Group Messaging for Business

This unit covers the user functionality behind Group Messaging for Business. You have more specific information about Messaging, SMS and WhatsApp in the previous units.

With Group Messaging, there’s no need to shift away from traditional text messaging. This feature allows seamless communication among three or more participants via text. Each participant has a distinct phone number and can read and reply to messages shared with the entire group.

Note: This functionality is only compatible with phone numbers based in the US and Canada. Phone numbers from other countries will still work but will be limited to traditional SMS functionality.

How does it work?

Group Messaging differ from mass texts, it works a lot like the group chats found on popular apps for group messaging, such as Slack, WhatsApp, or iMessage. Every recipient can read all the correspondence in the group, and when they respond, everyone sees it.

The Fastcall Group Messaging for Business tool, even allow you to bring in parties from multiple channels. For example, you could have a Group Messaging Conversation between one Fastcall user and 2 or more external participants using a messaging application.

This functionality enables users to integrate Group Messaging into applications and workflows. For example, it can be used to incorporate Group Messaging into Salesforce, allowing customers and employees to start Group Messaging conversations directly from a chat window instead of relying on their mobile devices.

Benefits

• Enhanced Collaboration – Group Messaging facilitates seamless communication among team members, departments, or stakeholders, improving coordination and decision-making.
• Improved Customer Engagement – Engage with multiple customers or prospects simultaneously, creating dynamic interactions that feel personal and responsive.
• Streamlined Communication – Share updates, announcements, or important information with a group quickly and efficiently, reducing the need for individual messages or follow-ups.
• Cross-Platform Connectivity – Allow participants from different platforms to join the same group, ensuring everyone stays connected regardless of their device.
• Scalability – Whether your business is large or small, MMS group messaging adapts to your needs, allowing you to manage communications effectively across varying group sizes.
• Enhanced Customer Support – Resolve customer queries faster by involving multiple team members in a single conversation, ensuring a comprehensive and timely response.
• Time and Cost Efficiency – Reduce the time spent on individual messaging while keeping communication costs manageable with group messaging solutions.
• Customizable Workflows – Create customized workflows, making it easier for employees and customers to stay connected.
• Competitive Advantage – By leveraging Group Messaging, your business can stay ahead of competitors who rely on slower or less interactive communication methods.

Group Messaging for Business Setup

To set up Group Messaging for Business, navigate to:

1. Fastcall Settings > User Phones (or Manage Phone Numbers).
2. Select Phone Details for the desired number.
3. In the Messaging Settings section, enable Group Chat for Business.

Start a new Group Messaging Chat

Softphone

To create a new Group Chat in the softphone, follow these steps:

1. Open the Softphone.
2. Create a New Conversation with any Record/Phone Number.
3. Click add participant button.
4. Add participants by selecting one of the following options: choose from existing records or dial a phone number manually.
5. Click Start Conversation button.
6. Write a message and send it to the group.

Once the group is created, all the external participants will successfully receive messages sent by the Fastcall User and will be able to view the complete group composition in the participant list.
The same will happen if the group is started from an external device, such as a mobile phone. The Fastcall User will see the messages and all the participants in the softphone.

Also, in the Fastcall softphone’s Recent Conversations view, you can identify participants involved in a Group Chat by observing the participant icons displayed to the left of each entry. Up to four participant icons are shown, and hovering your cursor over these icons will reveal a tooltip listing all participants in the conversation.

In the example above, John Bond’s name appears in the conversation title because he is the “related record”—the record from which or through which the conversation was initiated. This refers to an external party’s record, such as a Contact.

Adding a new participant to the group initiates a new conversation that includes the newly added participant along with all existing members.

Salesforce Mobile

To create a new Group Chat in the Salesforce Mobile App, follow these steps:

1. Open the Salesforce mobile app.
2. Open any Record
3. Click the “Create Conversation” button or the “+” button to start a new conversation.
4. Click the add participant button.
5. Add participants by selecting one of the following options: choose from existing records or dial a phone number manually.
6. Click Start Conversation button.
7. Write a message and send it to the group.

Multiple Fastcall Agents in Group Chats

The Fastcall’s Group Chat feature facilitates seamless communication with multiple external participants by adding them using their phone numbers. The system also supports the inclusion of multiple Fastcall agents under specific conditions:

• Adding Fastcall Agents as Fastcall Users: The initial Fastcall agent can incorporate additional agents into the group chat by selecting the “Add Participant” option in the Participants List sidebar and choosing them as Fastcall Users. This method ensures that all agents can actively participate in the conversation.
• Assigning a Group Number as Caller ID: If the conversation’s Caller ID is set to a phone number associated with a Group rather than an individual User, all members of that Group can view and send messages within the conversation.

Unified Caller ID for multiple Fastcall Users:

When multiple Fastcall agents are added as Fastcall Users (not via their provisioned phone numbers), all messages sent to external participants will display the same Caller ID—the phone number associated with the Conversation. This ensures a consistent point of contact for external participants.

The system does NOT support adding additional Fastcall Users to the conversation by treating their Fastcall-provisioned phone numbers as external participants. This approach is incompatible with the current Group Chat functionality.

When an external user initiates a Group Chat in a messaging application and includes two Fastcall Users by adding their Fastcall-provisioned phone numbers, the system will not function as intended. The platform supports only one Fastcall-provisioned phone number within a Group Chat.

Last updated: Fastcall v8.9.5, 2025-05-13