Engage Digital | Managing messages in Inbox
Now let’s discuss how to manage your messages in Inbox. The Inbox allows you to manage your messages by grouping them into folders so you can easily look up, respond, and organize messages from customers.
When a new message is received, it will be routed to its designated folder. For example, new chat messages from Facebook are routed to that source folder. You can easily look up a message by scanning through the mailbox source folder or by using the search function and filters.
To better manage and organize messages, you can use message action items to perform tasks such as categorize messages, mute messages, and more. We will discuss how to access these action items later on.
Searching for messages
Let’s discuss how to use the search function of the Inbox. The search function allows agents to search for message threads according to search criterias such as content, categories or dates.
The search bar is located at the top of the left panel. To look up a message, simply type in a keyword inside the search bar and press Enter. The search result that matches the criteria will populate under the search folder.
In addition, the search bar has a filter option that allows you to filter messages from certain agents or identities. This option is useful when you want to identify particular messages when there have been multiple agents responding to a customer.
Search assistant in Inbox
Now let’s discuss how to use the search assistant. At the right side of the search bar, you will see a triangular icon that enables you to perform an advanced search. When you click this, the Search assistant window will pop-up. This allows you to filter the search result of the messages based on a set of conditions that you can enter in the search criteria fields.
You’ll find the following search filters when using the search assistant:
- Text: Search for specific keywords
- Status in: Search by the status of the message. Options include Agent message, Agent reply, Assigned, Ignored, New, and Replied
- Source: Search by the source(s) or digital channel from which the messages came from
- Approval required: Choose whether you want to search for messages that required supervisor approval (Yes) or not (No) before the message was sent
- Categorized: Choose whether or not to search for a message by a specific category. If Yes is selected, you can use the following category search filters:
- Categorized in: Select one or more category the message belongs to
- Also categorized in: Select another category the message belongs to
- Not categorized in: Select one or more category the message doesn’t belong to
- Assigned: Choose whether to filter the search by cases (Yes) or not (No). If activated, you can use the following category search filters:
- Assigned to: Select which agent the message is assigned to
- Assigned to: Select which team the message is assigned to
- Status: Select the message workflow status. Options include Open, Active, Deferred, or Closed
- Dates: Choose the start and end date in their respective fields. The date search filters are defined below:
- Last content of the thread after: Displays the threads whose first content was posted after the specified date
- Last content of the thread before: Displays the threads whose last post was posted before the specified date
- First content of the thread after: Displays the threads whose first content was posted after the specified date
- First content of the thread before: Displays the threads whose first content was posted before the specified date
- Satisfaction: Choose to filter messages by if the message resulted in customer satisfaction (Yes) or not (No)
Message action items in Inbox
Message action items can be used to respond to customer messages, transfer interactions, edit replies, and more. While some elements of the Inbox and Routing mode may differ, some message action items you see in Inbox can also be available in Routing mode.
It’s important to be familiar with these action items so you can respond to customers and categorize their messages efficiently. The options below may or may not be available for you depending on how your admin configures your permissions.
In the Inbox, to access the action items for a message, simply hover your mouse over the message in the message thread panel at far right and the action items will appear to the left of the message.
You can also hover over the top right corner under your agent initials to reveal action items for the entire conversation.
The following list includes some of the action items and their definitions that might be available to you:
- Engage: Indicated by a rightward arrow and square icon, this allows you to reply to a message. This action will reopen cases that are already closed or solved
- Reply: Indicated by a leftward arrow icon, this allows you reply to an email message. Once clicked, the Reply window for the email will open. Please note that this action item is only applicable to email responses
- Ignore: Indicated by an archive icon, this ignores all future messages in the same message thread
- Mute: Indicated by a speaker and x mark icon, this mutes all future messages in the same message thread
- Approve: Approves a message before sending it to the customer. This only applies to messages that require supervisor approval
- Edit: Allows you to edit sent messages in the message thread window
- Categorize thread: Indicated by a tag icon, this allows you to categorize the message and move to a different folder. Once clicked, the Categorize window will pop-up where you can select a category
- Cancel case: Cancels a case if no action is required
- Defer: Indicated by a clock icon, this delays a response to the message for a specified time period
- Assign: Assigns the case to another agent
- Reassign: Reassigns the case to another agent
- Transfer: Indicated by a rightward icon, this transfers the message to another team or agent
- Solve: Indicated by a check mark icon, this marks the case as solved
- View audit log: Indicated by a notepad icon, this opens the Audit log window, which displays all messages and activity for all cases
- Lock thread: Indicated by a lock icon, this will close and lock the message thread. You can’t reply to a locked thread
- Unlock thread: Indicated by a lock icon, this unlocks the message thread
- Change language: Allows you to switch to a different language setting. Once clicked, the Message language edition window will open up where you can select your preferred language
- Extra actions: Indicated by a three-dot menu icon, this allows you to see other action items that you can do for a message. Some of the action items enumerated above can be accessed here, depending on how it’s configured by your admin
Additional message action items
Some action items for your messages may be unique to some sources and may not be available on others. For example, you might encounter an action item in Twitter that allows you to republish content, but this action may not be available for email responses.
Below are the list of some additional action items you may encounter when managing customer messages:
- Publish: Publishes content on a digital channel
- Unpublish: Unpublishes content posted on a digital channel
- Follow: Follows the customer and see their content feed
- Unfollow: Unfollows the customer
- Like: Likes the message
- Unlike: Unlikes a liked message
- Retweet: Retweets a customer’s tweet
- Permalink: Redirects you to view the message on its source platform
Engaging with a message
Let’s discuss the steps on how to respond to a customer’s message. Once the customer sends a message, it is routed into a specified folder in the Inbox according to the routing rules set by your administrator. Before you can reply to the message of a customer, you need to assign that message to yourself by clicking the Engage rightward arrow and square icon.
Follow these steps to engage with a message:
1. Navigate to Inbox via the left-hand navigation bar
2. Select the preferred mailbox folder from the left panel
3. Click on a message you want to respond to and the message thread will appear in the far right panel
4. Hover over the message and click the Engage rightward arrow and square icon
5. Enter your response in the message window
6. Click Send
Each message has a status indicating whether it has been processed or not. Once you click the Engage rightward arrow and square icon, the message status changes from New to Assigned. In this way, it prevents other agents from working on the same message.
When replying to a message, there are a couple of icons under the reply text box next to the Send button.
Message options
When replying to a message, there are a couple of icons under the reply text box next to the Send button. You can use the following options when replying to a message:
- Emoji: Indicated by a smiley face icon, this allows you to add an emoji to your replies by selecting one from the pop-up window
- Attach file: Indicated by a paperclip icon, this allows you to add an attachment by selecting a file from your computer
- Request approval: Indicated by a person in a circle icon, this allows you to request approval from a supervisor before sending. The request approval icon will grey out once activated
Replying to an email
An agent can reply to an email in the same way as a message by using the action items. However, for email replies, a separate window will pop-up for you to type in your response.
Follow these steps to reply to an email:
1. Navigate to Inbox via the left-hand navigation bar
2. Select the desired mailbox folder
3. Click on the message to which you’d like to reply
4. Hover over the message and click the Reply leftward arrow button
5. Fill out the fields as desired (see below for more info)
6. Enter your response in the message window
7. Click Send
When replying to an email message, there are a couple of options available for you in the Reply window. Similar to a regular email, a format menu toolbar, which controls your font's properties like bullets and numbering, can be accessed on top of the reply text box.
At the bottom left of the Reply window, there are a couple of icons you can use in replying to a message:
- Attach file: Indicated by a paperclip icon, this lets you add an attachment by selecting a file from your computer
- Formatting: Indicated by a slash inside an open angle bracket icon, click this to turn on/off the font format toolbar
- Reply assistant: Indicated by a feather pen icon, click this to enable the reply assistant, which will appear to the right of the Reply window. The reply assistant allows an agent to reply quickly to a customer with knowledge base replies and similar question replies.
- Preview: Indicated by an eye icon, this allows you to preview the message before sending
- Request Approval: Indicated by a person icon, this activates the request approval button to allow messages to be approved by a supervisor before sending. The request approval icon will be grayed out once activated
Reply assistant in Inbox
The reply assistant allows an agent to respond using knowledge base replies and similar question replies by just typing in a keyword. Using the Inbox, an agent may type in a keyword in the reply text box and the pre-formatted message of the knowledge base or similar question reply will autofill in the text box.
The reply assistant is created and configured by your administrator. This is helpful when answering repeated inquiries from customers requiring the same responses.
In addition to using the reply assistant in the Reply window, you can also use it by typing text into the message field at the bottom of the message thread. The reply assistant will populate text options that you can select from in a pop-up window above the field.
The reply assistant is also available for you in Routing mode. To find out more, visit Managing tasks in Routing mode.
Assigning a message
An agent can assign or reassign a message to another agent with a specific skill set if needed. For example, the customer needs to speak to a Spanish speaking agent, you can reassign that message to an agent with that skill set. A supervisor can also reassign a message to another agent.
To assign a message to another agent, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to Inbox via the left-hand navigation bar
2. Selected the desired mailbox folder
3. Click on the message you’d like to assign
4. Hover over the message and click the three-dot icon that appears at far right
5. Select Assign to open the Reassign case modal window
6. Select the agent name from the dropdown menu
7. Click Save
Solving a case
Solving a case allows you to mark the case as complete. An agent must ensure that all the customers’ inquiries and concerns are addressed before marking the message thread as solved. Depending on how it’s configured by your admin, you might be prompted to enter a disposition category to mark the outcome of the case.
To solve a case with disposition, take these steps:
1. Navigate to Inbox via the left-hand navigation bar
2. Selected the desired mailbox folder
3. Click on the message you’d like to solve
4. Hover over the message and click the Solve checkmark icon to open the Disposition modal window
5. Select a category from the dropdown menu
6. Enter any notes (optional)
7. Click Save
If no disposition is needed, once you click Solve, the message will be closed and a pop-up message with a prompt ‘case complete’ will appear. Please note that if the message thread contains unread messages and you mark it as Solve, the unread messages will be automatically ignored.
Deferring a message
An agent can delay a response to a message for a specified time period. Deferring a message can help you reschedule your response to a customer at a later time.
To defer a message via the Inbox, follow these steps:
1. Navigate to Inbox via the left-hand navigation bar
2. Selected the desired mailbox folder
3. Click on the message thread you’d like to defer
4. Hover over the message and click the Defer clock icon
5. Select a time or date from the dropdown menu
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