To encourage businesses to respond to customers quickly, Meta has a rule called the 24-hour customer service window. Understanding this rule is essential for managing your conversations effectively.
What is the 24-Hour Window?
- A 24-hour messaging window begins whenever a customer sends you a message.
- Within this 24-hour period, you can reply to the customer with free-form messages (any type of content) without needing to use a pre-approved template.
- Each time the customer replies to you, the 24-hour window resets from the time of their latest message.
What Happens When the Window Closes?
- After 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message, the window closes.
- You can no longer send free-form messages to that customer.
- To re-initiate a conversation with a customer after the window has closed, you must use a pre-approved Message Template.
Practical Examples
Scenario 1: Inside the Window
- 10:00 AM: Customer messages you: "Hi, what are your store hours?"
- The 24-hour window opens.
- 10:05 AM: You reply: "Hi! We're open from 9 AM to 6 PM." (This is a free-form message).
- 2:00 PM: The customer replies: "Great, thanks!"
- The 24-hour window resets and will now close at 2:00 PM the next day.
- 4:00 PM: You can send another free-form message: "You're welcome! Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Scenario 2: Outside the Window
- Monday, 10:00 AM: Customer messages you. You have a conversation.
- Monday, 2:00 PM: The customer sends their last message. The window will close on Tuesday at 2:00 PM.
- Tuesday, 3:00 PM: The window is now closed. You try to send "Just following up!" but it will fail.
- Solution: To contact the customer now, you must go to the
Templatessection of the chat composer in LeadClose and send an approved template, for example, a "Follow-up" template.