Evaluating messaging in your Zendesk Suite trial account

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<p class="p">This part of the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839376154" target="_blank">Zendesk Suite trial evaluation guide</a> helps you
evaluate messaging features in the Zendesk Suite to see how they'll work for you. Messaging
connects you with your customers instantly, via web, mobile, and social channels, and offers
AI agents – customizable, automated bots – to facilitate self-service support. Conversations
are persistent for both customers and agents – customers can return to their web or mobile
messaging channel and see their previous interactions, and agents can view a history of a
customer’s tickets and conversations through the Agent Workspace.</p>
<p class="p">Follow the steps in this guide to try out messaging. Each task typically takes less than 10
steps in our <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828179482" target="_blank">Zendesk Support evaluation guide</a>.</p>
<p class="p">This article includes the following steps:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic-1__ul_mct_b21_bhb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_y4w_dly_zmb">Step 1: Create a messaging
channel</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_gqz_cm5_w3b">Step 2: Configure the channel appearance and
behavior</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_fkp_21c_x3b">Step 3: Route your messaging
notifications</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_wjp_21c_x3b">Step 4: Install the messaging
channel</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="#topic_dbn_htk_x3b">What's next?</a></li>
</ul>
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<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title2" class="topic nested1" id="topic_y4w_dly_zmb">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title2">Step 1: Create a messaging channel</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">You can implement messaging in your website or help center, a mobile app, or select social
messaging channels, so you can meet your customers wherever they are. </p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title3" class="topic nested2" id="topic_yhg_flz_krb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title3">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Decide which messaging channels you’ll use to connect with your customers:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_yhg_flz_krb__ul_i1y_flz_krb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Use the <strong class="ph b">Web Widget</strong> to embed messaging in your website or help
center.</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">Mobile SDKs</strong> for Android and iOS let you add messaging to your mobile
app.</p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">Social channels</strong> connect your social messaging business pages with
Zendesk’s support tools.</p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title4" class="topic nested2" id="topic_c3h_gsy_zmb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title4">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Enable messaging in the channel (or channels) of your choice. </p>
<p class="p"><strong class="ph b">To enable a messaging channel</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_c3h_gsy_zmb__ol_bpj_3lz_krb">
<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_c3h_gsy_zmb__d7e811" 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">Messaging and social &gt;
Messaging</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Add channel</strong>, and select your path from the drop-down.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_c3h_gsy_zmb__image_orb_rlz_krb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/Add_channel_eval.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Follow the wizard instructions to configure basic settings for the channel.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title5" class="topic nested2" id="topic_ypm_3sd_lrb">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title5">Learn more</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_ypm_3sd_lrb__ul_dlq_jsd_lrb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408831648794" target="_blank">Getting started with social messaging</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409103246874" target="_blank">Creating a messaging Web Widget </a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834810394" target="_blank">Working with messaging in your Android and iOS
SDKs</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title6" class="topic nested1" id="topic_gqz_cm5_w3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title6">Step 2: Configure channel appearance and behavior</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">When you create a messaging channel, you can customize how the widget appears to your
customers, and create the initial interactions they’ll have when they launch the widget.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title7" class="topic nested2" id="topic_gvn_wn5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title7">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p">Appearance and behavior settings are all about adding your company's brand to the widget.
Think about the following elements before getting started:<ul class="ul">
<li class="li">What image do you want to project? Laid back and friendly? Competent and
matter-of-fact?</li>
<li class="li">Are there specific colors your customers associate with your company? </li>
<li class="li">Is there a small image you want to use as an avatar to represent your company?</li>
<li class="li">Have you <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408833984538#topic_cr3_2w1_wmb" target="_blank">enabled your help center</a>, and will your widget
customizations complement it?</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title8" class="topic nested2" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title8">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Open the channel’s edit page to see your options and start to make it your own.
The options available differ based on the channel type you’re working with.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Some of these settings were covered in the channel creation wizard. Use the
instructions here to refine or update them. </p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">To configure a messaging channel</p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b__ol_hy4_25d_lrb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><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_qxj_qm5_w3b__d7e811" 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">Messaging and social &gt;
Messaging</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Click the channel you want to configure.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Under each tab, configure the settings:<div class="p">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_qxj_qm5_w3b__ul_iy4_25d_lrb">
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Basics</strong> (all channels): Select a name, brand association, and more.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Style</strong> (web and mobile channels): Choose your colors, logo, launcher, and
widget text.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Responses</strong> (web and mobile channels) or <strong class="ph b">Auto-responder</strong> (social
channels): Give your channel a voice by creating a customer greeting.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Preferences</strong> (web and mobile channels): Enable conversation history, so
customers can see past their discussions.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Installation</strong> (web and mobile channels) or <strong class="ph b">Message Us button
</strong>(social channels): Add the channel to your website, help center, or social
messaging site.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title9" class="topic nested2" id="topic_wm1_cn5_w3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title9">Learn more</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828655514" target="_blank">Configuring messaging for the Web Widget</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839268378#topic_vdc_gwy_gmb" target="_blank">Setting up social messaging channels</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title10" class="topic nested1" id="topic_fkp_21c_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title10">Step 3: Route your messaging notifications</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Get messaging requests to the right agents by setting up notification
routing for incoming requests.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr">There are two basic methods for routing
messaging requests to your agents:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_fkp_21c_x3b__ul_qdk_qtd_lrb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<strong class="ph b">Broadcast</strong>: When a messaging request comes in, all agents (or
subsets of agents) are notified.</li>
<li class="li">
<strong class="ph b">Assigned</strong>: Each messaging request is assigned to the next available agent.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title11" class="topic nested2" id="topic_hkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title11">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul">
<li class="li">How many agents do you have? If you're only working with a handful, you probably don't
need to get too specific with your notification routing.</li>
<li class="li">Do you expect your agents to get a lot of requests they'll need help managing?</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title12" class="topic nested2" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title12">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">Once you decide on a routing style, you can configure it for your account. Routing is
managed through the Chat dashboard.</p>
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To configure the routing method for your account</strong></p>
<div class="p">
<ol class="ol" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b__ol_t1j_5vd_lrb">
<li class="li">From the Chat dashboard, select <strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> &gt; <strong class="ph b">Routing</strong> &gt;
<strong class="ph b">Settings</strong> tab.</li>
<li class="li">In the Chat Routing section, select a routing method.<p class="p"><img class="image img-screenshot" id="topic_jkp_21c_x3b__image_u1j_5vd_lrb" src="https://zen-marketing-documentation.s3.amazonaws.com/docs/en/zopim_routing_method.png"></p>
</li>
<li class="li">Configure other settings as needed. </li>
<li class="li">Click <strong class="ph b">Save Changes</strong>.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title13" class="topic nested2" id="topic_mkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title13">Learn more</h3>
<div class="body">
<div class="p" dir="ltr">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_mkp_21c_x3b__ul_a2y_vvd_lrb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5020833543450" target="_blank">Setting up notification routing for messaging</a></p>
</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829019162" target="_blank">Routing messaging tickets and
notifications</a></p>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title14" class="topic nested1" id="topic_wjp_21c_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title14">Step 4: Install the messaging channel</h2>
<div class="body">
<p class="p">If you haven’t already done so as part of the wizard mentioned in step 2, you can now add
messaging to your web, mobile, or social channel.</p>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title15" class="topic nested2" id="topic_yjp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title15">Plan it</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr">Before you can add a messaging channel, make sure you have somewhere to put
it:</p>
<ul class="ul" id="topic_yjp_21c_x3b__ul_hdl_fwd_lrb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Web Widget needs a website or help center </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Android or Mobile SDK needs a mobile app </li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Social messaging needs a social media site </li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title16" class="topic nested2" id="topic_akp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title16">Try it out</h3>
<div class="body">
<p class="p" dir="ltr"><strong class="ph b">To add the messaging channel to your web, mobile, or social media
location</strong></p>
<ol class="ol" id="topic_akp_21c_x3b__ol_hdq_3wd_lrb">
<li class="li" dir="ltr"><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_akp_21c_x3b__d7e811" 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">Messaging and social &gt;
Messaging</strong>.</span></li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Click the channel you want to install.</li>
<li class="li" dir="ltr">Click the <strong class="ph b">Installation</strong> tab, and follow the instructions on the
page.</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title17" class="topic nested2" id="topic_dkp_21c_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title17">Learn more</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_dkp_21c_x3b__ul_ohy_2pn_ymb">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408834810394#topic_ig1_2sq_gnb" target="_blank">Installing messaging for a mobile SDK</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408828655514#topic_fqh_qtc_3rb" target="_blank">Installing messaging for a Web Widget</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408831648794" target="_blank">Getting started with social messaging</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title18" class="topic nested1" id="topic_dbn_htk_x3b">
<h2 class="title topictitle2" id="ariaid-title18">What's next?</h2>
<div class="body">
<div class="p" dir="ltr">Congratulations! You've completed your messaging evaluation tasks. Here are some
next steps to get the most out of your trial:<ul class="ul" id="topic_dbn_htk_x3b__ul_u13_q5k_x3b">
<li class="li">Explore more of messaging on your own. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408846454682" target="_blank">About messaging</a> and <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408827701530" target="_blank">Getting started with messaging for web and mobile</a>.</li>
<li class="li">Set up other channels for your trail account. See <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408839376154" target="_blank">Evaluating your Zendesk trial account</a> and the <a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408881507098" target="_blank">Launch guide for Zendesk Support Suite products</a>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-labelledby="ariaid-title19" class="topic nested2" id="topic_wn5_4tk_x3b">
<h3 class="title topictitle3" id="ariaid-title19">Questions? Let us help</h3>
<div class="body">
<ul class="ul" id="topic_wn5_4tk_x3b__ul_uyl_qtk_x3b">
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843597850-" target="_blank">Contact the Zendesk support team</a></li>
<li class="li"><a class="xref" href="https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408843597850#h_01FB4BHCQN7EX10B0FK7JBTS78" target="_blank">Contact your Zendesk account representative</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
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