How does the use of multiple numbers work?

How does the use of multiple numbers work?

When using multiple numbers, all communications are stored in Zoho Cliq, in a single channel for each customer, in Zoho CRM or Zoho Desk. The information is stored in a single view in the contact's profile in the same way as if you were using a single number. 

This way, even if you have multiple numbers, team management and information storage are centralized, in order to facilitate day-to-day operations and the generation of results reports that are so important for decision making in a business.

Multi-number is always organized in a way that one number is considered the main number and the others secondary.

When you have multiple numbers associated, where templates are shared between the numbers, the main number is the one that is activated first and is the reference for associating all other numbers. It is possible to change; you can request the change by writing to support@woztell.com

When you have independent multi-numbers, where no templates are shared between the numbers, the main one is usually the one that is activated first, however, during the setup of the numbers you can define which of them you prefer to be the main one, and the others will be considered secondary. 

To find out the impact of having a number as a principal, you can look at the "Using multinumber from Zoho CRM" session below.

What is the use of multi-numbers like: 
  1. From Zoho Cliq
  2. From Zoho CRM

Use from Zoho Cliq

  1. Identification of the number within the conversation
When multi-numbers are configured, each number will be given a name, and this name will be in all messages that are exchanged between clients and agents. 

At Woztell, we have a number called "USA", so when a customer writes to us in Cliq we can display the information: "Customer - USA", which identifies that the message was sent by a customer through the number called "USA".


When a Woztell agent answers the customer through the number called "USA", the name of the agent and the name of the number through which the message was sent is displayed, in this case: "Monique Almeida - USA"



  1. Change the WhatApp number used by the agent
  1. In Cliq, type the command /w -num and press enter twice in succession.
      2. A pop-up will automatically open, which allows you to select the number you want. You can check the numbers that are available by clicking on the selection arrow.


When changing the number for sending messages, you must take into account that for the agents, the conversation will continue in the same channel in Cliq, but for the client, it will be different conversations in his WhatsApp (if there are already messages exchanged with the different numbers).

Take, for example, the case of Woztell's multi-numbers, which has three numbers. If the agent sends messages to the customer through the three numbers, the customer will see the conversations on his Whatsapp in this way:



The most common scenario is that each client talks to your company on a single number, so this does not usually happen. 
If you have any questions about this topic and you have not yet purchased a multi-number, you can talk to us via WhatsApp or write to presales@woztell.com

If you already have a multi-number, and you have any doubts about its use, you can create a ticket or write to support@woztell.com

Use from Zoho CRM

In Zoho CRM there are four ways to contact the customer via WhatsApp:
  1. Click the "Go to channel" button to open the channel in Zoho Cliq.
  2. Sending bulk messages using the "WhatsApp bulk send" button
  3. Sending bulk messages through the campaigns module
  4. Sending push messages with workflows in Zoho CRM, or with webservices with direct access to the API
For each of these options there is a way to associate the number with the message to be sent:

1. Click the "Go to channel" button to open the channel in Zoho Cliq.
The "Go to channel" button in the "Leads" or "Contacts" profile is used to open the channel in Cliq in a separate tab. There are two options for opening the channel: 
  1. When the channel is created for the first time
    This happens when you create the customer in CRM for the first time and then click on the "Go to channel" button.
    The channel will be generated and associated with the main number. 
If the agent wants to talk to this customer on another number, he/she can change it by following the instructions above on how to "Change the WhatApp number used by the agent". 
  1. When the channel already exists and you press "Go to channel".
    The number that was being used in the channel is retained, whether it is the main number or an associated or secondary number.
2. Sending bulk messages using the "WhatsApp bulk send" button
This option appears when you are in the "Leads" or "Contacts" module and you select the customers or group you want to send the message to.


In this instance, the message is always sent from the main number, so if you wish to use an associated or secondary number for mass mailings, you must use the option of mass mailings per campaign, detailed in item 3. 

3. Sending bulk messages through the campaigns module 
In the campaign module, there is a field "Output WhatsApp number" in the WhatsApp session where you can describe what the output number of the messages will be.

The WhatsApp number has to be in international format with "00" to start with, the country code, and the phone number.
WhatsApp for some countries uses specific number formats that should be considered at this point:
  1. Mexico: The country code for WhatsApp is 521.
  2. Argentina: Argentina telephone numbers (country code 54) must include the 9 between the country code, and the area code (549). The prefix ''15'' must be removed.

4. Sending push messages with workflows in Zoho CRM or with webservices with direct access to the API
The parameter "WOZTELL_NUMBER" is where you define the number that will be used to send messages. If you do not define this parameter, the message will be sent from the main number. 
To understand how to create Workflows or webservices check out this article
If you need to know which are the registered numbers and which is the main one, you can follow the steps in this article. 

FAQ

  1. Is it possible to restrict the use of a number by a group of agents?
No, it is not possible to restrict the use of a number to certain agents. All agents will be able to communicate from any number through Zoho Cliq.
What you can do is assign conversations with specific numbers to some agents and not to others, as you can see in this article about agent assignment.