Twilio is a cloud-enabled service that makes it incredibly easy for you to use the voice channel with your web apps.

With Cloud Telephony for Zoho Support, you can,

• Effortlessly handle voice channels (Phone) for sales, marketing and customer support
• Receive and make calls from within your browser with caller ID information
• Setup phone tree menu (or IVR) to segment and route calls to the most appropriate agent
• Track and audit the entire gamut of voice process by recording conversations
• Associate calls with tickets on the fly
• Update the duration of individual calls automatically
• Cut down on your time & effort spent in installing telecom systems
• Save recurring EPABX and telecommunication expenses

Prerequisites

Before you start using this feature, you must ensure that the following tasks are completed.

1. Sign-up for a Twilio account
2. Post sign-up, make a note of your Account SID and Auth Token specific to your Twilio account
3. Purchase a phone number to be used for making and receiving calls. You can buy a number by accessing theNumbers tab within Twilio

Now that you're done with the setup in Twilio, let's move on to Zoho Support. 

Configuring Twilio Account

To setup & configure Twilio in Zoho Support, follow the steps given below:

1. Go to Setup
2. In the Channels section, click Telephony
3. In the Hosted PBX page, click Get Started. 
4. In the following page, provide the Account SID and Auth Token from your Twilio account 
5. Click Create TwiML App to populate the Application SID which is required to make outgoing calls from Zoho Support

You have now completed configuring your Twilio account in Zoho Support

Adding Phone and Associating Agents

Now that you'd configured your Twilio account, you must add your phone number purchased from Twilio and complete the rest of the settings to start receiving calls within Zoho Support.

Adding Phone and Routing calls Directly

Adding your Twilio number and associating agents to it is relatively simple when you don't require a phone tree menu (or IVR) setup for your business.

To complete Twilio settings, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. In the Twilio settings page, click Add Phone
2. In the following Add Twilio Phone page, provide the following details - 
• Phone Number : Provide the phone number you purchased from Twilio
• Description : Leave a short description about this phone number for your personal reference
• Default Department : Choose a department from the drop-down menu. Your missed and voice message calls will be added as tickets in this department
• Route Calls : Choose Directly to Agents
• Welcome Message : Provide a welcome message that will be played for every calling party.
  You can also upload an audio file (click ) from your computer or provide a link (click ) to a website
• Associate Agent : Add the agents who will be taking customer support calls in Zoho Support. 
  You can add multiple agents to a Twilio number, however you must specify the Ringing Type
• Ringing Type : Select an option between Sequential and Simultaneous (rings simultaneously on all browsers while receiving a call
• Sequential ringing : On selecting this option you must provide the -
1. Ring Interval (duration of time a call should ring on an agent's browser or phone) &
2. Repeat Count (number of times a call can get routed to your agents in a sequence)
• Call Recording : Select Yes to record the conversation between your agents and customers.
  The recording will be appended to a ticket upon call completion
• Automated Messages : Provide the message to be played for every calling party when agents are busyand are not available
• Business Hours : Associate a business hour to define the actual hours of operation of your tele-support agents. Click here for more information on creating a business hour
• Closed for the Day Message : Provide a message that will be played for calls received beyond your actual business hours.
  "Closed for the Day" message is not applicable for Calendar Hours
3. Click Save

Finito! It's complete! Your agents can now make and receive calls via your Twilio number. Repeat the above mentioned steps, if you'd like to add multiple numbers purchased from Twilio.

Adding Phone and Routing calls with IVR

To complete Twilio settings by adding an IVR menu, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. In the Twilio settings page, click Add Phone
2. In the following Add Twilio Phone page, provide details like Phone Number, Description and select yourDefault Department
3. For Route Calls option select Using IVR options
4. Under the IVR Menu options provide -
   • Welcome Message: Provide a welcome message that will be played for every calling party.
     You can also upload an audio file (click ) from your computer or provide a link (click ) to a website
   • IVR read-out format: The text entered here will be read-out for every calling party to guide them to an appropriate agent
5. Now provide an IVR Number (say'1'), IVR Menu Name (say 'Zoho CRM') and add an Agent who will be answering calls at this level.
   You can add multiple agents to an IVR Number, however you must specify the Ringing Type
6. For Ringing Type, select an option between Sequential and Simultaneous (rings simultaneously on all browsers while receiving a call
7. When you select Sequential ringing, you must provide the -
• Ring Interval (duration of time a call should ring on an agent's browser or phone) &
• Repeat Count (number of times a call can get routed to your agents in a sequence)
8. Select a department from the drop-down menu.
   When customers enter this IVR Number but couldn't connect to an agent during their call, a ticket will be created for the missed call or voice message in this department.
   Click '+' to add multiple levels of your IVR menu
9. Under the Call Recording option, select Yes to record the conversation between your agents and customers. The recording will be appended to a ticket upon call completion
10. Provide the automated messages to be played for every calling party when agents are busy and are not available
11. Associate a Business Hour to define the actual hours of operation of your tele-support agents. Click here for more information on creating a business hour
12. Provide a 'Closed for the Day' message that will be played for calls received beyond your actual business hours.
    Closed for the Day message is not applicable for Calendar Hours

You can repeat the above mentioned steps to add multiple numbers purchased from Twilio.

Setting your Status for Twilio

Now that you have associated agents with a telephone number, the individual agents can set their Twilio Status in Zoho Support. Agents can set their status from the top right-hand corner of Zoho Support, besides e-mail.

Different statuses along with their related actions are defined below:

1. Over the Web indicates the agent is available to make/receive calls over the browser.
2. Over the Phone indicates the agent will receive calls on her physical phone device.
3. Busy indicates the agent is wrapping up activities for her last call and therefore unavailable to take a new call.
4. Offline indicates the agent is not available to take phone calls.

Forwarding Calls

Forward the customer support calls received at your Twilio number to an agent's desk or a mobile phone.

To setup call forwarding for Twilio, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Go to Setup
2. In the Channels section, click Telephony
3. In the Hosted PBX page and under the Call Forwarding section, click Add Forwarding Number
4. Choose an Agent from the drop-down menu.
   By default, the agent's phone or mobile number (if existing in their profile), will be auto-populated in the 'Forward Call To' field
5. Provide a phone number in the 'Forward Call To' field to forward calls from Twilio
6. Click Save

Receiving Calls

Receive customer support calls right within your browser in Zoho Support. While receiving calls you'll be displayed with the below information in the call pop-up.

• Customer Name
• E-mail ID
• Phone number
• Top Four Open Tickets
  
  

Actions during a Call

1. On receiving a call, click to add a new ticket and associate it with the current call.
2. For calls received from an unknown contact, click

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