Salesforce's Messaging for In-App and Web: A Sales Cloud Implementation Guide
Learn the best implementation practices for Salesforce's Messaging for In-App and Web with a Sales Cloud license.
Salesforce's "Messaging for In-App and Web" (MIAW) feature is a powerful tool for engaging customers directly through chat boxes on your company's website. While strongly associated with Service Cloud licenses, Sales Cloud with Sales Engagement license owners can also harness MIAW with a few adjustments to the implementation process. In this guide, we'll walk you through setting up a simple chat box with a Sales Cloud license, empowering you to enhance customer interactions and drive sales.
Verifying Eligibility
If you aren't sure whether your licensing supports MIAW, you can check by navigating to the Company Information page (found under Setup) and reviewing the "Permission Set Licenses" section. If you see both "Sales Engagement" and "Messaging for Web and In-App User" licenses listed there, your org supports MIAW.
Giving Users Access
Granting access to MIAW features is the first step towards seamless customer communication. The official documentation describes the process here. Follow these instructions, as they work for Sales Cloud users with only one difference.
Please note that Sales Cloud owners cannot extend Messaging transcripts to non-agent users.
Even agents themselves cannot access old Messaging transcripts. They can only view Messaging tabs they have not closed. Once a Messaging Session tab is closed with a Sales Cloud license, it becomes inaccessible. This behavior is explained later.
Preparing your Org
Follow the official documentation for this step, stopping before the "Create an Omni-Channel Flow" section. The standard documentation recommends "Omni-Flow" for message routing, but our experience has shown that "Omni-Queue" routing is preferable for Sales Cloud users. So, skip over this section and go straight to "Add a Messaging Channel".
Use "Omni-Queue" as your channel's routing type rather than "Omni-Flow", and select the queue made earlier. After saving your changes, ensure the channel is published (you may need to leave the channel's page and return for the publish button to appear).
Configuring a Web Deployment
With the groundwork laid, configuring a web deployment is simple. By following the deployment instructions and customizing settings as needed, Sales Cloud users will be ready to integrate Messaging into their website.
Understanding Sales Cloud vs Service Cloud Deployments
You may wonder why implementation instructions for Sales Cloud differ slightly from those for Service Cloud. While Sales Cloud supports MIAW, its underlying components were originally built with Service Cloud in mind.
To go into further detail, using MIAW requires the Service Console lightning app. The Service Console and all associated objects/features are included in the Service Cloud license without limitation. The Service Console is also included in the Sales Cloud license, however, it is pre-configured and its related objects are locked down. This Sales version of the Service Console withholds access to certain objects/features that are not absolutely necessary for MIAW to function.
It is due to these Sales Cloud limitations that agents cannot re-open closed Messaging Session tabs, nor can non-agent users view Messaging transcripts (as described in “Grant Users Access”).
Final Consideration
As you begin to use your new Messaging deployment, there is one important rule to abide by.
Do not delete Messaging Sessions.
Deleting Messaging Sessions can disrupt Salesforce's asynchronous messaging architecture and lead to customer frustration. Instead, use the "End Chat" button to conclude conversations while retaining chat history for future reference. You may also close Messaging Session tabs, just remember that you won't be able to re-open them later.
To reiterate, you can "end" and close Messaging Session tabs to de-clutter your screen, but do not delete the records themselves.
Conclusion
With these small adjustments, Sales Cloud owners should be able to easily leverage the power of MIAW. The documentation for MIAW is dense and focuses solely on Service Cloud steps, so reach out to us if you have any questions or are interested in learning more.