Shared Inbox

The Ultimate Guide to Shared Inbox: Benefits, Use Cases & Best Practices

Collaborate faster, automate workflows and build genuine, 1:1 conversations with your customers at scale with shared team inbox for a team.

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Shared Inbox

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Develop Effective Communication with Shared Inbox for Teams

Shared inbox serves as the one-stop solution for streamlining communication, reducing customer response time and enhancing team collaboration.

Omnichannel Inbox

Connect with customers across multiple communication channels such as email, live chat, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Everything is centralized in one team inbox.

Centralized Dashboard

Achieve the business’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and provide a superior customer experience. Access actionable customer insights from a single, user-friendly dashboard.

Integrated Knowledge Base

Equip the customer support team with a comprehensive knowledge base. Empower them to deliver conversations more effectively.

Workflow Automation

Streamline the customer support process by creating customized workflow rules that automatically route and escalate conversations.

Team Collaboration

Promote seamless collaboration among team members through a shared inbox solution. Make communication seamless and enhance efficiency in managing incoming emails.

Intelligent Routing

Empower the customer support team with intelligent routing capabilities. It ensures that inquiries are directed to the most appropriate team member for faster responses.

Effective communication and collaboration are paramount to success. Yet, many teams still struggle with siloed inbox. It leads to missed messages, miscommunication and a lack of transparency.

The team inbox is more than just a centralized repository for emails. It offers advanced features that take team collaboration to new heights. Let’s explore how a shared team inbox can revolutionize a team’s communication.

What is a Shared Inbox?

A shared inbox refers to a collective team mailbox that allows multiple people to manage omnichannel communication from a single email address such as support@mycompany.com. It is useful for teams who need to manage customer inquiries and collect data in real-time. Teams can streamline their workflow, improve response times and ensure efficient communication with customers with a team inbox solution.

A shared team inbox

  • Streamlines communication between members within an organization
  • Ensures quick resolution of queries
  • Promotes collaboration among team members
  • Improves customer response time
  • Acts as a customer management system for storing contacts and integration with other applications

Shared Inbox Benefits for Team Collaboration

A shared team inbox significantly enhances a brand’s teamwork and collaboration by automating tasks. Here are some more shared inbox benefits:

Shared Inbox Benefits for Team Collaboration

1. Unified Cross-Channel Messaging

Customers interact with businesses through various channels, including email, social media, live chat and more. A shared inbox consolidates all the communication streams into a single unified platform. It ensures every message is noticed and the teams can seamlessly manage inquiries from multiple channels.

2. Better Customer Service

A team inbox is a game-changer for customer service teams. Teams can respond more efficiently with complete visibility into all incoming requests. It reduces response times and minimizes frustration for customers. Collaboration features allow team members to leverage collective knowledge.

3. Seamless Collaboration

Traditional email setups often lead to siloed communication and duplication of efforts. A team inbox enhances seamless collaboration. It enables team members to work together on email responses and assign tasks to the appropriate individuals. The collaborative email approach ensures consistent messaging and promotes knowledge sharing.

4. Easier Organization

A shared inbox keeps communication streamlined and structured. Features like email assignments, labels, filters and search capabilities make it easier to prioritize tasks. The organization enhances team productivity and ensures nothing slips through the cracks.

5. Automated Task Assignment

Manual task assignments can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Team inbox offers automation that routes incoming messages to the appropriate team. It ensures inquiries are handled by the most qualified team members from the outset.

6. Improved Security and Compliance Management

A collaborative inbox can be an instrument for maintaining secure communication in industries with strict compliance requirements such as healthcare or legal services. Teams can ensure sensitive information adheres to regulatory standards with centralized access controls.

6 Must Have Shared Inbox Features

The right team inbox can make a huge difference in how the team communicates and stays organized. We’ll discuss 6 must-have shared inbox features.

Features of Shared Inbox

1. Centralized Inbox

A single inbox is designed to organize customer conversations, notifications and task assignments from all digital channels. Say goodbye to scattered interactions while embracing streamlined organization.

Key benefits:

Transparency and visibility: Every team member has complete visibility into incoming communication with all emails, social media and websites in one place. It ensures every message is noticed and noticed.
Enhanced customer experience: A centralized inbox helps teams provide better customer service, ensuring all inquiries are addressed promptly. It leads to higher satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Workflow

A clear view of steps, tasks, assignments and deadlines is provided when efficiency takes centre stage with automation workflows. Elevate the response process while ensuring seamless coordination among colleagues for more effective solutions.

Automation rules streamline repetitive processes, such as automatically assigning emails based on predefined criteria or triggering specific actions based on email content. The feature enhances productivity and minimizes manual intervention. It allows teams to focus on higher-value tasks.

Importance:

  • Improved organization and accountability, with clear task assignments.
  • Increased efficiency through automated processes and reduced manual effort.
  • Enhanced communication, facilitating seamless teamwork and minimizing potential conflicts.

3. Collaborative Workspace

A collaborative workspace is a crucial feature of a shared inbox. It enables real-time updates and notifications to keep team members informed about ongoing activities. Threaded conversations allow for organized and contextual discussions, facilitating efficient communication.

@mentions functionality ensures that relevant individuals are promptly notified and can contribute to the conversation as needed. A common use case is customer support, where agents can seamlessly collaborate on resolving complex inquiries.

Importance:

  • Improved knowledge sharing and collective problem-solving, leveraging the expertise of the entire team.
  • Streamlined communication and reduced response times, leading to better customer satisfaction.

4. Custom Labels

Custom labels are an indispensable feature of a team inbox. It allows teams to organize and categorize emails according to their specific needs. Customizable labels and categories enable users to create tailored classifications that align with their workflow.

Let’s consider that in a customer support environment, labels such as “Priority,” “Product X,” or “Billing Inquiries” can be created to streamline the assignment process. It ensures that the appropriate team members promptly address inquiries.

How it helps:

  • Enhanced organization and prioritization, enabling teams to manage their workload efficiently.
  • Improved visibility, as emails can be easily located and retrieved based on their assigned labels.

5. Unified View

A unified view is an essential feature of a shared inbox. It enables teams to consolidate multiple communication channels into a single platform. The unified view ensures a holistic experience across all touchpoints by seamlessly integrating email, chat and other channels.

Let’s take the example of an e-commerce setting. They can manage inquiries from incoming email and social media within a unified interface. The agents can access relevant information and provide timely responses.

How it helps:

  • Improved efficiency and productivity, as agents can manage all customer interactions from a centralized location. It eliminates the need to switch between multiple tools.
  • Enhanced customer satisfaction, as customers receive consistent and seamless support across all channels.

6. Integrations

Forge a 360-degree customer view by integrating shared inbox with business systems like CRM and customer data platforms. Experience enhanced collaboration by integrating task management apps and consolidating projects on a single platform. Open APIs enable custom integrations, empowering organizations to tailor the team inbox to their business needs.

Key benefits:

  • Improved efficiency and productivity by eliminating the need for context-switching across multiple applications.
  • Enhanced data accuracy and consistency by synchronizing information across integrated systems.
  • Increased flexibility and scalability, enabling organizations to adapt the team inbox to their evolving requirements.

Omnichannel Helpdesk and Ticketing System

Turn Every Support Issues into Personalized Conversations with Veemo’s Omnichannel Helpdesk and Ticketing System. Make customer happiness your top priority with a digital first customer experience (CX) approach

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Radically new solutions for data

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How to Create a Shared Inbox?

We will discuss the vital steps to create an effective shared inbox. Understand how to set up permissions, organise folders and implement best practices for managing emails more efficiently.

Steps To Create a Shared Inbox

1. Choose a Shared Inbox Software

Choose a platform that meets the team’s needs and integrates with the existing tools. Let’s take a customer support team for example. The software they choose should offer them features tailored to the team inbox.

2. Choose an Email Address

Select a professional and memorable email address that aligns with the team’s or department’s function such as support@company.com or sales@company.com. Let’s consider a marketing team for example. They can use marketing@company.com as their team inbox address for managing campaigns and inquiries.

3. Forward Emails to Shared Inbox Account

Configure individual team members’ email accounts to forward relevant emails to the team inbox address. It ensures that all communication is centralized and accessible to the entire team. Think of a sales team where each sales representative can forward customer inquiries and lead emails to the team inbox. It will ensure no communication gets slipped through the cracks.

4. Configure Access Permissions

Determine which team members should have access to the shared inbox and set appropriate permissions. It may include read-only access for some members and full read/write access for others. Let’s consider that in a human resources team, the HR manager may have full access, while other team members have read-only access to maintain confidentiality.

5. Set Up Rules & Templates

Establish rules and templates to automate common tasks. It ensures consistency in responses. Rules can be set to automatically assign emails based on specific criteria. Templates can provide standardized language for FAQs or common scenarios. Let’s assume that a customer support team can set up a rule to automatically assign emails containing the word “billing” to the accounting team.

6. Define User Roles & Responsibilities

Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each team member within the shared inbox. It may include assigning specific tasks, such as triaging emails or escalating complex issues. Let’s consider a product development team. One member may be responsible for triaging feature requests. Another for bug reports and a third for escalating critical issues to the engineering team.

7. Set Up Secure Access

Implement appropriate security measures to protect sensitive information and maintain data privacy. It may include two-factor authentication, IP whitelisting and encryption for sensitive communications. A legal team handling confidential client information may require two-factor authentication and IP whitelisting. It ensures that only authorized personnel can access the team inbox.

Best Shared Inbox Tools

Having a shared inbox simplifies team collaboration without creating multiple conversations. We have shortlisted the best shared inbox tools for businesses that suit their business requirements

1. Veemo Support

Best shared inbox software for omnichannel customer support

Veemo Support Inbox

Veemo Support is a platform that allows businesses to collaborate across teams for better conversation management. The tool can be integrated with the existing CRM systems, providing enhanced collaboration. It offers intuitive automation capabilities and powerful yet simple task management features. The smart notifications are powered by AI to keep teams updated on customer queries.

Key features:

  • Omnichannel help desk and ticketing: Connect with customers in real-time through their preferred channels, ensuring swift issue resolution. Veemo Support elevates the digital customer service experience and enhances stronger relationships.
  • Self-service knowledge base: Empower customers with a robust knowledge base, enabling them to independently troubleshoot issues in real-time. The software reduces their reliance on staff by providing accessible solutions at their fingertips.
  • Advanced routing and workflows: Seamlessly direct customer requests to the appropriate teams or agents. It helps in minimizing response time and ensuring accurate solutions. The software optimizes support processes for maximum efficiency.
  • Mobile accessibility: Veemo Support’s shared inbox is accessible on mobile devices, allowing team members to stay connected on the go. The feature ensures that support teams can provide timely assistance, even when they are not at their desks.
  • Tags and filters: The software allows users to categorize customer conversations using tags and filters. The feature enables teams to easily prioritize and search for specific queries or topics to provide accurate responses to customers.

Pricing:

The Growth plan costs $29/user/month with 3 inboxes, 1 knowledge base and omnichannel support. The Team plan is $69/user/month with 10 inboxes, 3 knowledge bases and a support widget. The Enterprise plan is $129/user/month with unlimited inboxes, a client portal and advanced asset management. Visit Veemo’s pricing page for more details.

2. Omni24

Top team inbox software for multichannel engagement

Omni Inbox

Omni24 is an omnichannel customer engagement platform that allows businesses to manage customer emails from multiple users in one place. The software streamlines how teams collaborate on email conversations and provides advanced analytics for better insights. It also integrates with team chat services like Slack and many other features to help teams excel in customer support tasks.

Key features:

  • Omnichannel engagement: The software allows businesses to have omnichannel interaction through their preferred digital platforms. The omnichannel Inbox ensures a stellar digital customer service experience for live chat or messaging apps.
  • Knowledge base: Empower customers to find solutions independently with a comprehensive knowledge base. Businesses can address common queries before they even reach out to customers. It’s like having a 24/7 self-help resource that simplifies their journey.
  • AI-powered chatbots: Unlock real-time digital customer care around the clock with AI Chatbots. When the support team takes a break, the smart chatbots step in, engaging customers and swiftly addressing their concerns. The result? A seamless experience that sets new standards.
  • Feedback surveys: Gain valuable insights into customer expectations with feedback surveys. The software understands gaps in the customer service strategy. It makes significant improvements and tailors the approach for greater satisfaction.
  • SLA management: Empower the support agents with effective planning tools that align with digital customer service standards. The SLA management feature lets them set and meet goals, ensuring an efficient customer support experience.

Pricing: The pricing starts from $29/month with one inbox feature and extends up to $149/month for unlimited inboxes. They’re currently running a 14-day free trial. Sign up now!

3. HiverHQ

Ideal shared inbox tool for omnichannel customer support

Hiver HQ shared Inbox

HiverHQ makes it easy for teams to work together on a shared inbox. The software offers comprehensive search functionality so that users can quickly get up to date on where their team left off with clients when they join the conversation. The other handy features include the automatic assignment of tasks based on role permissions, cross-team collaboration tools and private note-sharing for internal discussions.

4. Drag

Robust shared inbox software for unified customer support

Drag

Drag is a shared inbox solution that focuses on providing a simple and intuitive user experience. The platform offers a clean interface, making it easy for teams to manage team inbox, assign tasks and collaborate on emails. Key features included are shared inbox, customizable email templates, email scheduling and integration with popular apps.

Shared Inbox Use Cases

Businesses can learn how team inbox benefits them by seeing their usage across various sectors. Here are key shared inbox use cases across different industries:

Shared Inbox Use Cases

1. Customer Support

Help desk teams often deal with a high volume of inquiries coming in through various channels like email, chat and social media. A shared inbox allows the entire support team to have visibility into all incoming queries. Agents can collaborate on drafting responses and assign tickets based on expertise or availability. It helps to maintain a consistent voice and quality of support across the team.

2. Sales

A team inbox can be instrumental in managing leads and opportunities in sales organizations. Instead of individual sales reps working in silos, the entire team can access a centralized inbox for inbound leads. It promotes transparency and ensures leads are promptly followed up on by the appropriate team member based on factors like territory or availability.

3. Human Resources

HR teams often receive a high volume of inquiries from employees, job applicants and other stakeholders. A team inbox allows HR professionals to collaborate on responses, ensuring consistent information is provided. It facilitates seamless handoffs during employee onboarding or offboarding processes. All relevant communication is centralized and accessible to the entire team.

4. Marketing

Marketing teams can benefit from a shared inbox for managing various campaigns, events and initiatives. It allows for better coordination among team members working on different aspects of a campaign, such as content creation and event management. The centralized approach ensures seamless communication. It prevents any important details from falling through the cracks.

5. IT Support

IT help desk teams often receive a diverse range of inquiries and service requests from employees or customers. A team inbox enables efficient ticket management, as team members can collaborate on troubleshooting complex issues and assign tickets based on expertise. It maintains a clear record of all communication and resolution steps.

6. Finance

Shared inbox help the finance department to keep track of conversations, identify discrepancies quickly and keep budgets up-to-date across the organization. Finance teams often consist of diverse specialists. A team inbox simplifies internal communication. It allows team members to exchange crucial information, documents and updates seamlessly.

Differences Between Shared Inbox & Traditional Email

Differentiating shared inbox from traditional email is crucial due to their unique advantages. Let’s delve into the key differences to gain a comprehensive understanding.

Shared Inbox Vs Traditional Email

1. Centralized communication: Traditional email relies on individual inbox, leading to siloed communication and potential missed messages. A shared inbox provides a centralized communication hub accessible to the entire team. It ensures no email goes unnoticed and promotes transparency, as everyone can respond to incoming messages.

2. Collaborative email management: Team members often resort to forwarding, CC-ing and manually keeping others in the loop with traditional email. A team inbox eliminates the inefficient process by enabling true collaborative email management. Team members can assign emails to each other, add notes and collaborate on drafting responses.

3. Task delegation and accountability: Task delegation and accountability can be challenging in traditional email setups, as emails may get lost or overlooked in individual inbox. Team inbox solves the issue by allowing members to assign specific emails to each other. It ensures clear ownership and responsibility for each task or inquiry.

4. Automation and workflow optimization: Team inbox often offer automation and rule-setting capabilities that traditional email lacks. Teams can set up rules to automatically assign emails based on keywords, subject lines, or predefined criteria. It helps streamline workflows and ensure the right person handles each inquiry from the start.

5. Data-driven insights: While traditional email provides limited visibility into team performance, shared inbox offers valuable analytics and reporting features. Teams can track metrics like response times, productivity and customer satisfaction. It enables data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

Shared Inbox Best Practices

Businesses can create a more organized email management for their team by implementing the practices. Here are 8 shared inbox best practices:

Shared Inbox Best Practices 
  1. Establish Clear Ground Rules
    Lay the foundation for effective collaboration by ensuring that every team member comprehends the shared inbox’s dynamics. Establish protocols, guidelines and policies for its usage. It creates a shared understanding that promotes consistency and avoids confusion.
  2. Embrace Email Management Systems
    Implement an email management system that streamlines the handling of incoming messages. Facilitate the assignment of priority levels, the application of labels for improved organization and the archival of conversations. Such structuring enhances efficiency and accessibility.
  3. Instant Task Assignment
    Maintain a proactive approach to task distribution list directly from the shared email inbox. It prevents tasks from slipping through the cracks and ensures that responsibilities are promptly allocated among team members.
  4. Align on Goals and Timelines
    Promote cohesion by setting collective objectives along with defining timelines for task completion. It ensures clarity by assigning tasks to specific team members and establishing accountability for each responsibility within the shared mailbox.
  5. Sustain Communication About Progress
    A continuous flow of communication is pivotal to keeping all team members abreast of the progress made on tasks originating from the shared mailbox. Regular updates enable informed decision-making and facilitate seamless collaboration.
  6. Nurture Innovation and Responsibilities
    Encourage the exploration of inventive approaches to address challenges.
    Promote an environment where team members can communicate novel ideas related to the shared mailbox’s efficient utilization. Monitor progress and adapt strategies as needed.

Measuring Shared Inbox Performance (KPIs & Metrics)

Measuring the performance of a shared inbox is essential for understanding how effectively it is being utilized within an organization. Here are some KPIs and metrics businesses should consider when evaluating a shared inbox performance.

Metrics to Measure Shared Inbox Performance
  • First response time (FRT): FRT is the average time between a customer’s initial message and the first response from the support team. A lower response time means customers are likely to receive quicker resolutions and return with higher satisfaction ratings.
  • Resolution time: The average time it takes for a customer inquiry to be resolved or responded effectively without further follow-ups requested by them.
  • Average handle time (AHT): AHT is how much time it takes an agent to complete a specific task or reply. It helps customers resolve their issues or answer their questions accurately.
  • Agent utilization rates: Monitor agent response times to handle customer queries by tracking agent utilization rates and measuring their time spent on emails.
  • Customer satisfaction score (CSAT): A good customer experience can be measured through a customer satisfaction score. Keep track of how customers rate their experience with service teams in a shared inbox environment.
  • Cost per reply: Cost per reply is the time and money invested, related to resolving inquiries within a team inbox environment.
  • Volume trending: Volume trending is a parameter that allows businesses to measure if the number of inquiries sent over a given period has been increasing or decreasing.
  • Team performance comparison: Analyze which team member is currently performing better than other members in terms of metrics like resolution rate.
  • SLA compliance rate: SLA Compliance rate is how often the team meets commitments during customer inquiries with corresponding response email timelines.

Team Collaboration Made Easy with Shared Inbox

Organizations need modern, efficient communication systems to keep their business running smoothly. They can make better use of their time and resources by leveraging a shared inbox when it comes to team collaboration. It becomes seamless while data can be accessed from any device, anytime.

Collaboration benefits by enhancing security and compliance measures which makes it a great choice for any company looking for an organized team communication system. A team inbox gets a team collaboration quickly no matter where members are located on the globe.

FAQs about Shared Inbox Solution

A shared inbox allows multiple team members to access and respond to emails from a single account, ensuring better coordination. Traditional email accounts are typically assigned to individuals, limiting visibility and making it difficult to manage emails collectively. Team inbox streamlines communication for teams working together on email correspondence.

A team inbox allows multiple team members to access and respond to emails in one centralized location, reducing the burden on individual email accounts. A team inbox helps to streamline communication and prevent emails from getting lost by distributing the workload. The collaborative approach helps to reduce email overload for everyone involved.

Yes, shared mailboxes can receive external emails. Shared mailboxes are designed to allow multiple users to access and send emails from a common email address. External emails sent to the shared mailbox will be accessible to all users granted access to the shared mailbox.

Shared inbox allow multiple users to access and manage emails from one central account, making collaboration easier. Other tools, such as individual email accounts lack the ability for multiple users to work together in real-time on one email account. Team inbox streamline communication and enhance teamwork within a company.

Centralize communication to manage a team inbox effectively: Integrate various communication channels into it to avoid scattering interactions. Use automation: Implement automation for repetitive tasks, routing and categorization to save time. Set priorities: Establish response time goals and prioritize inquiries based on urgency. Collaborate: Use internal notes, tagging and comments to facilitate collaboration among team members.