We're excited to announce four instant messaging ticketing channels—WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE and WeChat—for Zoho Desk. Integrating with these applications lets you receive and respond to real-time requests from customers through these popular platforms.
Globally, there's an increasing preference for non-call, synchronous customer support channels. These four applications have a combined active user count of almost 3.8 billion. We believe it would make for excellent customer experience if customers can create and track support requests from applications that they're familiar with and use on a daily basis.
Here are some FAQs about IM channel integrations which we hope will give you more clarity, encourage you to set up instant messaging support channels, and future-proof your customer service operations.
1) Are these direct integrations?
Yes. WhatsApp, LINE, Telegram, and WeChat are direct integrations within Zoho Desk.
2) What Zoho Desk editions will IM channel integrations be available for?
IM channel integrations will be only available on our Professional and Enterprise editions.
3) Will it cost extra?
Yes. While Zoho Desk does not charge you for the integrations, there are carrier fees that these applications charge per outgoing message. The outgoing messages counter will be reset every month.
For WhatsApp:
You can find the updated pricing details below.
For LINE, Telegram and WeChat:
There are no carrier fees for now.
4) How do I pay?
You will be able to pay for outgoing messages using credits. 1 credit = 2 USD. With 40 credits (80 USD), you can send 10,000 outgoing messages.
5) How many IM channels can I set up?
In the early access program, by default, we will enable one IM account to be linked with each department. So, a business on the Zoho Desk Enterprise edition will be able to link 30 IM accounts.
6) Will automations be possible?
Yes. All automations that are possible for tickets created through other channels, such as email or social media, will be possible for tickets created through instant messaging channels.
Note: The IM channel integrations are still in beta, so please bear with us as we're refining them. We welcome your feedback so we can improve the IM channel integrations and we consider your feedback invaluable in helping you deliver exceptional customer service.
P.S. Here's the new updated pricing model for WhatsApp: WhatsApp Conversation-Based Pricing Model