Customer Notifications – Automatic Email And SMS Notifications And Messaging Settings

Route4Me’s Customer Alerts and Notifications enable you to send manually and automatically triggered notifications to customers via Email and SMS. You can also set up custom time windows so notifications are only sent to customers during business hours or a specified time frame.

Your Customer Notifications can also include dynamic placeholders to automatically include data and fixed attributes like order numbers, names, ETAs, tracking links, etc. The Route4Me Order Tracking Page enables your customers to easily track orders based on your preferred settings. Furthermore, you can open and export your customer Notification History, customize Customer Satisfaction Surveys to collect Driver Ratings, customer satisfaction data, and more.

Customer Notifications Overview

Setting up Route4Me Customer Notifications is quick and easy.

1. Open your Notification Settings and configure your Provider and Time Window details.
2. Pick a Notification Type and add an email, SMS, or Salesforce notification for that Notification Type.
3. Customize the new notification’s text and insert dynamic variables to automatically add details like order number, tracking link, etc.

Learn more about each step of the process further in this guide, what the available Notification Types are, how to customize your notifications and customer portal, and more.

Open Your Notification Settings

Enable Automated SMS And Email Notifications For Customers

To enable and customize Customer Notifications, Go to “Account Settings” from the Navigation Menu and follow these steps:

1. Click “Customer Notifications” to open your notifications list and settings.
2. Click “Add Notification” to create a new Notification Template.
3. Use the “Event” dropdown menu to select a Notification Type, which is the event or action that triggers an automated notification.
4. Use the “Message Delivery” method to select a communication channel (email, SMS, or Salesforce) for the new Notification Template.
5. Input your notification text in the respective field(s) and insert dynamic variables from the “Insert Variable” dropdown menu.
6. Click “Create Notificatio” to add the new Notification Template to your account. New notification templates are automatically enabled.

For your convenience, email notification templates are split into different text fields which simplify creating consistent and well-structured email notifications. SMS notifications are streamlined with a single text field, and Salesforce notification content is defined in the JSON format. Keep reading to learn more.

You can also set Time Windows for notifications to make sure customers receive them only at appropriate times or during business hours. To do so, click “Manage Providers“, set your preferred earliest and latest notification times in the respective fields, and click “Save“.

For example, if the “Earliest Notification Time” is set to 9:00 AM and the “Latest Notification Time” is set to 5:00 PM, notifications can be sent to customers only within that time frame. “Local Time” for notifications is the time zone where the depot or route start is located. NOTE: Notifications can only be sent after Dispatching Route Notifications.

Manage Email And SMS Customer Notifications

The Customer Notifications page in your Route4Me Account Settings enables you to easily find, edit, manage, and remove notification templates.

1. Find Notification Templates: Use the “Find Notification” search field at the top of the list.
2. Pause and Unpause Notifications: Click “Pause/Resume” and enable or disable a notification channel in the dropdown menu.
3. Enable and Disable Notifications: Click the Toggle Button in the “Enable” column to enable or disable specific notification templates.
4. Edit Notification Templates: Click the “Edit” button to adjust the same settings as when adding new notifications.
5. Remove Notification Templates: Click the Down Arrow next to “Edit” and select “Delete” from the dropdown menu.

Additionally, you can quickly add new Notification Templates for a specific Notification Type by clicking the “Add” dropdown button and selecting a communication channel from the menu.

Furthermore, you can view a history of all notifications sent to customers. For example, notifications from the account of a Regional Manager with multiple Drivers or all Email notifications sent for a particular route or even a specific destination, etc.

You can also export your notifications log for reports, analyzing your operations, and other purposes. Learn more about opening the Notification History and exporting sent notifications.

Open Your Notifications History

Email And SMS Customer Notification Provider Settings

To select your email and SMS notification provider and manage your notification provider and Salesforce credentials, click “Manage Providers” and scroll down to the individual communication channel settings.

Next, use the “Email Provider” and “SMS Provider” fields to select either the “Default” notification provider or Sendgrid for email and Twilio for SMS notifications, respectively.

Then, to input and manage your notification provider credentials, scroll up to the “Providers” section and follow these steps:

1. Click “Edit” next to a notification provider.
2. Input your credentials and click “Apply“.
3. Click “Save” to save your changes and update your notification provider settings.

NOTE: If you encounter any issues with customer notifications, you can find a frequently asked questions and troubleshooting section at the end of this guide.

Customer Notification Types – Automatic Notification Triggers And Events

In the table below, you can find a list of Notification Types, which are events that trigger automatic Customer Notifications.

NOTE: Enabled Notification Templates will automatically send Customer Notifications after Route Notification Dispatch or if a route is started by the assigned user on the Route4Me Mobile App.

In Advance Visit Scheduled And Next Stop Notifications

The “Scheduled” Notification Type supports sending notifications in advance, before the route is dispatched or started. Simply input your preferred settings in the “Notification Time” section and fill the rest of the fields as usual. Customers will then automatically receive an email with the content of your notification once the specified number of days before visit is reached.

In addition to automatically informing customers when their orders or destination visits are scheduled, you can send automatic “Next Stop” notifications. This notification type is triggered when the last destination before a customer is completed and informs them that the assigned user is on their way.

Detected Destination Arrival And Departure Notifications

By combining Route4Me Geofencing with Customer Notifications, you can send automatic SMS and email alerts to customers when your drivers arrive at or depart from destinations. The “Geofence Entered” and “Geofence Left” Notification Types are triggered automatically when the assigned user enters and leaves a destinations’ corresponding geofence.

Automatic Destination Status Update Notifications

When last mile drivers complete destinations using the Route4Me Mobile Driver App, they can assign the “Done“, “Failed“, or “Skipped” destination statuses. With the “Completed“, “Failed“, and “Skipped” Notification Types, you can instantly inform customers about what happened at their destination. Furthermore, you can use dynamic variables to attach proof of visit or delivery, timestamps, and more.

Customer Order Tracking Page And Satisfaction Survey

Customers can access the Online Order Tracking Page using a Tracking Page link sent via email or SMS. After entering their unique tracking number, they can view order status, driver location, and additional details.

NOTE: You have the option to send customers the Tracking Page link with their tracking number already embedded. This way, tracking details automatically appear when customers open the link. Learn more about Route4Me’s Customer Portal.

Open Customer Portal Settings

Additionally, Route4Me’s Customer Survey and Driver Rating enables you to get a complete overview of the inner workings of your last mile business and maximize customer satisfaction. All you need to do is customize your Customer Satisfaction Survey to fit your company branding and set up notification rules to include your new Customer Survey.

Open Driver Rating Dashboard

Dynamic Notification Variables – Automatically Insert Details In Notifications

You can use dynamic variables that retrieve data like order numbers, customer names, estimated arrival times, geofence-entered and departed timestamps, etc. and automatically insert them into your notifications as text.

Each Notification Type supports different dynamic variables. Simply add variables to your notification templates, and they’ll be replaced with the text of the respective fixed attribute in the notifications sent to customers.

Not all placeholders can be used in every notification type. For example, variables relating to attached notes or note media can only be used in the “Completed” Notification Type because destination notes are not available to customers until the destination is marked as “Done“. To learn which placeholders can be used in which notification types, refer to the table below:

Frequently Asked Questions And Notifications Troubleshooting

Route4Me strives to ensure that your alerts and notifications always reach your customers, and that they are always satisfied. Please refer to the FAQ below if you have any questions or issues with your Customer Alerting and Notifications Module.

Last Updated: January 1, 2024July 22, 2025