How to Set up a Call Target

Call Targets represent the destinations to which callback requests can be sent. They point to the holding queues in your contact center and allow the interaction between the Mindful Callback application and your telephony system.  

This guide walks you through the process of setting up a new Call Target and adjusting the basic configuration to begin offering callbacks to your customers.

Before You Begin

We recommend completely configuring your Global Settings before building new Call Targets. If you have not yet configured your Global Settings, see How to Configure Global Settings before proceeding.

Overview

This article covers the following topics to get started with a new Call Target.

1. Create a new Call Target
2. Configure the inbound call experience
3. Configure the callback experience
4. Configure business hours
5. Test your Call Target
6. Next steps

Create a New Call Target

The fastest way to get started with a new Call Target is to clone an existing Call Target and then adjust the configuration as needed. The Clone Call Target option allows you to select an existing Call Target within your Organization and copy all of its information onto a new one.

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets

1. Identify the Call Target that you would like to clone.
2. In the Actions column, click the Clone icon.
3. Enter a unique name for your new Call Target in the Name field.
4. Click Save Changes, then Publish. 
   • This saves and activates your cloned Call Target and allows you to continue working on it.

Each Call Target must have a unique inbound phone number assigned to it. This can be done at any stage of the process, but we will take care of it now before proceeding to configure the Call Target.

(Option 1) Provision a PSTN Number

Quick access: Callback > Phone Numbers > PSTN tab

1. In the PSTN tab, click Provision additional PSTN Numbers.
2. If you would like to use a specific area code for your Call Target's phone number, type your desired area code into the Area Code search box. Otherwise, leave the box empty.
3. Review the list of available numbers to find one you would like to claim, then click Provision in the corresponding row.

(Option 2) Provision a SIP Number

1. Use the dropdown menu next to the Add SIP Number(s) button to select a quantity of numbers to add.
2. Click Add SIP Number(s) once to add as many numbers as you specified in the previous step. 

Your Organization will have a unique SIP Number prefix, which will be displayed in the SIP tab. 

When viewing the lists of PSTN and SIP numbers provisioned for your Organization, you can assign each number to any Call Target you would like, and you can change Call Targets as often as needed. The numbers will not be permanently linked to any Call Target. You can assign multiple numbers to the same Call Target, as well.

To assign a Call Target to a number, first locate the row associated with the PSTN number (PSTN tab) or SIP number (SIP tab), then use the dropdown menu in the Assign Target column to select a Call Target. The change will happen immediately, with no need to save and publish manually.

Configure the Inbound Experience

This is a longer step, with three distinct areas of configuration:

Registration Settings

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets > Your Call Target > General tab > Registration

1. Offer ASAP Callback: Select this checkbox to offer callbacks as soon as possible.
2. Offer Choose Hold: Select this checkbox to offer callers the option to return on hold. 
3. Announce ANI: Select this if you would like to present customers with the option to use their automatically detected phone number as their callback number. 
   • When selected, the system will read the ANI to customers and present the option to use the ANI or enter a different number manually.
4. Announce ECBT during Offer: Select this to announce the ECBT to customers before they've accepted an offer of a callback.
5. Announce ECBT during Confirmation: Select this checkbox to announce the ECBT after an offer has been accepted.
6. Offer Scheduled Callback: Select one or both of the available checkboxes--(Voice) or (Widget/API)--to offer callback scheduling for a specific date and time via voice, Scheduler Widget, or the Mindful API.

To learn more about the other settings in the Registration section, see Call Target Registration.

End of Day Handling

End of Day settings can alter the customer experience towards the close of business hours, in order to manage the queue and divert call traffic away from agents as the end of their work day approaches. These settings are optional, and the ideal configuration will depend upon your specific environment and staffing trends.

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets > Your Call Target > General tab > End of Day

1. Select the Offer Next Business Day Callbacks option if you would like to offer callbacks for the next business day when customers call outside of hours (or during the end-of-day period). If selected, complete the following additional steps.
   1. Enter the maximum number of callbacks that can be scheduled for the next business day in the Max Next Business Day Callbacks field.
   2. Enter a number (in minutes) in the Next Business Day Delay field to force the system to wait for a certain amount of time before launching these callbacks when the Call Target opens again. This can help to avoid numerous callbacks launching the moment that agents begin their workday.
   3. Select the Announce Time for Next Business Day Callbacks option to inform customers of the estimated time of their callback on the next business day. If this is left deselected, the system will use the words "morning" or "afternoon" instead.
2. Select Offer Return to Hold if you would like to provide this option to customers. If a customer chooses to return to hold, the same Holding Number that applies to normal choose-hold calls will be used as the destination.
3. The Use ECBT to determine End of Day option becomes available if either Offer Next Business Day Callbacks or Offer Return to Hold is selected. Select this option if you would like to use the ECBT to dynamically determine the end-of-day handling period rather than using the Call Target's business hours.
4. The End of Day Fixed Time Margin option becomes available if either Offer Next Business Day Callbacks or Offer Return to Hold is selected. Select this option if you would like to use a fixed amount of time prior to the end of the Call Target's hours of operation to begin the end-of-day handling period.

To learn more about the other settings in this section, see Call Target End of Day Settings.

Scheduled Callback Settings

Settings in this section impact the customer experience with the callback scheduling feature. Options such as the number of callbacks to allow at certain times of day and the number of days out to offer scheduling can be found here.

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets > Your Call Target > General tab > Scheduled Callback

1. Number of Days Out to Allow Scheduling: Specify how many days in the future your customers can schedule a callback. Two settings are available:
   • (Voice) affects scheduling in the Mindful IVR.
   • (Widget/API) affects scheduling via Scheduler widgets or the Mindful API
2. Offer Scheduled Callback Outside of Hours: Select this option if you wish to allow customers to continue using the callback scheduling feature outside of the Call Target's hours of operation. Two settings are available:
   • (Voice) affects scheduling in the Mindful IVR.
   • (Widget/API) affects scheduling via Scheduler widgets or the Mindful API
3. Max Scheduled Callbacks Per Interval: Specify the maximum number of scheduled callbacks you want to allow per 15-minute interval. Consider how many agents you may have available to support multiple scheduled callbacks per interval.

To learn more about the other settings in this section, see Call Target Scheduled Callback Settings.

Configure the Callback Experience

Like the registration experience, configuring the callback experience is also a longer step broken into several sections.

Contact Center Settings

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets > Your Call Target > General tab > Contact Center

In this section, you will configure destinations to reach the contact center in various scenarios, such as delivering callbacks to agents, sending customers to hold, or using backup failover destinations. For each scenario, you can select a Telephony Type (PSTN or SIP) and enter a Number (or SIP address).

• Telephony Type and Number:
  • Callback: Select a type and destination to send customer callbacks to an agent queue.
  • Callback Failover: Configure a backup destination to be used if Mindful cannot reach the contact center to transfer customer calls.
  • Choose Hold: Select a type and destination to send customers to hold, if they choose.
• Use Custom Callback Failover Number: Select this to enable a failover to the Callback Failover Number when the contact center cannot be reached.
• Use Choose Hold Failover Number: Select this to enable a failover to the Choose Hold Failover Number when the contact center cannot be reached.

Callback Strategy Settings

Callback Strategy settings determine where and how Mindful will dial callbacks. We will cover a few important items in this section, and you can find a link to learn more further below.

• The First Party Called setting controls whether the customer or agent is dialed first when it's time to launch a callback. 
  • When set to Customer, the system calls the customer first and waits to dial the agent until the customer is on the line. 
  • When set to Agent, the system dials an agent and confirms they are ready to accept the callback before calling the customer.
• Caller ID (CID): Enter the number you would like to be displayed on customers' Caller ID.
  • This value can also be used in SMS notifications.
• Max Active Calls: Use this setting to determine the maximum number of active conversations to allow at once.
  • When the maximum is reached, Mindful will wait until a conversation ends before dialing the next callback.
• Max Queue Depth: Use this setting to set a maximum numbers of callbacks allowed to wait in the high-priority holding queue for an agent at once.
  • When the maximum is reached, Mindful will wait until a call leaves the queue before dialing the next callback.

There are other important settings to review in the Callback Strategy section, and we've only covered the basics you'll need for a functional Call Target. To learn more about the voice experience and call flow configuration for each option, see Call Target Callback Strategy.

Configure the Hours of Operation

Quick access: Callback > Call Targets > Your Call Target > Hours tab

1. If you would like to specify a time zone other than the one configured for your Organization, clear the Use Organization Default Timezone checkbox. Next, use the Timezone dropdown menu to select a time zone for this Call Target.
2. If you would like to set up hours of operation that differ from your Organization's hours, deselect the Use Organization Default Hours of Operation checkbox, then use the following steps to set up new hours.
   1. Click Add Hours entry.
   2. Using the dropdown menu, pick the first day of the week you are open. If you are open with the same hours every day of the week, choose the Every Day option.
   3. Enter your opening and closing hours for that day. Click AM or PM to select the appropriate time of day.
3. To configure unique hours of operation for specific dates, click Add Holiday Hours. Next, select a date in the dropdown menu that appears and configure the opening and closing times as needed.
4. To delete a specific row on the Hours tab, click Remove in the row that you wish to delete then save your changes.

(Optional) Set up Callback Notifications

Callback notifications enhance the customer experience by sending SMS messages to notify customers of important details related to their callbacks. Notifications can be sent to:

• Confirm that a callback has been requested.
• Remind customers of an upcoming scheduled callback.
• Advise customers when the system has failed to reach them via phone.
• Provide after-call survey opportunities.

For complete instructions on setting up callback notifications for your Call Targets, see Getting Started with Callback Notifications.

You've reached the end of the basic Call Target setup steps!

You have successfully set up a Call Target, but there is still more to learn! For complete step-by-step instructions on building and testing Call Targets, see How to Set Up a Call Target in the FAQs section.

For information on all configurable settings on the Call Targets page, see the Call Targets reference article.

Test Your Call Target

After creating and configuring a Call Target, it is possible to test it using two phones with unique phone numbers. You will first need to temporarily update the Call Target configuration, then you can test both the Agent First and Customer First experiences.

Afterward, you can review metrics and call events for your test calls to ensure the system is functioning as expected.

Configure Your Call Target for Testing

Use the following procedure to ensure that your Call Target is configured for testing. Note the values of any settings that you change during testing, and remember to set them back afterward.

Quick Access: Callback > Call Targets > General

1. In the Contact Center section, set Callback Number to the phone number of a device that you wish to use for testing.
2. In the Callback Strategy section, set the First Party Called radio button to Agent.
3. Set the Minimum Callback Delay to a value less than one minute.
4. Save and publish your changes.
5. On the Phone Numbers page, use the dropdown menu in the Assign Target column to assign your call target to one of the provisioned phone numbers.

Test the Agent First Experience

Use the following procedure to test the Agent First experience.

1. Call the phone number associated with your call target, and request a callback.
2. Mindful Callback will dial the phone number that you previously set as the Callback Phone Number. Answer the call and accept the callback as if you were an agent.
3. The calling phone will receive the callback. Answer the callback, and you should hear yourself connected through both phones.

Test the Customer First Experience

Use the following procedure to test the Customer First experience:

1. In the Callback Strategy section, set the First Party Called radio button to Customer.
2. Save and publish the change.
3. Call the phone number associated with your call target, and request a callback.
4. Mindful Callback will dial the calling phone number first, rather than the Callback Phone Number. Answer the callback and follow the prompts to indicate that you are ready to speak with an agent.
5. The Callback Number will then be dialed. Answer the call, and you should hear yourself connected through both phones.

Review the Callback Metrics

Use the following procedure to review the reporting data available for your test calls.

1. On the Callback Status page, use the search filter to select your Call Target.
2. Review the metrics data on this page to ensure your test calls are reflected.
3. On the Call Detail page, click the dropdown arrow in the row corresponding to one of your test calls.
4. Review the call events listed for the call to analyze the results.

Next Steps

Congratulations! Your Call Target is now built and ready to start processing callbacks. However, there are additional configuration options available to fine-tune the callback experience and take advantage of advanced features. Explore the following guides for more information on configuring and using your Call Target.

• How to Work With User Data and Metadata: Collect and pass along custom user data sets using Digital Callback widgets and Callback Metadata Items.
• How to Manage Audio Files: Customize your audio files to communicate your brand identity throughout each interaction.
• How to View Reports and Call Data: Assign reporting categories to Call Targets, view real-time and historical reports, or export reporting data to gain strategic insights.
• Getting Started With Callback Notifications: Use SMS messaging to send callback notifications and reminders to customers awaiting a callback.