Best practices to plan for voice support

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">Before you start offering voice support to your customers, take some time to evaluate what you want to get from your call center, prepare your network, and learn about phone numbers and how they work.</p>
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<p class="p">Before you start offering voice support to your customers, take some time to evaluate what you
want to get from your call center, prepare your network, and learn about phone numbers
and how they work.</p>
<p class="p">This article contains the following topics:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="id_4408827760410__ul_m4x_p41_b3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ej2_vyr_vhb">Goals and strategy</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_hzc_wyr_vhb">Environment and system requirements</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_kd2_wyr_vhb">Phone numbers and voicemail</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_rtv_nw4_b3b">Next steps</a></li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ej2_vyr_vhb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Goals and strategy</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Before you start offering voice support, take some time to think about what you want
to get from it. Some typical goals might be:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ej2_vyr_vhb__ul_as5_2zr_vhb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_pbn_2zr_vhb">Boost customer satisfaction (CSAT)</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_lf4_2zr_vhb">Improve operational efficiency</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_pbn_2zr_vhb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Boost customer satisfaction (CSAT)</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Satisfying your customers is crucial to the success of your call center. The
following tips will help you to do this:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_pbn_2zr_vhb__ul_ewd_yzr_vhb">
<li class="li">Ensure you have enough agents to handle call volumes (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408823679898-Determining-your-Zendesk-Talk-staffing-requirements" target="_blank">Determining your staffing requirements
for voice support</a>).</li>
<li class="li">Save callers time by enabling them to exit the call queue and leave a
voicemail or request a callback (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408831899930-Configuring-voicemail-options" target="_blank">Configuring voicemail options</a> and
<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828340634-Returning-callback-requests-Talk-Professional-and-Enterprise-" target="_blank">Returning callback requests</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Encourage agents to respond to customer emails via phone -- it’s often
faster, and customers appreciate the personal touch (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408836235162-Making-outbound-calls" target="_blank">Making outbound calls</a>). </li>
<li class="li">Make customer satisfaction, not average handling time, your main key
performance indicator (KPI)</li>
<li class="li">Collect customer feedback using email or text message after each phone
call</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_lf4_2zr_vhb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Improve operational efficiency</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">There are many ways in which you can improve your efficiency. Here are some ideas
to get you started:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_lf4_2zr_vhb__ul_e43_21s_vhb">
<li class="li">Upload customer information into Zendesk and use an internal knowledge base
to limit average handle time. For information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821238938" target="_blank">Best practices for setting up an internal
knowledge base</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Design your IVR and routing to connect callers with the right agent, the
first time (see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408885628698-Route-incoming-calls-with-IVR-Talk-Professional-and-Enterprise-" target="_blank">Route incoming calls with
IVR</a>)</li>
<li class="li">Well-trained agents will improve first call resolution, decrease handle time
and increase CSAT. This <a class="xref" href="https://academy.zendesk.com/on-demand-zendesk-talk-for-agents-i" target="_blank">eLearning course</a>, is a great way
to get started.</li>
<li class="li">Consider remote agents:<ul class="ul" id="topic_lf4_2zr_vhb__ul_uqw_21s_vhb">
<li class="li">Remote agents reduce staffing and infrastructure costs</li>
<li class="li">Remote agents can get up and running fast, without extra
equipment</li>
<li class="li">You can track remote agent performance with call monitoring,
dashboards, and reports. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824050202" target="_blank">Best practices for monitoring and
maintaining voice activity</a>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li">Consider implementing <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409149119514" target="_blank">omnichannel routing</a>, which enables
you to route tickets to agents based on their availability and
capacity.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested1" id="topic_hzc_wyr_vhb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title5">Environment and system requirements</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If you spend time setting up and optimizing your network and hardware for voice,
you'll help to ensure a minimum amount of downtime and problems later. Some of the
factors to think about are:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_hzc_wyr_vhb__ul_iqt_dbs_vhb">
<li class="li">Network connection and bandwidth</li>
<li class="li">Router configuration (open ports and QoS enabled)</li>
<li class="li">Opening the correct firewall ports</li>
<li class="li">Using a supported web browser</li>
<li class="li">Choosing the right headset</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">For detailed information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827987482" target="_blank">Preparing to offer voice support</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_kd2_wyr_vhb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Phone numbers and voicemail</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You'll need a phone number. You can either buy a phone number from Zendesk or, in
some cases, bring your own number with you. When you start a Suite trial, you'll be
given a number, so you're ready to go.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested2" id="topic_qzq_xts_vhb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title7">Buying a number</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Toll-free, local, and national numbers for more than 40 countries are
available. Use the calculator in <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846483482-Zendesk-Talk-number-availability-and-pricing" target="_blank">Zendesk phone number availability and
pricing</a> to find out what numbers are available and how much they
cost. The following tips can help you choose the right number:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_qzq_xts_vhb__ul_lcs_1gq_xhb">
<li class="li">A toll-free number sends a signal that you are committed to great
service</li>
<li class="li">A local number makes a customer feel like you are closer to them</li>
<li class="li">Choosing a country-specific number helps you reduce costs.</li>
</ul>
<div class="p" dir="ltr">If you want to keep your existing support number, you have two
options:<ul class="ul" id="topic_qzq_xts_vhb__ul_hys_bn2_1fc">
<li class="li">Port the number over to Zendesk.</li>
<li class="li">Forward your existing support number calls to your Zendesk number.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Porting might take a few weeks, depending on your phone provider. For
detailed information, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834776858-Porting-numbers-into-Zendesk-Talk" target="_blank">Porting numbers to Zendesk</a>. Also, bear
in mind that some countries have regulations that require you to provide
additional documentation to verify your business. You'll need to provide this
information before you can start using your new number. For details, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824253978-Zendesk-Talk-and-Zendesk-Text-number-address-requirements" target="_blank">Zendesk voice and text number address
requirements</a>.</p>
<div class="p">
<div class="note tip">
<span class="tiptitle">Tip:</span> Another type of phone line is a digital line. This enables you to embed a Call us
button in your mobile app. Customers can click this button from within the
app to call you for free from anywhere in the world. For details, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408830696090" target="_blank">Understanding Embedded
voice</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rtv_nw4_b3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title8">Next steps</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">This article is one of a best practices series. Click the links below to visit the
other articles:<ul class="ul" id="topic_rtv_nw4_b3b__ul_hsm_zl2_1fc">
<li class="li">Best practices to plan for voice support (this article</li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834266778" target="_blank">Best practices for rolling out voice
support</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824050202" target="_blank">Best practices for monitoring and
maintaining voice support</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p">Also see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408823838874-Zendesk-Talk-resources" target="_blank">Resources for voice support</a>.</p>
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