How do I use Cases in Sprout?

As you work your way through messages in the Smart Inbox, you might come across a question or piece of feedback that may be better suited for someone else. In that case, you can delegate the message to a specific team member by clicking to assign a case.

This article contains the following sections:

• What permissions do I need?
• How do I assign a message as a Case?
• How do I manage Cases?
• How are messages tracked against Cases?
• How do I view related public and private messages?
• How do I enable Split Pane Mode?
• Cases FAQs

 

What permissions do I need?

In order to create and manage Cases, users have to have the Cases Feature Permissions assigned to them. You can enable a user to Create Cases only, and then determine if that user needs to also view, update and delete Cases with a separate permission.

Navigate to Account and Settings > Settings > Personal Settings to view your Case permissions.

Additionally, in your Account Settings you can also enable Cross-Group Assignments so that users can assign Cases across all Sprout Groups.

How do I assign a message as a Case?

To assign a message as a Case:

1. Click .
2. Choose a Team and Assignee. Or click Assign to me.
3. Choose a Case Type:
   
   
   • General
   • Support
   • Question
   • Feedback
   • Lead
4. Select the Priority:
   
   
   • Critical
   • High
   • Medium - selected by default
   • Low
   • No Priority
5. (Optional) Add the appropriate Tag or Campaign tag from the dropdown if the Case you're assigning relates to a current campaign or specific tag.
   
6. (Optional) Leave an internal comment to add additional information.
7. (Optional) You can also Mark Message as Complete, to remove the message from the Smart Inbox view, but keep it in the assignee's Open Cases.
8. Click Create Case to assign the case.

After you assign a case to a team member, they receive an email and Notification Drawer alert with the Case ID included. Additionally, each Case is given a Case ID that increment sequentially within your Sprout account as new cases are created.

This way, you can easily refer to the status of cases with stakeholders and other members of your care team. Case IDs appear on Case cards, the Case details page and Case activity.

What if an Assignee or a Team doesn't have permission to a profile or are a part of a different Group?

If you assign a Case to an Assignee or to a Team who doesn't have at least Read Only access to the profile, a popup appears when you click Create Case. 

From there, you have the option to click Edit profile permissions and then grant at least Read Only permissions for the profile for a single Assignee or update the permissions for an entire Team. 

If a user doesn't belong to a Group and Cross-Group Assignments are enabled, you can add team members to the relevant Group so they can work on the Case.

How do I manage Cases?

If you were assigned a Case, you can see it in the Cases section. Cases are sorted by most recent activity first.

But, you can also use the Sorting menu to sort Cases by:

• Creation date
• Last update
• Last received response

And add either a Newest to Oldest or Oldest to Newest sort order.

As new Cases get added to your queue or a Case gets updated, you see the New Case indicator appear. Click on the indicator to get taken to the latest Case or updated activity.

You also have a Case counter at the top of your view where you can see how many Open or On Hold Cases there are.

You can update your Case's status as Open, On Hold or Closed and move your Cases through the appropriate statuses in any direction. Plus, when you respond to Cases, you can send a response and update the Case Status in one click.

How do I view details about a Case's activity?

You can reassign the Case to another team member by selecting them from the list on the right side of the screen. The new assignee sees all comments and events in the Case Activity section. 

You can update the Case priority, Assignee or Type and the change is saved automatically.

Access closed Cases from the Closed Cases section in the left navigation bar. Deselecting Close Case reopens the Case and places it in the Open Cases section.

Users who don't have admin permissions enabled see a left navigation bar section called Assigned By Me. Selecting this displays all cases assigned to others by the individual.

Account Owners and users with full admin permissions see a left navigation bar section called All Cases (Across Team). Selecting this shows all cases assigned across the team, giving you oversight into your team’s case activities.

How do I use the Cases filter in the Smart Inbox?

The Cases filter is a great way to focus on messages that require triage and review. You can also create custom views for assigned messages.

Access the Cases filter in the Smart Inbox. When you expand the filter, you can:

• Select All Messages without Cases - shows messages that aren't currently assigned.
• Select All Messages with Cases - shows messages that are currently assigned.
• Select All Case Assignees or Specific Case Assignees - shows messages that are assigned AND assigned to any selected team members.
  

How can I update multiple Case Statuses?

You can bulk update the status of multiple Cases at once.

To update multiple Case Statuses:

1. Select the Cases you want to update individually or select the checkbox at the top of your Cases stream.
   
2. Click the Case Status icon and select the status you want to update your selected Cases to. A confirmation popup appears.
   
3. Click Confirm. A toast message appears letting you know the number of Cases that successfully updated. If a Case Status can't get updated, a blue message appears with the Case ID and reason the update didn't apply.

How are messages tracked against Cases?

All follow-up messages are added to the Case until it’s closed. Once a Case is closed, any new messages from the conversation are considered unassigned, and you can add them to new cases if desired. If you re-open a Case, any follow-up messages created after the Case was closed are automatically associated with that Case.

You can also respond directly to a Case, rather than navigating back to the Smart Inbox to send a reply. Plus, you can see user information for the person you're replying to with the Profile tab when you open a Case.

 

How do I view all public and private messages that are part of the same conversation in a single case?

We do that for you!  Our Unified Case-Related Message Detection automatically detects and consolidates multiple public and private messages into a single Case, ensuring a comprehensive view of customer interactions, and the Case displays all those associated social messages—public, private, or a mix of both—in one place, allowing agents to seamlessly manage and respond to customer queries. Separate tabs for public and private conversations provide clear organization and easy access to all messages.

View Related Public and Private Messages

1. Select a case you want to view by clicking on it. This action opens the case details.
2. Locate the Case Activity tab. This tab provides a comprehensive view of all activities related to the case.
3. If your case includes both public and private messages, you will see separate tabs or sections for each type.
   • Click on the Public Conversation tab to view public messages
   • Click on the Private Conversation tab to view private messages

Respond to Both Public and Private Messages

1. Identify the message you need to respond to
2. Click the arrow reply icon to initiate your response
   • This takes you to the appropriate Conversation tab (public or private)
3. Compose and send your response

How do I enable Split Pane Mode?

Split Pane Mode enables you to work more quickly by eliminating the need to constantly exit and load the full Case Detail page when you're working. 

To enable Split Pane Mode, navigate to the Cases tab, click the three dot icon in the upper right corner and toggle Split Pane Mode to on.

Now you can view your Case Details, list of Case and the current Case you're working on at once.

Toggle Split Pane Mode off at any time by reselecting the three dot icon and toggling Split Pane Mode to Off. 

FAQs

Can I add or remove individual messages from a Case?

No. A single message is assigned manually, after which the follow-up messages are automatically added to the Case until the Case is closed.

How do follow-up messages in Cases impact the Case Performance report?

The Active Case Time metric remains the same and indicates how long a case remains open after it is assigned to a user, regardless of whether the case includes one or many messages.

Can I reopen any Case in a conversation?

No. Only one Case in the conversation can be open at a time.

What users are listed in the Assigned Team Members section of the Cases Inbox filter?

The list of users that is displayed depends on the Cross-Group Assignment setting. When the Cross-Group Assignment setting is enabled, the list of team members includes all users within your Sprout instance, regardless of group. When the Cross-Group setting is disabled, the list of team members includes only users within your current Group.

What happens if a message becomes assigned or unassigned and no longer matches the filters I selected?

Make sure to perform a page refresh to ensure the list of messages that appears in the Inbox is accurate.

Why can't I select All Assigned Messages and Team Members at the same time with the Cases filter?

When you select All Assigned Messages you see all messages that are assigned. When you select All Team Members, you see all messages that are assigned and assigned to any user in the list. 

What if I don't have the necessary permissions to update an Assignee's permissions when I create a Case?

If this happens, a notification appears letting you know who you need to contact on your team to get the correct permissions assigned.

What happens if the Assignee belongs to a role?

If the person you're assigning the Case to belongs to a Role instead of custom permissions, you can either update the role to include the selected profile permissions or move the Case Assignee out of the role and into custom permissions instead.

Can I assign or reassign a Case to a Team that contains users who have “No Access” to the associated profile?

Yes. For Teams, if at least one user has access to the profile, you can create a Case.

 

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