minutes to complete.

Message events

Each time Pendula receives an update regarding a message, such as when it was successfully sent or when an email is opened, it is tracked as a Message Event.

Message Events can be viewed under the Message Events tab within the Pendula Salesforce app, or alternatively under the Related tab of a specific Message record.

A Message record could have one or multiple Message Events associated with it, depending on the Message type and what information is provided back to Pendula via the SMS or email gateway.

Let's take a closer look at the Message Event object and its fields.

Message recipients

Each time a message is synced to Salesforce, Pendula automatically matches this Message record to the recipient record within your Salesforce environment based on the Recipient Id value on the Message record.

If a Message record does not have a Recipient Id value (an inbound SMS for example) then Pendula will match this record to a Contact, Lead or User based on whether the following fields match to the corresponding value in the standard MobilePhone or Email fields:

• SMS To Number (if the Message is an outbound SMS)

• SMS From Number (if the Message is an inbound SMS)

• Email To Address (if the Message is an outbound email)

In this instance, if the same mobile phone number or email address is shared across multiple Contact, Lead or User records, a Message Recipient record will be created for each of these matching records.

Message Recipient records can be viewed under the Message Recipients tab within the Pendula Salesforce app, or alternatively under the Related tab of a specific Message record.

Let's take a closer look at the Message Recipient object and its fields.