Communication preferences belong to the pet owner, not the pet, so one choice covers all of their pets. They are held per business: a choice made with you does not change what the customer receives from another business. Booking messages, such as confirmations, reminders and receipts, do not depend on them.
The three preferences
Each preference is a heading on the customer's Communication Preferences card, and it decides who receives one type of message.
| Preference | What it covers | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| Business Announcements & Operational Updates | Opening hours changes, holiday hours and policy updates, sent as a business update | Every customer who has not opted out |
| Marketing & Special Promotions | Promotional offers and discounts, new service launches, seasonal campaigns, re-engagement messages, and loyalty and referral promotions | Only customers who have opted in |
| Reminders to book again | A text when a pet is due for its next visit | Every customer who has not turned reminders off |
Marketing and reminders are independent: a customer can take your rebooking reminders and refuse your promotions. An opt-out from business updates stops all three, and it also stops abandoned booking recovery texts and missed-call text-backs.
A customer who has never answered still receives business updates and rebooking reminders, but no marketing.
How customers set their preferences
- When they first book online. The booking form asks under Communication Preferences, marked Required: Yes, keep me updated or No thanks for business updates, Yes, send me offers or No thanks for marketing, and Yes, remind me or No thanks for reminders, with Yes, remind me already chosen. A customer who has answered business updates and marketing is not asked again
- In their profile in the pet owner app. They change a choice under Communication Preferences, then select Save Preferences. A customer of several businesses sees each business separately
- By replying STOP. A customer who replies STOP, or another opt-out word such as UNSUBSCRIBE, to your dedicated number is opted out of all three straight away. Replying START does not opt them back in
- By asking your team. You change the preferences for them, as below
Check a customer's preferences
Check before you send a bulk message to someone, or when a customer asks what they have signed up for.
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on one of the customer's pets.
- Open the Settings & Overrides tab.
- Read the Communication Preferences card.
Each heading shows Opted In or Opted Out, and Last updated with the date it last changed. A heading with neither has never been answered, and its switch shows off. The Preferences view on the Pet & Owner Details tab shows business updates and marketing at a glance, as Opted in, Opted out or Not set.
On Messages, a customer who has opted out of business updates carries the badge Opted out of announcements, and a new message to them shows This customer replied STOP.
Update a customer's preferences
Change a customer's preferences only when they have asked you to.
- Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on one of the customer's pets.
- Open the Settings & Overrides tab.
- Under Communication Preferences, read the Consent Declaration. Saving declares that you have the customer's express permission for the change.
- Switch Email marketing, SMS marketing or Rebooking reminders on or off.
- Select Save Preferences.
Save Preferences appears once you change a switch, and all three preferences save together.
Trap
Email marketing is the switch under Business Announcements & Operational Updates. It sets business updates by text, not email: switch it off and the customer receives no bulk texts of any type and no rebooking reminders. Petboost does not send marketing emails. SMS marketing sits under Marketing & Special Promotions, and Rebooking reminders under Reminders to book again.
Check who a bulk send can reach
Each bulk message type reads its own preference, so the same customer list gives a different audience for each type.
- Open Messages, select the arrow beside New, then Bulk Send. On a phone, select Actions on the bottom bar, then Bulk Send.
- On Choose Audience, choose Announcements, Marketing or Rebooking reminders.
- Read the banner under the choice, which counts the customers who can receive that type, those who opted out and those with no phone.
Only customers who can receive the type appear in the segment counts under the banner. In Mass Text, the line ending customers excluded lists who is left out and why. See Bulk SMS.
Trap
Never send promotional content as a business update to reach customers who have not opted in to marketing. Under the Spam Act 2003 that is a breach, and Petboost checks every bulk message for promotional content before it goes.
Booking messages and consent
Booking messages are how you provide the service, so marketing consent does not apply to them, and Communication Preferences do not switch them off. They include:
- Appointment reminders and confirmations
- Booking confirmations and changes
- Payment receipts and invoices
- Payment failure alerts
- Cancellation confirmations
To stop some of these for one customer, change their notification settings on the same Settings & Overrides tab. See Pet Owner Communications.
Trap
A customer who replies STOP to your number stops receiving texts from that number altogether, booking texts included. Their emails keep going.
Australian Spam Act 2003
Petboost builds the Spam Act's requirements into bulk sending:
- Consent: a promotion only reaches customers who have opted in to marketing
- Identify: every bulk message is signed off with your business name
- Unsubscribe: Mass Text always adds Reply STOP to opt out, and Bulk Send adds it unless you untick it
- Honour opt-outs: an opt-out reply to your number takes effect straight away, and every later send skips the customer
- Record keeping: each preference keeps the date it last changed
Tip
When you ask customers to opt in, tell them what you will send and how often. Use a business update only for genuinely operational news, such as a holiday closure or a policy change. The banner on Choose Audience is a quick way to check your consent rates from time to time.