NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and myStratus Desktop.

ATTENTION! This page refers to Triggers in Versions 2016 and prior.  Click here to view the new Trigger 2017 feature.

Appointment Triggers help you automate your client communication by triggering emails or SMS texts to be sent to the customer, letters to be printed, phone call reminders to be generated, or tasks to be assigned based on the appointment date or the booked date.

Setting up Appointment Triggers

1. Go to Maintenance > Appointment > Appointment Triggers. This opens your list of appointment triggers, organized by type.
   
   

2. Select a specific Appointment Type from the drop-down list (or choose "All Types") and then click New on the ribbon to create a new trigger for that type.
   
   

3. Type in a Description for the trigger.

4. Select the Trigger Type from the drop-down list. The following choices are available:

• Call - Create a call record for each appointment that meets the criteria at the time the trigger is processed.

• Email - Send an email to each client with a appointment that meets the criteria at the time the trigger is processed.

• Letter - Generate a printed letter for each client with an appointment that meets the criteria at the time the trigger is processed.

• Email/Call - Send an email to each client with an appointment that meets the criteria. If a client doesn't have an email address on file, a call record will be generated instead.

• Email/Letter - Send an email to each client with an appointment that meets the criteria. If a client doesn't have an email address on file, a printed letter will be generated instead.

• SMS - Send an SMS text message to each client with an appointment that meets the criteria at the time the trigger is processed.

• SMS/Call - Send an SMS text message to each client with an appointment that meets the criteria. If the client doesn't have a phone number that is SMS-enabled, a call record will be generated instead.

• SMS/Email - Send an SMS text message to each client with an appointment that meets the criteria. If the client doesn't have a phone number that is SMS-enabled, an email will be sent instead.

• Task - Generate a task for each client with an appointment that meets the criteria at the time the trigger is processed.

5. If you're using the Control Center to process triggers, the option to Automatically Process via Control Center allows you to choose whether or not a specific trigger should be processed automatically. When you create a new trigger, you may want to keep this box unchecked until you know the trigger is functioning as expected. You can also specify processing times to prevent the Control Center from sending emails and text messages in the middle of the night.

6. Choose your Trigger Date option:

• Appointment Date - With this option, the trigger is based on the scheduled appointment date. Select On Appointment Date or enter the number of days before or after the appointment date.

• Appointment Booked Date - With this option, the trigger is based on the date the appointment was booked. Select On Appointment Booked Date or enter the number of days after the booked date.

7. Choose any of the following Trigger Exclusions:

• Triggered Date is Past - With this option, the software will not try to run this trigger if the trigger date (the one you chose in step 6 above) is in the past. For example, if the trigger date is set to On the Status Due Date, it will try to run the trigger once it reaches the Status Due Date. But if the trigger fails to run for whatever reason, once it passes the Status Due Date, it won’t try to run anymore. This is important if you want to send out a reminder email with words like “Your Christmas Coupon Expires TODAY!”

• Do Not Market Clients - Exclude clients marked as "Do not Market."

• Do Not Call Clients - Exclude clients marked as "Do not Call."

• Confirmed Appointments - Exclude appointments that have been marked as "Confirmed."

8. Enter and/or select the appropriate Trigger Behavior. These options will vary based on the trigger type (i.e., call, email, SMS, task, etc.) you've selected. Options may include a form letter, attachments, assigned user/department, and more.

9. Click OK to save the trigger.

10. The software will set up the trigger for processing by filtering through your database and excluding records that may have fit the criteria in the past. This prepares the trigger for use going forward. Note: This initial processing DOES NOT actually create any communications or tasks. Triggers must be processed manually with the Process Triggers tool or automated with the Control Center.

    

11. Regularly process the trigger by going to Tools > Process Triggers.

For more information on using triggers throughout Spectra and myStratus Desktop, please see the What are Triggers? topic.