Best Practices for switching to Notificare

Switching from one marketing platform to another might seem overwhelming at first. Especially when switching to Notificare, where a push, email, or SMS provider can be replaced with one single platform. But it doesn't have to be.

Depending on the channels you'll use, there are certain steps you need to take before you can start adding value to your brand, by using our powerful marketing automation capabilities. In this post, we will cover what we consider mandatory steps for a smooth transition.

Certificates, DNS & Mobile Numbers

When switching to a new platform, there are a few steps you need to take. In most cases, this requires configuring how you will set up services like push, email, SMS, or digital cards. It usually means enabling certain services provided by Apple, Google, or Huawei, configuring DNS records for your domain or provisioning mobile phone numbers.

App Push

This kind of functionality is provided by Apple's APNS, Google's FCM, or Huawei's HMS. Each platform handles this kind of functionality differently, but in all cases, this usually means enabling access to push messaging in the platform's developer portals. For Apple's Push Notification Service, this can be done by generating an SSL Certificate or by creating an App Auth Key.

For Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging, you'll need to generate a server authorization key. Information about this is described in detail on this page.

Huawei provides a similar type of messaging service for Android devices powered with Huawei Mobile Services, and this is also described in detail on this page.

Only when these services are enabled and you've downloaded or saved the relevant certificates or keys needed, you can upload that information into Notificare, which we will use to send messages on your behalf. If you are migrating from other services, you simply need to upload those same certificates, auth keys, or server keys and identifiers you're already using with your old provider.

Web Push

For web push notifications, Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Edge use the same kind of technology to provide remote notifications for web apps. To simplify this process, we use VAPID keys, which allow us to generate specific authentication keys that enable our platform to send notifications to your website's subscribers. For those of you migrating from other providers, we will also give you the opportunity to configure existing VAPID credentials. This process is described in detail on this page.

For Safari desktop, this works slightly differently. For Safari, you need to generate a Website Push ID Certificate, which works pretty much the same way as it does for APNS. This is described in detail in this page. Once again, if you're migrating from another provider, you can use the current certificate you're already using.

Email

To start with email messaging in Notificare, you will always need to configure new DNS records for your existing domain or any new domain or sub-domain you want to use for this purpose. These steps are better described on this page.

SMS

Pretty much the same way, before we can provide you with the ability to send text messages to your audience, you will need to provision at least one mobile phone number in our platform. These steps are also described on this page.

Porting existing phone numbers is also possible, but this might become a lengthy process requiring our support team'sintervention, as each country has its own rules and requirements.

Digital Cards

If you're planning to use Notificare to generate Apple Wallet and Google Pay cards, you will also be able to upload the necessary credentials that enable our platform to use these services. To generate Apple's Wallet cards, you'll need a Pass Type ID and a Pass Type ID Certificate, and this is described here.

For Google Pay cards, you'll need access to the Google Pay API. More information about this can be found here.

Once again, if you migrate from other providers, the same certificates or credentials can be used in Notificare.

Importing Data

Another important step, when switching to Notificare, is considering to import or not existing data. In most cases, importing existing data, ensures a smooth transition, where marketing teams can create new messaging campaigns for their existing audience from the get-go. For this step, we recommend using our powerful importing capabilities, where you can use CSV files to migrate your existing data to Notificare.

User Profiles

In Notificare, user profiles allow you to create entities that can then include as many push devices, email contacts, phone numbers or digital cards as you need. It requires only one single bit of information, a user identifier. You can also include the username, which can be used later as a placeholder in your messaging content. This kind of data is probably already available in your CRM system and can be imported as is without any constraints. More information about importing users can be found here.

Push Devices, Email Contacts or Phone Numbers

This data is essential in order to reach users via push notifications, email or text messages. Most providers allow you to export this data at any time, which you can then use to import into Notificare. In Notificare, you can even use this import job to import user profiles, making the step mentioned above optional. More information about this can be found on this page.

User Data

In some cases, user profiles are also be enriched with other information that will make audience selection much more powerful. For those organizations with rich sets of user data, you can also use this import job to import user data and associate it with all the user profiles you've initially created.

Digital Cards

Digital cards can also be imported in one single batch, using this same kind of functionality. Depending on the data they contain, the information needed may vary. More information about this kind of import job can be found here.

Segmentation

It is also possible that you've already categorized your audience into different cohorts of users. In Notificare, these user-level categories are called Segments. You can use an import job to add users into different categories too, and this step is described in more detail on this page.

SDK & API Implementation

Of course, it is also important to mention that it is imperative that you've correctly implemented our free and open-source libraries for Android, iOS, or Web. This includes a collection of plugins for popular frameworks like React Native, Flutter, Cordova, and Ionic. More information about our SDK can be found here.

There are also cases where some kind of server-level integration might be required. For example, you might want to implement server-side event tracking in order to enable transactional messaging or segmentation. For these cases, it is also a great idea to get acquainted with our APIs.

Gain Knowledge

Finally, it's important to mention that we are there for you every step of the way. From a helpful knowledge center to word-class technical support or a team of marketing experts, we will always be there when you need us most. You can even join one of our monthly workshops or take advantage of our professional services team. We will ensure that this transition goes as smoothly as you would expect.

Ready to Switch?

We are ready to welcome you! If you would like to see all these capabilities, don't hesitate and create a demo app today. Our sales team will also be happy to show you around and coordinate your migration with our support engineers.