How to Create a Shopify Omnichannel Customer Support Inbox App

1. Define the scope and features

Aggregate messages from many channels, like email, Amazon, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, into a single inbox. All in one dashboard for all channels without switching Slack or other platforms. The app can auto-respond and tag messages for easy organization. Businesses of all sizes can use the app to streamline communication and improve efficiency.

Automated responses, message tagging, and ticket management capabilities help businesses stay organized and focus on important messages within the app's dashboard.

With AI integration, the app can provide more personalized and efficient responses to customers across various communication channels.

Multi-Channel Support
Integrate with Gmail, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. The app can streamline communication and improve response times across many channels.

Analytics and Reporting
Provide insights on support metrics, such as response time and customer satisfaction. Customization lets users tailor the app to their organization's needs.

2. Plan User Experience

Identify Primary Users:
Customer Support Agents: They need a clear and efficient interface to manage and respond to customer inquiries. Streamline workflows. Provide quick access to customer info. This will boost productivity.

Store Managers: They may need access to analytics and insights into customer interactions and support performance.

Regional Managers: They may need to see multiple stores to track trends and ensure consistency

3. Map Out User Journeys

Login and Dashboard:

Log in to the app and access a unified dashboard.

View an overview of all incoming messages and support tickets.

Inbox Management:

Access a consolidated inbox displaying messages from various channels (email, chat, social media).

Filter and search:

Perform a search or filter on messages according to channel, customer, date, or status. Online shops should have search and filtering capabilities. They get thousands of inquiries daily. Customer data proves elusive without proper organization, taking excessive time.

Customer Interaction:

Open and respond to individual messages or tickets.

View customer profile information, previous interactions, and order history.

Ticket Management:

Create, update, and assign tickets.

Make better use of categories and tags to prioritize and organize tasks.

Automated Responses:

Set up and manage automated replies and responses.

Reporting and Analytics:

Get an overview of key performance indicators, including average response time and customer satisfaction scores. Look for patterns and figure out how to make customer support better.

4. Set Up Your Development Environment

Collaboration with Shopify Partner process steps and unites data in harmony.

Create a Shopify Partner Account: Register for a Shopify Partner account to access development tools and resources.

Create a Development Store: Set up a development store for testing and integration.

*Choose Your Technology Stack:
*

1. - Backend: Decide on a backend framework from Node.js, Ruby on Rails, or Python.
2. - Frontend: Select a frontend framework or library like React, Vue.js, or Angular.
3. - Database: Select a database solution if needed. PostgreSQL, MongoDB

5. Develop the App

Install Shopify CLI:

Install the Shopify CLI, which helps you scaffold apps, serve them locally, and manage various aspects of app development.

npm install -g @shopify/cli

Step 1: Create a New Shopify App

shopify app create node

cd your-app-name

Run Your App Locally:

Start the development server and expose it to the internet using ngrok (Shopify requires HTTPS for communication).

shopify app serve

Step 2: Set Up OAuth Authentication

Configure OAuth:
Shopify apps require OAuth 2.0 for authentication. Implement Shopify's OAuth authentication to allow stores to install your app

Create the /auth/callback endpoint in your app:

app.get('/auth/callback', async (req, res) => {
  const session = await Shopify.Auth.validateAuthCallback(req, res, req.query);
  // Store the session in the database for future use.
  res.redirect('/'); // Redirect back to your app's main page.
});

Store session tokens:

Save the session token securely, which will be used for subsequent API calls to Shopify.

Step 3: Design the Unified Inbox Interface

Set up your front end using a modern framework like React.js. You can start with a simple inbox interface:

const Inbox = () => {
  const [messages, setMessages] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch("/api/messages")
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(data => setMessages(data));
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Omnichannel Inbox</h1>
      <ul>
        {messages.map(message => (
          <li key={message.id}>{message.content} - {message.channel}</li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
};

export default Inbox;

Backend API for Messages
Create an API endpoint to fetch customer messages from different platforms:

app.get('/api/messages', async (req, res) => {
  const messages = await getMessagesFromChannels(); // This function will fetch messages from integrated channels.
  res.json(messages);
});

Step 4: Integrate Communication Channels

Email Integration
Use an email API (like SendGrid or Gmail API) to fetch and send emails. Example of fetching emails using Gmail API

const {google} = require('googleapis');

async function fetchEmails() {
  const auth = new google.auth.OAuth2(CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET, REDIRECT_URL);
  const gmail = google.gmail({version: 'v1', auth});

  const res = await gmail.users.messages.list({
    userId: 'me',
    labelIds: 'INBOX',
    maxResults: 10,
  });
  return res.data.messages;
}

Live Chat Integration:
Integrate with chat platforms like Intercom or Zendesk via their APIs to fetch live chat conversations:

const axios = require('axios');

async function fetchChats() {
  const response = await axios.get('https://api.intercom.io/conversations', {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${INTERCOM_ACCESS_TOKEN}`
    }
  });
  return response.data.conversations;
}

Social Media Integration

Use Facebook Messenger API or Twitter API to manage conversations from social media:

const fetchFacebookMessages = async () => {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://graph.facebook.com/v10.0/me/messages?access_token=${FACEBOOK_PAGE_ACCESS_TOKEN}`
  );
  return response.data.data;
};

Step 5: Build Customer Profiles

Use the Shopify Admin API to fetch customer details and order history:

app.get('/api/customers/:id', async (req, res) => {
  const customerId = req.params.id;
  const session = await Shopify.Utils.loadOfflineSession(customerId);
  const client = new Shopify.Clients.Rest(session.shop, session.accessToken);

  const customer = await client.get({
    path: `customers/${customerId}`,
  });

  res.json(customer.body);
});

Display Customer Profiles in the Inbox:

When a support agent clicks on a message, show the customer’s profile, including past orders and previous conversations.

const CustomerProfile = ({ customerId }) => {
  const [customer, setCustomer] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(`/api/customers/${customerId}`)
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(data => setCustomer(data));
  }, [customerId]);

  if (!customer) return <div>Loading...</div>;

  return (
    <div>
      <h2>{customer.first_name} {customer.last_name}</h2>
      <p>Email: {customer.email}</p>
      <p>Total Orders: {customer.orders_count}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

Step 6: Add Automated Responses and Ticket Management

Automated Responses:
Implement automation rules for responding to messages. For instance, send a "thank you" message after a user submits a query:

app.post('/api/messages', async (req, res) => {
  const message = req.body.message;
  if (message.content.includes('order status')) {
    await sendAutomatedResponse(message.customerId, 'Your order is being processed.');
  }
  res.sendStatus(200);
});

async function sendAutomatedResponse(customerId, responseText) {
  // Logic to send an automated message back to the customer
}

Ticket System:

Implement ticket creation and status updates. Each message can be converted into a ticket for tracking purposes:

app.post('/api/tickets', async (req, res) => {
  const ticket = {
    customerId: req.body.customerId,
    status: 'open',
    createdAt: new Date(),
  };
  await saveTicket(ticket); // Save the ticket in your database.
  res.json(ticket);
});

Step 7: Implement Analytics and Reporting

Tracking Metrics:
Collect data on response times, ticket resolution times, and customer satisfaction using your database.
Example of calculating average response time:

app.get('/api/analytics/response-time', async (req, res) => {
  const responseTimes = await getResponseTimes(); // Get response times from the database.
  const avgResponseTime = responseTimes.reduce((a, b) => a + b, 0) / responseTimes.length;
  res.json({ avgResponseTime });
});

Generate Reports:

Provide visual representations of customer support performance (e.g., using charting libraries like Chart.js):

const AnalyticsDashboard = () => {
  const [responseTime, setResponseTime] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch('/api/analytics/response-time')
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(data => setResponseTime(data.avgResponseTime));
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      <h3>Average Response Time: {responseTime} minutes</h3>
    </div>
  );
};

Step 8: Testing and Launching

Testing:

Put your Shopify development store through its paces to see how well the app works.

Verify accurate customer data retrieval and seamless operation of all integrated communication channels.

Building a Shopify Omnichannel Customer Support Inbox App requires careful planning, integration of multiple APIs, and efficient UX design. By following the steps outlined, you can create a robust platform that allows customer support agents and store managers to manage all communication in one place, streamline workflows, and provide personalized customer support.