Add working hours

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Add working hours to your WhatsApp Messaging chatbot

Introduction

Adding working hours to your WhatsApp Messaging chatbot is a crucial step in ensuring that interactions with customers are streamlined and aligned with your business availability. This feature allows you to control when your chatbot engages users, enabling a better customer service experience while properly managing responses during both business and non-business hours. By using the Conditional step to establish working hours, you can ensure that customers receive immediate assistance during active hours while managing expectations and interactions when your business is closed.

How to Access this Feature

To configure the working hours for your WhatsApp Messaging chatbot, you must first navigate through your ActiveCampaign account. Follow these steps to locate the messaging flows where you will implement the working hours feature:

1. From your ActiveCampaign account, click on WhatsApp in the left menu. 2. Select Messaging Flows to access your existing chatbot flows.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. **Select the Flow**: Choose the flow you would like to update with working hours by clicking on the specific flow. 2. **Update the Draft**: Click the Update draft button to enable editing for the selected flow. 3. **Open Steps Tab**: Navigate to the Steps tab on the flow builder screen. 4. **Add Conditional Step**:

  - Hover over the drawer on the flow and click the node (+) that appears.
  - In the modal window, select Conditional and then click on Add.

5. **Configure Conditional Step**:

  - Click the Where dropdown menu and select global.Is in working hours.
  - Then, select Is (equals) from the next dropdown.
  - Choose either the Yes or No option:
    - **Yes** - This is the True branch that will execute during the business hours you set up.
    - **No** - This is the False branch that will execute outside of business hours.
  - Click the X to close the Conditional step builder.

6. **Add Steps for True Branch**: Under the Path 1 (Yes/True branch), add the steps the contact will undergo if it is during business hours. This might include directing them to a live agent using the Conversation step. 7. **Add Steps for False Branch**: Under the Else (No/False branch), add steps for when it is outside business hours. Options include using a Delay and another working hours Conditional step to continue the conversation later. Note that if more than 24 hours pass, the conversation will end. Customers can only continue with a template in that case.

Configuration Options and Settings

When setting up working hours in your WhatsApp Messaging chatbot, the following options are essential to configure:

- Conditional Step - This allows you to define behavior based on current business hours. - True/False Branch - Used to determine the flow based on whether it is business hours. - Conversation Step - Directs queries to a live agent during business hours. - Delay - Used to pause responses outside of working hours before prompting the conditional again.

By utilizing these configurations, you can effectively manage customer expectations and ensure smooth interaction during business hours.

Best Practices and Tips

- **Set Clear Business Hours**: Ensure that your business hours are clearly defined to avoid confusion for customers. - **Test the Flow**: Prior to going live, conduct tests of the chatbot flow to ensure that it correctly follows the conditional logic set for working hours. - **Use Friendly Messaging**: Consider adding friendly automated messages for outside business hours, informing customers when they can expect a response. - **Monitor Interactions**: Keep track of conversation metrics and adjust working hours based on peak interaction times to optimize customer service.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while setting up or managing working hours: - Ensure that the conditional logic has been set up correctly without any conflicts. - Verify that the business hours are accurately configured and align with the expected response times. - If a conversation does not seem to follow the correct branch, revisit the configuration of each step to ensure that they are triggered correctly.

Related Features

- For a deeper understanding of chatbot functionality, see the article on Messaging Flows. - Learn more about the Conversation feature for directing customer inquiries to live agents.

FAQ

1. Can I customize working hours for different days?

Yes, you can configure separate working hours for each day of the week within the conditional settings.

2. What happens if a customer tries to contact me outside of working hours?

Customers will receive responses according to the conditional logic configured, such as a message indicating that the business is closed or a prompt for a later follow-up.

3. Can I change business hours after setting them up?

Absolutely, you can return to the flow settings anytime to edit or update your business hours.

4. How do I know if my flow is active?

Once you have set up and saved your flow, it should be active. You can test it by initiating a conversation through your WhatsApp queue.

5. Is there an option to disable the working hours setting temporarily?

Currently, the working hours feature configuration does not provide a direct disable option, but you can modify the conditional steps to respond uniformly, regardless of time.

6. How do I monitor the conversations happening outside of business hours?

You can manually review conversation logs and metrics to assess interactions happening during non-business hours.

7. What should I do if the Conditional step does not appear?

Make sure you are in the correct flow editing section, and that your active campaign plan includes the WhatsApp Messaging add-on. If issues persist, contact support.

This feature is invaluable for enhancing customer experiences and ensuring your WhatsApp bot operates efficiently while respecting your business’s operational hours. ```