SPC Connect notifications

Product Version(s): SPC Connect 3.0

Topic last updated: January 2020

SPC Connect can send two types of notification to users:

Event notifications – email/push notifications alerting system users in the case of specific panel events, for example, alarms. Panel users can use the SPC Connect app or website to select which event notifications they want to receive.
System user notifications – installers can send email and push notifications to users in specific site groups, for example, to advise of scheduled maintenance or to upsell new services/features. Panel users can use the SPC Connect app or website to opt in or opt out of system user notifications. Messages can be configured in multiple languages: in this case, a user will receive the message in their preferred language where available.

How do I send email/push notifications to my customers using SPC Connect?

Configure a system user notification targeting panel users in a particular site group. You can target Panel Managers only or all panel users. Emails are sent to the email address registered for the system user in SPC Connect; push notifications are sent to devices on which system users have logged in to the SPC Connect app. You can configure language-specific notifications to communicate with each user in their preferred language.

To configure a system user notification:

Click Operations > Company Operations, then click Go beside System User Notifications.
On the System User Notifications page, click Add Notification .
On the System User Notification Setup page, specify the following notification details and click Save when done:
- The Start Date and End Date for the date range during which the notification is valid.
- Whether to Send Email and/or Send Push Notification.
- The Notification Type.
- Up to three site groups for which the notification is applicable.
  
  Note: A given user will receive at most one email and one push notification for a configured notification, even if the user has multiple panels in the selected site group(s).
- Whether to target Panel Managers Only.
- Under Default Language, specify the default message details (title, description, image, and call-to-action text and URL).
  
  Note: You can add further sets of language-specific message details fields by clicking Add new language.

Who can configure notifications?

An installer with access to the site (installer and site need to be part of a site group) and the System User Notifications installer right enabled.

Why did my customer not receive a notification from SPC Connect?

If a user says they didn't receive a notification, you should check:

Whether SPC Connect is successfully sending notifications of that type.
Whether the user has enabled/disabled that type of notification.

Note:Vanderbilt is not responsible for routing/delivery problems with third party services that handle email and push notifications after leaving SPC Connect.

To view a log of all email and push notifications sent by SPC Connect (including panel events, system user notifications, and SPC Connect installer account notifications), check the Email log and Push Notification Log from the Operations > Company Operations page.

To verify that SPC Connect is sending messages for a specific system user notification:

Go to the Operations > Company Operations page, then click Go beside System User Notifications.
On the System User Notifications page, locate the system notification of interest and check the figures shown under Total Notifications Sent and Notifications Clicked %. These numbers should indicate whether notifications are being sent and received generally.
Click View Statistics for a notification on the System User Notifications page to open the System User Notification Statistics page where you can see a breakdown of when notifications were sent and which users retrieved/clicked each one.

If a user has not received an email notification, even though SPC Connect indicates that the notification was sent, check:

Is their email address is correctly registered in SPC Connect?
Have messages been filtered to their Spam/Junk folder.

If a user has not received a push notification, even though SPC Connect indicates that the notification was sent, check:

Do they have the SPC Connect app installed on their device? Push notifications can only be sent to devices running the SPC Connect app version 1.5 or later. If they have more than one device, the notification may have gone to one they are not checking.
Have they recently updated the SPC Connect app? When a user updates the app, push notifications are suspended until they log in to the new version.
Are push notifications from the SPC Connect app disabled on their device? In particular, be aware that if an iOS/Android device goes into low power/power saving mode, all push notifications on the device may be temporarily disabled.
Do they have an active data plan with sufficient credit? Or does the WiFi network they're connected to allow push notifications?

How can I analyse the effectiveness of system user notification?

SPC Connect provides basic statistics on the number of times a notification was sent, whether the notifications were retrieved and whether calls-to-action in notifications were clicked. You can download this data in XML format to perform more complex analysis in third party software. For example, you might want to compare the effectiveness of two campaigns that use different wording, or that were run at different times of the year.

To download engagement statistics in XML format:

Go to the Operations > Company Operations page, then click Go beside System User Notifications.
On the System User Notifications page, click View Statistics for the system notification of interest.
On the System User Notification Statistics page, click Download to XML .

What messages are included in the push notification log?

The push notification log operation is a log of push notifications sent from SPC Connect to system users with panels being managed by the company, including panel event notifications and system user notifications. Log entries are logged to the server memory only.

The log is limited to 5000 entries and only contains push notifications that have been sent in the last 72 hours

The log does not include push notifications that are not relevant to the company.

Who can see the push notification log?

To see the push notification log, an installer must be registered to the company and have the Push Notification Log installer right enabled.