Running marketing campaigns

Automated emails handle the routine stuff: confirmations, reminders, review requests. Campaigns are for when you want to reach a specific group of customers with a specific message. A spring break promo. A vaccination deadline warning. A "we miss you" note for customers who have not booked in six months.

Creating a campaign

Go to Marketing > Campaigns and click New Campaign.

You will need:

• A name (only you see this)
• A subject line
• The message body
• A target audience
• Whether to send by email, SMS, or both

The name is for your internal tracking. Use something descriptive like "March 2024 Slow Week Promo" instead of "Campaign 1."

Choosing your audience

This is where campaigns get powerful. You can filter customers by almost anything:

• Last booking date (e.g., customers who have not booked in 90 days)
• Service type (e.g., everyone who has used daycare)
• Pet breed or weight
• Customer status (active, blocked, pending)
• Facility (if you have more than one location)

You can stack filters. For example, "customers with a large dog who have not booked in 60 days and are assigned to the downtown facility." The preview shows exactly how many people match before you send anything.

Writing the message

Keep it short. For email, two or three paragraphs is plenty. For SMS, you have 160 characters before it splits into multiple messages, and you pay for each one.

A few things that work:

• Mention the customer's pet by name using merge fields
• Include a clear call to action, like a link to book online
• Add an expiration date to create urgency

A few things that do not work:

• All caps subject lines (they go to spam)
• Attachments (most email clients block them)
• Long URLs (use a link shortener or the portal booking link)

Sending and scheduling

You can send a campaign immediately or schedule it for later. Scheduling is useful for promotions you want to go out on a Tuesday morning, or for vaccination reminders you want to send two weeks before the deadline.

Before you hit send, review the preview. Check a few customer records to make sure the merge fields populated correctly. Nothing kills credibility like "Hi [FIRST_NAME]," in a mass email.

Tracking results

After a campaign goes out, Petsoft tracks:

• Delivered: How many messages reached the customer
• Opened: How many emails were opened (not available for SMS)
• Clicked: How many people clicked a link in the message
• Bounced: How many emails failed to deliver
• Unsubscribed: How many people opted out of marketing

You can see these numbers on the campaign details page. If your open rate is below 15 percent, your subject line probably needs work. If your click rate is below 2 percent, your message or offer is not compelling.

Costs

Email campaigns are included in most subscription plans. SMS campaigns cost extra per message. The exact rate depends on your plan and volume.

You can see your SMS usage and estimated cost before you send. If the number looks high, narrow your audience or switch to email only.

tip

Test your campaign on yourself first. Create a filter that only matches your own customer profile, send the campaign, and check how the email looks on your phone and your computer.

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Campaign creation workflow

Email vs SMS comparison

Factor	Email	SMS
Cost	Included in most plans	Per message fee
Character limit	None	160 characters per message
Open tracking	Yes	No
Best for	Detailed promos, newsletters	Urgent reminders, short offers
Attachments	Not recommended	Not supported

Pre-send checklist

Check	Details
Merge fields tested	Verify [FIRST_NAME] and pet names populate correctly
Subject line checked	Avoid all caps; keep under 50 characters
Audience preview reviewed	Confirm the match count looks right
Cost estimate reviewed	For SMS, check estimated cost before sending
Links working	Test any booking or portal links