Zendesk is a popular customer service software that allows companies to manage customer support interactions. Within Zendesk, agents interact with customers through support tickets. Tickets contain important information about the customer’s issue or request. This information is organized into different fields that make up the ticket.
Ticket fields allow Zendesk users to capture and track key details about support tickets. Having customized ticket fields enables companies to gather data that is most relevant to their business. The data entered into ticket fields can also be used for reporting and analytics.
What are the main purposes of ticket fields?
There are a few key reasons companies use ticket fields in Zendesk:
- To gather important context about customer issues/requests
- To categorize and filter tickets based on criteria
- To display relevant information to agents
- To enable reporting on ticket data
- To automate ticket handling based on field values
Without ticket fields, companies would have a hard time tracking details like ticket priority, product name, account type, and anything else useful for their support workflow. Ticket fields add structure and organization.
What does Zendesk provide out of the box?
Zendesk includes a set of default system fields that are built into the software. These include basic fields like:
- Ticket ID
- Requester name
- Requester email
- Subject
- Description
- Status
- Priority
The default fields capture core information on every ticket. But companies often need more specialized data for their business use cases.
How do you create custom ticket fields?
The Zendesk admin settings allow you to create customized ticket fields beyond the defaults. You can add various types of fields including:
- Text fields – For capturing short text
- Textarea fields – For capturing long blocks of text
- Dropdown fields – For selecting from a list of options
- Checkbox fields – For ticking checkbox options
- Date fields – For capturing a date
- Number fields – For capturing a number
When you create a new ticket field, you provide a descriptive name and select the field type. You can also set additional options like making a field required, adding placeholder text, and providing a list of choices for dropdowns.
Steps to create a custom ticket field:
- Go to the Zendesk Admin settings
- Navigate to the “Tickets” section
- Click “Ticket Fields”
- Click the “+ Add Field” button
- Give the field a title and description
- Select the field type
- Set any additional field options
- Click “Create”
That’s all there is to creating a basic custom field! You can create as many fields as needed to capture ticket details.
What are some common custom fields?
Here are some examples of custom fields companies may add:
- Product name – To track which product the ticket relates to
- Account type – To segment customer accounts (e.g. Free/Pro/Enterprise)
- Customer ID – To relate tickets to customer records
- Issue type – To categorize issues (e.g. Bug/Feature Request/Other)
- Priority – To flag urgent tickets
- Channel – To see if from email/chat/phones
- Page URL – To capture page with issues
These help gather extra context, streamline workflows, and enable reporting.
Where do custom fields show up?
Once created, custom ticket fields will appear in the following places:
- Ticket submission form
- Agent ticket page
- Tickets list view
- Ticket reports
- Ticket search filters
- Ticket automation
- Views,macros, apps, extensions
You have control over where ticket fields are visible using field permissions.
Can you automate based on ticket fields?
Absolutely! One of the key benefits of custom ticket fields is enabling automation through Zendesk apps.
For example, you could build automation so:
- Tickets marked “Urgent” are routed to specific agents
- Tickets for “Enterprise” accounts enable live chat
- Tickets with “Refund” in subject get tagged for finance team
Automation provides a more streamlined workflow based on ticket field data.
What are some tips for working with custom fields?
Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
- Start with the end goal – Create fields to capture data you need
- Keep names clear – Use descriptive names agents understand
- Limit number of fields – Too many fields creates noise
- Carefully choose required fields – Only make mandatory if critical
- Standardize values – For dropdowns, share allowed options
- Clean up unused fields – Remove fields that are no longer needed
Overall, customized ticket fields are a powerful Zendesk feature. When used strategically, they can optimize support workflows, reporting, and automation.
Conclusion
Ticket fields allow Zendesk users to capture important context about customer tickets. Companies can create customized ticket fields beyond the default system fields provided out-of-the-box.
Common use cases for custom ticket fields include:
- Gathering specialized data
- Categorizing and filtering tickets
- Enabling better reporting
- Automating ticket handling
There are various types of custom fields like text, dropdowns, checkboxes, and dates. Agents enter data into ticket fields which shows up across Zendesk views, reports, and automation.
When planned and managed well, custom ticket fields improve workflows and provide key insights into customer support interactions. They are an essential building block for optimizing Zendesk to suit an organization’s needs.