Odoo 15 - Module SMS Marketing
Sending SMS messages from the ERP system
4 November, 2021 by
Odoo 15 - Module SMS Marketing
manaTec GmbH, Tom Pohling
 


In our last blog posts, we have already presented a few ways in which we can control and automate our marketing and sales activities in Odoo. We have dealt in detail with the modules e-mail marketing, marketing automation and social marketing. To complement this, today we'll take a look at the SMS Marketing module, which, similar to mailings in email marketing, allows us to send SMS directly from Odoo to multiple recipients at the same time.

Unlike email marketing, sending SMS from Odoo incurs additional costs. For this, we purchase so-called credits from Odoo, the credit is booked directly in Odoo. We can find an overview of the current prices per SMS here. For example, one SMS in Germany currently costs 0.1 credits, i.e. 10 cents.

For the SMS Marketing module we have two access rights, which are directly linked to the Email Marketing module. A user without access rights does not have access to the module and therefore does not see the module in the dashboard. Users in the "Users" group have full access to the module, including SMS mailings, reporting, as well as configuration.

Within the module we can find four menu items - SMS Marketing, Email Recipient Lists, Reporting and Configuration. If we open the module from the dashboard, we land directly in the menu item "SMS Marketing" and thus in the overview of our SMS mailings.

The overview of our SMS mailings.
The overview of our SMS mailings.

For the SMS mailings we have four different levels available in the Kanban view. In the "Draft" level, we find the SMS mailings that we are still working on. For sending the SMS mailings, an automatic action is executed in Odoo in a previously defined interval, for example every hour. The SMS mailings that we have confirmed by clicking on the "Send" button are moved to the "Queued" stage until the next execution of the automatic action. In the time between sending the first and the last SMS of a mailing, the mailing is in the "Send" stage. All completely sent SMS mailings are in the "Sent" stage.

In addition to this, Odoo shows us more information about the SMS mailings in the Kanban view, such as the title and the person responsible for the SMS mailing, the scheduled send date for SMS mailings in the queue or the send date and some KPIs for SMS that have already been sent.

In the menu item "Email recipient lists" we have the possibility to create mailing lists. To this mailing list we can manually add recipients. Alternatively, we use the mailing lists, for example, as a block or pop-up on our website. This allows visitors to our website to sign up for the newsletter, which in turn allows us to generate new leads. In this case, however, we only receive the email address, which means that these contacts cannot be used for sending SMS.

Reporting provides us with meaningful metrics on our sent SMS mailings and displays them graphically as bar, line or pie charts or in a pivot view. The key figures are also available to us in each individual SMS mailing.

Optional features are configured via the configuration in the Email Marketing module. By activating the mailing campaigns, we create the link into the Social Marketing and Email Marketing modules. With this, we plan campaigns consisting of newsletters, posts on social networks, SMS and/or push notifications. Within the configuration in the SMS Marketing module, we again have a separate list of all phone numbers that are blacklisted and thus excluded from sending SMS mailings. By means of Link Tracker, Odoo provides us with an overview of the links used in the mailings and SMS and their clicks, analogous to e-mail marketing.

Back in the overview of our SMS mailings, we create a new mailing by clicking on the "Create" button. After specifying a subject, we define the recipients. Depending on the installed modules, we select, for example, from the contacts, prospects/sales opportunities, sales orders or the mailing lists already described above. In addition to this, we narrow down the selection of recipients by using filters.

The creation of a new SMS mailing.
The creation of a new SMS mailing.

For the content of our SMS mailing, we only have the use of text and/or emojis at our disposal. Odoo shows us how many characters are used and how many SMS are required for this. Finally, we navigate to the "Settings" tab and define a responsible user and optionally activate the addition of an opt-out link to the SMS mailing.

In addition, we have the option to archive, delete and duplicate the SMS mailing via the "Action" button. Especially the latter option is useful in case we want to reuse an already existing mailing in a similar form. In the history, we have the already known options for internal and external communication as well as activity planning .

Before we send the SMS mailing to all recipients, we can use the "Test" button to send the mailing to a phone number we have selected and check if all the contents are correct. After that, we either use the "Execution schedule" button and set a time for sending in the future or send the SMS directly by clicking the "Send" button.

As already described above, the SMS mailing is in the "Sent" stage after all SMS have been sent. In addition, we also find the already mentioned KPIs clearly displayed in the SMS mailing.

The SMS-Mailings KPIs.
The SMS-Mailings KPIs.

Odoo shows us how many SMS have been sent, received, clicked and discarded. By clicking on the smart buttons, we get to a list view and see exactly which recipient has performed which action. By specifying the SMS mailing as the source in the sales opportunity, we also track the sales and revenue generated from the mailings.

With this, we conclude that Odoo offers us another great opportunity with the SMS Marketing module as one of many marketing activities in the ERP system. Thanks to the clear menu navigation, we quickly find our way around the module and concentrate on the essential processes for creating and sending our SMS. With the help of the real-time statistics, we gain valuable insights into the success of our SMS and draw conclusions for the future orientation of our marketing strategy.

However, this is offset by the additional costs of sending the SMS. However, with email marketing, marketing automation and social marketing, Odoo also offers numerous possibilities without additional costs, apart from the usage licenses. Here, each company must decide for itself which measures it uses for its marketing and sales activities and which of them lead to the goal - Odoo brings the necessary tools for this in any case.

Are you looking for an ERP system with integrated SMS dispatch or do you have questions about the SMS Marketing module in Odoo? No problem!  Contact us now and we will be at your disposal as a reliable and experienced Odoo partner!


Sources: www.odoo.com

 
Odoo 15 - Social Marketing
Administration of social media channels in Odoo