How do I use the Product Q&A feature?

Shift4Shop merchants have access to Shift4Shop's Product Question & Answer module which allows customers to ask questions about specific products. These questions can then be answered by other store shoppers or the eCommerce store's staff. Questions and their answers will then remain on the product page where other visitors can view them. This can help drive conversion up by providing additional information to other shoppers about the products you sell.

Furthermore, merchants can also enable a special helpfulness rating system on the Q&A Module that will allow visitors to vote whether the answers provided were helpful to them or not. This will then allow the Answers to be sorted in a most helpful to least format, allowing your visitors to make informed decisions when purchasing your wares.

This article contains several topics which will guide you through the process of setting up and using the Product Q&A module. Use the links below to review its respective topic.

Enabling the Product Q&A Module
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Please take the following steps to enable the Q&A Module:

1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
2. Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
3. Use the search bar at the top to search for "Product Question & Answers" to view the module

You will see the following settings and configuration options:

• Enable Questions and Answers
  Place a mark in this checkbox and save the Store Modules page to enable the feature.
  • Manage Q&A
    As questions are asked and answered, this button will take you to them so they can be managed, displayed, approved, provide additional answers, etc.
• Enable CAPTCHA for Q&A
  Use this checkbox to enable CAPTCHA verification on the module for when questions and answers are submitted.
• Number of Questions to Display
  Enter the maximum number of questions which will be displayed on the page.
• Require Login
  Select this checkbox if you would like your customer to log into their respective customer records before posting a question, or an answer to a previously posted question. Otherwise, Questions and their Answers can be asked by anyone.
• Enable Email Confirmation
  Use this checkbox to have the posters enter their email address twice when posting a question and/or answer. (to ensure the email is correct)
• Notify All Questioners of new approved question for same product
  When marked, this checkbox will notify every user who asked a question upon approval of another question on the same product.
• Notify All Answerers of new approved answer for same product
  When marked, this checkbox will notify every user who answered a question upon approval of another answer on the same product.
• Allow Helpfulness Rating
  This will add a button to each posted Answer, allowing visitors to vote on which answer was most helpful.
• Default Question Sorting
  Allows you to dictate how the Questions and their resepctive Answers are sorted. Your options are:
  • Most Helpful
    Questions with Answers which have been voted the most helpful
  • Newest to Oldest
    Questions sorted to show newer Questions first.
  • Oldest to Newest
    Questions sorted to show older Questions first.
• Auto-Approve Questions
  This will automatically approve and post the question to your product's listing page.
• Allow Users to Answer Questions
  Marking this checkbox will allow your store users to also answer posted questions. (Default is only merchant staff can answer questions)

Once the module is enabled, your product listing pages will be displayed with a link, inviting people to ask a question.

Asking a Question
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As mentioned in the previous section, enabling the module will add a special link to your product listing page inviting users to ask a question about the product. The wording on the link will be respective to whether the product has had any questions asked on it (so far) or not.

If no questions have been asked about the product yet, the link will read as follows:

Questions about this item? Be the first to ask here.

If questions have already been asked about the product, the link will read like this:

Questions about this item? Ask here.

Clicking on the link will open up a pop up window that will allow the user to post their question.

If the user is already logged in, their name and email address information will be pre-populated. Otherwise, the form will ask for this information.

Approving Questions
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Upon submitting their question, the user's question will be ready to display on the product page. However, the display depends on whether or not you have the module set to auto-approve questions (see the Auto-Approve Questions setting mentioned above).

If the checkbox is marked, then the question is posted right away, allowing your staff (or other users) to answer the question.

If the box is not marked however, you will need to use the "Manage Q&A" link (found within the module itself) to review, edit and approve the question.

1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
2. Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
3. Use the search bar at the top to search for "Product Question & Answers" to view the module
4. Click on "Manage Q&A"

You will see all of the products that have had questions asked thus far. Clicking on the product name in this list will allow you to view its asked Questions.

After clicking on the action wheel and selecting "edit" for the respective Question, you can review, edit and even provide an answer to the question. (see next section)

Be sure to Save your changes to post the question on the product page. Once the Question is approved, the system will email the person who posted the question to let them know it has been posted on the store and ready for answering.

Answering Questions
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Another setting within the module allows you to specify how Questions are answered (see the Allow Users to Answer Questions setting mentioned above).

If the checkbox is not marked, only merchants and the eCommerce store's staff will be able to provide answers to the question. If the checkbox is marked, then both staff and public users will be able to provide answers to the posted questions. However, public answers will still need to be reviewed and approved by the eCommerce store staff.

To To Post an Answer to a Question (eCommerce store staff only):
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1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
2. Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
3. Use the search bar at the top to search for "Product Question & Answers" to view the module
4. Click the name of the product that you'd like to edit Q&A for.
5. On the subsequent page, look for the question that you'd like to answer and click on its action wheel to select "Edit"
6. Click on the "Add Answer" button to provide an answer to the question
7. Be sure to click "Save" at the top right to post the answer.

To Approve a Publicly Posted Answer (all users):
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1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
2. Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Modules
3. Use the search bar at the top to search for "Product Question & Answers" to view the module
4. Click the name of the product that you'd like to edit Q&A for.
5. On the subsequent page, look for the question that you'd like to answer and click on its action wheel to select "Edit"

In the "Answers for this Question" section of the page, you will see the posted answers in a grid. You can also see which have been approved or not.

6. Click on the Action wheel to select "Edit" for the answer you'd like to review.
7. Review and edit the Answer as needed
8. Click on the "Approved" checkbox
9. Then click "Save" at the top right to post the answer.

Helpfulness Rating
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The Product Q&A Module also contains a setting that allows users to rate posted answers as being helpful or not (see the Allow Helpfulness Rating setting mentioned above).

When this option is enabled, users can vote on the helpfulness of the answers provided. The page will have a button labeled "Was this Answer Helpful?" and users can select yes or no to rate it.

The system will then record the number of Yes votes, compared with the total number of votes and provide viewers with a listing of the most helpful answers to the question.

Furthermore, merchants can choose to sort the displayed answers in order from most helpful to least.

Email Notifications
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The system is tailored to send notification emails for several transactional events on the Product Q&A module.

These emails are controlled by special HTML templates that can be modified to your specific needs is desired.

To view/edit the email notification templates:

1. Log into your Shift4Shop Online Store Manager
2. Using the left hand navigation menu, go to Settings >Design >Email

Towards the bottom of the page, you will see a section labeled "Product Emails." Within this section, you will have a series of email templates pertaining to the Product Q&A module.

3. Click on the actio wheel to the far right and select "Edit" on any of the email templates to alter your notification emails as needed.