Omnichannel communication means a client can reach you on any channel and you reply on the one that suits the message, with the whole history in one thread. Having every channel connected is the start. The harder part is the rules: which message goes by text, which by email, when to call, and when to stop. This article answers one question: how do you decide which channel each kind of message should use, and set those rules up on the levelpartner.ai platform so the whole team follows them?
Connected is not the same as coordinated
Plenty of firms connect email, SMS, chat and social messages to one inbox and stop there. The result is a team that replies on whatever channel the message arrived on, and workflows that send the same reminder by email, text and WhatsApp at once. Clients feel chased rather than looked after.
Coordination means each message has a home channel based on what it is for. Urgent and short goes by text. Detailed or formal goes by email. A decision or a problem goes by phone. And automated sequences pick one channel per step, switching only when the first one gets no response.
A channel rule for each type of message
Use this as a starting point and adjust it for your clients.
- Instant replies to a new enquiry: SMS first, because it is read within minutes, with an email copy holding the detail.
- Appointment reminders: SMS the day before and on the morning, email with the calendar invite when booked.
- Proposals, contracts and anything with a document: email, with a short text saying it has been sent.
- Bad news, complaints and price changes: a phone call, followed by an email summary.
- Questions from website visitors: chat, handed to SMS or email once they leave the site.
- Marketing and newsletters: email only, unless the client has asked for texts.
Write your version on one page and share it with everyone who messages clients. It saves a surprising number of awkward replies.
Consent and preferences come first
Each channel has its own rules. Marketing texts and WhatsApp messages need clear consent in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and most other markets, and email marketing needs a working opt-out. Record consent on the contact, respect the do-not-disturb settings per channel, and let clients state a preferred channel. When a client says "text me, I never read email", put that on their record and use it.
Before you start
You need access to Conversations, Automation, Contacts and Settings. Connect every channel you plan to use and check your sending set-up for email and SMS. Create a custom field for preferred channel with a short list of options. Agree your channel rules with the sales and service leads before you build anything.
How to set it up
Start by giving every contact a place to hold their preferred channel.
- Go to Settings > Custom Fields.
- Select Contacts as the object for the new field.
- Click Create field.
- Open Field type and choose a single-choice option type.
- Enter Preferred channel as the Field name and choose a Folder name.
- Check the Live preview.
- Click Create custom field.
Add the field to your enquiry and onboarding forms so clients can choose. Then review your automation against the channel rules:
- List every message step in each existing workflow and the channel it uses.
- Remove steps that send the same message on two channels at once.
- Before key messages, branch on the preferred channel field, falling back to your default when it is empty.
- Add a wait and a second channel only where the first gets no reply, such as SMS then email.
- Check that each message step respects the contact's do-not-disturb settings.
- Share the one-page channel rules with the team and pin them where everyone can find them.
Switching channel inside a conversation
Because Conversations keeps one thread per contact, your team can switch channel without losing context. A chat that started on the website can move to SMS once the visitor leaves. An email thread that has gone back and forth four times can become a phone call, with the call logged in the same place. Staff should feel free to switch whenever another channel would settle things faster.
Imagine viewing reminders that go out by email, SMS and WhatsApp at the same moment, twice per viewing: six messages, with some buyers replying on all three channels. Change the rule to one SMS the day before, one on the morning, and email only for the booking confirmation. That would be three messages per viewing instead of six, and replies would land in one thread instead of three.
Setting up channel rules takes a day: half on agreeing them, half on changing workflows. After that, a quarterly check of message volumes per channel shows whether anything has drifted.
Adding a channel to every step because it is free to do so. More messages are not better contact. Each extra message on a second channel is another chance for the client to feel chased and unsubscribe.
When not to add another channel
Do not add WhatsApp or a social channel because a competitor has it. Add it when clients are already trying to reach you there. Do not use SMS for long messages, and do not use email for anything the client must see within the hour.
Before setting rules, make sure every channel lands in one inbox the whole team works from. For first replies on your site, writing instructions for an AI web chat agent helps the chat handle the routine questions. Greeting, contact form and office hours for the site chat are set in configuring the live chat widget. And to see which channels bring revenue, read tracing revenue back to chat and other channels.
Troubleshooting
Clients receive the same message twice. Two workflows send it, or one workflow sends it on two channels. Search workflows for the message text and keep one.
SMS steps are skipped. The contact has no valid mobile number or has opted out of texts. Check the contact's number format and do-not-disturb settings.
The preferred channel is ignored. The workflow branch checks the field before it is filled. Make sure the form that sets the field runs before the workflow starts.
Staff keep replying on the wrong channel. The rules are not visible. Pin the one-page rules in your team space and review them in the next team meeting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?
Multichannel means you offer several channels. Omnichannel means those channels share one history, so the client never has to repeat themselves.
Do clients have to choose a channel?
No. Offer the choice on forms, but always have a default rule for clients who skip it.
Can a workflow switch channel automatically?
Yes. Send on one channel, wait, check for a reply, then send on another if there is none.
Is WhatsApp worth adding?
Add it if clients are already asking to use it. For many US clients, SMS remains the more familiar choice.