We at SimplyCast have decided to round up some of the most frequently asked questions of the past 30-odd days and answer some of the most popular ones in a blog post at the end of every month. These questions can range from queries about our platform itself, our subscription plans, as well as any new additions we have made to the interface.
Here are three of the most popular questions our support staff have received in the month of March.
1. Where has the List Manager gone?
The List Manager tab in the Applications dropdown of the platform used to direct users to the main Lists page in the CRM. With the recent updates to the CRM, we have chosen to remove the List Manager functionality from this dropdown.
Now, if you would like to find and manage your lists, you simply have to go into your CRM tab in the SimplyCast 360 platform and select the Lists tab on the left side of your screen. You will be directed to the exact same page as you would have had you clicked on the List Manager tab.
2. What is Audience Management?
Audience Management is a tool found in the CRM, which allows you to subdivide your contact lists to better target your communications and allows your subscribers to pick and choose which communications they would like to receive from you and be able to unsubscribe to the rest.
To find Audience Management, go into the CRM channel in SimplyCast 360 and you will find the Audience Management tab on the left-hand side of your page. Here, you will be able to create groups of contacts, as well as separate audiences within these groups to better cater to your clients.
For example, say you create a group of contacts who subscribed to receive newsletters from your organization. Within that group, you can further divide these subscribers into two audiences: those contacts who wish to receive a newsletter once a month, and those who would like a newsletter once a week.
If ever any subscriber wants to change his or her preferences, they will be brought to a page where they are able to unsubscribe to the type of communication they would no longer like to receive. However, they also have the chance to sign up for another if they so choose. If they would like to receive fewer newsletters, for instance, they could opt out of the audience which sends them a newsletter once a week and opt in for the once a month option.
3. Do I need to purchase additional credits on top of my 360 subscription to use the Voice/SMS/Fax channels?
Yes.
You pay a monthly rate for the use of the SimplyCast 360 platform, however, if you want to send campaigns out through the Voice, Fax, or SMS channels, you will need to purchase add-ons to your current monthly subscription.
Credits are used in the sending of these three types of campaigns, which can be purchased at various pricing levels.
For Voice campaigns, there are two pricing structures: Pay-as-you-Go and Basic. Both plans do not cost you anything additional per month on top of your 360 subscription, but for each Voice call you send, it will cost $0.05 USD per minute. You will be reimbursed at the end of each campaign for any calls that do not go through.
For Fax campaigns, there are the same two pricing structures: Pay-as-you-Go and Basic. Like Voice campaigns, neither cost you anything additional per month. But, for each fax you send, it will cost you $0.03 USD per page sent. The same reimbursement protocol for failed faxes will be followed as that for failed voice calls.
SMS campaigns operate a little differently than Voice or Fax campaigns. There is an additional cost per month if you decide to use this communication channel. There are four different pricing tiers with SMS marketing: Startup, Basic, Professional, and Enterprise. With each level, the additional cost per month increases, as do the number of SMS credits and keywords you receive.
You receive a set number of credits per month, which must be used during that particular month, as they will not roll over into the next month's batch of credits. As for keywords, you get a specific number depending on the level of package that you purchase. For example, with the Startup Package, you receive three keywords and the keywords can be used throughout the entire course of your subscription to that package. However, you do not need to activate them all at once. You are able to use one of your keywords and save the rest until you have need of them, which could be months or years down the road.
You also have the option of a Pay-as-you-Go plan with SMS marketing. While this plan does not cost you anything extra on top of your main SimplyCast 360 subscription, each message you send will cost you $0.07 USD per message. Depending on how many messages you plan on sending a month, this plan may be the most appropriate choice for your organization.
Be sure to check back at the end of next month when we will answer even more FAQs that our customer care team receives.
If you have any questions you would like to see answered, please leave a comment below! Also, check out our 360 Marketing Automation page for more information on the services SimplyCast has to offer your organization.
