How do I start a conversation with a customer myself?

Most conversations start when a customer contacts you. When you need to go first, New message does it: pick the person, pick the channel, type the message, send. The conversation then behaves like any other one in your inbox.

Send a new message

1. Click New message at the top of your conversation list. On a phone it is the icon beside the list heading.
2. Search for the contact by name, email or phone number, then click them. If they are not in your contacts yet, click Add by phone number and enter one, a name is optional.
3. Pick a channel. Peakify preselects the one that fits: the contact's own preferred channel if they have one, otherwise the first channel you have connected.
4. Type your message and press Send.
5. The dialog closes and the new conversation opens, with your message already in it.

Which channels you can pick

• SMS and WhatsApp need a phone number on the contact and the matching channel connected under Settings, then Inbox.
• Email needs an email address on the contact, the email channel turned on for your account, and one extra condition explained below.

A channel you cannot use is greyed out rather than hidden, so you can see what is missing.

Why Email is sometimes greyed out or refused

Canadian anti-spam law lets you email somebody who contacted you first, and that permission runs for six months from when they got in touch. Peakify enforces it: you can start an email thread with a contact who has written to you in the last six months, on any channel, and not with one who has not.

If the contact is outside that window you will see a line saying so. Two things you can do instead:

• Reply to their existing message. Replying to somebody who wrote to you is always allowed, on any channel, at any time.
• Reach them on a channel they have agreed to, or ask them to contact you.

An email is also refused if the contact has opted out of your emails, if their address has bounced or reported you as spam before, or if your account is over its email limit for the day or month. Each of those says which one it is.

Where the message ends up

A new SMS or WhatsApp message opens a conversation on that channel. A new email lands in the contact's existing email conversation if they have one, so the thread stays in one place, and starts a new one if they do not.