Handle replies to a marketing email
A reply is a conversation on the email channel, next to the calls and WhatsApp threads for the same person. Route it, assign it, and let it move the record.
The reason to send from the shared email channel is that a reply comes back as a conversation, not as a notification in somebody's personal mailbox. It sits in the Inbox with the contact record beside it — the last call, the WhatsApp thread, the stage — and it is handled by whatever the email channel is pointed at.
Before you start
- The email channel routed to a bot or to your agents.
- A send that has gone out.
Steps
Decide who answers
Email tolerates a slower reply than chat, so routing to your team is often right. A bot is worth it when the replies are predictable — "send me the brochure", "book me in".
Watch unreplied on the email channel
Filter the Inbox to unreplied and the email channel for the day after a send. That is the number that tells you whether replies are being handled.
Assign the ones that need a person
Replies arrive unassigned when the channel routes to agents. A manager assigns them; agents cannot see them until then.
Let the conversation move the record
A reply that becomes a booking or a qualified lead moves the stage like any conversation. An unsubscribe becomes a stage or attribute change, so the next segment excludes them.
Leave auto-close off
People reply to email days later. A conversation closed after 24 hours will simply be reopened, and your reopened count becomes noise. Email is the clearest case for leaving auto-close off.
Check it worked
The day after a send, the unreplied count on the email channel should be falling. Open two replies and confirm the contact record beside each shows the send on the activity feed.
The parts people get wrong
- Out-of-office replies are conversations too. Close them rather than leaving them unreplied.
- A reply that arrives in a personal mailbox means the send went from personal sync, not the channel.
The ones people actually ask
How do I stop out-of-office replies cluttering the inbox?
Close them. They are conversations on the channel like any other, and closing keeps the unreplied count meaningful. A canned reply is not needed.
Somebody replied asking to unsubscribe.
Change their stage or consent attribute, so every later segment excludes them, and close the conversation. Honouring it as data is what makes it stick.