Get a message to one customer, or to all of them
You can write to a single person, a handful of selected people, or your whole user list, without opening a single conversation. The message can go out as a chat message, an email or a text.
This is for the moments when you need to tell people something rather than answer them: a delivery is delayed, an offer is closing, a phone line is down. It is aimed at admins and agents who work from the Users area.
Step by step
Open the direct message tool
Go to the Users area and click the direct message icon. The same icon sits in a user's profile box if you already have that person open.
Choose who receives it
Select the people you want in the users table and the User IDs field fills in on its own. To reach everyone, type All in User IDs instead.
Or target one channel
In User IDs you can enter a channel name to reach everyone on it: whatsapp, messenger, instagram, telegram, twitter, zalo, wechat, viber or line. Enter tickets to reach users who created a ticket.
Pick the type and write it
Choose a direct chat message, a direct email or a direct text message. All three support merge fields and automatic translation, so you can personalise the text and let it reach people in their own language.
Send it
Send the message. A direct chat message lands in the person's active conversation, or starts a new one if there isn't one.
Settings reference
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| User IDs | Decides who receives the message: selected users, All for everyone, or a channel name such as whatsapp or tickets. |
| Email template | At Settings > Notifications > Email template, this is the layout your direct emails are wrapped in. |
| Text message notifications | At Settings > Notifications > Text message notifications, this is where your SMS gateway account is set up, and it must be enabled before direct text messages can be sent. |
| User email notifications | When this is on, people with an email address are also notified by email that a direct chat message is waiting. |
Good to know
A chat message travels further than the chat
When you send a direct chat message, people with an email address are notified by email if user email notifications are on, people with a phone number get a text if text notifications are on for users, and a push notification goes out if push is on. It also reaches your connected messaging apps.
Texts need your gateway first
Direct text messages only work once the SMS gateway is enabled under Settings > Notifications > Text message notifications. Set that up before you plan a text campaign.
Emails follow your template
A direct email uses the template at Settings > Notifications > Email template and supports HTML. The subject line accepts merge fields as well as the body.
WhatsApp templates can go to a group
WhatsApp template messages can be sent to a group of users from here, which is how you reach people outside the WhatsApp reply window.
All means all
Typing All in User IDs sends to every user, not a sample. Check the wording twice before you send, because a direct message cannot be pulled back.
Common questions
How do I send one message to every customer?
Can I message only the people who use WhatsApp?
Do I have to type the IDs by hand?
Will people read it in their own language?
Where does a direct chat message appear?
Can I send a WhatsApp template message to more than one person?
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