Workflow Trigger - Customer Replied

Understanding the Customer Replied Trigger

The Customer Replied trigger is an automation tool that activates a workflow whenever a contact sends a reply. This allows you to create immediate, consistent follow-up actions based on customer communication, helping you respond faster and manage conversations more effectively. You can further refine this trigger by applying filters so it only runs for replies that meet specific criteria, such as containing certain words or coming from a particular messaging channel.

Key Benefits

Utilizing this trigger offers several advantages for streamlining your operations.

• Immediate Engagement: Automatically launch follow-up actions the moment a customer responds, reducing response times.
• Precise Routing: Use filters to direct conversations to the appropriate team or specific workflow based on the content or source of the reply.
• Targeted Automation: Prevent workflows from running unnecessarily by setting conditions like keywords, contact tags, or the channel the reply was sent from.
• Channel-Specific Actions: Create distinct automation paths for replies received via different channels, such as SMS, email, or chat.

How to Set Up the Customer Replied Trigger

Follow these steps to configure the trigger within a workflow.

1. Navigate to Automations and then select Workflows.
2. Either create a new workflow or open an existing one for editing.
3. Click the + Add New Trigger button.
4. From the list of available triggers, choose Customer Replied.
5. Provide a clear and descriptive Trigger Name for easy identification later.
6. To narrow down when the workflow should run, click + Add Filters.
7. Select the filters that suit your needs from the available options:
   • Contains Phrase: The workflow will only run if the customer's reply includes specific words.
   • Exact Match Phrase: The workflow will only run if the customer's reply matches a phrase exactly.
   • Has Tag: The workflow will only run for contacts who have a specific tag.
   • Doesn't Have Tag: The workflow will only run for contacts who do not have a specific tag.
   • Intent Type: Uses language analysis to trigger the workflow based on the perceived intent of the reply, such as a question or a positive response.
   • Replied to Workflow: The workflow will only run if the contact is replying to a message sent by a specific, previously run workflow.
   • Reply Channel: The workflow will only run if the reply was received on a selected communication channel.
8. Click Save Trigger to confirm your settings.
9. Finally, add the desired actions to your workflow and Publish it to activate the automation.

Using the Reply Channel Filter

The Reply Channel filter is particularly useful for creating channel-specific automations. This is ideal when you want a workflow to run only for replies from a specific source, like SMS or email.

To apply this filter, select Reply Channel from the filter list and then choose the desired channel.

Configuring for All-in-One Chat

If you select All-in-One Chat as the Reply Channel, additional filtering options will appear to provide more granular control.

1. Set the Reply Channel filter to All-in-One Chat.
2. A new filter, Chat Type is, will appear. Select either Chat Widget or Live Chat.
3. Based on your Chat Type selection, a third filter will dynamically appear:
   • If you selected Chat Widget, choose the specific widget from the Chat Widget is dropdown.
   • If you selected Live Chat, choose the specific configuration from the Live Chat is dropdown.

Practical Use Cases

Here are some examples of how you can apply the Customer Replied trigger in real-world scenarios.

• Team Notification for Chat Widget Replies: Set a trigger with the filter Reply Channel = All-in-One Chat → Chat Type is = Chat Widget → Chat Widget is = [Your Specific Widget]. The workflow action could then send an internal notification or assign the conversation to a team member.
• Route Live Chat to Support: Use a trigger filtered for Reply Channel = All-in-One Chat → Chat Type is = Live Chat → Live Chat is = [Your Specific Configuration]. Subsequent actions might include creating a support ticket and notifying the support team.
• Create Sales Opportunities: Configure a trigger that uses a Contains Phrase filter for words like "interested" or "pricing," combined with a Reply Channel filter. The workflow could then automatically create a new opportunity and alert a sales representative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I trigger workflows for replies from specific customers only?

Yes. You can use the Has Tag or Doesn't Have Tag filters to restrict the workflow to specific segments of your contact list.

How do intent types work with this trigger?

The Intent Type filter uses natural language processing to automatically categorize a customer's reply. You can then build workflows that are triggered by specific intents, such as handling a question differently than a complaint.

Can I trigger different workflows based on reply channels?

Absolutely. The Reply Channel filter allows you to create separate workflows for different channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or email, ensuring the right automation runs for the right communication method.

Is the All-in-One Chat option available for all workflow triggers?

No. The All-in-One Chat filtering options are exclusively available within the Reply Channel filter of the Customer Replied trigger.

Will my existing Chat Widget workflows stop working?

No. Any workflows you have previously configured using Chat Widget triggers will continue to function as normal.