Here are the need-to-know limitations of the Medallia Concierge messaging platform, a more in depth explanation can be found below these bullet points.
Messages up to 1,500 characters can be sent from Medallia Concierge BUT it is recommended that messages be 160 characters or less (with no emojis) or 70 characters or less (with emojis) due to phone carrier limitations.
It's also recommended to avoid using special characters like: `ăä Æ æ Ç ç É é È è Ê ê Í í Ì ì Î î Ñ ñ Ó ó Ò ò as this may lead to SMS splitting with some phone carriers.
Messages sent from the +NEW button must be limited to less than 1,000 contacts to deliver properly.
Messages sent from Zings must be limited to less 5,000 contacts to deliver properly.
Messages are sent at a speed of 1 message per second.
Character Count and SMS Behavior
Medallia Concierge utilizes SMS (short message service) to send and receive text messages in the same way that your mobile device does. It should be known that to date, this is the only way to send and receive text messages. Medallia Concierge, along with every messaging provider, delivers SMS messages to the recipient's phone carrier. The way that the carrier delivers the messages to the device of the recipient is out of Medallia Concierge's control.
Since SMS is the broader language that some carriers interpret differently, there are things to keep in mind to prevent messages from splitting into several messages:
160 character limit: Text messages are limited to 160 8-bit characters (without special characters or emojis.) Messages longer than 160 characters are split into multiple messages. While some carriers like Verizon and T Mobile will typically consolidate multiple messages sent at the same time and delivery them to the recipient's device as one message, some carriers like Sprint will often deliver the message in multiple pieces.
70 character limit: Due to the size, 16-bit (special) characters such as `ä Æ æ ç é È or any emoji will cause the SMS messages to split at 70 characters instead of 160 and are subject to the same processes described above.
So you might ask:
I don't have trouble sending long messages on my iPhone or Android device, why is Medallia Concierge different? The appearance of delivered messages is a combination on your phone carrier, mobile device and device settings. Also there is a distinction between iMessage and SMS, which brings us to another question...
Why do my texts to Medallia Concierge turn green?
On the iPhone mobile device, messages appear green when sent via SMS. Messages turn blue when sent using iMessage over an internet connection to another Apple device. iMessages aren't text messages in the traditional sense and are best described as messages sent back and forth in an application. A way of thinking about it is this:
Green = SMS/cellular network
Blue = application/internet connection
The beauty of Medallia Concierge is that your customers are not required to download an app to message with you. Because this is accomplished using SMS, messages sent from iPhone devices turn green.
Message Delivery Rate
Messages can only be sent 1 per second to any standard ten digit phone number. Carriers use throttling to control the load and flow of messages. If purchased, a shortcode can be used to send messages faster than the 1 per second rate.
The 1 per second send rate is important. Let's say you're sending a message to 1,000 recipients. It's going to take approximately 16 minutes before all 1,000 messages are delivered. During this time, any single messages or replies sent won't be delivered until after the first batch of 1,000. In other words, there is a queue and new outbound messages end up at the end of the queue.