How to provide mobile support with Klaviyo SMS

You will learn

Learn how to set up SMS customer support, invite customers to text you with questions, and keep support-only subscribers out of your marketing campaigns. With Klaviyo two-way messaging, you can answer subscribers’ questions and hear their feedback.

Before you begin

To reply to a customer by SMS:

• The customer must be subscribed to SMS.
• The customer must text your number first.
• You must use a number that can receive text messages, not a branded sender ID.

Mobile support checklist

Complete the steps below to set up your support subscription process. Before inviting customers to use it, finish your welcome flow and marketing exclusion segment.

• Create a list for those signing up for support
• Add a subscribe keyword
• Set up your forms
• Add forms to product/website pages
• Build a flow to prompt customers to ask a question
• Create a segment to exclude support-only subscribers
• Respond to the customer

Create a list for support questions

First, make a new list for those texting in with questions.

1. Navigate to Audience > Lists & Segments on the left sidebar.
2. Click Create.
3. Choose List.
4. Pick a descriptive name for the list (e.g., “Support Qs- SMS”), then click Create list.

For customers who subscribe by texting a keyword, you choose single or double opt-in on the keyword itself, as described below. Changing the list’s opt-in setting does not change the keyword’s opt-in process. Learn more about single and double opt-in. Whichever process you choose, create the support-only segment described later in this article and exclude it from your SMS marketing campaigns.

Add a unique subscribe keyword

For your forms, you’ll need to have a unique subscribe (also called a custom) keyword for when people want to ask you a question.

1. Navigate to your organization name in the bottom left.
2. Click Settings > SMS > Keyword responses.
3. Select Add keyword in the Subscribe keywords section.
   

4. Name the keyword, making sure it’s not similar to another keyword (in particular, do not use a variation of “Info” or “Help”).
5. Select your support list, then choose the Opt-in process for this keyword. Double opt-in requires customers to confirm before they are added to the list. You can choose Single opt-in to remove that confirmation step and streamline the process for customers with questions.
6. Keep Allow customers to subscribe with this keyword enabled, then click Save.
   

After you save, you’ll see the new subscribe keyword along with its list, opt-in process, and status under Subscribe keywords. The keyword also appears as the $source profile property for customers who subscribe with it.

For more information about subscribe keywords, check out this guide on adding, updating, and deleting custom keywords.

Set up your forms

For the best customer experience, you’ll need to make 2 signup forms. The first is a click-to-text form for mobile users, and the second is simply a message for desktop users that says customers should text your number and use a subscribe keyword.

Below, we discuss creating embedded forms, but another good option for desktop is a flyout form. If you use a flyout form instead, consider setting them to appear a few seconds after a page loads, so that you're offering help to those who are "stuck." It's not recommended for mobile: only desktop.

Desktop form

Start with the desktop embed form. This form displays instructions and consent disclosure; customers subscribe by texting your keyword, not by submitting their phone number on your website.

1. Go to Sign-up forms on the left-hand sidebar.
2. Click Create blank form.
3. Name the form, select the list you just created, and choose Embed. Click Save and design to open the editor.
4. Delete unnecessary input fields and buttons, such as the email field and submit button.
5. Drag in a text block.
6. In the block, add a message with your subscribe keyword and SMS number. For instance, “Want more information? Text QUESTION to XXX-XXX-XXXX.” To find your SMS number, go to Settings > SMS. If you selected double opt-in for your support keyword, explain that customers must also reply to the confirmation text before they can receive your response.
7. Temporarily add a phone number field to generate the SMS consent disclosure.
8. Enable Collect SMS consent for the phone number field.
9. Edit the disclosure language, making sure to link to your terms of service and privacy policy.
   

10. Delete the phone number field, but keep the disclosure visible beneath your text instructions. Customers do not need to enter their number in this form.
11. Go to Targeting & display behavior.
12. Under Display, change the form to Desktop only.
13. Under Targeting, show the form only in countries where Klaviyo SMS is available and where your displayed number can receive customer texts. Do not advertise a branded sender ID for support.
14. Copy the embed code from Targeting & display behavior > Display and keep it for the embedding step below.
15. Click Publish, review any alerts, then select Publish now and confirm with Publish now.
    

Mobile form

For mobile visitors, add a button that opens their messaging app with a prefilled text. They must send that text to subscribe; clicking the button alone does not subscribe them.

1. Clone the desktop form, name it, and use the same list as for desktop.
2. Drag in a button to make it easy for customers to get their questions answered.
3. Edit the text of your button to include a clear call-to-action, encouraging customers to click.
4. Click the button on the form and change its action to Subscribe via text messaging. This makes the button mobile-only, but does not change the whole form’s device targeting.
5. Select the subscribe keyword you created for customer support and enter your Message. Select the appropriate Sending Region so the text goes to your support number.
   

6. Go to Targeting & display behavior > Display and select Mobile only for the form. Review the country targeting inherited from the desktop form so it matches your sending region.
7. Keep the consent disclosure and its terms of service and privacy policy links visible. Update the instructions to explain that customers must send the prefilled text and, if your keyword uses double opt-in, reply to the confirmation text.
8. Copy this form’s embed code from Targeting & display behavior > Display. In the upper right, click Publish and review any alerts.
9. Select Publish now and confirm with Publish now to set the form live.
   

Embed the forms

There are several places where you might want to put these forms, including in the footer, product pages, and any contact or help pages on your website. How you embed the form depends on your integration, but generally, you’ll need to go into your theme, theme files, and then paste the embed where you want it to appear. This article on pasting embed codes provides more information.

Add both embed codes where you want to offer support. Each form’s device targeting determines which version visitors see. Finish the flow and exclusion segment below before making this support option available on your site.

Build a welcome flow for customer support

Your welcome flow for those texting in questions will not be your regular welcome flow. It should identify support subscribers and prompt them to ask their question.

1. Create a list-triggered flow using your SMS support list.
2. Drag a Property update action directly after the trigger. Choose Create new property, name it Support, and set its type to boolean and its value to true. Save the action. The property does not need to exist on each profile beforehand.
3. Add an SMS message after the property update. Use something like, “Hey there! How can we help you? Please keep in mind that our office hours are 9 to 5 Mon–Fri, and we’ll respond as soon as we can.”
   • Acknowledge that they’re looking for help.
   • Don’t send a standard welcome series message where you thank them for subscribing, as this may make them worry that they joined your main subscription list when it’s highly possible that they only want answers to a specific question.
     

Optional: give recipients the choice to continue to hear from you

1. After the first message, add a time delay.
   Give enough time for you to have fully answered and followed up with the customer. We recommend between 3–7 days, depending on how much time you want to leave after your last response.
2. Add another message asking if they want to continue to hear from you.
   For example, you can say: “Want to continue hearing from us via text? Reply with TEXT ME to get special deals, early access, + more. If you say NO or don't respond, we'll only text you if you’ve reached out with a question.”
3. Follow the message with a time delay to allow a little time for someone to respond (e.g., 2 to 3 days).
4. Add a conditional split that checks whether someone has a Sent SMS event during the response window where Message Body contains the phrase you used in the previous message (e.g., TEXT ME). Use a lookback period that matches the delay you added for replies. Sent SMS records a text the customer sends to you.
5. On the Yes path, drag in a Property update action. Choose Delete existing property, select Support, and save.
6. On the same Yes path, add a List update action. Name the action, choose Add to a list, select your main SMS marketing list, and save. Removing Support alone is not enough: someone outside all your main SMS lists still qualifies for the exclusion segment below. Adding them to a list can also trigger that list’s welcome flow, so review it before enabling this action.
7. On the No path, keep the Support property in place, as we’ll use it to create a segment of those only interested in support.
   

When your flow and exclusion segment are ready, set each configured SMS message and property or list update action to Live and save the status changes.

Create a segment to exclude support-only subscribers

This is perhaps one of the most important things to set up. It’s critical that you don’t treat someone who’s looking for answers the same as someone who wants to hear from you on a regular basis. Instead, you’ll foster a relationship with these subscribers via the flow above.

Create a new segment for people who can receive SMS and either have Support set to true or are outside all your main SMS marketing lists. This keeps someone marked for support out of marketing even if they also belong to a marketing list.

For instance, let’s say we have 2 lists with SMS subscribers named “Newsletter” and “SMS Subscribers” and our customer support welcome series adds Support equals true to profiles. Connect the following 3 condition groups with AND. Within each list-related group, connect the conditions with OR:

• If someone can or cannot receive marketing > can receive > text message marketing
  AND
• Properties about someone > Support is true
  OR
  If someone is in or not in a list > Person is not in Newsletter
  AND
• Properties about someone > Support is true
  OR
  If someone is in or not in a list > Person is not in SMS Subscribers

Repeat Support is true as an OR condition for each main SMS list. In the screenshot below, the final list condition is missing that OR condition; add it so support subscribers in “SMS Subscribers” are also excluded.

Save the segment, then exclude it from all SMS marketing campaigns going forward. This will help you avoid texting those who aren’t interested in SMS marketing content.

Respond to the customer

Once a customer subscribes and texts you their question, open their conversation and send a reply. The support welcome flow prompts them to ask a question; it does not answer the question for you. Follow the guide to managing customer conversations for instructions on finding and replying to tickets. If the customer has not completed SMS opt-in, you cannot reply by SMS.

Additional resources