Key Terms
Key Terms
Business = Business/Law Firm who invested in Hona
Hona (Business) Org = Hona Account owned by the Business
Business User = An individual account within a Hona Business Org
Just like there are many employees at 1 Business, there are many Users in 1 Hona Org. Which Hona features and settings are accessible to each User is determined by their User Role.
Client = Client of the Business
End-user of Hona Client and its features
Lead = potential Client of the Business
Hona Client = Hona Client Portal interface where Clients can interact with Hona features
Business Users build Hona Client features in their Hona Business Org
Important to know in general:
"Project" is used interchangeably with "case" and "matter"
CMS = Case Management Software (often used interchangeably with CRM)
Messages = 2-way messages sent through Hona's 2-Way Messaging feature (typically sent via text)
Notifications = messages sent to the Client to notify them of Hona features you have configured (Project Type case updates, Forms, E-Signature requests, Review requests, etc). These are sent based on the Client's Notification Preferences.
Overview
Congratulations! You're ready to start setting up your Hona 2-Way Messaging feature. The following support article will lay the foundations for what you need to know about this feature. When you are ready, you can visit our support article for How to 2-Way Message to try it out yourself!
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What is Hona's 2-Way Messaging Feature?
Hona’s 2-Way Messaging feature is a tool that allows your Clients to message your Business directly. They typically do so by sending text (SMS) messages directly to the number they are receiving their Hona notifications from, but they also have the option to message you in their Hona Client Portal. Regardless of the method they choose, you are notified of these messages in your Hona Business Org, where you can also send your own messages.
If your Hona Business Org is integrated with your CMS/CRM, Hona will automatically "push" all inbound and outbound messaging history to log in your Client's case in your CMS/CRM. This ensures your Client communications remain consistent, secure, and documented by your Business without duplicative data entry or logging from your staff.
Understanding Your Hona Toll-Free Number
When you signed up with Hona, your Hona Business Org was automatically assigned a toll-free number through our phone carrier provider, Twilio. This is a phone number, unique to your Business, which your Clients receive notifications from and send messages to. This gives your Business and Clients a single, centralized phone number to manage SMS communications. Additionally, Hona allows you to configure a Voice Forwarding Number to ensure any calls placed to your Hona phone number are automatically redirected to a number of your choosing. Your Clients can therefore treat your Hona phone number as both a texting and calling number, while you receive their messages in your Hona Business Org and their calls to a number of your choice.
How to Enable 2-Way Messaging
Use the steps below to learn how to configure and enable Hona's 2-Way Messaging feature in your Hona Org.
From the side-bar menu in Hona, select Company Settings → Company Info
Scroll down until you find SMS Messaging (Visual below)
What should I put in the ___ field?
What should I put in the ___ field?
1. Toggle on or off to enable or disable Hona's 2-Way Messaging feature.
2. This field will display the SMS Phone Number which your Clients will receive SMS messages from (Typically your Hona Toll-Free Number).
3. Make sure to enter the Voice Forwarding Number of your choice. If your Clients attempt to call your SMS Phone number, we will forward their call to the phone number entered here automatically. This way you can treat your Hona number as both a texting and calling number for your Clients.
How to Create your Business Contact Card
The purpose of the "Contact Card" feature is to help your clients know it is you texting them. Enabling this will make it so a contact card automatically attaches to the first message sent to your client, encouraging them to save your contact for future communications.
Scroll up to find the Contact Card section and click on the pencil to edit and create your Contact Card.
Fill out the following fields to create your Contact Card:
What should I put in the ___ field?
What should I put in the ___ field?
Auto Send
Toggling this on will automatically send your Contact Card to the first message your client receives after toggled on. Each contact will only receive this card once. Updates made to this card will not cause it to re-send to your contacts, so be sure your information is accurate before toggling this feature on.
Phone
Your SMS Phone Number will automatically pre-populate here. If your number changes after you go live with Hona, you will want to make sure you update your Contact Card as well.
Name
This is where you will put in the name of your business. When your client saves the contact card in their phone, this is the name that will auto-fill as the name of your business's contact.
Email
If you would like to add an email to your contact card, you can add one here.
Upload Logo
To add a personal touch to your contact card, you can also upload a logo. This will automatically set as the "profile picture" of your contact in your client's phone. To make sure this formats well in your client's phone, we suggest using a square logo with a minimum size of 400x400.
FAQs
What if I want a different Hona number than the Toll-Free one I was automatically assigned?
What if I want a different Hona number than the Toll-Free one I was automatically assigned?
It is best to tell your Onboarding Manager as soon as possible when you begin onboarding. If you are already live with Hona and would like to switch your number, please submit a request to [email protected] and they will connect you with the appropriate resources.
Other than the toll-free number, your options are:
Purchase an area-code number:
If you would like to purchase a number that is specific to your area-code, let your Onboarding Manager know as soon as possible. They will go through your options and help re-configure your account.
Host your own number:
To read more about how this process works, please visit the support article on "How to Host Your Number with Hona." After reading this, please reach out to your Onboarding Manager or [email protected] to walk through this process and re-configure your account.
What countries can Hona text to?
What countries can Hona text to?
Hona is currently only able to deliver text messages to numbers of the following countries:
USA (+1)
Canada (+1)
Puerto Rico (+1)
Bahamas (+1-242)
Mexico (+52)
If your Clients reside outside of these countries, we can not guarantee that you will be able to text them using Hona's Two-Way Messaging. However, in most circumstances where Hona is unable to deliver a text, an e-mail will be sent as a backup method of reaching the customer.
Conclusion
Now that you've enabled Hona's 2-Way Messaging feature in your Hona Org, you're ready to start trying it out. To learn more about this, visit How to 2-Way Message. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please chat with our support team or email [email protected].