Buy standalone SMS or WhatsApp Business API access from C9. Connect it to your software for customer updates and replies. Compare the channels, then plan the application and connection you’ll need.
Example one-way SMS updates.
Business: Hi Alex, your appointment is confirmed for Thursday at 10:30 am.
Business: A reminder: your appointment is tomorrow at 10:30 am.
Business: Need to change your booking? Please contact our team.
Both channels can support updates and replies. Compare what your customer needs and how your team will manage the messages.
Keep customers informed with reminders, confirmations and service updates, sent straight to their mobile number. No messaging app needed.
Your business needs a software connection. Two-way SMS also needs a reply-capable number and somewhere to receive replies; a business-name sender is one-way.
Reach customers who use WhatsApp, with updates, replies and media such as images or documents where the connection allows.
Your business needs an eligible number and connected software where staff read and answer messages. API access is different from the ready-to-use WhatsApp Business app.
Start with the information a customer needs next, then choose the channel and connection to deliver it.
A customer has a booking tomorrow.
Hi Alex, your appointment is tomorrow at 10:30 am.
Put the time back in view before the appointment.
An order moves from preparing to ready.
Hi Sam, your order is ready to collect. We’re open until 5 pm.
Give the customer a clear next step.
The planned arrival time has changed.
Your technician will now arrive between 2 and 3 pm today.
Help the customer plan around the updated time.
A customer needs one more detail.
Does this lamp come in white?
Yes. Would you like the dimensions?
Continue the conversation through a connected application.
An API lets software send or receive messages through a messaging service. Three parts come together to make that useful in your business.
Purchase SMS API or WhatsApp Business API access from C9. The agreed service supplies the messaging connection.
A business application or inbox gives your team a place to work. API access does not automatically supply that interface.
A connector or developer links events, messages and replies. This work must be configured and tested for your systems.
Need help connecting it? Include that in your enquiry. Confirm whether C9 can quote for the work or whether you need your software provider or developer before ordering API access.
C9 supplies API access. Your business provides message content, recipient permissions and someone to own the workflow. Software configuration, testing and maintenance need an assigned application provider or developer; any work you ask C9 to perform must be agreed in the quote.
Before activation, agree the contact and coverage for API service issues, who fixes the software connection and who reviews failed messages or unanswered replies. API access alone does not include ongoing workflow management.
Allow for messaging usage, any applicable service or sender fees, and software or connection work. Ask for one-off and recurring charges to be identified separately.
A practical guide to choosing your channel, understanding the setup and preparing for a quote.
Choose your first use case, such as a booking confirmation, then identify the software that will hold customer details. You can enquire before you have an application or developer.
Tell us which booking, order or customer system you use and what should trigger a message. An existing connector may help; a custom connection may need a developer.
Plan which location appears in each message, where replies go and who owns the customer record. Include your existing sites when defining the connection.
The service, software and setup questions worth settling before you start.
Yes. SMS API and WhatsApp Business API access are available independently. You don’t need C9 internet, business phones, Managed IT or another C9 service.
SMS reaches a mobile number without a separate messaging app and can receive replies with the right number and software. WhatsApp requires customers to use WhatsApp and can add media to a conversation. Choose around your audience, message and reply workflow.
You can enquire before choosing software. Tell us what should trigger a message and who will handle replies. You’ll need to select an application with a suitable connector or arrange a developer; API access alone does not provide an inbox or campaign builder.
Share your application name, version and any messaging connector or API documentation. Check whether the connector works with the API you plan to buy. If there is no suitable connector, a developer will need to build and maintain the connection.
An example message, the intended recipients and your preferred channel are a useful start. If you know them, add recipient countries, approximate monthly volume, your software and any sender or reply requirements.
Include all relevant sites when you enquire. Identify which location should appear in messages, where replies should go and who owns the customer records. The software and connection need to support that workflow.
Agree the service scope, software connection and ownership of replies. Test the message content, recipient details, triggers and supported status handling before using the workflow with customers.
Share your use case. We can discuss the channel and what a connection would involve.
Send your requirements to C9 with email as your preferred contact method. Use the discussion to establish the API fit, pricing and work needed before placing an order.
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