With the Chat Channel, your clients can message your studio directly from your Member Area, your website and your apps. Instead of looking up your email address or phone number, they open the chat wherever they already book with you and send a message.
Every message with a client stays in one conversation, so you can pick up right where you left off.
Before you start
Your plan needs to include the Inbox. The Chat Channel isn't available without it.
To reply to chats, a staff member's permissions need to allow contacting clients. Staff members without this permission can read chats but can't send messages.
Where clients can find the chat
Where | How clients open the chat |
Member Area | Open the new messaging page in the Member Area. |
Chat widget on your own website | Open the chat from the widget you've added to your studio's website. See Add the chat widget to your website below. |
Branded app | Tap the messaging icon in the top-right corner. |
bsport app | Tap the messaging icon in the top-right corner. |
When clients have unread messages from you, they'll see a notification badge on the chat.
Add the chat widget to your website
Besides the Member Area, you can add the chat directly to your studio's own website as a widget and style it to match your studio. Customisation is available for the widget only, not in the apps.
Your general widget theme applies to the chat widget too, so your brand colours carry over without any extra setup.
Step 1: Go to Studio Manager > Settings > Widgets.
Step 2: In the widget type dropdown, select Chat. The live preview shows how the chat looks on your website.
Step 3: To restyle the chat, select the Custom CSS tab. Then choose the part of the chat you want to change:
Message bubbles
Load more button
Day separator (the date dividers between messages)
Composer (the box where clients type)
Display chat button (the floating button that opens the chat)
Step 4: Enter your CSS. Your changes appear in the live preview.
💡 Custom CSS is best handled by someone comfortable editing CSS. If something doesn't look right, you can reset one element or all your custom CSS back to the bsport default.
Reply to your clients
Chat messages land in your Inbox, alongside your email and SMS conversations. When a client sends you a chat, you'll see a notification badge on the Inbox, and their conversation moves to the top of your list.
Step 1: Go to Inbox.
Step 2: Select the client's conversation. To see only chats, filter by channel and choose Chat.
Step 3: Type your reply and select Send.
For more on sending messages, see Message a client from the Inbox.
Good to know
The Chat Channel supports text messages only for now, up to 1,000 characters each. Clients can't send photos or files yet.