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Category : Zoho CRM

Adaptability Ensure Your Business can Grow with CRM Implementation

Adaptability: Ensure Your CRM Implementation Is Not Wasted

If you’re reading this blog, you already know how powerful a CRM implementation can be to your business.  Not only acting as a simple database of contacts, it gives you the power to project future revenue, which can factor into all manner of things related to your business, including whether or not to grow the business – and in which direction.  However, as implementing a CRM can be such a comprehensive process, the stories are many where business owners were severely hampered by a CRM that didn’t turn out to be as adaptable as it seemed, or even more held up when a CRM actually decreased productivity because the staff didn’t know how to use the system or didn’t trust it.  

Sometimes, the CRM itself is indeed to blame for these problems, but more of the time, these failed implementations rest squarely on the shoulders of the deployment team (or lack thereof) doing the work. The solution to the problem, then, seems to be to make sure proper data is conveyed to that deployment team to make sure that a CRM implementation takes every known business situation into account…  But, how can you do that effectively?

Fortunately, at ZBrains, we’ve been down this road and heard this story many a time.  Based on our years of experience, this is what we recommend to make sure your system works just the way you expect it to and doesn’t end up hurting your business or going to waste.

Successful Zoho CRM Implementation: Key Factors:

zoho CRM ImplementationThe Right Fit

First off, ensure the solution is the right fit for your business. It’s important to verify that it has the capabilities to fit into and improve your current processes. Whether it be to match and improve your sales flow or to simplify your email marketing, your chosen solution should encompass all of your business needs. If the CRM implementation can adapt to your business, then your employees can more easily adapt to the implementation.

zoho CRM ImplementationIt Integrates With Your Daily Apps

Don’t divide your business up into different applications. Switching back and forth between tabs can be time-consuming. The business solution that you choose should integrate with your daily apps seamlessly. Being able to integrate with your chosen email client, accounting software, or marketing tools helps a good deal to avoid problems like duplicate or bad data. You can read more about the troubles bad data can cause here.

zoho CRM ImplementationTraining your Staff

Make sure that both you and your team understand how the new CRM implementation will work with your business. Without the team’s understanding, they will not be fully on board with the new solution, or won’t use it properly. When partnering with a consultant for your implementation, ensure that they will also take the time to train you and your staff – because you want your staff confident in the solution once the consultant is gone. Here at ZBrains, we take the time to train your team on the CRM or other Zoho apps, and even work with every level of management to prepare your team even better. Learn more about our CRM consulting services here!

zoho CRM ImplementationEmployee Buy-In

You want your team engaged before, during, and after the implementation process. It’s important to get an employee buy-in through proper training, but you can ease the buy-in process (and indeed we do this with upper management) through something like a Business Process Analysis (BPA), to ensure that everyone is onboard. With a BPA, we interview key personnel to get an idea of what a Zoho implementation will be able to fix and how you’d want to scale the system as you grow.  Then, we deliver the findings to you in a formal document called an Executive Summary.  Positioning Zoho as something that will make life easier always helps with employee buy-in, and the Executive Summary explains and reinforces exactly how that can be done.

When it comes to any new implementations, it is important that your company can adapt to those changes easily. By choosing the right partner and keeping these 4 things in mind, you will be on the road to a successful CRM implementation.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a member of the ZBrains team today! Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below to choose a time that works best for you!

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Zoho Apps That We Are Grateful For!

It’s Thanksgiving! It’s the perfect time to chow down, visit family and friends, and be happy and thankful for everyone in your life. In the spirit of the holiday, we would like to share some of the Zoho Apps that we are most grateful for with you! They can help you to optimize your potential and can keep you on-track and ready to close more, win more, and earn more.

Here are 4 Zoho Apps that we are grateful for!

Zoho appsZoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a powerful cloud-based customer and prospect management solution for your business. It is your most basic database where you can reach out to your customers and reference past work or projects, as well as forecast future sales – which you can use to make key decisions about your business. With Zoho CRM, you can set tasks and reminders to reach out to your customers in a timely and convenient manner, all for the purpose of giving your customers a smoother journey through your sales funnel. With a multitude of integrations, add-ons, and applications you can customize this CRM to fit your specific, unique business needs. Check out just how easy it is to migrate to Zoho!

Zoho appsZoho Sprints

Simplify project management for your business! This agile project management app designed to manage software sprints and help everyone get over their respective hurdles. A simpler project management solution than Zoho Projects, you can manage and track your team’s time and see where everyone stands using the Scrum Board. Use analytics which update in real time to help you make predictions, make adjustments, and identify bottlenecks. All of these features will make sure that your team is operating efficiently. Learn more here!

ZohoZoho apps Campaigns

Being able to keep in touch with your customers and prospects is important: it can convert uninterested leads into warmer prospects, and it can turn one-time customers into lifetime family members. Instead of toggling between various different apps for email marketing, you can use Zoho Campaigns. It integrates with your CRM to ensure that your data is always up to date. Campaigns also gives you massive insights into your email marketing campaigns so you can know how they performed and automate follow-up campaigns. Best of all, the integration with Zoho CRM offers unparalleled visibility into those engaged with your content and pipeline. Learn more about the power of Zoho Campaigns!

Zoho appsZoho Desk

Good customer service is important! Happy customers make life so much easier. Zoho Desk is that all-encompassing solution for your business in need of a ticketing system. Desk is context-aware and designed so your service never misses a beat. With in-depth reporting for management, detailed tickets and time tracking for agents, and a knowledge base for customers – this Zoho app help cover every level of customer service.

Love all of these Zoho Apps? Well, they are all included with Zoho One! If you are interested in learning more feel free to reach out to our team. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 and schedule a consultation at a time that works best for you. You can also sign up for a free trial of Zoho by clicking the button below!

We here at ZBrains wish you a safe, happy, and delicious holiday!

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Sign and Send Contracts from anywhere like this construction worker using Zoho Sign

Zoho Sign – Paperless, Effortless, Simple

It’s 2017. Businesses are digitizing and moving practically anything they can to the cloud, and with good reason: It’s safer, easier, more environmentally friendly,… and it usually just looks more sophisticated when you carry out business online as opposed to the old-fashioned way. Document signing is one of these items moving to the cloud in earnest. By allowing for digital signatures, businesses can not only reap the aforementioned benefits of cloud-based software, but they can receive a faster response while completely customizing their clients’ experience with their brand – and Zoho Corporation knows this. With this in mind, Zoho has released Zoho Sign, which features all this, plus integrations including Zoho CRM for even more ease of use. What could be better? Read on for a full breakdown of Zoho Sign’s features.

zoho sign

Here’s how Zoho Sign makes document signing Simple and Effortless

Zoho Sign IconFirst off, What is Zoho Sign?

Zoho Sign is one of Zoho’s newest app releases. It is a digital signature app, from which business can send and sign legally binding documents such as NDAs, sales contracts, partner agreements, invoices, and more! You can customize these documents and preview them before sending to ensure the documents meet your specifications. Wouldn’t it be great if you could send and sign documents from your phone? Well you can, because Sign is also available on mobile!

Timing is Everything

Need to meet a deadline or close a deal? Zoho Sign can help make sure your documents are signed and delivered on time. Send automated reminders and notifications to the recipients so they don’t forget to sign. You can also set up expiration dates for when the document must be completed and send reminders to the signee of the upcoming expiration date. Sign will make sure you stay up-to-date on the status of your sent documents with notifications of when your document is viewed, signed, or declined.

Zoho Sign Screenshot

Make Sure Documents Get to the Right Person – or People

Making sure you send your document to the correct recipient is vital – but what if you need to send it to many? Zoho Sign can do that too. You can add multiple recipients to you document to sign, and even create a signing order – meaning you can control the order which the document is sent and signed. Get a faster response from a group with the ability to send private messages with Zoho Sign. Send messages to either a particular recipient or the whole group. Don’t let your documents slip through the cracks.

Integrations to Make Sending and Signing Simple

Zoho knows that different businesses use different applications when it comes to creating documents. That’s why Zoho Sign can connect with the apps you use on a daily basis. Have your recipients sign a document directly from Gmail, or send documents out from OneDrive, Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox, just to name a few. Sign makes it easy for you to send out documents and get a quick response!

Security is KeyLock

With legally binding contracts, security is important. That’s why Zoho Sign employs bank-level security and encryption for your documents and data. Zoho’s robust security systems make sure that your data remains safe. You can place additional security measures by requiring multi-factor authentication or by granting – or denying – permissions and access by user-role. Furthermore, an audit trail allows you to track the entire signing process and ensure the legality of the signature.

Why go through the lengthy process of printing out paper contracts and waiting for a physical signature? Save yourself the hassle and get Zoho Sign today. With pricing starting at $12 per user per month*, it’s well worth it! It is also included in Zoho One, Zoho’s all-in-one business suite. Learn more about Zoho One here. *Pricing updated June 2021

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a member of the ZBrains team today! We are Zoho Certified Consultants who are happy to help with any Zoho questions. Call us at (888) 207-4111 or let us know a time that works for you using the button below.

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Woman Drinking coffee learning how she can enhance customer experience with Zoho's apps

From Sales to Social – Enhance The Customer Experience

In today’s ultra-digital environment with endless information and limitless options, the businesses that provide the best customer experience are king.  As you may well know, there are lots of different ways to interact (or not) with your customers, and there are many schools of thought on this.  But, generally speaking, people want to feel like they’re buying from a trusted brand, someone with a social media presence, someone able to nurture them from point A to point Z without it feeling like a sales process.

Bearing all that in mind, Zoho Corporation has tuned three of their apps – CRM, Campaigns, and Social – to give your business these very powers and cut away from the myriad others trying to do what you’re doing.  The difference truly is in the experience you give your customers with these apps.

How Zoho Can Help You

Here’s How Zoho Can Optimize The Customer Experience

Zoho CRM Accounts ScreenshotZoho CRM – The Customer Experience Hub

Zoho CRM is your most basic database, the place where you can reach out to your customers and reference past work or projects. You can set tasks and reminders to reach out to your customers in a timely and convenient manner all for the purpose of giving your customers a smoother journey through your sales funnel. You can also use the information inside to plan campaigns: Calling, emailing, social media, or even updating content on your website.

For example, you might see through Zoho CRM web-to-lead forms that only small number of prospects are coming to you through a landing page for one of your most profitable products, so you’d know that you’d need to improve your content around that product.  And for another example, you might have received a glut of new leads and want to contact them all at once – perhaps a job for a mass email from the CRM – or something a bit more sophisticated, like an email marketing app.

Zoho Campaigns – Email Marketing SimplifiedZoho Campaigns email marketing template screenshot

The benefits of email marketing are abundant. You can improve sales and conversion rates at a reduced cost. Being able to run campaigns easily in Zoho Campaigns helps to simplify your email marketing. Here you can create emails with beautiful customizable templates, track what content your prospects are engaging with, and receive up-to-date reporting and performance data. This information will keep your customers engaged and informed.

Campaigns integrates with Zoho CRM, so you can import your customer lists directly into it. You can create automation and workflows to ensure that your customers can receive personalized content that’s also relevant to them. Additionally, you can compliment your email campaigns with social media posts. Share your email campaigns, invite your subscribers to your pages, and create Facebook landing pages – all on one platform! Check out more on the power of Zoho Campaigns here.

Zoho Social Media Notifications Screenshot

Zoho Social – Post Easily and Effectively

Zoho Campaigns is not the only place that you can place you can manage your social media. Zoho takes it one step further with Zoho Social. Here you can manage all of your platforms in one place. Schedule social media posts as you see fit or by using SmartQ, which will suggest dates and times to post for optimum reach and engagement. Social’s new bulk scheduling tool will allow you to upload multiple posts at once, saving you tons of time!

Track customer engagement and respond to customer messages directly from the app. Did someone like your post or mention you in a tweet? Zoho Social will let you know! Social media marketing can be very valuable for your business when done right. It allows customers to connect with your business without feeling pushed. With in-depth reporting and analytics, you’ll know which posts received more engagement, and on which days. Stay the top of your customers’ minds and give them the knowledge they need to come to you when they need you.

 

Keeping your customers engaged is important to ensure that they have a positive customer experience. Communicating with them in a timely manner will show that your business is dependable while keeping them engaged through email or social media campaigns will build trust with your business as a reliable source of information. Zoho can help you optimize these processes.

Interested in learning more? Contact a member of the ZBrains team today!

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Guy in a nice jacket looking at his Zoho Reports son his mobile phone

Zoho Reports for iPhone and Android – Finally!

Accessing information on your smartphone is integral to your career success. Think about how much you would miss if you couldn’t respond to email through your iPhone, check sales forecasting through your Android, or take that important phone call from your car? The number of mobile phone users in the world is predicted to pass five billion by the year 2019, which means businesses are increasingly building new apps and integrations for smartphones.

That’s why Zoho Reports is now giving you access to read and review on your iPhone and Android!

“Shut the front door!” you’re saying – and we’re serious. Zoho Reports on mobile is finally here.

Zoho Reports on mobile devices

Exciting Arrival: Zoho Reports on iPhone & Android!

1. Because you are no longer restricted by time and place.

Have you been asked, “Hey Joe – how did that email campaign perform against my prospect list?” and you’ve had to respond with, “Oh hey Laura – I’ll get back to you in an hour when I’m at my desk”?

Say goodbye to time and place restrictions. Now, you’ll know how your campaigns performed, who it performed well against, and what you can do to optimize next time- all from your phone!

2. You can collaborate with your colleagues on mobile.

This functionality performs exactly the same way as reports on desktop. You and your colleagues can collaborate and work on reports together, in synchrony, even on mobile. View data, share data, and update your filter on-the-fly.

3. Safety and security remain paramount.

Just because Zoho is bringing reports to a new platform doesn’t mean they’re skimping on safety and security. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Two-factor authentication for your account is still an option – when downloading the app for the first time, you will have to verify your account through your registered mobile phone number.

4. Favorites make it easier than ever.

Use certain reports more frequently than others? You can favorite your frequently used databases, which will then be listed in the Favorites tab in your home page. With a simple tap of the app and click on the Favorites tab, you will have access to the reports you need quickly and efficiently.

5. Edit and share easier than ever.

Of course, it’s great to have the ability to view a report on your mobile – but what about editing and sharing?

Yes – Zoho Reports for iPhone and Android can do that, too.

Within the app, you can collaborate with colleagues and clients to edit various data points, then share with the email address of specific users. Make changes on-the-fly and share them on-the-go.

We couldn’t be more excited to witness the unveiling of Zoho Reports on iPhone and Android, and we know you will be, too. To learn more about this latest app, click here or schedule a consultation with our ZBrains team today!

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An Owl surprised at hot easy migrating to zoho is

Why Migrating to Zoho is Easier Than You Thought

Some CRMs simply don’t live up to expectations – that’s a fact. Many of our clients come to us with the frustration of, “X isn’t doing what I want – so we need another solution”, and we help introduce them to the solution they need (*cough* Zoho). If you have made the decision that your current CRM isn’t working for you, you might wonder whether migrating to Zoho is worth all of the pain and effort. Well, we’re here to tell you that migrating to Zoho is way easier than you thought!

In this blog, we will walk you through the three major areas of migration that will set your CRM up for success, so you’ll get over that hump and get Zoho ready quickly and efficiently.

How Zoho Can Help You

Easier Zoho Migration: Data, Email, and Inventory

Existing CRM Data

One major worry for most sales and marketing teams is data – when migrating over to another CRM, what happens to your data? Until everything is loaded into your new program, many of us would be sweating bullets.

Not with Zoho. Migrating data from your existing CRM to Zoho is simple. Zoho has a great step-by-step guide here to migrate data, giving you everything you need to bring your information over with ease. Within Zoho, you can map modules like users, leads, and accounts to vendors, quotes, and products. The existing fields you have in your current CRM will transfer over. Zoho’s de-duplication process also help to avoid bad data.

Email

For email accounts and data, migrating to Zoho is also a simple process. Migration can be done with many different types of files – if your current CRM is providing EML or ZIP files, these can be uploaded to Zoho Mail. You can also use the Migration Wizard to migrate emails to accounts within Zoho Mail.

Zoho Mail is a webmail interface, just like Outlook or Gmail. It helps keep all of your contact synced with the Zoho CRM, Campaigns, Inventory and more.

Inventory

If your business relies on the tracking of physical inventory, we are sure you will be pleased to know that Zoho offers incredible inventory tracking – and can migrate all of your current data to Zoho. Avoid double entries and safe time by migrating everything over – even if it’s on an excel sheet.

With inventory migration, you can transfer modules such as contacts, items, sales orders, invoices, bills and more. Zoho offers a great cheat sheet on how to prepare and import your files here.

We are proud of how easy it is to migrate your data to Zoho. Regardless of the CRM you are using now – Salesforce, Pipedrive, Highrise and more – we can transfer your data, email, inventory and more into Zoho. Also, with the several integrations and add-ons available, you can customize it to fit your business.

If you are ready to learn more about how you can make the switch to Zoho, our team is ready to help you along every step of the way. Schedule a consultation with one of our Zoho certified consultants, to learn more.

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Woman sitting at her desk reading about common crm issues and zoho solutions

Overcoming CRM Challenges: Expert Insights and Solutions

When new clients come to us at ZBrains, we often hear one of two things – either they have faced significant challenges with a previous CRM software they have used and they’re ready to move on, or they have just signed with Zoho and are unsure where to start. With these two challenges, you could say that we’ve heard it all – from A to Z; so, you can be sure that we have answers to your common CRM issues.

After thousands of conversations with various clients, we’ve wrangled our experts at ZBrains to tell us their top 3 most common CRM issues from new clients. If you’re brand new to CRM management or perhaps you have questions about your current CRM, we’re sure you’ll identify with one (or more) of the challenges below.

Here are the top 3 common CRM issues (and their solutions).

Business woman on phone looking at Zoho mobile applicationChallenge: I can’t access my CRM on-the-go.

Imagine you want to access a client contact history while en route to a meeting, or away from your desk – but you can’t access your CRM through your phone. Ugh.

Solution: Discover a CRM that works on-the-go.

Challenge: My team does not know how to use my CRM properly.

Whether it’s because of lack of process or lack of training, your team just doesn’t understand or know how to use the major features of your CRM, it can be difficult to get your employees on-board entirely with your CRM.

Solution: Educate, Track, Customize.

Save time by tracking everything- from emails to phone calls, and meeting logs in between. Zoho has it all – enabling your team to make the most of your CRM. Have a program that educates your team on the benefits and use-cases before diving in head first. In our experience, this has truly made a difference in overall adoption and usage. Develop a solid process for your team and have customizable solutions for your business processes. Get started on the right foot by signing up for one of our Zoho implementation plans.

Challenge: My CRM doesn’t integrate with the software I use every day.

Are you always flipping through tabs, browsers, applications and spending far too much time logging-in, or recovering lost passwords?Is it just another application that you need to manage?

Solution: Find an all-in-one solution.zoho one

This is especially true for sales and marketing teams, who certainly use many, many applications on a daily basis. From CRM to email, social media posting applications and more, it can be a challenge to keep track of it all. Zoho One has 35+ integrated applications that encompass everything from CRM, email newsletters, documents, inventory, and more. Here at ZBrains, we offer additional add-ons and custom integrations for your favorite business products, such as QuickBooks,  Magento, and more.

It’s important to find a CRM that can integrate with a variety of solutions to optimize the potential of your business. It will keep you on-track and ready to close more, win more, and earn more.

From employees using your CRM (properly) to finding software that works for all teams in your company, these are our top 4 common CRM issues and their solutions. They’ve been compiled by our Zoho certified consultants here at ZBrains who are here to help you with your burning questions.  Feel free to drop us a line!

 

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Sortware as utility no longer a commodity

Zoho One Review: Shifting Software from Commodity to Utility

Information technology and developed software are growing and innovating at remarkable rates. IT jobs, in particular, are expected to grow by 20% through the year 2020; it’s no surprise that this is faster than average. So, as we look at software in particular, the question to ask ourselves is – do we consider it to be a utility, or a commodity?

What is software as a utility?

The definition of a utility is the state of being useful, profitable or beneficial. In relation to technology, software can be positioned as something that holds immense value. It is technology that provides revenue and shows a true source of ROI for businesses and brands. It is a software that can manage a plethora of business applications under one system.

What is software as a commodity?

Traditionally, software has been considered to be a commodity. As a refresher, the term “commodity” refers to a basic good used in commerce that is interchangeable with other commodities of the same type. Consider the way in which many software vendors have approached you, a decision maker. You receive hundreds of pitches per year – perhaps even per month – mostly landing in your inbox. The sales person on the other end is treating their product as a commodity, as an economic exchange.

Which would you rather – the software you select to be used as a utility, or as a commodity?Zoho one Software

When it comes to Zoho One, we know that it is shifting away from the traditional perception of software as a commodity. Zoho One is a true example of a utility – a useful, profitable and beneficial product that provides unmatched ROI for your business. Here’s why…

Zoho One is affordable.

Unlike the commodity of economic exchange – those darn cold emails that are floating in your inbox right now – Zoho One is truly affordable per user. Software is traditionally expensive, which is why the thought of it as a commodity has often been true. Instead, Zoho One starts at $45 per employee, per month.* The price point positions this software as one that lends itself remarkably well to profitability. *Pricing updated June 2021

It increases efficiency – and efficiency means additional revenue.

The beauty of Zoho One is that you can manage a multitude of business applications under one system. This means no more flipping through tabs, browsers, applications and spending far too much time logging-in, or recovering lost passwords. Saved time means increased efficiency – and increased efficiency means additional revenue. It means that your team can spend more time doing their job instead of performing administrative tasks each and every day.

It can run your entire business in one suite.

zoho one software screenIf you haven’t checked out Zoho One, now is the time – because we’re sure you’re going to love that this software can run your entire business through one suite. Seriously.

With one administrative log-in, you can work through over 35 applications, including your CRM, email newsletters, documents, inventory checks and more. Your team can send emails to your prospects, engage with your clients, and check to see which of your prospects are checking out your website. This is all through one software with a variety of applications.

It was once thought that software was a commodity exclusively, mostly because of the steep price tag that many companies have set. Instead, with the introduction of Zoho to the market, the mindset has truly shifted to that of software as a utility; a solution that generates revenue through increased efficiency, and truly proved profit and benefit.

We know you’ll love Zoho One, and we’re confident you’ll realize just how much of an impact it will have on your business. We here at ZBrains are Zoho Certified Consultants, as well as a Zoho developers with a handful of powerful Zoho integration tools. To learn more about how Zoho One can work for you, connect with us!

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Zoho One What and Why Business woman speaking on phone

Zoho One – What And Why

If you could manage a plethora of business applications under one software system, you would, wouldn’t you? (The answer is yes – of course you would). Instead of flipping through various tabs, opening multiple browsers, and downloading too many applications that you’ve now lost count of, the solution is to find just that – a solution. A solution that can increase your efficiency in all facets of your business practices. That solution is Zoho One.

What is Zoho One?

With an ever-expanding array of software tools available, finding the right solutions to streamline your operations can prove daunting. That’s where Zoho One comes in—a comprehensive suite of applications designed to empower businesses of all sizes. In this Zoho One review, we’ll delve deep into the world of integrated software and explore how this all-in-one solution can transform your business.

It is a truly revolutionary suite that can run your entire business – seriously. It has 40+ integrated applications that encompass everything like CRM, email newsletters, documents, inventory, and more. You simply need a username and password, integrate your applications, and you’re set; one dashboard to rule all.

A Multifaceted Solution

Zoho One boasts an impressive range of applications, catering to virtually every facet of business management. Here are some key highlights:

Zoho One includes apps like:

  1. Zoho CRM: Efficiently manage customer relationships, from lead generation to conversion and beyond.
  2. Zoho Books: Simplify your accounting processes, encompassing invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting.
  3. Zoho Projects: Keep your team on track through collaborative project management tools, ensuring deadlines are met and objectives are achieved.
  4. Zoho Marketing Hub: Streamline your marketing efforts with automation and analytics, enabling data-driven decisions.
  5. Zoho Analytics: Harness data’s power by transforming it into actionable insights with potent reporting and analytics tools.
  6. Zoho Desk: Deliver exceptional customer support with a unified helpdesk and multi-channel support.
  7. Zoho Creator: Customize applications to meet your unique business needs without extensive coding knowledge.
  8. And over 30+ others.  The list grows nearly every day.

This exceptional software suite can be used across all areas of your business, from sales and marketing to customer support and accounting. This means that everyone can log in, and everyone can use various applications that suit business needs to go about daily tasks.

The Power of Integration

Zoho One’s standout feature lies in its seamless integration of applications. By using Zoho One, you will no longer need to toggle between multiple software platforms or fret about data inconsistency. You can instantly utilize customer data captured in your CRM for your marketing campaigns, project management tasks, and financial reporting, creating a holistic view of your business.

Cost-Effective Scalability

Zoho One’s pricing model emerges as one of its most attractive features. Rather than paying for individual applications separately, you pay a fixed monthly fee per user. This model proves cost-effective, especially for growing businesses, as it allows you to access the entire suite of applications without breaking the bank.

 

User-Friendly Interface

Another aspect of Zoho One that stands out is its user-friendly interface. With a clean, intuitive design, even those with minimal technical expertise can swiftly learn to navigate the various applications. Zoho’s commitment to user experience ensures you can start using the software effectively from day one.

 

Customer Support and Training

Zoho Corporation places strong emphasis on customer support and training. You gain access to a wealth of resources, including webinars, documentation, and a responsive customer support team, all aimed at helping you make the most of Zoho One.

zoho one implementation

Here’s why we love Zoho One – and why you will, too.

It provides unmatched security across your business.

Zoho One gives account administrators one secure account for applications and overall control. This means that you’ll have one account to access all of your programs – such as the CRM, email, and more. Gone are the days of different login credentials for each program – which increases the potential of lost or stolen passwords.

In addition, this Zoho suite gives owners and managers complete control over business data. Only these individuals can access programs containing sensitive data, ensuring the information stays in the right hands.

Zoho won’t stop here.

45+ applications in the suite already sounds impressive – and it is. Yet, Zoho is always focused on innovation and improvement, which means that it won’t stop at 45.

The developer ecosystem ensures this application suite is enhanced regularly. This means that technology partners can truly customize applications to meet their needs. So, if an application that is customized to your business needs to be included within a certain means of framework, it also provides developers with the ability to make this happen.  That goes for everything from workflow rules in the CRM, custom functions in Zoho Books, or even an entirely new Zoho ERP app developed on Zoho Creator.

Zoho One pricing

Pricing starts at $45 per employee, per month (or $37 per employee, per month*, when paid on an annual basis). This includes all integrated business apps (everything you need), mobile and native apps, centralized administrative control, and more. *Prices updated June 2021

Consider the ROI for this solution. How much time would it take one employee to move between tabs, including logging in and waiting for each application or associated software to start? 10 minutes? 20 minutes? Now, consider your billed or internally set hourly rate. How much time can be saved by consolidating your business applications? Is this worth $45 per month? (We’ll say yes).

Zoho One Implementation

Now that you know the key features of the one Zoho suite, you’re probably asking: What does it mean to implement an entire suite of business software?  Do all the apps turn on at once?  What about permissions?  What do I do to prepare?

zoho one implementation

Taking the first steps

First of all, as soon as you know your organization is going to implement the suite of apps, I would do a quick poll and see who, if anyone, has implemented a Zoho app on their own.  This is not because you want them to spearhead the deployment process for your company!  Rather, it’s to make sure you don’t have any issues when adding all of your employees to your organization. It can be a bit of a chore to add people who are already recognized as Zoho app administrators to your org.

Has anyone gone rogue and deployed their app, be it  CRM, Campaigns, or People? If so, kindly have them switch their email from their company email to a personal email address. (Conversely, if your employee is using their Zoho app to conduct actual company business, that can make things a little more complicated. Contact us for some help!)

Getting Apps Configured

Second of all, don’t fear! Turning on Zoho One does not mean your employees can suddenly run amok and access all the different apps in Zoho; in fact, they give you great control over what your staff can and cannot do once you begin implementing the suite.  Here’s what we can tell you:

  1. Firstly, the apps you’ve already activated in your existing Zoho organization will come pre-selected when you arrive at the main implementation screen
  2. You can configure exactly which additional apps your employees can access
  3. However, even if you don’t activate certain Zoho apps during the initial configuration, you can always come back and turn the other apps on when needed
  4. Finally, your company’s settings, records, and other work stored in the a la carte Zoho apps will not be disturbed when you switch from the a la carte apps to the bundled option

Selecting the Right Licensing

Lastly – and this is more of a caveat – remember that all of your W-2 employees need to be members of your organization, per the licensing agreement.  (They say you can buy “flexible user pricing” if you don’t want to have all your employees as org members, but this is $105/user/mo.)

zoho one implementation

Having Zoho One Licensing Issues?

We’ve heard from quite a few company reps who love the idea of a software suite like this, but don’t want to have to buy licenses for all their W-2 employees – because maybe half or more of their employees don’t ever touch computers for their jobs!  This is especially common with people who use Zoho for manufacturing, or Zoho for field services and construction.

Now, we know what you’re thinking.

You may be tempted to… have employees share logins, or…

Just do not buy licenses for all your employees.

Well, please take this word of advice: Don’t go that route.

Zoho reserves the right to audit your books if you use Zoho One, and they have the right to impose penalties on you (likely monetary ones) if you don’t comply with their licensing agreement.  Instead, just contact ZBrains and we may be able to help you out.

Thank you for stopping by, as always.  If you have any questions or comments, connect with us any time, and explore some of our expert consulting options.

 

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A guy, sitting at his computer, reading about the Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM Intergration

Streamline Your Marketing and Sales Efforts with Zoho Campaigns and CRM Integration

The evolution of marketing and business development has grown leaps and bounds over the last few years. As software has offered increasingly more features and benefits, the days of disconnected CRM software and email management systems are over. You can now have information, data, and reporting at your fingertips through multi-platform accessibility. Zoho Campaigns, for one, has not only grown with the evolution – it has led the way in terms of features and functionality. From creating emails with beautiful customizable templates to tracking and reporting what content your prospects are engaging,

Zoho Campaigns allows you massive insights into your email marketing campaigns. Best of all, the integration with Zoho CRM offers unparalleled visibility into those engaged with your content and pipeline.

Here are 4 reasons why you’ll love the power of Zoho Campaigns and CRM integration

1. Reach out to your leads, prospects, and customers with ease.

With Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM integration, you can track engagement and email exchanges all-in-one. Your entire marketing team can use Campaigns to send email messaging through a multi-user account, which means that visibility into all activities is second-to-none.

Efficiency is key when it comes to this integration. If you have customer lists in Zoho CRM (of course you do!) you can see these campaign results within each prospect record – so the next time you’re on a sales call, you won’t need to switch between multiple applications to find answers to your prospect’s questions. Everything is in one record through your CRM.

Zoho Campaigns

2. You’ll know how well your campaigns performed against your sales contact list.

When deciding who to actively prospect and who to set aside, for now, the data and subsequent decisions will be right before your eyes. Email marketing provides a detailed look into who’s interested – and who isn’t. After all, for every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38 in ROI. Now that’s impressive.

Within Zoho Campaigns, you can also customize your lists to reach the right audience. You can segment your lists based on specific criteria, such as business type. This makes custom, targeted engagement a very simple task.

3. Your data will always be up-to-date.

The advanced sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Campaigns allows users – you – to maintain up-to-date versions of contact and lead information. When a prospect engages, this data will pull into your CRM. When a prospect opts-out, they will be automatically unsubscribed from your mailing list and you will receive a notification. You won’t be working with old data, meaning quality will be assured every single time.

4. Your sales staff won’t need to toggle between various software.

Your sales staff have other, more important tasks to worry about – like closing deals. That’s why they won’t spend time toggling between various pieces of software. They won’t need to pull open your CRM alongside your email marketing software while trying to make sense of the data. Instead, Zoho Campaigns gives your sales team one unified platform to monitor and provide all of the information in one place, making them more efficient – and closing more deals – in the meantime.

We love the integration between Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM – and we are sure you will, too. To learn more about how this will work for your business you can contact us. Or you can enable your team today by signing up for a private Zoho CRM training support session!  Lastly, for even more great, integrated marketing features, we strongly recommend checking out Zoho Marketing Automation, the latest marketing funnel management app from Zoho.