I recently wrapped up a project that reminded me why automation can be such a game-changer for businesses drowning in manual processes. By building a workflow that automatically routes Twilio SMS messages to department-specific Slack channels, I helped a client save approximately 2 hours every week and completely eliminate missed messages. It was one of those satisfying builds where you can literally see the stress leaving people’s faces during the demo.
Why It Matters: The Bottleneck of Manual Message Forwarding
Before we implemented this solution, my client was stuck in a frustrating cycle. Text messages from customers and field teams would arrive through their Twilio number, but then someone had to manually check, interpret, and forward each message to the appropriate Slack channel.
“We’re missing messages constantly,” the operations lead told me during our initial call. “By the time we realize a customer has texted us, it’s sometimes been hours. Our field teams are especially frustrated because they need quick answers while on site.”
In a business where rapid response can make or break customer satisfaction, this manual bottleneck was more than an inconvenience—it was actively damaging relationships. The team was spending valuable time playing telephone operator instead of actually addressing customer needs.
Client & Context: Turning Communication Chaos into Clarity
My client runs a service business with multiple departments handling different aspects of customer requests. They’d smartly consolidated external communications through a Twilio phone number, allowing customers and field teams to text rather than call for many routine matters.
What they needed was equally smart routing on the back end: a system that could instantly determine which department needed to see each message, post it to the right Slack channel, and do all this without requiring technical intervention for future tweaks or updates.
“We need something that just works,” the client emphasized. “And something we can adjust ourselves as our team grows or if we need to change how we route certain messages.”
Architecture & Tools: The Automation Backbone
To build this solution, I assembled a fairly straightforward but powerful tech stack:
- Twilio: This handled all the inbound SMS traffic and served as the trigger point for our automation.
- Slack API: Allowed us to programmatically post messages into specific department channels.
- Make (formerly Integromat): I used this as our orchestration layer. If you haven’t used Make before, think of it as a visual workflow builder that connects different services and applies conditional logic.
- Webhooks: These were crucial for establishing the real-time bridge from Twilio into our Make workflow.
- Conditional filtering: The secret sauce that examines message content or sender information to determine where each message should go.
The beauty of this setup is that each component does exactly what it’s best at. Twilio excels at SMS handling, Slack is where the team already lives, and Make provides the flexible glue between them.
Implementation Highlights: From Plan to Production
I always prototype complex integrations in my own environment first, especially when working with webhook triggers that I can’t easily debug once deployed. This approach helped catch several edge cases early—like how Make handles multi-part SMS messages differently than expected.
The implementation followed these key steps:
- Configured Twilio to send incoming SMS data to a dedicated Make webhook URL
- Built a parser in Make to extract the important details: sender phone number, message content, timestamp
- Created conditional routing logic based on two approaches:
- Content-based routing (e.g., messages containing “invoice” route to accounting)
- Sender-based routing (e.g., known field team numbers route to operations)
- Connected to Slack API to post formatted messages to the appropriate channels, including sender context
- Added error handling and notification paths for messages that didn’t match any defined rules
I hit a few interesting challenges along the way. First was my own muscle memory—I’d been deep in n8n projects for months, and Make’s interface, while similar in concept, has its own quirks and patterns. I found myself hunting for functions that were in different places than I expected. It’s like driving a rental car where everything is just slightly… off.
The bigger hurdle was helping my non-technical client securely set up the required API credentials. Rather than drowning them in documentation links, I recorded a custom 10-minute video walkthrough showing exactly how to generate and safely store Twilio and Slack API keys. This extra step saved countless back-and-forth emails and gave them confidence in managing their own security.
I intentionally built the routing rules to be variable-based rather than hardcoded. This means the client can add new rules or modify existing ones without needing to understand the underlying workflow logic—they just update a simple table of “if this, then that” mappings.
Metrics & Feedback: Tangible Impact
The results were immediate and measurable:
- Time Savings: The team reclaimed approximately 2 hours per week previously spent on manual message forwarding.
- Accuracy: During the first 30 days, we tracked a 100% correct delivery rate to the appropriate departments.
- Responsiveness: The “missed response” rate dropped to zero, compared to several incidents per week before.
- Ownership: Within two weeks, the client was confidently adjusting routing rules without my involvement.
“This feels like we hired a full-time message router who never sleeps or takes breaks,” the operations lead told me after implementation. “And the best part is we control exactly how it works.”
Lessons Learned: Automation is Equal Parts Tech and Teaching
This project reinforced several important lessons:
First, platform flexibility matters. Even though I’ve built dozens of automations, switching between tools like n8n and Make requires a mental reset. Each platform has its own approach to similar problems, and what’s intuitive in one isn’t always obvious in another.
Second, helping clients with secure API management is as valuable as the technical build itself. Many small businesses recognize the value of automation but get intimidated by terms like “API keys” and “webhooks.” Taking time to demystify these concepts—whether through custom walkthroughs or simplified interfaces—builds confidence and ensures long-term success.
Finally, I was reminded that variable-based routing will almost always beat hardcoded approaches for maintainability. The extra hour spent building a flexible rule system saved countless hours of future maintenance and gave the client true ownership of their solution.
Your Turn—What Would You Automate?
I’m curious: what’s one message or communication flow in your business that should route itself? Maybe it’s customer inquiries, internal requests, or alerts that always seem to land in the wrong inbox first.
The most valuable automation opportunities often hide in those “Oh, I’ll just quickly forward this” moments that actually consume hours of collective time each week. Drop a comment about your routing pain points—I’d love to hear what you’re dealing with and bounce around some automation ideas!
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