Using Zapier to automate SMS replies for missed calls
Zapier is a great “no code” product for integrating activities among multiple application platforms. Zapier has pre-built connectors for Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce, just to name a few of their bigger players. In fact Zapier has integration connections with over 5,200 tools and applications! In this article we will be focusing on utilizing Zapier to automatically send a SMS message to anyone you miss a call from. We will start by providing an overview of what Zapier looks like in regards to its dashboard and design interface and then step by step instructions on how to build this integration — in less than 10 minutes!
An overview of Zapier
To start Zapier has many tiers of access; the entry level being “free” all the way up to “Company”, which is an enterprise level access with all the features and application connections included. The free level is the one we will be looking at here since it will have the broadest effect. Zapier retains their premium application connections for the higher tiered accounts.
If you want to follow along, go to zapier.com and sign up for a free account. You may also be offered a short 2 week period of time for a trial with all the higher paid features. Once signed up you will receive a few introductory emails about how to get started and some ideas on trying out some useful integrations. Let’s take a look at the Zapier dashboard and see what controls are available there.
Figure 1 shows a typical dashboard appearance. On the figure area [1] is where Zapier is offering to guide you in your application connections by creating a workflow. Workflows can be as simple as when an event occurs in one application then an action is performed in another. Here you make connections with your applications by typically logging in to them so that Zapier can record the access credentials or by providing a link key for the same purpose. In figure 1 area [2], Zapier offers some typical connections that may interest you like connecting Google Drive with GMail or connecting GMail with Google Sheets.
Once you make a connection to one of your apps like Google forms or GMail you can start creating app connections or in Zapier terms “Zaps”. In section [3] of figure 1, the menu on the left hand side of the screen, you will see “Zaps”. This is the menu item that will list all your connections and their actions. You can turn the Zaps on or off and make any edits to them at this starting point. When you click on “Zaps” the work area changes to that shown in figure 2.
Here I am showing my current 5 Zapier connection combinations. Their names and apps that are involved are shown on the left of the grid list [1] and on the right side you can see three of them are active or “On” and two are not [2]. The three dots to the far right of the display will display an activity sub-menu for each individual Zap, if that level of control is desired. On the far left of the screen [3] you can see a higher level of folder control where you can organize your Zaps into folder names that you can create. Also, there you can see the trash folder where any discarded Zaps will stay for 30 days and then be auto-removed after that time.
Referring back to figure 1 area [3], you can see an item called “My Apps”. This is a convenient way to list all the applications that you have authenticated on Zapier. So, once you have authentication in place for an application you can reuse that app for other Zapier combinations (Zaps) if you like. It is also a summary listing of all the current uses for each application. Figure 3 shows this list.
You can even drill down into the app settings if you need to re-authenticate it or if you want to customize its name within Zapier.
Setting up our SMS auto-reply integration
Now that you have an understanding of Zapier, it’s time to set up our integration which will automatically send an SMS reply when you miss a call. This can be exceptionally useful for when you are out of office, are experiencing higher call volumes, when there may be a better way for your customers to communicate with you (ie using your website), or to quickly engage new prospects with a friendly “we’ll call you right back” message.
So lets make a connection to the RingCentral app to start the Zap creation process.
Step 1: create a zap
Look for a button called “Create Zap”. This appears in a few places on the Zapier dashboard. The main place to look for it is on the top left of the dashboard. Once you click on that button you will be taken to a Zap design wizard of sorts. You will be guided through selecting an app and creating steps to go through while you create your Zap. The first screen you will see is shown in figure 4.
Initially you should name your Zap [1]. So in our case we will call it “RingCentral SMS on missed call”. Next, [2] we select the app that we want to interact with. You will be shown a list of applications that are popular and some that you may already be connected to. You can also search for new applications, remember there are over 5,200 available to you!
In our case, we will connect to the RingCentral app. Search for it if it is not on the offered list.
Step 2: authenticate the app
You then need to authenticate your access to the app. Don’t worry, Zapier will pop-up the RingCentral login box, keeping your username and password secure. This also means that if you change your RingCentral password later, the app will keep working as RingCentral provides Zapier a unique token that you may delete at any time in your RingCentral account.
This will look like that shown in Figure 5.
It’s important to note that different apps may have different authentication structures, so you will need to follow the instructions each app provides when adding them to your Zaps or workflows.
After proving that you have access to the RingCentral app you will then see a screen like figure 6 where you select the event or action that you want Zapier to keep watch for.
Step 3: select the missed call Trigger
For this use case you will want to select the missed call Trigger. You might be asked to test what you have prepared so far, your event trigger, and that is a good thing. Zapier goes into your app and looks for recent records that could be used for testing and uses them as test materials, if found.
Step 4: select your action
You will then be asked to create your action — what you want Zapier to do for you when this event happens in the future. Remember, in this example, we are sending out an SMS message when there is a missed call in RingCentral. This is done with the same app so we don’t have to create or use a different connection. Figure 7 shows the action pane [1] with the RingCentral app selected [2] and the drop down showing the possible actions that this app can do for us.
[3] shows that we are selecting to “Send SMS”. Click continue when you have made these selections. The next option to select is what RingCentral account you want to use for this action. Keep in mind that an app can be set up to access multiple accounts, at least in RingCentral’s case. So, here Zapier just wants to know what account to use. Take a look at figure 8. Following the choice of action and desired account, you need to select one of the valid phone numbers [1] associated with the selected account.
Each account can use one or more actual phone numbers. Naturally, you also need to inform Zapier where you want the SMS message to go to, so you need to provide that as well [2]. The target phone number can be taken from a list of recent numbers used by your RingCentral account or you can enter a custom number. The actual text that you want to send out when there is a missed call should be provided next [3]. It is important to note that RingCentral keeps track of a lot of data points on missed calls so a list of these data items are offered to you when crafting the text of the SMS [4]. You can also combine your own text with this data. Click continue when you are ready. You will be asked to test your newly crafted action, so do that and continue. The target phone number (phone number to) should now get an actual text message that looks similar to figure 9.
Figure 9 — sample received SMS message.
Step 5: publish your Zap
The last step to take is to publish your “Zap”. Once that is done you should now have a new “Zap” on your dashboard that looks like figure 10.
Now the next time you happen to miss a RingCentral call you will get an SMS message to that effect. A real SMS (not test) should look like figure 11.
Keep in mind that the free version of Zapier only processes its active Zaps every 15 minutes so there will likely be a lag between the missed call and delivery of the generated SMS. Also, Zapier has this kind of connection possibility with over 5,200 apps so the combinations are basically endless. Be sure to play with the many combos that could save you time and grief and put Zapier to work for you.
Please let us know what you think by leaving your questions and comments below. To learn more about RingCentral features make sure to visit our developer site and if you’re ever stuck make sure to go to our developer forum.
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