Automatic wishes in iSend are automations that run every day and send an SMS to any contact who has a birthday, name day or anniversary. Birthday and anniversary are read from the contact's corresponding date fields. The name day is found automatically from the first name, based on the Greek name day calendar, including the movable feasts that depend on Easter. You set how many days before and at what time the message goes out, and the platform sends it without the STOP line, because it is a personal wish and not advertising.
What the contact group needs
| Automation | Contact field | How it is filled |
|---|---|---|
| Birthday | Date of birth | From the file import, by hand, or from a sign-up form |
| Name day | First name | The first name is enough. The name day is calculated by the platform |
| Anniversary | Anniversary | Wedding date, first purchase, sign-up, whatever you define |
If the group has no data in the field, the platform warns you when creating the automation and the automation sends to no one until the data is filled in.
How to set up the automation
- In the Automations menu click New automation.
- Choose the type: Birthday, Name day or Anniversary.
- Give it a name and choose the contact group. For birthday and anniversary you also choose the date field, if the group has more than one.
- Set how many days before the message goes out. For wishes the usual choice is "on the same day". For a birthday offer, 3 or 7 days before, so the customer has time to use it.
- Set the send time, e.g. 10:00.
- Write the message. {FIRST_NAME_VOC} inserts the first name in the vocative case, as explained in the article about tags.
- Save. The automation checks daily which contacts match and sends once to each.
Message examples
Birthday, on the same day:
Happy birthday {FIRST_NAME_VOC}! Cafe Kipos is treating you to the coffee of the day. Show this message at the register.
Name day, on the same day:
{FIRST_NAME_VOC}, happy name day from all of us at Anna's Hair Salon!
Anniversary, 7 days before:
{FIRST_NAME_VOC}, your anniversary is in one week. Book a table by Friday and dessert is on us. Tel. 2310 000 000
Greek text goes out in uppercase without accents. Count the messages in the form's counter, so they stay within one part.
How the name day is found
The platform matches each contact's first name against the Greek name day calendar. It covers the fixed feasts, such as Saint Demetrios on October 26, and the movable ones, which change date every year based on Easter, such as Saint George when it falls after Easter or All Saints. When a name is celebrated more than once, its main feast is chosen, and the fixed date is preferred over the movable one. Diminutives and variants, such as the Greek forms Γιώργος, Γεώργιος and Γιωργάκης (Giorgos, Georgios and Giorgakis, all forms of George), are recognized as the same name.
Names that are not in the name day calendar, foreign or rare, do not receive a message. A wish is never sent on a wrong date because the name was not recognized.
Welcome message
The fourth automation type, Welcome, sends a message to every contact who joins the group, immediately or after a delay you set in minutes. It combines with the group's sign-up form and the API: the customer signs up, and within a few minutes receives the welcome coupon or the information you promised.
Frequently asked questions
If a contact is in two groups with the same automation, will they receive two wishes?
Each automation sends once per contact and date. If you have created two separate birthday automations in two groups and the contact belongs to both, they will receive from each one. Keep one automation per type of wish, in one group that includes all your customers.
Do wishes require consent for advertising messages?
A wish is a personal message and does not get the STOP line. But if it contains an offer or a coupon, it is advertising communication and must go only to contacts with consent. Anyone who has opted out with STOP does not receive automations.
How much does it cost?
One credit per message part, like any SMS. For 500 customers with their birthday filled in, the automation consumes about 500 credits per year, spread across the whole year.