How to prevent conversations from slipping through the cracks

As your incoming calls and messages increase in volume, it can be tough to prioritize responses and keep track of what needs to be done. 

In this article, we’ll share how you can surface the conversations that matter and manage expectations on missed calls.   

Automatically route calls to the right teammate

As your business grows, your team will have to respond to specific requests from customers. With high call volumes, this can cause bottlenecks — long call holds, multiple call transfers, and delayed call backs.

With a phone menu, customers can call departments directly to get their questions answered quickly. Set up your menu to give clear options to callers and they can navigate to the right team member, completely self-serve.

Here’s how:

1. In OpenPhone, click on Settings in the left sidebar.

2. Select Phone Numbers and then choose the number you want to set a phone menu for.

3. In Phone menu -> Enable phone menu, toggle the phone menu on.

4. Record a greeting message to explain your menu options to callers.

4. Configure your menu options by keypad options to individual teammates or shared team numbers under Destination. 

You can also set ring groups in your phone menu to dial individual team members in custom batches. That way, you can dial the right people first and then direct the call to backup team members if they aren’t available. 

To do this:

1. Toggle on your Ring order in your phone number settings.

2. Select Custom in Order type. 

3. Select users for each ring batch, their ring order, and their ring duration.

Phone menus have the added benefit of automatically filtering out robocalls, so you’re not wasting your time answering those. 

You can also set calls to go to a phone number outside your OpenPhone workspace such as an answering service during or after business hours. 

And with the call flow builder, you can set up a separate phone menu outside your business hours. This gives callers the option to reach that service or someone on your team in case of an emergency. It’s also a helpful feature if your business serves customers across multiple time zones.

Surface the conversations that matter

Ever felt overwhelmed by your inbox or unsure about which messages to respond to first? OpenPhone can help you filter your inbox to find the most important conversations and help you work through your inbox efficiently. 

1. Use filters to find conversations that need your attention

Want to tackle your unanswered messages and missed calls? Filter your conversations to bring them up in seconds.  . 

There are three one-click filter buttons at the top of your inbox:

1. Open: View messages that require a response or a follow up. 

2. Unread: See messages that haven’t been read yet.

3. Unresponded: Filter by messages that haven’t been replied to yet.

2. Add multi-select custom properties to tag high-priority customers

Need to prioritize messages from your most valuable customers? Multi-select custom properties allow you to filter your inbox to surface these conversations. 

Tags are customizable – you can create tags for any purpose and assign them to contacts. For example, you can create a tag for your VIP customers or to distinguish between your existing customers and your prospects.

Here’s how to use multi-select custom filters to surface high-priority customers:

1. Select Filter. You’ll be able to choose from the Company or Tag contact properties.

2. Search for the companies or tags you’re looking for and select them to surface those conversations.

3. Pin temporary high-priority conversations

Need to keep tabs on specific conversations or keep certain customer requests top of mind? Pin them in your inbox.

Here’s how to pin a conversation in OpenPhone:

1. Hover over a conversation and select the … menu.

2. Select Pin conversation.

4. Escalate urgent conversations by tagging team members

Let’s say you get an urgent request from a customer that needs an immediate response, but you need assistance from a colleague or your manager. Loop them in instantly with internal threads.

Internal threads aren’t visible to your contact – they’re conversations that can only be seen by your team in OpenPhone.

Here’s how to create an internal thread:

1. Select the activity you want to share with your team, including recordings, messages, voicemails.

2. Select the Comment in internal thread message icon.

3. Then in the internal thread that opens up, enter @, followed by your colleague’s name.

4. Select their name to tag them. Then write a message to give them context and hit Send.

You can also create an internal thread from your call view:

1. Select Calls to open your call view.
2. Select the call you want to share with your team.
3. Create an internal thread right under your call recording or call summary. 

5. Keep your inbox clutter-free

Conversations that no longer need attention can clutter up your inbox and make it harder to find high-priority messages. To clear your inbox of conversations that don’t need a response, mark them as done. This will help you keep your inbox organized.

Here’s how:

1. Hover over a conversation in your inbox.

2. Select the checkmark icon to mark the conversation ‘Done’..

You can also mark conversations as done while the message is Open. To do this, click the checkmark icon above the conversation. 

By using these features, you’ll surface urgent conversations in seconds.

Manage expectations on missed calls

As call volumes increase, it’s inevitable that you might miss some of them. But not all missed calls need to turn into missed opportunities. OpenPhone helps you manage customer expectations so that you can start customer relationships right and keep your customers engaged. 

Automatically set expectations on when customers can expect to hear back from you with auto-replies. 

For a better customer experience, personalize your auto-replies based on whether a contact:

• Calls without leaving a voicemail
• Leaves a voicemail
• Texts you during or after business hours

For example:

If a contact calls you after hours and doesn’t leave a voicemail, you could use this auto-reply:

Thank you for reaching Cabinet IQ, you’ve reached us outside our normal business hours. This is a text friendly phone number, please feel free to send us your questions and we can get back to you during our hours of operation. Hours: M-F 9:00 am - 6:00 pm*

Here’s how to set up auto-replies in OpenPhone:

1. Select Settings in the right sidebar and then choose Phone numbers.

2. Click on the phone number that you want to set up auto-replies for.

3. Scroll down to the Auto-replies section and click on each scenario to add the auto-reply text that will send.

Here are 40 more auto-reply text examples for different situations.

Sometimes you’re ready to send a reply, but it might be bad timing for your customers, especially if they’re in a different time zone. Instead of waiting to draft the message at a better time (and risk forgetting), you can use scheduled messages. 

Here’s how:

1. Enter your message in the conversation text box.
2. Select the Clock icon at the bottom right of the text box. 
3. Choose your preferred send time to deliver your message.

Looking for more resources to improve your customer service using OpenPhone? Check out these articles:

• How to coach your team with call views
• Improve customer experience with the call flow builder
• How to deliver proactive customer service