Lesson 9: Integration with Zoho Desk

Overview

Step up your customer-supporting game and add the power of live chat to
full-fledged helpdesk software, to create the ultimate, unified customer Desk
suite. By combining the on-demand supporting power of Zoho SalesIQ with
Zoho Desk, a complete help desk solution for small and medium businesses,
you can take your customer service and support to new heights.
Together Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ deliver a complete view of all your
support interactions logged in one, organized database. Working together
they deliver the added ability to connect, chat, engage and support in
real-time within the context of their existing support relationship. Your
customer supporting operation is built upon the strong foundation Zoho Desk
establishes and strengthened with Zoho SalesIQ's ability to leverage the
power of your customer data into superb support in real-time.

Getting started
● Before you can embrace the power of customer support
completely-unified, and start utilizing the valuable data in your
customer-support database to improve your on-demand chat support,
you need to link your Zoho SalesIQ with your Zoho Desk account.
● If you don't have a Zoho SalesIQ account, you can learn how to create a
new Zoho SalesIQ here.
● If you already have a Zoho SalesIQ, but don’t have a Zoho Desk account,
learn more about how Zoho Desk can better organize all your customer
 support interactions and discover how to setup a new Zoho Desk
account.
● To use Zoho SalesIQ integrated with Zoho Desk, you will need to be a
customer of either the Enterprise or Professional plans of Zoho SalesIQ
and have a Zoho Desk account. If you are currently using the free or
Basic plans of Zoho SalesIQ, you can easily upgrade an existing Zoho
SalesIQ account to implement Zoho Desk integration.
● If have not signed up for a Zoho SalesIQ plan, you can take a free,
30-day-test-drive of any of the Enterprise or Professional paid plans
and start using the integration with Zoho Desk today.
● That said, if you have active accounts for both Zoho Desk and Zoho
SalesIQ (in either the Professional or Enterprise Edition), you can
continue with the instructions below to link up your Zoho SalesIQ to
your Support account.

Connecting your Zoho SalesIQ account to a Zoho Desk account

Before we can start exploring how the Zoho Desk integration with your Zoho
SalesIQ can improve your entire customer-support operation, we need to set
up your Zoho SalesIQ to work together with your customer Desk database
inside Zoho Desk.

Linking Zoho SalesIQ to Zoho Desk as a Desk admin

● To make things as simple as possible for you, we recommend having a

current administrator for the Zoho Desk account you are linking to your
 Zoho SalesIQ turn on the integration inside Zoho SalesIQ.
● To accomplish this your Zoho Desk administrator must also have an
account and be an administrator inside your Zoho SalesIQ account. If
you simply want to add a Zoho Desk administrator to your Zoho SalesIQ
account you follow these steps for adding an existing Zoho user to your
Zoho SalesIQ.
● With access to your Zoho SalesIQ, a Zoho Desk administrator can follow
the steps below to implement the integration.

How to link a Zoho Desk account to a Zoho SalesIQ account, as the

administrator of the Zoho Desk account

● Login to Zoho SalesIQ.

● Click Settings. In the Integration section, click "Zoho Desk."
● Then, click the “Enable Desk Integration” button. This will create an
automatically generated ZSC key for your Zoho Desk account and use
this unique key to link your Zoho SalesIQ to your Zoho Desk account.
● This will automatically link up the Zoho SalesIQ account to the Zoho
Desk account for which you are the Desk administrator. You will now
see the Zoho Desk administrator as “Me”, Zoho Desk ZSC Key and
Portal Name will be displayed below.
● With the successful pairing of your Zoho Desk account to your Zoho
SalesIQ you can start configuring the other aspects of your integration.
Pairing accounts without being the Zoho Desk admin

➤ Don't fret if you are not the administrator of the Zoho Desk account you
are syncing with your Zoho SalesIQ. We made it easy to link up
accounts, all you need is the Zoho Desk account admin's email address,
and the system generated ZSC for that specific Zoho Desk account.
➤ First, get the administrator of the Zoho Desk account you are pairing
with, to generate or provide you the already generated ZSC key, along
with their email address.
➤ To help your Zoho Desk administrator generate a ZSC key, share the
instructions below.

How to generate a ZSC key?

● In the desired Zoho Desk account, click Setup above the navigation bar
at the top-right of the screen.
● In the Channels Space section, click API.
● In the ZOHO Service Communication (ZSC) Key section, you will see the
ZSC information, including the administrator’s e-mail address and the
unique ZSC key. You will need to provide both pieces of information to
have yourself, or someone else, link up this Desk account to a Zoho
SalesIQ account.
● With the correct information provided by your Zoho Desk account
admin, you can proceed linking your Zoho SalesIQ with Zoho Desk. If
you follow this process, you will not need to add your Zoho Desk admin
as a user inside your Zoho SalesIQ.
● Because Zoho SalesIQ will auto-generate a pairing once a Zoho SalesIQ
 admin clicks the "Enable Desk Integration" button, you could possible
receive an incorrect, unintended pairing (if by chance you are an admin
of another Zoho Desk account).
● If you are not an admin for any Zoho Desk accounts, the system
automatic pairing process will display an error. Regardless, if you are
not the admin of the Zoho Desk account you are trying to pair your Zoho
SalesIQ too, follow the instructions below to edit your integration
configurations.
Changing system generated pairings or pairing accounts as a non-Desk
admin

● If you happen to be neither a Zoho Desk administrator or even have

access through your account to any Zoho Desk account, and you did
happen to click the “Enable Desk Integration” button in Zoho SalesIQ
you will see a message informing you that:
● “Zoho SalesIQ could not recognize your e-mail address as Zoho Desk
administrator. Please contact your Zoho Desk administrator to get the
details to complete the integration setup. Don't have a Zoho Desk
account, sign-up now.”
● Also displayed will be the three boxes below where you can enter the
administrator of the desired Desk account you wish to link to your Zoho
SalesIQ, box to enter the ZSC key for the account and Portal Name.
● If you have the information provided to you from your Desk admin

● Enter the correct information into each box, Desk admin’s email, Zoho
Desk portal name and the provided ZSC key.
 ● Click Enable to link your Zoho SalesIQ to the Desk account you entered
the information for.
● If you are not the administrator of the Desk account you wanted to link
up, but you happen to be an admin of another Desk account, and you did
click the “Enable Desk Integration” button, the system still created an
auto-generated ZSC key. This reflects another Zoho Desk account you
have associated with your account that you are an administrator of.
Please take time to check the system-generated configurations and
make changes to ensure you have paired your Zoho SalesIQ system
with the correct Zoho Desk.

To change the Zoho Desk account your Zoho SalesIQ is linked to (as a
non-Desk admin)

1. Click Settings.
2. In the Integration section, under the Zoho Desk administrator
sub-section, click Change.
3. In the Desk Administrator box that pops-out, edit the Zoho Desk Admin
Email Address field to add the e-mail address of the admin of the Zoho
Desk account you wish to associate. Also add the ZSC key for the
account as provided to you by that Desk admin and Zoho Desk portal
name.
4. Click Save to make the changes.

To change the Zoho Desk account your Zoho SalesIQ is linked to (as the
admin of the desired Desk account)

1. Click Settings.
2. In the Integration section, under the Zoho Desk administrator
sub-section, click Change.
3. In the Desk Administrator box that pops-out, edit the Zoho Desk Admin
Email Address field to add your e-mail address.
4. Paste in the ZSC key that you copied from the Desk account. Also add
the correct Zoho Desk portal name.
5. Click Save to make the changes.

Disable Desk integration

If necessary or desired, you can disable your Zoho SalesIQ’s integration with a
Zoho Desk account at any time.

To disable integration with Zoho Desk:

1. In Zoho SalesIQ, click Settings.

2. In the Integration section, Zoho Desk tab, click the Disable button on the
top right.
You can easily re-enable the integration with the same settings, by:

1. In Zoho SalesIQ, click Settings.

2. In the Integration section, Zoho Desk tab, click the Enable button on the
top right.

Desk integration Configurations

Now your Zoho SalesIQ is hooked up to your Zoho Desk account, it is time to
configure the integration to best fit your team’s specific needs. Read below to
explore the options you have for configuring the integration.

Which Chats to Automatically Create Requests For?

The first configuration you can make is deciding which chats from Zoho
SalesIQ you want to be automatically created as requests inside Zoho Desk.
You can choose either All Visitors, Attended (visitors), Missed (visitors), or
None. Whichever you choose, the system will create requests inside Zoho
Desk for all chats that fit your defined configuration.

To configure visitors chats as automated requests inside Zoho Desk

1. In Zoho SalesIQ, click Settings.

2. In the Integration section, inside the Zoho Desk configuration
sub-section, select the type of chat which you would like to automate.
All Visitors, Attended, Missed, None.
All Visitors– Converts chats with all the visitors into Desk request.
Attended– Converts only those chats attended inside Zoho SalesIQ to Desk
requests.
Missed– Converts only missed chats to requests.
None– Automatically converts no chats to Desk requests. Instead, your
agents can manually convert chats to Zoho Desk requests based on their
judgment.
Status for the Automated Desk Requests
Choose the status of Zoho Desk requests created from an attended chat in
Zoho SalesIQ to either Open or Closed. For those requests created for chats
missed in Zoho SalesIQ, the system will create a Zoho Desk request with an
Open status.

Department based configurations

➤ You can also configure your departments in both Zoho Desk and Zoho
SalesIQ to ensure the right Desk agents are connecting and chatting
with the right customers--and ensuring requests from Zoho SalesIQ are
being logged to the right department inside Zoho Desk.
➤ Under the Department based configurations heading inside the Zoho
Desk integration settings page, you will see your existing Zoho SalesIQ
departments.
➤ Each department will be listed on the left edge, with a drop-down menu
on the right where you can configure which Zoho Desk department you
wish to pair this Zoho SalesIQ department with.
➤ You can also configure a department to have no integration, be
read-only, or give your agents the ability to choose the intended Zoho
Desk department on demand.

The Department Linking Settings

As we mentioned, if you don't pair a Zoho SalesIQ department with a specific

Zoho Desk department you can choose one of three general settings: No
Integration, Read only and Choose on demand.
These predefined settings, give you added flexibility for deciding where to
create or send Zoho SalesIQ chats to inside Zoho Desk. These predefined
settings can be chosen for all the departments in your Zoho SalesIQ.

No Integration

➤ If you choose the No Integration setting for a particular Zoho SalesIQ

department, you cannot create or view any Desk requests while
conducting chats in that department, and no requests will be
automatically created from chats in that Zoho SalesIQ Department.
➤ These departments become effectively un-integrated with your Zoho
Desk account.
➤ If you have a Zoho SalesIQ department that doesn't handle customer
Desk issues, this setting works great as you won't pollute your Zoho
Desk database with non-Desk related chats.

Read Only

If you configure a department to the "Read Only" setting, your agents can view
the existing Desk requests from that customer's account, but they cannot
create new Desk tickets, or edit the status of existing tickets.

Choose on Demand

By selecting the "Choose on Demand" setting for a department, your agents

can view existing tickets and convert chats from this department in Zoho
SalesIQ to a request in Zoho Desk for whichever department it needs to be in.
When chatting with a customer in a Zoho SalesIQ department configured this
way, the agent will see a button to the right of the chat window in the visitor
information sidebar. By clicking this button, Convert Chat as request," the
agent will be able to choose the priority, status, classification and department
of the request he is creating inside Zoho Desk. You can learn more about the
configurations an agent can choose on demand below.

➤ Priority– An agent can set the priority for the request as High, Medium
or Low based on the chat with the customer and their specific needs.
➤ Status– The agent can also choose the status of the request to be
created, with the choices being: Open, On Hold, Escalated, and Closed.
➤ Classification– Desk agents can classify the chats as a Question,
Problems, Features and others depending on how your classifications
are configured inside the Zoho Desk account your Zoho SalesIQ is
linked to.
➤ Department– Lastly, the agent can direct the request to specific
department inside Zoho Desk, to ensure the request he is creating from
Zoho SalesIQ ends up where it needs to be inside your help desk.

Merging Desk Request

➤ When a customer starts a chat with you and it becomes clear they are
asking for the same thing as they have in an existing request, you can
merge the new request with the existing.
➤ While chatting, you can click on any of the customer's existing requests
on the right-hand sidebar. A click on the existing request will display the
 information about the request, along with a chat transcript if it was
from a past chat. Below this you will see a button, "Associate Chat" that
you can click to associate your current chat with that existing request,
effectively merging the two requests.
➤ You can select associate now and the existing request will be merged
with a new request.

Department Intelligence

Upon integration, the system will check to see if your Zoho Desk account and
Zoho SalesIQ have matching department names. If there are matches, your
Zoho SalesIQ will automatically route those departments together as your
default department based configurations. Regardless of how many matches
you have, be it one department or 20, your Zoho SalesIQ will automatically
route those departments together by default.

Adding a new Department In Zoho SalesIQ and Integrating with Zoho Desk

➤ You can add departments to Zoho SalesIQ at any time and Zoho SalesIQ
will automatically map the department to a matching Zoho Desk
department.
➤ If you create a new Zoho SalesIQ department and their is no matching
department in your Zoho Desk account, the system will by default
configure this Zoho SalesIQ department to "On Demand."
➤ When your Zoho SalesIQ automatically integrates a new department
with a matching department in Zoho Desk, you will see this message:
➤ Auto association triggered! Zoho SalesIQ finds a match in the
 integrated Zoho Desk. Hence it associates automatically. To de-link
click here
➤ Click “De- Link” to undo the auto-associated match, and configure the
Zoho SalesIQ department to "Choose on demand".

Desk request to be shown in Zoho SalesIQ

You can filter the “recent desk requests” and the “search results” from Zoho
Desk, or you can fetch from all the Zoho Desk departments. You will get two
options here.
All Departments – This will show the recent requests, search results from all
departments of Zoho Desk in your agent Operator console.
Mapped Departments – This will show the recent requests and search results
only from the mapped Zoho Desk department.

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Desk Information
With your Zoho SalesIQ integrated with Zoho Desk, your agents will be able to
view a customer or visitor's corresponding information from customer Desk
database in the visitor information sidebar in your chat window. The
information your agents can view while chatting from Zoho Desk includes:
● Account name
● SLA Name
● Contract Name
● Contact Owner

Using the integrated information

When you know how to use the instantly available information from Zoho
Desk, you get the most value from your integrating live chat support with your
existing customer support database.

How to view the Recent Chat Transcript of a Visitor?

When an agent receives a chat from a visitor the recent requests inside Zoho
Desk from that visitor will be displayed below the visitor info on the right
sidebar. By clicking a request an agent can view more information about the
request, including a complete chat transcript if there is one.

Quick, Direct Access to Zoho Desk

If your Zoho SalesIQ agent also has access to the Zoho Desk account, a
simple click on the "Read More" icon in the recent request, and they will
automatically get a complete view of that specific request inside Zoho Desk.
With instant access to a past, or related requests, your agents can quickly get
a better view of how they can help the customer they are currently chatting
with.

Converting chats to request without the Visitor email address

If you are chatting with a visitor, and their email address wasn't provided
automatically from the chat embed, you will be unable to automatically create
a chat request inside Zoho Desk.
However, chats can still be converted to requests by manually adding the
visitors email address from the sidebar in Zoho SalesIQ, after receiving the
correct information from the visitor in the chat.
1. In the sidebar of the chat window, find the edit icon (the yellow pencil)
beside the visitor's name, and Click it to edit the visitor's information.
2. After clicking the edit icon, you will find fields for Visitor Name, Email
Address and Contact Number.
3. After you have inputted the necessary fields, click "Save" to sync those
details with the visitor.
4. Then click the "Convert Chat as Request" button to now convert the
chat to a request in Zoho Desk.

Searching Tickets

While chatting with, your agents can also search for tickets from Zoho Desk
by visitor name, ticket number, a visitors email address, or even by a requests
subject.
To search for requests, click on the magnifying glass on the right side of
"Request Related to this Chat." This will take you to the search panel where
you can enter the term you wish to look up.

Changing a Request's Status

Also while chatting, your agents can open or close related Zoho Desk requests
from Zoho SalesIQ. Let's say you are chatting with a customer and learn from
chatting that his password has not been reset. So instead of creating another
request, you can re-open the associated request you see in the sidebar and
ensure the task gets taken care of without the mess of redundant requests.