Administrators looking to consolidate customer communication within Zoho CRM can now seamlessly integrate Arattai, Zoho's own messaging platform. This guide will walk you through how to integrate Arattai with Zoho CRM for messaging, ensuring that conversations from your Arattai Business number land directly in your CRM's Messages module, linking them to existing leads or contacts, and enabling your team to respond efficiently.
What You Need Before You Start
Before you begin the integration process, ensure you meet these prerequisites:
Zoho CRM Edition: This integration is available in the Standard edition and above.
Data Centre: The feature is currently supported exclusively in the IN data centre only.
Arattai Business Platform Account: You must have an active account with the Arattai Business Platform. Note that this is distinct from the Arattai Business app, which does not support this integration. For account setup or number inquiries, refer to Arattai's official help documentation.
Permissions: You'll need administrator privileges within Zoho CRM to access and configure channel settings.
Step-by-Step Setup for Arattai Integration
Integrating your Arattai Business number with Zoho CRM is a straightforward process designed to get your team communicating with customers quickly. Follow these steps:
Step 1: Access Business Messaging Settings
Log in to your Zoho CRM account. Navigate to Setup (the gear icon) in the top right corner. Under the "Channels" section, select Business Messaging.
Step 2: Initiate Arattai Integration
On the Business Messaging page, locate Arattai among the available channels. Click on Details next to Arattai, then click the Integrate button to begin the connection process.
Step 3: Authenticate Your Arattai Business Account
You will be prompted to sign in with your Arattai Business Platform credentials. Enter your username and password to authorize the connection between Arattai and Zoho CRM.
Step 4: Select Your Arattai Business Number
After successful authentication, you will be presented with a list of your registered Arattai Business numbers. Choose the specific number you wish to integrate with your Zoho CRM instance.
Step 5: Configure Message Assignment Rules
Crucially, decide how incoming messages from new senders should be handled. Zoho CRM offers flexible assignment options:
Assign to a specific user: Direct all new conversations to one team member.
Assign to a role: Route messages to users with a particular CRM role.
Assign to a group: Distribute incoming chats among members of a designated group using a round-robin method. This level of control over communication routing exemplifies effective business process automation.
You also have the option to automatically add new senders as leads or contacts within CRM, streamlining your data entry and ensuring no prospect is missed.
Step 6: Confirm and Activate
Review your settings. Once satisfied, confirm the integration. Your Arattai Business number will now be connected, and incoming customer messages will begin appearing in the Messages module within Zoho CRM.
Managing Arattai Conversations in Zoho CRM: A Scenario
Imagine a customer messages your Arattai Business number with a question about their recent order. Here's how the integration works in practice:
Incoming Message: The message arrives in the Zoho CRM Messages module.
User Notification: The assigned user receives a notification through Zoho CRM's Signals feature.
Contextual Conversation: The user opens the conversation, where it's already linked to the customer's existing lead or contact record. This provides immediate access to their history.
Effortless Reply: The user can craft a personalized message or use predefined text for quick responses. They can also leverage merge fields to pull specific information directly from the CRM record (e.g., order number, customer name).
Attachment Sharing: If necessary, the user can attach relevant files—such as a brochure or an invoice—directly from their computer, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, or Evernote. You can send up to five attachments per message.
Conversation History: Every interaction is automatically stored against the lead or contact record, ensuring anyone picking up the conversation later has the full context. Importantly, replying to these customer-initiated messages does not consume any Arattai credits.
This seamless integration helps teams maintain a unified view of customer interactions and enhances responsiveness, improving the overall customer experience.
Troubleshooting Common Arattai Integration Issues
While the integration process is designed to be smooth, you might encounter a few hiccups. Here's how to address common issues:
No Messages Appearing in CRM
If you're not seeing Arattai messages in your Zoho CRM, double-check the following:
Data Centre: Confirm your Zoho CRM instance is in the IN data centre. This integration is geo-restricted.
Arattai Business Platform Account: Ensure you are using an Arattai Business Platform account, not the standard Arattai Business app. They are separate.
Integration Status: Go to Setup → Channels → Business Messaging and verify that the Arattai integration shows as "Integrated" or active.
Assignment Rules: Check your configured assignment rules. If messages are assigned to a specific user, ensure that user is active and has appropriate permissions.
Unable to Send Attachments
If you're having trouble sending attachments, ensure:
File Type and Size: While the announcement doesn't specify limits, common issues arise from unsupported file types or excessively large files.
Cloud Drive Permissions: If attaching from cloud drives (Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.), ensure Zoho CRM has the necessary permissions to access these drives.
Number of Attachments: You can send up to five attachments per message. Exceeding this limit will prevent sending.
Messages Not Linking to Records
Zoho CRM automatically links conversations to matching leads or contacts. If this isn't happening:
Phone Number Format: Ensure the customer's Arattai phone number matches an existing lead or contact's phone number field in CRM exactly, including country codes if applicable.
Automatic Lead/Contact Creation: Verify if you enabled the setting to "Add new senders automatically as leads or contacts" during setup. If not, new numbers won't create records.
Quick Questions About Arattai and Zoho CRM
Can I initiate conversations with customers from Zoho CRM via Arattai?
Currently, the integration is primarily built for customer-initiated conversations. This means customers message your Arattai Business number first, and your team can then reply within a 48-hour window. Zoho's official announcement confirms, "Replying to your customers doesn't consume credits," implying a focus on reactive engagement.
What Zoho CRM editions support the Arattai integration?
The Arattai integration is supported in Standard edition and above of Zoho CRM. It's also critical to note that it's only available in the IN data centre.
Integrating Arattai with Zoho CRM provides a powerful way to centralize customer communications and improve response times. By understanding the setup process and leveraging its capabilities, your team can deliver a more connected and efficient customer experience directly from your CRM. To delve deeper into the technical specifics, you can refer to Zoho's official announcement on Arattai integration. For complex implementations or to further optimize your Zoho ecosystem, consider partnering with experts. We at Skyfall Labs specialize in helping businesses like yours get the most out of their Zoho investment. Explore our comprehensive Zoho solutions to see how we can assist you in streamlining your operations and enhancing customer engagement.