Evaluating your Zendesk Support trial account

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<p id="docs-hc-snippet" style="display: none;">This guide shows you how to get familiar with your Zendesk trial account, helps you evaluate Zendesk features to see how they'll work for you, and provides guidelines on where to find more information. Follow the steps in this guide to get your trial account up and running. Each task typically takes less than 10 minutes to complete.</p>
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<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">This guide shows you how to get familiar with your Zendesk trial account, helps you
evaluate Zendesk features to see how they'll work for you, and provides guidelines on where to
find more information. Follow the steps in this guide to get your trial account up and
running. Each task typically takes less than 10 minutes to complete. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Before you begin, we recommend watching <a class="xref" href="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/channel/di1kla9in3" target="_blank">Video: New to Zendesk?</a></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_mct_b21_bhb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_ot5_kjb_gnb">Get to know the agent workspace</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_gqz_cm5_w3b">Step 1: Add agents to manage tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_cgt_fp5_w3b">Step 2: Create agent groups for different ticket types</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_adk_3zb_x3b">Step 3: Add email addresses to match ticket issues</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wjp_21c_x3b">Step 4: Organize your tickets into views</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fkp_21c_x3b">Step 5: Create macros for consistent, canned responses</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_rjh_53v_w3b">Step 6: Add custom ticket fields to improve ticket workflow</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_rjf_xkv_w3b">Step 7: Automate repetitive tasks with triggers and automations</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_n4q_fcw_w3b">Step 8: Use Explore to analyze and improve performance</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_ot5_kjb_gnb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Get to know the agent workspace</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Before you dive in, take some time to get familiar with the Zendesk Agent Workspace. This
is where agents work on tickets, across Zendesk channels, all within a single ticket
interface. </p>
<p class="p">Having an understanding of how agents work with tickets will help you as an administrator.
You'll learn about key features in the following sections that you need to set up to make
agents successful and efficient.</p>
<p class="p">There's a sample ticket in your trial that you can open to see the agent workspace.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To see the agent workspace</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ot5_kjb_gnb__ul_c3m_4lb_gnb">
<li class="li">In <strong class="ph b">Home</strong>, click "Sample ticket: Meet the ticket" to open the sample ticket, then
click <strong class="ph b">User</strong> in the upper-right corner.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_ot5_kjb_gnb__image_t43_cmb_gnb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/open_sample_ticket.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p class="p">To learn more, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821259930" target="_blank">About the Zendesk Agent Workspace</a> and watch this
short video.</p>
<p class="p"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" controls="controls" height="225" src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/2rdbbppc8q" width="400"></iframe></p>
<p class="p">Make the most of Agent Workspace (2:33)</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested1" id="topic_gqz_cm5_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title3">Step 1: Add agents to manage tickets</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">As the site administrator, you can invite agents to your trial account to work on tickets.
Each new agent you add receives a welcome email and verification link.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_gqz_cm5_w3b__image_q1g_245_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_adding_agents2.png" width="400"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_gvn_wn5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">You can organize agents by a variety of factors including skills, geographic locations,
product type, or experience level. When you add agents consider:<ul class="ul" id="topic_gvn_wn5_w3b__ul_hgf_v45_w3b">
<li class="li">What actions do they perform?</li>
<li class="li">What workflows do they need?</li>
<li class="li">What special skills do they have?</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested2" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title5">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, only add a few agents to test-drive your site. Later, after you plan how
to arrange agents into groups and organizations, you can add them using a bulk import or
through the Zendesk API. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add an agent</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b__ul_vys_nr4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Team members</strong>.</span><p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b__image_qb5_4r4_ymb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_agent2.png" width="300"></p>
<p class="p">You add agents in Support, but you use
Admin Center to manage <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408824375450" target="_blank">user roles and access</a> across products.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b__image_utm_pfb_k4b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_rolls.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested2" id="topic_wm1_cn5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title6">Learn more about agents</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_wm1_cn5_w3b__ul_tzp_455_w3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883609370" target="_blank">Lesson: Organizing tickets and users</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408893496218-Bulk-importing-users-and-organizations" target="_blank">Bulk importing users</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://developer.zendesk.com/rest_api/docs/support/users" target="_blank">Importing users with the Zendesk API</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested1" id="topic_cgt_fp5_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title7">Step 2: Create agent groups for different ticket types</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Groups collect agents together, allowing admins to manage agent ticket assignments. Groups
can reflect your own internal teams, departments, or subject-matter experts. Once groups are
defined, you can assign tickets to the entire group so that each member is notified and the
first available agent can reply. Agents can be in more than one group at a time. It’s easy
to change group members and assignments without messing with group settings.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_cgt_fp5_w3b__image_wtz_1mv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_groups.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested2" id="topic_dhs_mp5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title8">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"> Identify a specific purpose for groups in your company that will use Zendesk.
What groups can you create to add value? You can report upon the performance or workload
of different groups too. For example:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dhs_mp5_w3b__ul_yjy_5p5_w3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Team</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Departments</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Subject matter experts </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">In addition to reporting on the workload or performance of individual agents, you'll now
be able to do the same for your different groups.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title9" class="topic nested2" id="topic_obj_qq5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title9">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, only add one or two groups and assign agents to the groups. Later, after
you plan your ticket workflows, you can add more groups as needed. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add a group</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_obj_qq5_w3b__ul_nvw_hs4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_obj_qq5_w3b__d7e688" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_people_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">People</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Team &gt; Groups</strong>.</span><p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_obj_qq5_w3b__image_nhv_bbv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_groups.png" width="300"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title10" class="topic nested2" id="topic_iyl_bt5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title10">Learn more about groups</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_iyl_bt5_w3b__ul_ntn_c55_w3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886146842-About-organizations-and-groups" target="_blank">About organizations and groups</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408894175130-Creating-managing-and-using-groups" target="_blank">Creating groups</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408821199258" target="_blank">Managing groups</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title11" class="topic nested1" id="topic_adk_3zb_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title11">Step 3: Add email addresses to match ticket issues</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Connect your organization’s customer service email addresses to your account so that new
emails begin creating tickets for your agents to manage. While you can set up any number of
channels to communicate with your customers, the industry staple is still email.</p>
<p class="p">When you set up Zendesk Support, you have one related email address to submit tickets:
<a class="xref" href="mailto:support@myaccount.zendesk.com" target="_blank">support@<em class="ph i">your-account</em>.zendesk.com</a>, but you can provide your
end users with alternative email addresses, called <em class="ph i">support addresses</em>. You can add as
many support addresses as you need. Support addresses can be either variations of your
Zendesk email address or external email addresses.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_adk_3zb_x3b__image_bdk_3zb_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_email_support_addesses1.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title12" class="topic nested2" id="topic_cdk_3zb_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title12">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You might have a single email address for all customer inquiries, or you might have many
different email addresses for the unique types of queries you receive. Either way, they
can all be forwarded into your Zendesk account so that tickets are automatically created
for agents to manage.</p>
<div class="p">Use support addresses to match your ticket issues. Consider the customer experience when
configuring support email addresses. Often, the address alone can communicate the type of
service provided. For example: <ul class="ul" id="topic_cdk_3zb_x3b__ul_ddk_3zb_x3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">support@yourcompany.com</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">sales@yourcompany.com</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">billing@yourcompany.com</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">shipping@yourcompany.com</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title13" class="topic nested2" id="topic_edk_3zb_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title13">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, just add one more address with @yoursubdomain.zendesk.com. Later, you can
update your account to include additional support addresses or to <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887388058" target="_blank">forward tickets</a> to your existing support account.</p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add a support address</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_edk_3zb_x3b__ul_drt_ls4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_edk_3zb_x3b__d7e995" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_channels_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Channels</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Talk and email &gt; Email</strong>.</span><p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_edk_3zb_x3b__image_fdk_3zb_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_support_address2.png" width="400"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title14" class="topic nested2" id="topic_gdk_3zb_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title14">Learn more</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_gdk_3zb_x3b__ul_hdk_3zb_x3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408842868506-Adding-support-addresses-for-users-to-submit-tickets" target="_blank">Adding support addresses for users to submit
tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887388058" target="_blank">Incoming email requests and notifications</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title15" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wjp_21c_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title15">Step 4: Organize your tickets into views</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Views dynamically organize tickets based on specific criteria that you define. Views can be
thought of as meaningful collections (or play lists) of tickets, each with their own set of
filters. Views are where your agents will spend most of their time so it's critically
important that they are set up in a way that actually reflects their workflow.</p>
<p class="p">Using views can help you determine what tickets need attention and plan accordingly. By
sharing views with your agents, you can ensure that everyone is working from the same
perspective instead of leaving it up to each agent’s own interpretation. </p>
<p class="p">Before you begin, we recommend watching <a class="xref" href="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/channel/di1kla9in3?wchannelid=di1kla9in3&amp;wvideoid=epy5b55625" target="_blank">Video: Drive agent efficiency</a></p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_wjp_21c_x3b__image_xjp_21c_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_views.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title16" class="topic nested2" id="topic_yjp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title16">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Customize your ticket views to reflect the ideal workflow for your agents to
follow based on a number of different factors. Views are commonly based on things like: </p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_yjp_21c_x3b__ul_zjp_21c_x3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">The assigned agent or group </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Type of request</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Product </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Priority (low vs. urgent)</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Customer </li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">It's common for administrators to create views for different teams or about
different types of requests. For example, a view for technical questions and a view for
billing issues. Another option might be to create views based on the customer who
submitted the ticket, especially if you're supporting VIP accounts. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Once you have the right collection of tickets, you can sort the views so that
the most important tickets are at the top, perhaps prioritizing the oldest tickets first.
A couple of valuable columns to include with your views are the time remaining until an
SLA breach or even the predicted customer satisfaction.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title17" class="topic nested2" id="topic_akp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title17">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, just add one or two views. Later, after you plan your ticket types and
workflows, you can add more views as needed. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add a view</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_akp_21c_x3b__ul_bnz_4s4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_workspaces_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Workspaces</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent tools &gt; Views</strong>.</span><p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_akp_21c_x3b__image_ckp_21c_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_views2.png" width="300"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title18" class="topic nested2" id="topic_dkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title18">Learn more about views</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dkp_21c_x3b__ul_ekp_21c_x3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408888828570-Using-views-to-manage-ticket-workflow" target="_blank">Using views to manage agent workflow</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title19" class="topic nested1" id="topic_fkp_21c_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title19">Step 5: Create macros for consistent, canned responses</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Embed macros within tickets to help agents save time, automatically fill-in
ticket fields, and provide consistent, thorough, and error-free responses. Macros are a
predefined set of actions that agents apply to a ticket with one click. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Create macros for support requests that can be answered with a single, standard
response. This saves your agents the time and effort of crafting a separate response to each
customer with the same issue. Macros are more than just canned-replies to FAQs, they can
provide placeholders like the customer's name and can update other ticket properties, like
the type, group, and status.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_fkp_21c_x3b__image_gkp_21c_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_macros.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title20" class="topic nested2" id="topic_hkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title20">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Plan and create macros so your agents can reply to common requests with a click
of a button instead of typing out the same replies over and over again. Common macros
include:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_hkp_21c_x3b__ul_ikp_21c_x3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Password reset </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Answering FAQs</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Assigning ticket to another agent </li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">You can introduce macros to create better internal escalations from one agent
group to another. For example, suppose an agent wants to escalate a ticket from your
support team to a developer so they can investigate a bug. Developers typically need some
pieces of information before they can begin their work. You can create a macro that lists
what information is needed as part of an internal comment, making it easy for an agent to
complete before escalating the ticket. This ensures that the developer has the information
they need from the start and can get right to work. </p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title21" class="topic nested2" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title21">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, just add one or two macros for your most-common requests. Later, after
you plan your ticket types and workflows, you can add more macros as needed. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add a macro</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b__ul_cgq_5s4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b__d7e1119" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_workspaces_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Workspaces</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Agent tools &gt; Macros</strong>.</span><p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b__image_lkp_21c_x3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_macros.png" width="500"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title22" class="topic nested2" id="topic_mkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title22">Learn more about macros</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_mkp_21c_x3b__ul_nkp_21c_x3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408887656602-Using-macros-to-update-tickets" target="_blank">Using macros to update tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408844187034" target="_blank">Creating macros for tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408884166554-Organizing-and-managing-your-macros" target="_blank">Organizing and managing your macros</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title23" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rjh_53v_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title23">Step 6: Add custom ticket fields to improve ticket workflow</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">A ticket is a record of the conversation between the agent and the customer. Ticket fields
live in the ticket sidebar and allow you to store information, route, and prioritize each
ticket. Zendesk includes a default set of fields for your tickets. You can add custom fields
as needed so you can categorize your tickets in whatever way makes the most sense for your
business. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_rjh_53v_w3b__image_s4b_tlv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_ticket_fields.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title24" class="topic nested2" id="topic_ecz_njv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title24">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Identify the most common types of requests by tracking each ticket’s topic with a custom
field that your agents or customers can fill out. Custom fields provide valuable data for
you for ticket processing and reporting purposes. For example:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ecz_njv_w3b__ul_g5t_vjv_w3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Issue the ticket is about</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Product in question </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Due date for resolution </li>
</ul>
<p class="p">Custom fields can help you analyze the types of requests you are fielding most often,
those that are taking the most time to resolve, and those that are leading to happy (or
unhappy) customers. </p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title25" class="topic nested2" id="topic_bsg_dkv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title25">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, add one or two custom ticket fields. Later, after you plan your ticket
workflows, you can add more custom fields as needed. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To add a custom ticket field</strong></p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_bsg_dkv_w3b__ul_krr_xs4_ymb">
<li class="li">
<span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_bsg_dkv_w3b__d7e1614" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Tickets &gt; Fields</strong>.</span>.<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_bsg_dkv_w3b__image_uvr_rkv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_custom_fields.png"></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title26" class="topic nested2" id="topic_rlb_spv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title26">Learn more about custom ticket fields</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_rlb_spv_w3b__ul_bbh_1qv_w3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883152794" target="_blank">Adding custom fields to your tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886739098-About-ticket-fields" target="_blank">About ticket fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832419738-Managing-ticket-fields" target="_blank">Viewing ticket fields</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408886624410-Best-practices-for-altering-your-custom-ticket-fields" target="_blank">Best practices for altering your custom ticket
fields</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title27" class="topic nested1" id="topic_rjf_xkv_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title27">Step 7: Automate repetitive tasks with triggers and automations</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">You can create triggers and automations to intelligently process tickets, reduce
redundant work, and save agents' time. At their core, triggers and automations are cause and
effect statements. <strong class="ph b">If</strong> a ticket meets a set of conditions, <strong class="ph b">then</strong> one or more
actions are performed. Triggers control all the email notifications sent to your customers.
You can improve customer satisfaction with quicker updates and communication around their
requests.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Triggers are <strong class="ph b">event-based </strong>business rules you define that run immediately
after tickets are created or updated. Automations are <strong class="ph b">time-based</strong> business rules that
perform an action in your account based on time elapsed. For example, a trigger could be
used to immediately route a new ticket about a shipment to the Shipping department, while an
automation could escalate that ticket four hours later if it hasn't been assigned to an
agent. </p>
<p class="p">Before you begin, we recommend watching <a class="xref" href="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/channel/di1kla9in3?wchannelid=di1kla9in3&amp;wvideoid=gyr97su20q" target="_blank">Video: Automate repetitive tasks</a></p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_rjf_xkv_w3b__image_vj1_4qv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/launch_guide_automations.png" width="600"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title28" class="topic nested2" id="topic_eqx_srv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title28">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">To ensure that nothing slips through the cracks, you should automate any actions that
need to be completed every single time a situation calls for it. Common uses of these
workflows include:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_eqx_srv_w3b__ul_fqx_srv_w3b">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Routing new requests to the right team</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Sending notifications to customers or agents</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Escalating tickets in need of a response </li>
</ul>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">By automating stages throughout the ticket lifecycle, you can decrease handle
times and reduce the number of reassignments from one agent to the next. This ultimately
helps you deliver a better customer and agent experience. Your agents now spend their time
helping customers instead of performing repetitive tasks.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title29" class="topic nested2" id="topic_j44_5rv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title29">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">For this trial, only add one trigger and one automation. Later, after you plan your
ticket workflows, you can add more triggers and automations as needed.</p>
<div class="p">
<strong class="ph b">To add triggers and automations</strong><ul class="ul" id="topic_j44_5rv_w3b__ul_sfc_hbw_w3b">
<li class="li">For triggers: <span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_j44_5rv_w3b__d7e1766" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Business rules &gt;
Triggers</strong>.</span>
</li>
<li class="li">For automations: <span class="ph">In <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4581766374554#topic_hfg_dyz_1hb" target="_blank">Admin Center</a>, click <img class="image" id="topic_j44_5rv_w3b__d7e1811" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/ac_objects_rules_icon.png">
<strong class="ph b">Objects and rules</strong> in the sidebar, then select <strong class="ph b">Business rules &gt;
Automations</strong>.</span>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p class="p"> For this trial, do not remove any default triggers. Some default triggers are essential
and control important email notifications to your customers. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828984346" target="_blank">About the standard Support triggers</a>.</p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_j44_5rv_w3b__image_zlj_ysv_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_automations.png" width="400"></p>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title30" class="topic nested2" id="topic_xty_fsv_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title30">Learn more about automating repetitive tasks</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_xty_fsv_w3b__ul_r5c_gtv_w3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408831658650" target="_blank">Routing and automation options for incoming tickets</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832924314-Automations-vs-Triggers-When-To-Use-What" target="_blank">Automations vs. Triggers - When to use what</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408822236058-About-triggers-and-how-they-work" target="_blank">About triggers and how they work</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408883801626-Creating-and-managing-automations-for-time-based-events" target="_blank">Creating and managing automations for time-based
events</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408832701850-About-automations-and-how-they-work" target="_blank">About automations and how they work</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title31" class="topic nested1" id="topic_n4q_fcw_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title31">Step 8: Use Explore to analyze and improve performance</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Zendesk Explore provides you with analytics to measure and improve the entire customer
experience. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Explore comes with best practice dashboards and analysis built in, so teams of
any size get the metrics that help them track towards success. You can analyze team
performance, take stock of operational metrics, or get a better understanding of your
customer experience. </p>
<p class="p"><img class="image" id="topic_n4q_fcw_w3b__image_vmm_5cw_w3b" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/trial_guide_explore.png"></p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title32" class="topic nested2" id="topic_e21_lcw_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title32">Learn more about Explore</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_e21_lcw_w3b__ul_lxr_1dw_w3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/4405298849434" target="_blank">Getting started with Explore</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846844826" target="_blank">Turning on pre-built dashboards</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title33" class="topic nested1" id="topic_dbn_htk_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title33">What's next?</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p" dir="ltr">Congratulations! You've completed your trial set up. Here are some other things
to consider:<ul class="ul" id="topic_dbn_htk_x3b__ul_u13_q5k_x3b">
<li class="li">You can set up other channels for your account. For instructions, see<a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839376154" target="_blank"> Evaluating your Zendesk Suite trial</a> and the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408881507098" target="_blank">Launch guide for Zendesk Suite products</a>.</li>
<li class="li">To learn more about Support, see <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408884056346-Introduction" target="_blank">Getting started with Support.</a>
</li>
<li class="li">Visit the <a class="xref" href="https://www.zendesk.com/apps/" target="_blank">Zendesk Marketplace</a> to find partners, apps, and integrations - everything you
need to increase agent productivity and streamline workflows.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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