SMS Messaging — Incoming SMS & Replies

SMS - Text Messages

SMS Messaging — Incoming SMS & Replies

SMS Knowledge Base Series

  1. Overview
  2. Account Setup & Billing
  3. Sending SMS Messages
  4. Incoming SMS & Replies (this article)

When you send text messages to your contacts, they can reply directly to your organization's phone number. This article explains how incoming messages, delivery tracking, and opt-out handling work.

How Replies Work

When a recipient receives your text message, they see it as coming from your organization's dedicated phone number. They can reply to that number just like any normal text conversation.

Your Organization Sends SMS via CMS Message sent Hi Sarah! Event Sunday... Reply received Logged in CMS Special Keywords STOP → Unsubscribe START → Resubscribe Delivery Status Updates Delivered Pending Failed

Delivery Tracking

Every message you send is tracked in real time. The system automatically receives status updates from the phone carriers, so you always know what happened to each message.

Delivery Statuses

Status What It Means
Queued The message is waiting to be sent
Sent The message has left our system and is being delivered by the carrier
Delivered The message was successfully delivered to the recipient's phone
Failed The message could not be delivered (see error details for reason)
Undelivered The carrier accepted the message but was unable to deliver it

SMS History Page

View all delivery details in Mail → SMS History. This page lets you:

  • See every message sent with its current delivery status
  • Filter by date range, status, or recipient
  • View error details for failed messages
  • See cost per message

Opt-Out Handling (STOP / START)

US regulations require that recipients be able to opt out of receiving text messages at any time. CMS handles this automatically.

How Opt-Outs Work

  1. Every message you send includes an opt-out notice (e.g., "Reply STOP to unsubscribe").
  2. When a recipient replies STOP, they are immediately unsubscribed.
  3. The system automatically marks that member's phone number as opted out (NoSMS).
  4. That member will be excluded from all future SMS sends.
  5. The recipient receives an automatic confirmation that they have been unsubscribed.

Recognized Keywords

Keyword What Happens
STOP Recipient is unsubscribed from your messages. Their phone is marked as NoSMS in CMS.
START or UNSTOP Recipient resubscribes to your messages. The NoSMS flag is removed.
HELP Recipient receives a brief help message with your organization's information
These keywords are handled automatically by the messaging system. You do not need to manually process STOP or START requests.

Viewing Opt-Out Status

You can see which members have opted out by checking the NoSMS flag on their phone number in the member's contact record. Members with NoSMS checked will not appear in recipient lists when composing a new SMS.

Do not manually send messages to people who have opted out. This is a legal requirement. The system prevents this automatically, but you should be aware that removing the NoSMS flag without the recipient's consent could violate messaging regulations.

Opt-Out Compliance Page

Each organization with SMS enabled has an automatically generated opt-out compliance page. This is a simple web page where recipients can manage their messaging preferences online, in addition to texting STOP/START.

This page URL is included in your brand registration and may appear in carrier directories.

Incoming Messages

What Happens When Someone Replies

When a recipient sends a text to your organization's phone number (other than STOP, START, or HELP), the message is captured and logged in CMS. You can view incoming messages to see what your contacts are saying back to you.

Common Reply Scenarios

Scenario What Happens
Recipient replies "Yes" or "Thanks" Reply is logged and visible in SMS history
Recipient replies "STOP" Automatically unsubscribed (see above)
Recipient asks a question Reply is logged — you can see it and respond manually if needed
Unknown number texts your line Message is logged but may not be linked to a specific member
CMS currently does not support sending individual reply messages from within the system. If a contact asks a question via SMS, you would need to respond using another method (phone call, email) or include the information in your next bulk SMS. Individual reply capabilities are planned for a future update.

Understanding Delivery Failures

Common Reasons Messages Fail

Reason What To Do
Invalid phone number Check the member's contact record — the number may be incorrect or disconnected
Phone is off or unreachable The message may be delivered when the phone comes back online, or it may expire
Carrier rejected The recipient's carrier blocked the message — this can happen with certain carrier filters
Landline number SMS can only be delivered to mobile phones — update the phone type in the contact record

Complete Message Lifecycle

Here is the full journey of an SMS message from compose to final status:

Compose Write message Confirm Review & send Sending In progress Carrier Delivers msg Delivered Success! Failed See error Reply Logged in CMS
Article ID: 3813, , Modified: Today at 1:32 AM

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