Insights from Zoho Desk: A year of listening, learning, and connecting  

Live video ATE

1. Onboarding and getting started with Zoho Desk
   
2. Multichannel support and self-service portals
   
3. Automation and AI with Zia
   
4. Integration, accessibility, and personalization
   
5. Analytics, data administration, and mobile apps
   
6. Spring and Autumn releases for 2025
   

Guest panelists

ATE 2025 highlights: Best practices you should know

1. The migration data and information will be retained for 30 days and then wiped off from our import engine. This is in compliance with GDPR and its regional counterparts across the globe.
   
2. Upon migration completion, a report will be shared with a module-wise list of all completed and failed entities with reasons for failure. Data availability and integrity are assured by the end of data transit.
   

1. Utilize chatbots to address frequently asked questions (FAQs), provide troubleshooting steps, and handle simple queries.
   
2. Use preset replies and guided responses to help customers find quick solutions.
   
3. Automate ticket creation and status updates to keep customers informed without human intervention.
   

1. Design workflows where chatbots can connect to live agents based on the complexity of the queries.
   
2. Provide agents with customer history from prior conversations across different platforms to avoid repetition.
   

1. Implement prioritization rules in IM tickets for priority cases (for example, billing issues or service disruptions).
   
2. Set up automated notifications via custom notification for customers when their issue is being processed.
   

1. Allow customers to send screenshots, videos, or PDFs to clarify issues faster.
   
2. Use videos to serve as engaging and quick troubleshooting guides.
   

1. WhatsApp: Requires approved message templates if beyond 24 hours.
   
2. Facebook Messenger: Allows direct messaging for up to 7 days.
   
3. Telegram: No restriction; allows an agent to message anytime.
   
4. WeChat: Allows direct messaging within 48 hours.
   
5. Line: Allows an agent to messages without restrictions.
   
6. Instagram: Enables direct messaging within a 24-hour window.

1. Send order updates, payment reminders, and appointment confirmations via automated messages.
   
2. Implement triggered proactive chats based on customer behavior via WhatsApp (for example, abandoned cart reminders).
   
3. Use push notifications on WhatsApp messaging apps to alert customers about service changes or outages.

1. Ensure conversations remain consistent across platforms even if customers switch between apps and resume conversations from another app.
   
2. Provide multi-language support via answer bots with automated translation where necessary.
   

1. Default setup & branded forwarding: Use the default Zoho Desk support email (support@yourcompany.zohodesk.com) and configure email forwarding to your company's email (support@yourcompany.com) to auto-create a ticket for every customer's email.
   
2. Email aliases for departments: Create specific email aliases like sales@yourcompany.zohodesk.com or billing@yourcompany.zohodesk.com for each department, and set up a forwarding rule from your from addresses (like sales@yourcompany.com or billing@yourcompany.com). This will automatically route emails to the appropriate departments, ensuring efficient query management.
   
3. Forwarding verification: After setting up email forwarding, verify the process by checking for the confirmation ticket in Zoho Desk to complete the configuration.
   
4. Secure email with SPF & DKIM: Update your domain’s DNS settings with SPF and DKIM records to prevent spam and spoofing. To bolster email security, DKIM is mandatory for all business-owned domains used in your "From Address" configuration. DKIM cannot be configured for "From" addresses hosted on public domains like Google, Outlook, or AOL; in such cases, you must use your own SMTP servers.
   
5. Custom “From Address": Add and verify your custom "From Address" in Zoho Desk, and update your DNS with the necessary SPF and DKIM values. Verify your domain using the DKIM keys.
   
6. Default domain name: In Zoho Desk, you cannot change the domain name in the default support email address. This domain name is set automatically based on your portal name when you sign up (for example, support@<mycompany>.zohodesk.com). Update it with a unique portal name by reaching out to support@zohodesk.com. 

1. When a call comes in, the telephony system in Zoho Desk pulls up the caller’s name, phone number, and recent tickets.
   
2. Agents can view contact details and related tickets before picking up the call.

1. Every call, answered and missed, is logged as a Call Activity in Zoho Desk.
   
2. Answered calls update in real time, while missed calls get recorded at the end of the ring.
   
3. Call duration and status update automatically, keeping your records accurate.         
   

1. Agents can create a new ticket and associate the call activity with it or associate the call activity with an existing ticket.
   
2. Zoho Desk automatically logs a call thread inside the ticket, keeping everything in one place.
   
3. Call activity will be automatically associated with the ticket when you use click-to-call from the Ticket Detailed View.
   

1. A call timer runs in the background, helping agents track time spent on each call.
   
2. Agents can add notes during the call and after the call.
   
3. This call summary will be added to the call activity and to the ticket, if associated.
   

1. If the PBX provider supports it, call recordings and voicemails appear in the call thread, complete with an audio player for easy access.
   
2. Ensure fail-proof call handling
   
3. If the system doesn’t detect an answered or ended call, agents can manually mark the call as answered or ended, ensuring accurate records despite vendor failures.
   

1. Jump to flow – Redirect users to another flow instead of adding more blocks. It aids transition between different conversation sections.
   
2. Fork – Split the conversation or branches logically into multiple paths efficiently.
   
3. Button Block – Use buttons for seamless navigation across flows.
   
4. Operation block – Executes predefined actions in a flow.
   
5. Webhook – Connects with external services for data transfer
   

1. Block Variables – Store responses within a specific block (for example, a user’s name after input).
   
2. Local Variables – Available only within the flow where they are defined (for example, a discount percentage used within the same flow).
   
3. Global Variables – Shared across all departments and flows (for example, company name or logo).
   
4. Session Variables – Specific to a user’s session and accessible across all flows (for example, country-based redirection using the Fork block).
   
5. IM-specific variables – IM variables can retrieve user details and automate tasks. These help identify users by name and unique ID, associate contact details from IM channels, customize experience based on the IM channels, and perform automated actions like creating and updating existing tickets.
   

1. Channel integration: Integrate your official IM apps' business accounts with Zoho Desk's IM module to handle conversations from a single platform.
   
2. Agent association: Associate agents with specific messaging channels to ensure a dedicated point of contact for the agents to improve response time and service quality.
   
3. Embed channel options: Each channel provides embeddable options such as links, QR codes, or buttons to place on your website to make it easy for customers to reach out.
   
4. Canned messages: Canned messages save time by responding to common questions with standard message formats. They can be used across all IM channels, and associated with specific departments for better control and consistency.
   
5. Welcome messages: Configure a Welcome Message to greet customers automatically when they initiate their first conversation through IM.
   
6. Offline notifications & business hours: Set business hours for each IM channel to manage availability effectively. When agents are offline or on a holiday, an offline message can notify customers about the availability of support.
   

1. Answer bot: Use the Answer Bot to handle Level 1 (L1) queries during out-of-business hours and holidays.
   
2. Guided conversations: For structured customer interactions, configure Guided Conversations based on your business flow and associate them with IM to guide the customers.
   
3. Automate notifications via workflows: Zoho Desk workflows support IM-based notifications using Reply via Instant Messaging and Notify via Instant Messaging. Define the criteria in workflows and select the appropriate channel and use templates for custom messages.
   

1. Auto-closing conversations: Use Auto-Close to automatically close conversations when agents or bots remain idle beyond a configured timeout period.
   
2. Automatic agent assignment (chat routing): Enable Chat Routing in IM to automate agent assignment where online agents are assigned conversations sequentially, while offline agents are excluded from assignment.
   

Happy New Year, everyone!