Do you ever find yourself typing the same thing over and over again? If you do, you are not alone. No matter what type of organization or business you are associated with, there will generally be the usual common questions that you will ask each and every client. One of the best examples of this is customer service agents working in a busy contact center or support team.
Messaging is a key element for contact centers that can include different mediums such as live chat, SMS, and WhatsApp. Each and every one of the messages received will generally require similar questions to be asked. For example, an agent could ask for a customer's name, account number, phone number, or other contact details to look up the relevant records. Now imagine having to type out the same question hundreds of times a day.
3CX Version 18, Update 5 includes a new message template facility to allow quick responses to messages. These templates can be used during any chat conversation including SMS, WhatsApp, website live chat, or internal conversations with single agents or groups of agents. Let's take a look at this new feature in more depth.
Manager permissions are required for setup
The creation of quick reply templates is a super easy task for any user with ‘Manager’ permissions. To set these permissions:
StartUP
- Navigate to "Office settings" and "Users"
- Click on the pencil icon to edit an existing user or click on the "+ Add user" button if you are creating a new user
- Under the 'Role' heading, click the drop-down list and select "Manager"
- Click "Save"
Dedicated instance
- Log into the 3CX Management Console and navigate to "Users"
- Select your user and navigate to the "Rights" tab
- Under the 'Role' heading, click the drop-down list and select "Manager"
- Click "OK"
New template icon in the chat bar
Once a manager has access, simply click on any chat message and then click on the 'Template' icon in the response bar. Now you will be able to click the ‘+ Add category’ button to start setting up your templates and organizational structure.
Keep them organized and easy to find
Imagine you have a customer support team of 100 different agents all working in different departments or teams (e.g sales and support). Their quick response template requirements will all be different. That is why we created template categories. By designating each template into a separate category, agents will be able to view their team's responses easily.
16 different language categories
Now imagine those 100 team members servicing customer queries across all time zones and in different languages. Quick reply messages can not only be split up into categories but also created in 16 different language categories. This is a key component as responses in different lands will have a different tone or manner when responding.
Quick lookup search box
Sorting templates into categories and languages is a great way to keep all of your responses organized. However, as each template is able to be given a template name, agents can use the search box to find the desired message quicker. The search box doesn't just search template titles but also the message text. This means that an agent can obtain the relevant information like the customer name, or other contact information quicker in order to resolve the query.
Placeholders give it a personal touch
The idea behind creating quick response templates is to service customer requests quicker. But with speed, the client/visitor could get the feeling they are just being fed canned responses by some chatbot. Personalized placeholders will help with this. By setting up your templates to include these placeholders, you are able to quickly and easily make the customer feel valued and put that personal touch back into the conversation. Available placeholders are:
- %CustomerName% will be replaced with the name of the contact.
- %CustomerEmail% will be replaced with the email of the contact.
- %AgentName% will be replaced with the name of the agent.
- %AgentEmail% will be replaced with the email of the agent.
- %AgentPhone% will be replaced with the phone of the agent.
So for example, Joe Schmoe has sent a WhatsApp text message to a company. The first agent to respond clicks the 'Take' button and then selects the 'New lead' welcome message template which has been set up as:
Hi %CustomerName%, thanks for reaching out to Deli Devine, my name is %AgentName%, how can I help?
Joe would then get the following message.
Hi Joe Schmoe, thanks for reaching out to Deli Devine, my name is Brandon Moran, how can I help?
Click, edit & send
An agent, however, does not have to use all the content of a templated response. Once a response has been clicked on, the message is not immediately sent. The response bar is populated with the message which then allows an agent to amend the response if needed.
Save time. Upgrade to V18 U5 now
It's clear that when implemented correctly, quick response message templates are a valuable tool. 3CX Version 18, Update 5 doesn't just include this template feature. It also boasts an improved and simplified SMS / MMS configuration, along with the addition of WhatsApp integration.
Existing 3CX dedicated instance administrators should upgrade to Update 5 without delay. If you are new to 3CX, why not get it free forever for up to 10 users with 3CX StartUP.
