Support Channels

Support channels manage the different ways customers can contact your support team, including email, phone, chat, web forms, and social media. This guide covers channel configuration and management.

Overview

Support channels enable you to:

• Configure email support
• Set up phone support
• Enable live chat
• Manage web forms
• Integrate social media
• Route tickets by channel

Accessing Channels

Navigate to Settings → Support → Channels to configure support channels.

Understanding Channels

Channel Types

Channel	Description
Email	Support via email
Phone	Voice support
Live Chat	Real-time messaging
Web Form	Website submissions
Social Media	Social platforms
API	Programmatic access

Channel Status

Status	Description
Active	Accepting tickets
Paused	Temporarily disabled
Inactive	Not configured

Channel Priority

Priority	Response Time
High	Immediate routing
Medium	Standard queue
Low	Batch processing

How-To Guides

How to Configure Email Channel

Email Setup

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Email
2. Configure:
   • Support email address
   • Forwarding rules
   • Auto-response settings
3. Set parsing rules
4. Test email reception
5. Activate channel

Email Configuration

Email Channel Configuration

Incoming Email:
├─ Address: [email protected]
├─ Protocol: IMAP
├─ Server: imap.company.com
├─ Port: 993
└─ SSL: Enabled

Parsing Rules:
├─ Subject → Ticket Title
├─ Body → Description
├─ Sender → Customer Email
├─ Attachments → Ticket Files
└─ Reply-To → Thread Matching

Auto-Response:
├─ Enabled: Yes
├─ Template: Acknowledgment
└─ Include Ticket #: Yes

Email to Ticket Mapping

Email Field	Ticket Field
Subject	Title
From	Customer
Body	Description
CC	Followers
Attachments	Files
Priority Header	Priority

How to Set Up Phone Support

Phone Configuration

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Phone
2. Configure:
   • Phone numbers
   • Call routing
   • IVR settings
3. Set business hours
4. Integrate telephony
5. Enable channel

Phone Settings

Phone Channel Setup

Numbers:
├─ Main: +1-800-555-0100
├─ Sales: +1-800-555-0101
└─ Technical: +1-800-555-0102

Routing:
├─ Round Robin: Enabled
├─ Skills Based: Yes
├─ Queue: Support Queue
└─ Overflow: Voicemail

IVR Menu:
├─ Press 1: Sales
├─ Press 2: Technical Support
├─ Press 3: Billing
└─ Press 0: Operator

Call Logging

Setting	Value
Auto-Log	Enabled
Recording	With consent
Duration Tracking	Yes
Callback Option	Enabled

How to Enable Live Chat

Chat Configuration

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Chat
2. Configure:
   • Chat widget appearance
   • Pre-chat form
   • Routing rules
3. Set availability hours
4. Deploy widget code

Chat Widget Settings

Live Chat Configuration

Widget:
├─ Position: Bottom Right
├─ Color: #2563EB
├─ Title: Need Help?
├─ Logo: Company Logo
└─ Language: Auto-detect

Pre-Chat Form:
├─ Name: Required
├─ Email: Required
├─ Subject: Optional
└─ Department: Optional

Behavior:
├─ Auto-Open: After 30 seconds
├─ Proactive: Based on page
├─ Offline Form: Enabled
└─ File Sharing: Enabled

Chat Routing

Rule	Action
Department	Route to team
Language	Match agent language
VIP Customer	Priority queue
Topic	Skills-based routing

How to Configure Web Forms

Form Setup

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Web Forms
2. Click Create Form
3. Design form fields
4. Set submission handling
5. Generate embed code

Form Builder

Contact Form Configuration

Fields:
├─ Name (Text, Required)
├─ Email (Email, Required)
├─ Subject (Dropdown)
│  ├─ General Inquiry
│  ├─ Technical Issue
│  ├─ Billing Question
│  └─ Feature Request
├─ Description (Textarea, Required)
├─ Priority (Hidden)
└─ Attachments (File, Optional)

Submission:
├─ Create Ticket: Yes
├─ Send Confirmation: Yes
├─ CAPTCHA: Enabled
└─ Spam Filter: Active

Form Embedding

<!-- Embed Code -->
<iframe
  src="https://support.company.com/form/contact"
  width="100%"
  height="500"
  frameborder="0">
</iframe>

<!-- Or JavaScript Widget -->
<script src="https://support.company.com/widget.js"></script>
<script>
  SupportWidget.init({
    formId: 'contact-form',
    container: '#support-form'
  });
</script>

How to Integrate Social Media

Social Channel Setup

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Social
2. Connect accounts:
   • Facebook
   • Twitter/X
   • Instagram
   • LinkedIn
3. Configure monitoring
4. Set response rules

Social Integration

Social Media Channels

Facebook:
├─ Page: Company Support
├─ Messenger: Enabled
├─ Comments: Monitored
└─ Auto-Reply: Enabled

Twitter/X:
├─ Handle: @CompanySupport
├─ Mentions: Monitored
├─ DMs: Enabled
└─ Keywords: Tracked

Instagram:
├─ Account: @company
├─ Comments: Monitored
├─ DMs: Enabled
└─ Stories Mentions: Tracked

Social Monitoring

Platform	Features
Facebook	Messages, comments, reviews
Twitter	Mentions, DMs, keywords
Instagram	Comments, DMs, mentions
LinkedIn	Messages, mentions

How to Configure Channel Routing

Routing Rules

1. Go to Settings → Support → Channels → Routing
2. Define routing criteria:
   • Channel type
   • Customer segment
   • Issue category
   • Language
3. Set team assignments
4. Configure fallbacks

Routing Configuration

Channel Routing Rules

Rule 1: VIP Email Support
├─ Channel: Email
├─ Condition: Customer.Tier = "VIP"
├─ Assign To: VIP Support Team
└─ Priority: High

Rule 2: Technical Chat
├─ Channel: Chat
├─ Condition: Subject contains "technical"
├─ Assign To: Technical Team
└─ SLA: Premium

Rule 3: Social Media
├─ Channel: Social
├─ Condition: Any
├─ Assign To: Social Media Team
└─ Response Time: 1 hour

How to Set Channel Hours

Business Hours

Configure availability per channel:

Channel Availability

Email:
├─ Hours: 24/7 Reception
├─ Response: Business Hours
└─ Auto-Reply: Always

Live Chat:
├─ Monday-Friday: 9 AM - 6 PM
├─ Saturday: 10 AM - 2 PM
├─ Sunday: Closed
└─ Offline: Form Available

Phone:
├─ Monday-Friday: 8 AM - 8 PM
├─ Saturday: 9 AM - 5 PM
├─ Sunday: Emergency Only
└─ After Hours: Voicemail

Holiday Schedule

Holiday	Channels Affected
Holidays	Phone, Chat reduced
Weekends	Limited availability
After Hours	Email only

Advanced Features

Omnichannel Support

Unified experience:

• Single customer view
• Cross-channel history
• Seamless handoffs
• Consistent experience

Channel Analytics

Track performance:

• Volume by channel
• Response times
• Resolution rates
• Customer satisfaction

AI-Powered Routing

Intelligent distribution:

• Sentiment analysis
• Intent detection
• Priority prediction
• Skill matching

Chatbots

Automated support:

• FAQ responses
• Ticket creation
• Data collection
• Agent handoff

Best Practices

Channel Strategy

• Match channel to customer needs
• Ensure consistent experience
• Monitor performance
• Optimize routing

Email Management

• Quick acknowledgment
• Clear templates
• Spam filtering
• Threading support

Chat Excellence

• Fast first response
• Proactive engagement
• Canned responses
• Smooth escalation

Social Responsiveness

• Monitor mentions
• Quick responses
• Public/private handling
• Brand voice consistency

Configuration

Channel Settings

Navigate to Settings → Support → Channels:

• Email - Email configuration
• Phone - Telephony settings
• Chat - Live chat widget
• Forms - Web forms
• Social - Social media

Routing Settings

• Rules - Routing criteria
• Teams - Team assignments
• Hours - Availability
• Fallbacks - Default handling

Integration Settings

• Telephony - Phone systems
• Chat Platforms - Chat tools
• Social APIs - Social connections
• Webhooks - Event notifications

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Emails not creating tickets

• Check email forwarding
• Verify parsing rules
• Review spam filters
• Test email address

Chat widget not loading

• Verify embed code
• Check domain whitelist
• Review browser console
• Test in incognito

Social messages missing

• Check API connection
• Verify permissions
• Review monitoring rules
• Reconnect account

Phone calls not logging

• Verify integration
• Check agent login
• Review routing rules
• Test call flow

Related Documentation

Learn about Support Teams to configure team assignments and escalations.