How to send a message to a customer
You can start a conversation with your customer from different areas of Shopmonkey. A great way to send messages to your customers is the Message Center that is available for Clever subscriptions and above. For more information on the Message Center check out our help article.
Messages Tab
From within any estimate, click on the Messages tab. Next, enter your message, then press Send to send the message via Email and/or Text SMS. It will use the customers preferred contact method and primary contact info from their customer details. For more information on preferred contacts and primary contact information check out our help article.
Here's a look at what your customer will see when receiving the message:
Via email:
Via text:
Customer Page
You can view the messages between your shop and your customer from your customer's page. Go to Lists > Customers, then click on the desired customer. From there, click on the Messages tab.
Note that in the example above you can see which order number each message is connected to (if applicable).
How to tell if a message was read
You can determine the delivery and read statuses of any message you have sent your customer by viewing the icons displayed at the bottom of the message.
For all email and SMS messages, hover over the message timestamp and you will see whether the message has been sent, delivered/failed, or read (seen).
Additionally, this information will be displayed in an estimate's Activity feed.
How to use additional Message features
There are some additional messaging features at your disposal that you can use when communicating with your customers.
Add File: To attach a file to your message, click on the Add File text, then choose the file to upload.
Internal Note: To write a message and/or upload a file within a message thread that will only be visible internally, click the Internal Note tab. Anything entered or uploaded here will not be seen by your customer. You can switch between viewing all Messages and Internal Notes by clicking the
Add Filter button.
Display on Estimates and Invoices: This toggle determines whether or not the message thread between you and your customer will appear on the printed and/or digital versions of an estimate or invoice.
How to use Message Templates
Save pre-made message templates so you can send commonly-sent messages to your customers with the click of a button.
To create, edit, or delete a message template, go to the Messages tab on an estimate or from the customer's page. Below the new message field, click on the More text, then click Manage Templates.
The Message Templates menu will appear. This menu allows you to edit or delete an existing template, or start a new one from scratch.
The Placeholders found at the bottom-right of the Message Templates menu tell Shopmonkey to automatically input the specific information present on your estimate.
For example, in the image above, the customer's First Name and the Year, Make, and Model of their vehicle will be auto-populated in the message as long as that information is already present in your estimate. The message this template produces will look like this:
Add Placeholders anywhere in the Subject or Message fields of the Message Templates menu. Any Placeholders in these fields will auto-populate with that estimate's information. Note: There will be blank spaces instead of Placeholders if the information doesn't apply:
Your message templates will be selectable from each new message field. If the message templates aren't visible, click the Show Templates Shortcuts text to reveal them. Likewise, clicking Hide will hide them.
From the Messages tab on an estimate or from the customer's page, click on the message template of your choosing to auto-populate the message field:
Still have questions? Feel free to reach out to us through the Chat Icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. Thanks for reading!