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CRM · Inbox and leads

Customer messages and leads,in one place, in order.

Instagram and Facebook messages are sorted by priority, and leads from your form ads are followed all the way to a sale. See at a glance which message to answer first and which lead is waiting.

Rather hand the job over? In our Lead & Sales Tracking service we run this tool for you; scope and monthly price are published.

Lead management

What a social media CRM is, and what it does for a business that sells in DMs

A CRM keeps every contact with a customer in one record. Who wrote, what they asked, who handled it, whether it closed: it all sits in one place, so nobody has to remember it.

Traditional CRMs were built around email and phone calls. Many sales today start with an Instagram DM, a price question in the comments or a lead form ad. AgentFabrica CRM puts the message and the ad lead at the centre.

Types of CRM and the part AgentFabrica covers
CRM typeWhat it doesIn AgentFabrica
OperationalRuns day-to-day sales and service workLead list, stage, owner, notes
CollaborativeShares information across the team and channelsInbox, assignment, per-salesperson visibility
AnalyticalFinds customer groups and trends in past dataCustomer segments from purchase history

The inbox tells you which message to answer first

Instagram DMs, comments and mentions sit in one list alongside Facebook comments and Messenger messages. When you connect Instagram, past comments and DMs are pulled in too, and no record is written twice.

The list is sorted by priority, not arrival time. Each message is read for intent: complaint, return, shipping, price, product question, partnership or reseller enquiry. Priority comes from that intent and the message's sentiment; a negative message from an account with 10,000 or more followers is flagged as well.

Priority levels and response targets
LevelWhen it appliesResponse target
P1 CriticalA complaint or negative message30 minutes
P2 Sales opportunityBuying intent such as price, product or reseller questions60 minutes
P3 SupportShipping and returns on an existing order4 hours
P4 GeneralEverything else with no measured urgency24 hours

Messages close to or past their target are flagged in the list.

  • Filters: awaiting reply, priority, negative, sales opportunity, support, spam, archive.
  • Reply suggestions read the post caption and the whole conversation.
  • Suggestions never invent prices, stock, addresses or delivery times that are not in your brand details.
  • Each reply comes with a checklist of properties measured in the text.

Following an ad lead all the way to a sale

The lead list sits on the left and the selected lead's details on the right. A salesperson can work there all day without the page changing on every click.

Lead stages
  1. 1
    New

    Comes from a lead form ad, the comment-to-DM automation, or is added by hand.

  2. 2
    Called

    The salesperson makes first contact and adds a note.

  3. 3
    Appointment

    A date is set; in many industries this is where money is made.

  4. 4
    Won

    The amount is kept if entered; if not, it is never counted as zero.

  5. 5
    Lost

    Closed with a reason such as price, timing or unreachable.

  • Every lead has an owner, and that owner is a real team member.
  • Notes are stored with their author and time.
  • Meta form leads carry the ad and form IDs; where a source sends none, nothing is guessed.
  • Raw form answers stay on the record, so no response is lost.

Who on your team sees what

Someone in the sales role sees only the leads assigned to them and cannot open a colleague's customer. The filter runs on the server, so the rest of the list is never sent to them.

PermissionWhat it allows
View all leadsThe brand owner and managers see the full list
View assigned leadsA salesperson works only on their own leads
UpdateChange stage and add notes
AssignHand a lead to a team member

Five things to check when choosing a CRM

  1. 1Where do customers reach you? Mostly email suits a classic CRM; mostly Instagram and lead ads suits a tool built around messages.
  2. 2Do ad leads land in the system on their own, or do you copy them into a spreadsheet?
  3. 3When the connection breaks, does the tool tell you, or does the list just stay empty?
  4. 4As the sales team grows, can you control who sees which customer?
  5. 5Do you need a consultant to set it up, or can you connect an account and start?
Three approaches compared
CriterionAgentFabrica CRMEnterprise CRMSpreadsheet and notes
Instagram and Facebook messagesIn the inbox, by priorityUsually through an add-onEach app opened separately
Meta lead form leadsArrive automaticallyIntegration requiredDownloaded by hand
Broken connection warningNames the missing permissionDepends on setupNone
Per-salesperson visibilityEnforced on the serverAvailable, heavy to configureNone
Phone and email campaignsNot the focusStrongNone

The tools that feed the CRM

Most leads come from ads. You set up lead forms on the Instagram ads screen, and conversion tracking shows whether an ad actually brought in sales.

WhatsApp conversations run in their own module: the WhatsApp AI assistant answers incoming questions. To talk with visitors on your website, use live chat.

  • The comment-to-DM automation saves people who ask for a price in the comments as leads.
  • Customers with a purchase history are grouped on the segments screen.
  • Agencies send price proposals to clients from the proposals screen.
  • If you would rather hand the follow-up over, see our lead management service.

We measured how reply speed affects sales in our WhatsApp response time article.

Frequently asked questions

What is a social media CRM?

It is a CRM that treats social messages, comments and ad leads as the main source of customer contact, rather than an add-on to email and phone.

Is a CRM the same as lead management software?

In everyday use they overlap: both follow a prospect from first contact to sale. In AgentFabrica you run it yourself; if you want it done for you, there is a lead management service.

Which channels feed the inbox?

Instagram DMs, comments and mentions, plus Facebook comments and Messenger. WhatsApp runs in a separate module. TikTok, LinkedIn and X messages do not reach the inbox today.

Does the AI reply to messages on its own?

Not by default. The system suggests a reply and you send it. If you turn auto-reply on, nobody gets a second automatic reply within 10 minutes.

How do lead form leads get into the CRM?

If your Facebook Page is connected and lead retrieval permission is granted, Meta form leads arrive in the list automatically. If the permission is missing, the screen says exactly what is missing.

Can my salespeople see each other's customers?

Someone in the sales role sees only the leads assigned to them. The brand owner and managers see the full list.

What stages does a lead go through?

New, called, appointment, won and lost. You can record the amount for a win and the reason for a loss; an amount that is not entered is never counted as zero.

What should I do about data protection?

If your forms collect names, phone numbers and emails, tell people why. For customers in Turkey, the KVKK duty to inform page sets out what the notice must cover.

Sources

The official documentation behind the technical points on this page:

  1. [1]
    Meta for Developers: Retrieving leads

    The leads_retrieval permission and subscription needed for lead form leads to arrive.

  2. [2]
    Meta for Developers: Instagram webhooks

    How Instagram comment, message and mention notifications reach an app.

  3. [3]
    KVKK: Duty to inform

    What people must be told when their personal data is collected in Turkey.

Related pages

Never miss a customer message.

The inbox and lead list are open on the free account. The full panel is free with no time limit: brand, accounts, reports. Allowance: 10 captions a month, 2 images a month, 1 videos a month, 1 brand, 1 user.