Need Zoho information or help due to COVID-19? Let us know.

Search results for : zoho app

A person using Zoho CRM by ZBrains Plus

Zoho CRM Plus: The Ultimate Unified Experience Solution

Published on: May 5, 2023Category: Zoho CRM PlusLast Updated: July 1, 2024 Comments: 0

Zoho CRM Plus is a unified customer experience platform that helps you deliver an exceptional experience to every customer across all stages of their lifecycle and convert them into brand advocates.

The CRM Plus platform includes 9 powerful services in a single interface. Few other platforms, if any, provide such much high-value functionality across so many software apps at such a competitive price.

  • Zoho CRM: Sales automation and complete pipeline management
  • Zoho SalesIQ: Live chat and visitor tracking
  • Zoho Desk: Help desk
  • Zoho Projects: Project management
  • Zoho Campaigns: Email marketing
  • Zoho Analytics: Unified insights across teams
  • Zoho SalesInbox: Exclusive sales emails
  • Zoho Social: Social media marketing
  • Zoho Survey: Customer surveys

Empowering Business Growth: The Versatile Zoho Suite

Zoho CRM Plus is pre-integrated, providing access to shared customer data and a unified experience from a single console. Its simple onboarding mechanism has users up and running in the cloud from day one.

Zoho CRM

Highly rated on just about every customer review site, Zoho CRM offers powerful enterprise-level functionality that is highly configurable and easily customized to support faster onboarding, multiple pipelines, and reporting. As an added bonus, it is loaded with functionality that enables reps to prioritize tasks and stay organized, resulting in better throughput for businesses with larger pipelines.

Zoho SalesInBox

Zoho SalesInBox enables reps to prioritize communications by segmenting emails between active deals, regular contacts, and internal communications. It integrates with all leading email clients (Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, and more) and synchronizes with email campaigns.

Zoho SalesIQ

Zoho SalesIQ is an all-in-one live chat and analytics platform. Its digital engagement tools let marketing, sales, and support teams communicate with site visitors at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Users can also easily build chatbots and personalized message routing. 

Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a full-featured help desk application that simplifies customer service operations, improves agent productivity, and delivers quality, lasting customer experiences.

Zoho Projects

Projects is Zoho’s cloud-based project management software, used for comprehensive project planning, efficient work tracking, and effective collaboration between teams. The functionality of Zoho Projects compares favorably with Asana, Trello, Smartsheet, Jira Cloud, Monday, and similar systems.

Zoho Campaigns

Zoho Campaigns provides the toolkit teams need to create email designs that elicit responses, customize messages, deliver emails to inboxes, connect with new customers, and trigger automated workflows.

Zoho Social

With Zoho Social, your teams can schedule unlimited posts, monitor what matters, and create custom analytical reports.

Zoho Survey

Zoho Survey turns survey creation into both a science and an art. With over 25 question types, features like skip logic and piping, customizable themes, and more, the perfect survey is just keystrokes away. The SSL-protected surveys can be shared instantly via email and social media.

Zoho Analytics

Zoho Analytics delivers powerful functionality paired with point-and-click simplicity. Users are able to generate insightful reports without needing to write SQL queries, although this capability remains available. It also features Zia, an AI-based voice assistant that provides sales teams with insights that make them more productive.



Customizing Zoho CRM Plus for Optimized Business Processes

  • Flexible Customization Options: Zoho CRM Plus provides businesses with extensive customization options to tailor the CRM software according to their specific requirements. Users may customize fields, layouts, modules, and workflows to their particular business processes. This flexibility allows businesses to create a CRM solution that reflects their workflows and captures the information they deem essential.
  • Customizable Sales Processes: Zoho CRM Plus enables businesses to define and customize their sales processes based on their unique sales methodologies. Sales stages, deal closure criteria, and sales forecasting can be customized to match the organization’s specific requirements. This customization ensures that the CRM system aligns with the company’s sales strategies and enhances sales team efficiency.
  • Personalized Dashboards and Reports: With Zoho CRM Plus, users can create personalized dashboards and reports to gain insights into their sales, marketing, and customer service activities. The CRM suite offers a drag-and-drop interface, allowing users to design customized visualizations that display key performance indicators and metrics relevant to their business. This customization empowers users to monitor and track the data that matters most to them, facilitating data-driven decision-making.
  • Workflow Automation: Zoho CRM Plus offers robust workflow automation capabilities that allow businesses to automate repetitive tasks and streamline their processes. Users can define custom workflows to automate lead assignment, task creation, email notifications, and more. By automating routine activities, businesses can save time, reduce manual errors, and ensure consistent and efficient operations.
  • Integration and Extensions: Zoho CRM Plus supports integration with various third-party applications and extensions, enabling businesses to further customize and extend the functionality of their CRM system. Through integrations, businesses can connect Zoho CRM Plus with other tools they use, such as marketing automation platforms, accounting software, or e-commerce platforms. This integration capability allows for a seamless flow of data and streamlines cross-platform operations.
  • API and Developer Tools: Zoho CRM Plus provides APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and developer tools that allow businesses to develop custom integrations, extensions, or applications on top of the CRM suite. This customization capability enables businesses with specific requirements or unique workflows to extend the functionality of Zoho CRM Plus according to their needs.
  • Mobile Customization: Zoho CRM Plus offers mobile apps that can be customized to reflect the branding and specific requirements of a business. Users can tailor the mobile app’s interface, layout, and functionalities to match their business processes and ensure a consistent user experience across devices. This customization empowers mobile users to access and manage customer data while on the go.

By leveraging the customization capabilities of Zoho CRM Plus, businesses can create a CRM solution that aligns with their unique workflows, captures relevant data, and enhances overall productivity and efficiency. The flexibility to adapt and customize the CRM system allows organizations to optimize their sales, marketing, and customer service processes, leading to improved customer satisfaction and business growth.

What is the Difference Between Zoho ONE and Zoho CRM Plus?

The difference between Zoho CRM Plus and Zoho ONE is that CRM Plus unifies customer-facing teams to improve customer experience, while ONE enables businesses to operate lead to cash on one singular platform, consolidating vendors and software silos while streamlining your business operations.

  • Zoho CRM Plus includes the 9 essential enterprise-level applications to unify your sales, support, and marketing teams, providing a 360-degree view across all touchpoints for a consistent experience at every stage of the customer journey.
  • Zoho ONE, with more than 45 web applications, is an enterprise-level, all-in-one suite for running your entire organization. From sales, support, and marketing through finance, HR, recruitment, and more, Zoho ONE provides everything companies need to grow their business.

Should I Purchase Zoho CRM Plus or Zoho ONE?

The CRM Plus bundle is the obvious choice for companies that want to save money by only licensing customer-facing teams. Zoho CRM Plus is usually the best fit for companies that only want the functionality offered by its 9 applications. Although priced higher per user license, only customer-facing teams must be licensed. 

Zoho ONE, on the other hand, is priced lower per license than Zoho CRM Plus, but all employees must be licensed. 

Important note: While it is more expensive per user, Zoho does have a separate pricing model for those that want access to all the Zoho ONE apps but do not want to license every user in their organization. 

The Zoho ONE bundle is ideal for companies that need all employees to use the software. It’s also cost-effective for those who will ultimately pay less to license all employees (at the lower rate) than only those who are users (at the higher rate).

Regardless of the Zoho CRM chosen, either bundle provides substantial savings compared to licensing the included apps separately.

Conclusion

Still not sure what to purchase? Don’t worry. Talk to the experts at ZBrains who have worked with businesses similar to yours to help them migrate from their legacy systems. We can help you identify the apps that you should use to achieve your goals and prepare a cost-benefit analysis to gauge the best fit.

Reach out today for more information.

Manufacturing BOM using Zoho Inventory

How to Make a BOM with Zoho Inventory: A Comprehensive Guide

Published on: April 13, 2023Category: Zoho InventoryLast Updated: October 8, 2024 Comments: 0

At a basic level, a bill of materials (BOM) is a list of the components, parts, materials, and assemblies needed to build an individual product. Sometimes referred to as a product structure, the BOM describes each item’s quantity and identity (name/number), as well as any relevant specifications such as size or weight.

Manufacturing companies use bills of materials (BOM) to track the components needed to create an end product, plan production schedules efficiently, maintain quality control, manage inventory, and track product and component stock for ordering purposes.

Enhancing Manufacturing Efficiency with Zoho’s Composite Items & BOMs

One of the reasons the Zoho platform is so popular among manufacturing businesses is its ability to easily generate and track these BOMs through the all-in-one Zoho Inventory suite.

That said, the language Zoho uses is a bit different than what you may be used to. Instead of a “bill of materials,” Zoho uses Composite Items, which are a combination of several items that work together to create a single product. For instance, an electronic device may contain batteries, wires, chipsets, and plastic components. To build the final device, all these individual parts need to be assembled.

In Zoho Inventory, you would define a Composite Item for the electronic device and then list all the components that make up the device—batteries, wires, chipsets, plastic components—as sub-items. This creates a “bill of materials” that shows what is needed to create one unit of the finished product.

The Benefits of Zoho Inventory Composite Items

Utilizing Composite Items in Zoho Inventory makes production more efficient, lessens the chances of missing items during packaging, and bolsters an organization’s understanding of its inventory. This is particularly advantageous for child items that are used in multiple parent items.

Bundling each piece in Zoho Inventory can also make it easier for you to keep track of and comprehend your stock. For example, Composite Items can be used by producers and distributors for easy assembly—just like a Bill of Materials. If you were building a printer, Zoho’s Composite Items could be used to define all the required elements, including not just the electronics, cables, and ink, but the printer itself as well.  

Unsure if Zoho Inventory is right for your business? Contact ZBrains to get a personalized evaluation of your needs.

How to Enable Composite Items in Zoho Inventory

Enabling Composite Items in Zoho Inventory is simple. All you need to do is:

  1. Navigate to Settings, then Preferences
  2. Click the Items tab, and a menu will appear
  3. Check the Enable Composite Items box
  4. Hit Save to apply the changes, then exit

How to Create Inventory Bundles for Composite Items

In Zoho Inventory, bundling items into Composite Items takes just a few steps:

Creating Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 8

To create a bundle of a Composite Item, go to the Inventory module and open the appropriate Composite Item.

ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 7

From there, click the “Create Bundle” button and enter the Bundling #, Date, and Quantity you would like to Bundle, as well as any Serial or Batch Numbers for tracked items.

how to make a bom

Once you’ve added all your details, click “Save.” The items and services associated with the Composite Item will automatically appear (you can modify these, if needed).
ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 5

Click on the bundle number in the Bundling History section to view all bundling details.

Advanced Inventory Tracking With Zoho Inventory

Managing so many parts creates a higher risk of mismanagement, but Zoho Inventory’s advanced tracking features keep your Composite Items organized and on track.

Batch Tracking

Batch tracking is a highly-efficient way to monitor and group stock items that have common characteristics (e.g., serial number, expiry date, color, and product association).

Manufacturers can use batch tracking to track production batches across different locations, warehouses, and stores (or keep it all under one roof), saving time by managing all of their items from a single interface.

Moreover, this system provides thorough data analysis, allowing for accurate predictions and estimations related to your inventory levels. With Zoho Inventory, you can easily track items that come in batches with the corresponding manufactured and expiry dates, if relevant. When it’s time for a sale, you can safely select products within their usable period from those same batches.

ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 4

To generate a new item with batch tracking activated, navigate to the item creation page. Fill out all applicable details and then check the box next to “Track Batches” under Advanced Inventory Tracking.

If you have an established opening stock, include any essential batch details in the fields below. If your business takes advantage of multi-warehouse inventory tracking, use the ellipsis icon at the end of each row to add batches for that warehouse, where appropriate.

ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 3

From there, all you have to do is enter the batch details—including its serial number, manufacture date, expiry date, and any other relevant information. Once you’ve entered all the details, click “Save” to add your item with batch tracking enabled.

Serial Number Tracking

Track items with serial number tracking in Zoho Inventory for precise monitoring from factory to consumer.

Serial number tracking is especially useful for service-based businesses that need to keep track of replacement parts and components used to perform repairs or maintenance tasks. To enable serial number tracking in Zoho Inventory, go to the new item page and select “Track Serial Numbers” under Advanced Inventory Tracking.

ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 2

Then, enter the necessary details. Again, if you have opening stock, you can enter the serial numbers in the specified field below. If multi-warehouse enabled, click ellipsis icon beside warehouse row, then ‘Add Serial Numbers’.

ZBrains Inventory Bundles for Composite Items Screenshot 1

Enter the serial numbers and any other relevant information that you need to track from there. Once you’ve added all the details, click “Save” to finish creating your item with serial number tracking enabled.

Final Thoughts: Zoho Composite Items and BOM (Bill of Materials)

Zoho Inventory streamlines production across multiple locations with Composite Items, Batch Tracking, and Serial Number Tracking.

Zoho Inventory simplifies BOM creation and empowers inventory management and forecasting with powerful features.

Every organization has its own unique tracking needs, creating and tracking Composite Items is just the tip of the iceberg. For more information on generating BOM reports, tracking item components, and managing inventory on a deeper level with Zoho Inventory, reach out to our expert team today.

ZBrains Zoho Dashboards for Sales

Building Zoho Dashboards for Sales: Your Ultimate Guide by ZBrains

Published on: March 17, 2023Category: Zoho CRM, Zoho CRMLast Updated: May 8, 2024 Comments: 0

Zoho CRM is a user-friendly and robust customer relationship management software suitable for businesses of any scale. It helps companies effectively manage customer interactions, automate sales processes, and monitor performance. With the help of Zoho dashboards, businesses can quickly get insights into their sales pipeline, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions to improve their sales performance. 

But one of the best features of Zoho CRM is its ability to create powerful, visually appealing sales dashboards. A well-designed dashboard can help you get an accurate picture of your business’s performance at a glance. With the right data, your dashboards can identify key trends, highlight opportunities, and help you make informed decisions.

Optimizing Sales Performance with Zoho CRM and Analytics

Zoho CRM simplifies sales, marketing, and customer service by utilizing a unified data source for all activities. This approach enables businesses to easily track essential metrics such as sales volume, order fulfillment rate, and revenue per customer. With the help of Zoho dashboards, businesses can efficiently monitor the performance of individual employees or teams by comparing their metrics against those of others within the organization. This valuable information empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions and optimize their sales process for better results.

Zoho Analytics, on the other hand, can use multiple data sources from across the organization to provide an even more comprehensive view of your sales performance. For example, you can track customer lifetime value (CLV) and customer acquisition cost (CAC), as well as average order size, frequency of purchase, and other metrics. Users can also embed these into the Zoho CRM homepage to quickly overview their business performance in real-time.

Zoho CRM provides a variety of views tailored to meet the needs of individual sales reps, managers, and executives. These views offer insights into essential key performance indicators (KPIs) that businesses should monitor. With the help of Zoho dashboards, businesses can effortlessly keep track of these KPIs, optimize their sales process, and maximize their revenue. Let’s explore the specific KPIs you should monitor for each role within your organization.

Individual Sales Reps

To effectively monitor individual sales reps responsible for identifying prospects, closing deals, and driving growth, track their performance on specific metrics such as:

  • Number of Leads: The number of leads created or assigned in a given time frame.
  • Number of Meetings: The total number of meetings booked with new prospects.
  • Number of Meetings Completed: The number of scheduled meetings that successfully occurred.
  • Show Rate: The number of meetings that were attended vs. the number of meetings that were scheduled.
  • Opportunities Created: The number of opportunities created in a given time frame.
  • Lead Conversion Rate: The percentage of total leads that have been converted into customers.
  • Total Pipeline Value: The total dollar value of all opportunities in the sales pipeline.
  • Total Pipeline Growth: The change in the pipeline value over time.
  • Total Deals Closed: The number of deals closed in a given time frame.
  • Dollar Amount Closed: The total dollar amount of all deals closed in a given time frame.
  • Win Rate: The percentage of total deals that are closed successfully.
  • Lead-to-Win Rate: The number of leads it takes to close a deal.
  • Leads/Opportunities/Accounts With Activity: The number of leads that have had activity (calls, emails, meetings) in a given time frame.
  • Activity Levels: The average number of activities performed by each sales rep (on an individual activity basis) in a given time frame.

Sales Managers

Sales managers should be responsible for the sales metrics of the team, as they oversee the sales team and ensure each rep achieves their goals.

  • Rep Metrics: Sales rep performance data such as lead conversion rate, win rate, and dollar amount closed.
  • Team Metrics: Team-level performance data such as total pipeline value, average deal size, and overall close rate.
  • Cohort Analysis: The ability to compare sales performance among different groups of reps (e.g., by location or product
  • Metrics by Geography/Territory: The total number of deals, pipeline value, and revenue based on geographic region.
  • Metrics by Product: The total number of deals, pipeline value, and revenue based on the product or service being sold.
  • Metrics by Lead Source: The total number of deals, pipeline value, and revenue based on the lead source.
  • Revenue by Person: The total dollar amount closed by each sales rep in a given time frame.
  • Forecasted Revenue: The estimated revenue to be earned in the next quarter or year, based on pipeline value and rep metrics.

Executive Leadership

Executives can use Zoho dashboards to ensure the company is on track to reach its goals, and that all departments are working together efficiently.

  • Lead-to-Win Rate: The rate at which leads are converted into customers shows executives how efficient the sales process is.
  • Pipeline Value: The total dollar value of all opportunities in the sales pipeline helps executives track progress toward their goals.
  • Net New Customers: The number of new customers acquired in a given time frame.
  • Revenue Trends: Year-over-year revenue trends show executives if the company is on track to meet its goals.
  • Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total value of all transactions with existing customers helps executives understand customer loyalty and profitability.
  • Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The cost of acquiring each new customer is a critical metric that shows executives how efficient their sales process is.
  • Churn Rate: The rate at which customers are lost can indicate customer satisfaction and potential areas of improvement.
  • Sales Efficiency: The overall efficiency of the sales team demonstrates how much time and effort is being spent on each sale.

How to Build an Effective Sales Dashboard in Zoho CRM

Whatever metrics you intend to track, here are a few of our top suggestions for monitoring them within your Zoho CRM sales dashboard.

  1. Choose two critical metrics for each role in your organization. Assign each person a leading KPI and a trailing KPI based on importance. 
  2. Make sure your system can easily gather the necessary data for the KPIs by setting up automation, automating your reporting, or defining custom fields. You can accomplish this by establishing automation, automating your reporting, or defining custom fields.
  3. Create a weekly version of each KPI, grouped by person, and also for the entire company/department. This will help you get a better understanding of each person’s performance and let you easily compare it with the team as a whole.
  4. Make sure to verify the data and the report’s accuracy, especially if you plan to tie them to performance reports or incentives. 
  5. Add a trend (and perhaps a forecast), if you have enough data to do so.
  6. Hold a weekly-to-daily meeting to review the KPIs. Hold people responsible for their performance by having a discussion and tracking progress over time.
  7. Set quotas and targets for each KPI. Target is generally 20% above quota, and quota is the desired outcome for each metric.
  8. Create a contest or incentives around your target(s) to motivate your team.

Finally, try not to change the KPIs too much, or too quickly, unless everyone agrees that doing so is appropriate. Determining the “right” KPIs and optimal quota for your organization might take some time, but it’s still best to be as consistent as possible.

Need help creating your ideal Zoho sales dashboard? ZBrains’ expert team is standing by for any sales tracking or measurement questions you may have. Reach out today for more information.

ZBrains Zoho Desk Help

Zoho Desk Help: How to Automate and Customize Support Tickets for Best Customer Satisfaction

Published on: March 14, 2023Category: Zoho Desk, Zoho DeskLast Updated: September 19, 2023 Comments: 0

Zoho Desk helps you streamline customer service operations, increasing productivity and providing exceptional customer service.

What is Zoho Desk?

Zoho Desk is a cloud-based customer service and help desk automation solution designed to streamline the way businesses handle their customer support operations and provide a top-notch customer experience.

By integrating your help desk into your Zoho CRM using Zoho Desk, you’ll enjoy:

  • An abundant feature set
  • A strong out-of-the-box integration with Zoho CRM
  • The ability to create and view tickets within Zoho CRM (without needing to leave it)
  • Cost savings over purchasing a standalone help desk software

However, you’ll want to explore Zoho’s customization and automation features to get the most out of your Zoho Desk integration. Here, we’ll look at some of the best practices and features ZBrains has identified to help you set up your support ticket system within Zoho Desk. By leveraging these helpful tips and features, businesses can optimize their customer support operations and enhance the customer experience.

Customizing Tickets in Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk makes it easy for users to create and manage their tickets, customize them with custom fields to capture the right data needed for each situation, and initiate automation workflows that allow end users to track ticket progress better.

Using the custom fields, users can also track and report on the tickets handled within Zoho Desk, enabling them to generate insights into customer service trends and make data-driven decisions on improving the overall customer support experience. 

Zoho Desk comes with plenty of user-friendly features, such as Blueprints, though most users will want to customize their help desks according to their own unique systems and processes. 

What are Blueprints in Zoho?

Blueprints in Zoho are pre-built applications that enable users to easily take advantage of a wide variety of preconfigured business processes. With drag-and-drop design patterns, users don’t need technical or coding knowledge to create efficient, customized workflows that suit their needs.

Configuring Blueprints is a powerful way to automate ticketing operations, as they allow users to assign priority levels and approval mechanisms based on the type of issue being handled. But in terms of customizability and scope, Blueprints have their limitations.

Due to the pre-built nature of Blueprints, many of the underlying components that make up each application are hard-coded and can’t be changed without replacing them entirely. This means that while you can customize many elements, reaching a level suitable for maximum efficiency might not always be possible with a blueprint-based solution.

For the same reason, some of the features that Zoho’s standard applications offer might not be available on a Blueprint. For maximum impact, custom-built operations are best—and the good news is that they’re easy to set up.

Implementing and Automating Ticket Statuses

Ticket statuses are paramount to the operations of a help desk, but we’ve found that the stock statuses in Zoho aren’t sufficient for most users’ needs. Instead, we prefer using the following statuses:

  1. New (default status): This is the starting point of an open ticket. Any time a new ticket comes in, it defaults to this.
  2. In Progress: This is probably the most important status, as it indicates that a ticket has been assigned to an agent and is currently being worked on.
  3. Scheduled: If you need to schedule a ticket for a later date, this is the status that should be used to indicate that the ticket has been scheduled and will be worked on at a specific time.
  4. Awaiting Approval: This is a great way to keep track of tickets that need approval from team members or supervisors before they can be closed.
  5. Awaiting Client: This is used when a ticket requires further input from the client before it can be closed. After a week without a client response, automatic approval will occur.
  6. Awaiting Employee: This status is similar to the “Awaiting Client” status but is used when a ticket requires further input from an employee. Clients don’t see employee communications, so employees can use this status to comment internally and reply externally.
  7. Awaiting Vendor: This is used when a ticket requires input from Zoho, and it can be set to send automated reminders every couple of days.
  8. Completed: This closed status allows the customer to reopen a ticket if they are not satisfied with the outcome.
  9. Closed: This is the final status; unlike “Completed,” this one can’t be reopened.
  10. Closed/Deal Created: This status is used when a ticket results in an upsell, cross-sell, or other deal.
  11. No Support Plan/Out of Scope: This status can be used for tickets that don’t fit into any other statuses, such as classifying tickets as needing no support, being out-of-scope, or requiring no further action.
  12. Approved: Zoho has its own approval system, so this status is not used much.
  13. Rejected: Again, Zoho has its own rejection system, so this status is also not used much.

Comparing Service Performance to SLAs

Service level agreements (SLAs) in Zoho are extremely important for setting and monitoring customer service expectations. They assure customers that certain services or tasks will be completed within a predetermined time frame, and they provide a basis for tracking and measuring customer service performance.

Since they commonly include requirements for resolution, response, and resolution times, they also serve as a way to compare actual customer service performance to the desired level of customer service.

The best way to compare service performance against SLAs is to use reports based on your ticketing system. Reports can give you an overview of how well your team is meeting customer expectations in terms of response time, resolution time, and first-contact resolution. You can also use reports to analyze customer satisfaction scores, agent performance levels, and resource utilization statistics.

Technically, a 100% rate is ideal for SLAs as this would indicate that the team is meeting all of the customer service criteria within its SLA. However, depending on the size and complexity of your operations, it may not be feasible to reach a 100% rate, as certain tasks or services are more difficult to complete than others.

Particularly during the holiday season or times of high traffic, it can be difficult for agents to keep up with the influx of tickets. As such, 90% is generally a good target for SLAs. Pay attention to your reports if you aren’t meeting this expectation—reviewing progress through different ticket stages can help you identify where delays are occurring. 

Customizing Supervisor Rules

Supervisor rules are time-based actions (i.e., automatically executing on or after a certain time) that enable supervisors to take control of tickets quickly and effectively. These rules are customizable, so you can set conditions that best suit your organization’s needs.

For example, a supervisor may decide to set a rule that automatically assigns a Zoho Desk ticket to the team leader if it has been open for more than two hours without any action. Alternatively, they may want to set a rule that sends a reminder to team members if they haven’t updated a ticket in a certain period of time.

When it comes to supervisor rules, keep the following best practices in mind:

  • Always keep these support tickets moving. The longer a ticket stays in one state, the less likely it is to be resolved.
  • Prioritize tickets based on customer need and urgency. This will help prioritize support efforts and reduce resolution time.
  • Make sure rules are well-defined so that your team members understand when they should take action.
  • Use custom supervisor rules to ensure that tickets are managed AND resolved promptly.

With the right supervisor rules in place, users can perform better against their SLAs. They can also ensure that customer service best practices are adhered to, resulting in a higher level of customer satisfaction.

If you need further help—or if you’d like an expert perspective on support ticket system best practices—reach out to ZBrains’ team of Zoho specialists. 

zoho vs hubspot crm

Zoho vs Hubspot: Which CRM for Field Service Companies?

Published on: February 26, 2023Category: Job Costing, Zoho CRM, Zoho OneLast Updated: December 6, 2023 Comments: 0

Zoho vs Hubspot CRM – which one is the better choice for your business needs? Field service companies face several unique challenges—from measuring and tracking job performance to scheduling and routing technicians to customer sites, numerous moving parts go into running a successful business.

With customer relationships at the core of any service-based business, field service companies need CRM software to manage leads, scheduling, invoicing, and other nuanced customer relations tasks.

Zoho and HubSpot are two popular CRM systems that make it easy for field service companies to streamline operations and grow their business while nurturing their most important asset—their customers. Here, we’ll take a look at the features, benefits, and costs of both Zoho CRM and HubSpot to help you decide which system is right for your business.

Zoho CRM vs. HubSpot: A Comparison of CRM Features

Zoho CRM and HubSpot are both comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) systems that help field service companies manage their accounts and contact information, automate sales processes like quoting and invoicing, and track customer interactions.

Each has an impressive reputation in the marketplace. But while Zoho offers a full range of apps and comparable features, Hubspot has doubled down on its marketing and email capabilities.

  • Zoho CRM is one of the many applications included in the Zoho ONE platform, an end-to-end platform that offers powerful features like marketing automation, sales tracking, customer service tools, a full finance suite, and more. It also integrates with popular programs like Xero, Dropbox, and QuickBooks.
  • HubSpot, on the other hand, is better known for its sales, marketing automation, and customer service tools. It also offers a marketplace of third-party apps that extend the system’s functionality.

How Zoho CRM and HubSpot Stack Up

Let’s take a look at how Zoho CRM and HubSpot compare when it comes to features, benefits, and costs.

Contact and Lead Management

HubSpot and Zoho CRM are not only easy to use for organizing contact and lead information, but also for managing sales data, such as call logs and sales signals. With the paid versions of both software programs, you can also score leads to determine which ones should receive priority outreach.

However, there are a few differences to be aware of. HubSpot’s duplicate management feature, for example, is only available on the company’s Professional and Enterprise plans, which can be costly. Zoho CRM de-duplicates data on its top three-tier plans for a lower price, potentially making it a better option for smaller field service businesses.

Lead Generation and Sales Quoting

Another significant benefit to Zoho CRM is its end-to-end software. While HubSpot has many integrators, keeping everything on the same platform reduces data silos and supports processes like marketing lead gen; ‘configure, price, quote’ (CPQ) task management; job scheduling and work order management; and billing, invoicing, and job costing.

Since field services companies often have complex pricing models, automated lead funnels and CPQ software that can quickly generate automated quotes is invaluable. Zoho CRM, with its CPQ capabilities, makes this task simple and efficient. While HubSpot can handle these tasks, most require the use of add-ons that must be purchased separately.

Field Service Processes

When it comes to managing field service processes, Zoho CRM simply offers more features than HubSpot. For example, Zoho’s capabilities can support job scheduling and dispatching, billing and invoicing, job costing, and an offline mode built-in for reps who travel to places with low cell reception.

With Zoho ONE, you can reduce data silos, the number of vendors you use, support and maintenance costs, implementation time, integration points, and risk of system failure—all while keeping your costs low.

HubSpot doesn’t have a dedicated, integrated field service app, but it does offer some features that can support field service companies, such as a robust task management application, customer support ticketing, and contact tracking.

Pricing

Generally speaking, Zoho is much cheaper than Hubspot—especially if you go with their all-inclusive Zoho ONE package, which includes access to several integrated applications (including CRM and field service) for one low monthly price.

HubSpot’s lowest-tier plan is significantly more expensive than Zoho ONE, but it does offer a more traditional email marketing platform compared to Zoho’s email marketing solution. The Professional and Enterprise tiers of HubSpot also offer features like lead scoring, contact segmentation, and more that aren’t available on the company’s Basic plan, but which are offered by Zoho’s ONE’s competitively priced plan.

Reporting

With HubSpot, you can have three free dashboards with 10 reports each. If you upgrade to a paid plan, you can store up to 50 dashboards, each of which can have 10-30 reports at a time. The Professional and Enterprise plans let you create 100 and 500 custom reports, respectively—a feature unavailable on any other plan.

All paid plans of Zoho CRM come with standard reports, as well as the ability to schedule these reports. Zoho’s Standard plan offers 100 custom reports, while the three higher-tier plans offer an unlimited number for any KPIs you want to track.

Zoho CRM vs. HubSpot: Which Should You Choose?

Ultimately, when evaluating the features of each program, Zoho CRM is the clear winner for service companies. With more features tailored to field services, a lower price tag, and more comprehensive reporting capabilities, Zoho is the logical choice for most field service businesses.

That said, HubSpot’s email marketing platform is one of the best out there. If you’re looking for a traditional email marketing platform—or if you’re only interested in sales and marketing tools and can get what you need from the company’s lowest-tier plan—HubSpot could be a good fit for you.

Consider your business needs carefully before making a decision. Or, if you need help comparing the two programs, reach out to ZBrains. Our expert team can support you in evaluating both options to determine which solution will best meet your needs going forward.

Employees Using Zoho Sprints with help of ZBrains

Zoho Sprints: Agile Project Management Made Easy

Published on: December 15, 2022Category: Zoho Projects, Zoho SprintsLast Updated: November 13, 2023 Comments: 0

Any project management solution comes with pros and cons. But if your company has committed to agile project management workflows, Zoho Sprints is worth serious consideration.

Not sure what agile project management is or how it works? In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at Zoho agile project management practices, including a breakdown of the difference between Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints for agile shops. 

How does Agile project management improve product development?

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), agile practices “aim for early, measurable ROI through defined, iterative delivery of product increments. They feature continuous involvement of the customer throughout the product development cycle. Although agile has its roots in software and IT, agile adoption is growing and expanding in a wide range of industries.”

Agile project management involves breaking projects into individual tasks that are delivered on a periodic basis. This approach also allows for a more iterative, responsive way of working that enables stakeholders to incorporate relevant feedback as the project develops. 

“Scrum” is one particular agile project management technique that divides complicated projects into smaller, simpler units. At the end of each iteration (known as a “sprint”), the team reports on its progress and gathers feedback. Once this data is received and analyzed, another sprint begins, based on the customer feedback. 

How Zoho Sprints Agile Project Management Works

Zoho Sprints is Zoho’s first-ever agile project management software. Developed using scrum methodology, Sprints enables businesses to plan, execute, and deliver complicated projects by segmenting them across various modules. 

With Sprints, you can set up backlogs for your projects, divide these backlogs into scheduled sprints, and work on them in an iterative, collaborative way. 

Implementing Zoho Sprints is relatively simple. First, create your project, and use Zoho’s prompts to add users and manage your project’s settings. 

Once your project is set up, you’ll be able to create individual work items and sprints. 

From here, you can drag and drop work items from your backlog into your sprints, assign tasks to relevant users, and kick off your individual sprints.

Once your sprints start, you’ll be able to access fully customizable scrum boards, which let you visualize your tasks and move them through different stages or statuses. You can also create “Epics” which group items that share the same objective.

You’ll also want to check out the Charts and Reports feature, where you can monitor and compare sprints, as well as track your team members’ performance. The Timetrack module tracks your billable vs non-billable hours, while the Meetings module lets you set up sprint reviews and meetings. 

Zoho Sprints vs Zoho Projects: Choosing the Right Option

Having said that, one of the questions we hear a lot at ZBrains is: what is the difference between Zoho Projects and Sprints, and how do I know which one to use? 

Both Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints are solid project management solutions, each offering efficient and coherent approaches to delivering projects. That said, any software solution has its own strengths and weaknesses. Choosing the right one largely comes down to the nature of your projects. 

Macro vs. Micro Project Management 

Zoho Projects makes it easy to visualize projects as a whole, including their steps, processes, and target outcomes. In other words, Projects is a good option for projects that begin with a robust plan (such as those following the waterfall methodology) or for projects you intend to replicate in the future. 

Zoho Sprints, on the other hand, is especially useful for projects that are being planned and implemented in stages. Because projects in Sprints are broken down into smaller cycles with periodic outcomes, the tool makes it easy for stakeholders to check in, evaluate progress, and adjust the project at regular intervals.  

In summary, Sprints is good for projects that need to be able to adapt and change, whereas Projects is ideal for simpler projects with more robust plans that aren’t expected to change. 

Value for Money 

As of December 1, 2022, both Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints offer a free trial period to let you try out the software at no cost. That said, while Projects has a free tier, all of Sprints’ tiers are paid. 

The free version of Projects includes up to 3 users and up to 2 projects. From there, pricing begins at $18 per month (based on a minimum of 6 users at $3 per user per month) and includes a maximum of 10 projects. The next pricing tier begins at $4 per user, per month, with a minimum of 15 users and unlimited projects.

Sprints begins at $12 per month for up to 12 users. Customers requiring 13-100 users are billed $5 per user, per month (which can be paid either monthly or annually). 

Integrations

Both Projects and Sprints integrate with other Zoho apps, as well as MS Teams, MS Office, Bitbucket, and GitHub. Using Zapier, both Sprints and Projects can connect to over 2,000 Google apps. 

In addition, Zoho Sprints integrates with GitLab and Jenkins, while Projects integrate with many others, including Slack, iCal, Zen Desk, Google, and Crashlytics. 

Team Management

While both Projects and Sprints offer communications tools, Sprints includes additional features for tracking your teams, gathering data after each sprint, and holding meetings to enable collaboration. Sprint also offers reports and insights into your team’s performance. 

In comparison, Projects allows users to assign and monitor tasks, specify tasks’ priority, and send reminders to team members. You can also monitor time sheets and track issues that might arise in the project. 

Getting Started with Zoho Sprints

Ready to learn more about Zoho Sprints, including whether or not it’s the right choice for your agile project management approach? Connect with the ZBrains team directly for customized suggestions, based on your unique project specifications.  

ZBrains Discussing How Contract CRM can help Business Owners

Using Zoho Contracts to Streamline Your Contract Process

Published on: December 6, 2022Category: Zoho ContractsLast Updated: May 23, 2023 Comments: 0

Zoho Contracts is a comprehensive platform that allows businesses to streamline the contract process, facilitating everything from contract signings to contract workflows and transition management during contract changes.

But how exactly does Zoho Contracts work in practice, and how does it benefit your business? Here’s how Zoho Contracts makes the contract management process easy and pain-free. 

Simplify Contract Management with Zoho Contracts

Contracts are a big part of any business, but it’s how you manage them that’s important. 

Generally speaking, businesses need a tight contract process to ensure nothing is overlooked and your business is protected—and picking the right contract management software is foundational to building a tight contract management process. 

Zoho Contracts is purpose-built to save time and reduce errors by integrating cleanly with your CRM, facilitating close collaboration with sales, making redlining simple, and keeping your contract management tasks and terms centralized and up-to-date in a single location.

Not only does CRM integration help you avoid silos and improve transparency, but it may also improve sales cycle times by reducing delays between contract approval stages. When you integrate your contracting process into your CRM, you’re able to bring teams together—notably, your legal and sales teams—so that they can work collaboratively to the same end. 

Contract Creation

Once your CRM is integrated with Zoho Contracts, there are a number of features you can take advantage of when creating your contracts.

Contract Templates That Save You Time

Zoho Contracts provides industry-standard contract templates that can be used out of the box or adapted at the advice of legal counsel—regardless of your business or industry size. 

Because these templates have been legally reviewed, your contract teams can work more quickly to move contract workflows along (though it’s important to note that legal review by your company’s designated counsel is still appropriate to ensure they’re legally enforceable). 

In addition, Zoho Contracts offers a standard clause library with template text you can simply copy and paste into your contracts—again, saving you time over manually writing your own language. 

Contract Authoring to Limit Legal Liability and Improve Enforceability

Manually authoring contracts can be time-consuming and cost-intensive, as legal teams have to look out for language consistency issues that might otherwise leave them open to human error and unanticipated risks. 

Zoho Contracts limits this liability through features that ensure language remains consistent across your documents. In addition, with Zoho Contracts, your contract authoring workflows benefit from the program’s simple user interface for building, editing, sharing, and reviewing contracts across internal teams and external users.  

Contract Processing

Once contracts are created, additional features within Zoho Contracts help to streamline their processing.

Easy Approval Workflows that Reduce Errors

First, contract approval features in Zoho Contracts ensure all stakeholders get the chance to review a contract’s terms and conditions, as well as keep abreast of involved risks and opportunities. 

Zoho Contracts also makes it possible for contract admins to create multiple approval workflows, associate them with different contract types, and assign approval processes to be completed before submitting contracts to prospects or clients. 

Whether you set up a sequential or a parallel approval workflow, the approval process can be fully automated, reducing errors and saving time in getting contracts signed off. 

Make Negotiations and Review Less Complicated

In the contract lifecycle, the negotiation stage is crucial. Whatever your negotiation strategy or process, it’s this phase that will set the tone of your relationship moving forward. 

That being said, negotiations can be challenging to manage from a contracts point of view. With Zoho Contracts, you can negotiate entirely online, seamlessly manage redlining, view contract version histories, and even gain analytical insights into your negotiations. This both improves the quality of your negotiations and saves you time and resources in the process. 

Transparent Obligation Management 

Once your contracts have been signed and executed, it can be easy to overlook the issue of contractual fulfillment. Even with the most explicit contract terms—with all parties in agreement—if this process isn’t tracked and reviewed, contract breaches can occur. 

With Zoho Contracts, obligation management becomes transparent. You can add obligations, check them off as they’re fulfilled, and review outstanding obligations as often as needed. You can also prioritize obligations, assign obligations to specific team members, and receive alerts and reminders to ensure obligations are being fulfilled. 

A Less Frustrating Change Management Process

When any new contract comes into effect, managing its effects across the organization can be tricky. That’s why Zoho Contracts’ change management feature includes smart letter and activity-tracking capabilities, enabling parties to be notified of changes when they happen so that they can feel in full control of the process. 

Reliable & Industry-Leading Data Protection

Finally, with government regulations such as GDPR and CCPA impacting the way organizations manage data, it’s imperative that they correctly manage any personally identifiable information (PII) captured during the contract process. 

Zoho Contracts secures your stakeholders’ data, ensuring not only that data remains safe—a legal necessity—but that your relationship and trust remain intact as well. Its data protection feature helps your business avoid data breaches while also fulfilling your confidentiality obligations. 

In Summary

Managing contracts is a critical fact of life for businesses, but it isn’t always an easy one from an operational perspective. With Zoho Contracts in place, you can rest assured that not only will you avoid the pitfalls of miscommunication, human error, and wasted time, but you’ll benefit from the program’s cost savings and the streamlining of your operations as well.

For more on how to implement and integrate Zoho Contracts into your CRM, reach out to the Zoho experts at ZBrains.  

A Woman Connecting Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM

Connect Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM: Integration Guide

Published on: September 22, 2022Category: Zoho Analytics, Zoho Campaigns, Zoho CRM, Zoho MarketingHubLast Updated: October 21, 2024 Comments: 0

In today’s digital age, harnessing the power of social media platforms is crucial for businesses to expand their reach and engage with potential customers. Facebook, being one of the most popular social media platforms, offers an effective advertising solution called Facebook Lead Ads. These ads allow businesses to capture valuable lead information directly from their Facebook ads. However, to effectively manage and utilize these leads, integrating Facebook Lead Ads with a robust customer relationship management (CRM) system like Zoho CRM is essential. This integration guide aims to provide a comprehensive walkthrough, empowering businesses to seamlessly connect their Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM and optimize their lead generation and customer management processes.

Lead generation is a critical aspect of any business strategy. The Facebook Lead Ads program—which involves capturing prospective customers’ information via social media—can be a user-friendly option for identifying and capturing new leads. 

But for lead generation to be effective, it must be followed up with plenty of nurturing and analysis so that you can reach the best prospects who are most likely to convert into customers or clients. Integrating your Facebook Lead campaigns into your Zoho CRM allows you to keep all of your lead generation efforts in one place, while also facilitating lead nurture in real-time. 

To take advantage of these benefits, however, you’ll need to connect your Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM. Here’s how to do it:

How can Facebook Lead Ads help in generating new leads effectively?

Facebook Lead Ads can be an easy way to generate new leads, as it allows you to run your marketing message within a venue you know your prospective customers frequent. Reaching people where they already are—in this case, Facebook—minimizes friction and increases the likelihood of your ads being seen.

Within Facebook, when prospects tap on one of your ads, a form pops up that’s already prepopulated with their Facebook contact information. All it takes is a few taps for them to get the information they need, while you generate a new lead for your business. 

Why Zoho CRM Partners Well with Facebook Lead Ads

By syncing your Zoho CRM account with your Facebook Ad Leads account, new leads can be automatically integrated into your CRM. As a result, you won’t have to manually export leads from your Facebook lead campaigns for import into your CRM. Instead, every time you get a new lead, it can be automatically saved to your Zoho CRM database, along with extra information such as the source of the lead.  

Additional Benefits of Zoho CRM Integration

Turning Conversations into Opportunities

Not only does Zoho CRM let you follow up on your Facebook leads, but it also lets you add leads from your listening streams, even if you’re not running an ad campaign. 

You can add these leads from the Social Tab manually, or set up triggers to automatically add leads from interactions that happen on your Facebook page. You can then assign these leads to your sales reps with specific rules, tasks, and reminders. 

Bringing Facebook and CRM Conversations Together

When a contact has been added to your Zoho CRM, you can go to your Social Tab and access their information, history, and activities. In addition, you can see their recent social interactions with your business so that you can respond appropriately to their social posts and comments. 

Engaging with Your Audience Live

Using the Social Tab in your Zoho CRM, you can easily create new social media posts or reply to comments and messages in real-time. Rather than switching between Facebook and Zoho CRM, you can keep your audience engaged from within a single platform. 

Tracking Conversations About Your Brand

By setting up listening streams that monitor when a prospect or competitor messages you or mentions you, you can manage your Facebook conversations in real-time. SalesSignals gives you real-time Facebook notifications via Zoho CRM. 

How to Connect Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM

To connect your Facebook Lead Ads with your Zoho CRM account, you’ll need to use one of the Facebook Ad management extensions found within Zoho CRM’s marketplace.

Step #1: Install Facebook Advert Manager

To begin, you can either navigate to the Zoho Marketplace and install the Facebook Advert Manager extension, or you can log in to your Zoho CRM account and install it from there. Once the extension has been added to your CRM, take the following steps:

  1. Go to Setup > Marketplace > All
  2. Search for Facebook Adverts Manager
  3. Click Install Now

In the following screen, agree to the terms of service and click Install Now.

Select the users for whom you want to install the extension, and then click Confirm. Then, click Authorize on the following screen:

Finally, in the pop-up that appears, specify the username and password of your Facebook account, and click Continue.

Step #2: Import Your Facebook Ads

Once you’ve installed and authorized the Facebook Advert Manager Extension, you can start importing your ad data into Zoho CRM. When you first set up the extension, you’ll need to perform a complete import of your data.

  1. Within Zoho CRM, select the Facebook Advert Manager tab
  2. On the Facebook Advert Manager page, click Import
  3. This will import all the ads and ad sets that are associated with your Facebook account into Zoho CRM

Once this step is complete, you’ll be able to view and manage all of your ad campaigns from this tab itself. This will take some time, however, depending on the amount of ad data you have to import.

Additionally, if you’ve made changes in Facebook and want them to be reflected in Zoho, you may need to manually update your ads on the Facebook Advert Manager page. To update the details of a particular ad, select the required Advert ID and click Import Advert. The current status of the selected ad will be updated.

To import new ads from Facebook, click the Import button at the top right-hand corner of the window. This will not only import new ads from Facebook, but will update all of your existing ads as well.

Once you’ve successfully connected your Facebook Lead Ads account to Zoho CRM, you can take advantage of Zoho marketing campaign tools to easily nurture and convert the new leads you generate—as well as analyze your new data to create stronger campaigns.

FAQs: Integrating Facebook Lead Ads with Zoho CRM 

  1. What is the benefit of integrating Facebook Lead Ads with Zoho CRM?

Integrating Facebook Lead Ads with Zoho CRM offers several advantages. It automatically transfers lead data from Facebook to your CRM, streamlining your lead-generation efforts. Additionally, you can follow up on leads, engage with your audience in real time, and track conversations about your brand, all from within the Zoho CRM platform.

  1. Do I need technical expertise to connect Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM?

You can use extensive technical knowledge. Zoho CRM’s user-friendly interface and the Facebook Advert Manager extension make the integration process straightforward. Just follow the step-by-step guide in the article to connect your accounts seamlessly.

  1. Can I import existing Facebook ads into Zoho CRM after integration?

You can import your existing Facebook ads and ad sets into Zoho CRM using the Facebook Advert Manager extension. Once connected, you can completely import your ad data into the CRM.

  1. How long does it take to import my Facebook ad data into Zoho CRM?

The time it takes to import your Facebook ad data into Zoho CRM may vary depending on the amount of data you have. For larger datasets, the import process might take longer. However, once the initial import is complete, you can easily manage and update your ads in real time.

  1. Can Zoho CRM help me nurture leads beyond Facebook campaigns?

Absolutely! Zoho CRM’s comprehensive lead management features allow you to nurture leads from various sources, including interactions on your Facebook page and other listening streams. You can set up triggers to automatically add leads and assign them to sales reps, facilitating lead nurturing and follow-up.

  1. How does Zoho CRM’s Social Tab help with engagement on Facebook?

The Social Tab in Zoho CRM enables you to interact with your audience on Facebook without leaving the CRM platform. You can create and schedule new social media posts, respond to comments and messages, and monitor real-time conversations. This keeps your engagement efficient and centralized.

  1. Can Zoho CRM provide real-time notifications for Facebook interactions?

Yes, Zoho CRM’s SalesSignals feature provides real-time notifications for Facebook interactions. This means you can stay informed about prospect messages or mentions as they happen, allowing you to respond promptly and take advantage of opportunities.

  1. Is Zoho CRM suitable for businesses of all sizes?

Yes, Zoho CRM is suitable for organizations of all sizes, from small startups to major corporations. Its scalable features and customizable options make it a versatile CRM solution for businesses looking to optimize lead generation, customer management, and sales processes.

  1. Can I analyze the performance of my Facebook Lead Ads within Zoho CRM?

Yes, Zoho CRM offers robust reporting and analytics tools that allow you to track the performance of your Facebook Lead Ads campaigns. You can gain valuable insights into lead generation, conversion rates, and campaign effectiveness to make data-driven decisions and improve your marketing strategies.

  1. Are there additional costs for integrating Facebook Lead Ads with Zoho CRM?

The Facebook Advert Manager extension is available in the Zoho Marketplace, and its installation is generally accessible.

However, depending on your usage and specific requirements, additional costs may be associated with Zoho CRM’s premium features or higher-tier plans. Remember, by integrating Facebook Lead Ads with Zoho CRM, you can enhance your lead generation efforts, improve lead nurture, and manage your customer relationships more efficiently, leading to better business growth and success.

Have further questions about connecting Facebook Lead Ads to Zoho CRM? Need help maximizing the value of the data you generate from these campaigns? Get in touch with our team of Zoho specialists for customized assistance. 

A Business Department Using Zoho Desk Teams and Zoho Desk Departments

Using Zoho Desk Teams and Departments Effectively

Published on: August 5, 2022Category: Zoho Desk, Zoho DeskLast Updated: October 21, 2024 Comments: 0

Running a help desk system provides tremendous business value by keeping customer requests from falling through the cracks, helping to improve the customer experience and lower churn. Working with a platform like Zoho Desk also benefits managers and executives, who can use support desk performance data to improve customer outcomes and overall productivity.

Generally speaking, Zoho Desk works like any other help desk or customer service desk–think Zendesk or Freshdesk. It issues tickets, assigns them to individuals, and then tracks their progress as each ticket gets resolved. 

That said, there is still a lot of confusion that exists about the platform. One question in particular that we often get at ZBrains when our users are setting up Zoho Desk is the difference between Zoho Desk Teams and Zoho Desk Departments–as well as how you use them appropriately.

Because there is a major difference between the two, let us take a closer look at each of them, including the various scenarios in which you would use each. 

Zoho Desk Teams and Ticket Management

In Zoho Desk, a Team is a group of “agents” all sitting in the same department. When you upload a new profile to Zoho Desk, they appear as individual “agents.” You can then create “Teams” into which you can add multiple agents. A Team might represent a subdepartment, a project, or any kind of subdivision within a department. 

When a customer submits a new ticket, you can assign it to an agent, a Team, or an agent within a Team. That agent or Team will then get to work on the ticket by following the ticket blueprints, which you will have already set up. 

Zoho Desk will then track that ticket via various metrics, such as response times, customer satisfaction ratings, and product-specific issues. These metrics can be agent-specific or department-wide. 

What are Departments in Zoho Desk?

“Departments” are how you fully segment Zoho Desk to represent the departments or segments within your company. You can, for example, use it to differentiate between different brands, knowledge bases, locations, and other entities within your organization. 

When Should You Use Zoho Desk Departments? 

In short, we would advise you to only set up a new Zoho Desk Department if you need to. For example, if your organization deals with separate brands or knowledge bases, it stands to reason that you would want to keep these brands apart. 

In fact, you may already have separate domains–and, therefore, email addresses–linked to those separate brands. In this case, you would benefit from setting up entirely separate Zoho Desk interfaces to keep them distinguishable from one another. 

Another scenario where using different Zoho Desk Departments is appropriate is when you want to keep two departments within your organization separate. 

Take, for example, your HR and Customer Service departments. It is highly unlikely that you would want to reassign tasks between these two departments–and you are likely to have different sets of users working in those areas, anyways. In this case, it makes sense to keep them separate and to set up entirely distinct departments. 

When Should You Not Use Zoho Desk Departments? 

While there are advantages to using separate Zoho Desk Departments, there are cases where the extra effort is not appropriate. Since setting up separate Departments is a big task, it is worth avoiding it, if possible. 

Further, remember that there is a hard cut between Departments. As a result, you cannot assign tickets to another department within your organization. If you have multiple teams that collaborate closely, working within a single Department allows them to retain this functionality.

Effectively, as long as your teams operate within the same knowledge base, brand, and department, using “Teams” as your ticketing differentiator should make the most sense. 

Of course, we also recognize that every company’s structure and needs are different. If you have any other questions about Zoho Desk Teams and Zoho Desk Departments, reach out to the team at ZBrains. Our team of Zoho experts can help you clarify the specific solution that is best for your requirements.

ZBrains Zoho CRM Reports Graph

Maximize Sales with Zoho CRM Reports: Analytics Reporting Guide

Published on: August 3, 2022Category: Zoho Analytics, Zoho CRM, Zoho CRM, Zoho Reports, Zoho ReportsLast Updated: May 8, 2024 Comments: 0

Of all the advantages of using Zoho, one of the most compelling is the platform’s simple, yet in-depth reporting applications. 

Depending on what you need to report on, you may find that the basic reporting options built into Zoho CRM suffice. Alternatively (or, additionally), you can tap into the power of the more advanced Zoho Analytics when you need to get a deeper understanding of how your business functions.

With that in mind, let us explore each in turn, looking more closely at the advantages and disadvantages of Zoho CRM or Zoho Analytics. 

Zoho CRM

As a CRM, Zoho’s offering is well-rounded and user-friendly, offering most businesses everything they need to keep track of customer relationships. 

From a reporting perspective, Zoho CRM comes with its own reporting engine that is customizable and operates in real-time. As a result, the program enables you to run reports on key relationship and sales metrics, as well as email them out on a scheduled basis. Zoho CRM also comes pre-built with a myriad of reports useful for sales, account management, and front office leadership.

Building Your Dashboards

In the Zoho CRM reporting window, you will see a list of records that you can build into tables, including pivot tables and pivot charts:

You can choose a range of components to group into your dashboards, as well as place components on your home screen. 

An example of a group of components

An example of a dashboard

That said, while Zoho CRM allows you to choose the time or table that best represents your data, it does not allow you to change how your query is built. When you choose the type of table you want to use, Zoho writes the query for you. 

Scheduling Your Reports

With Zoho CRM, you can schedule reports to be automatically sent out by email, which can streamline internal progress reporting and status updates. 

Simply go to the left-hand menu, pick Scheduled Reports, and enter the report you want to have emailed out on a regular basis. 

The major advantage Zoho CRM reporting is real-time but limited to CRM data with no drill-down configuration. If you need additional reporting capabilities beyond what Zoho CRM can provide, you may want to look into Zoho Analytics.

Zoho Analytics

Zoho Analytics is Zoho’s business intelligence and analytics platform. Zoho Analytics allows you to review and report on data from a variety of data sources, as well as customize how that data is presented and shared. 

Data Sources

Incorporating data from multiple sources means that Zoho Analytics facilitates a much deeper dive into your data. In addition to Zoho data points, you can also use Analytics to pull in data from external applications, such as Google Analytics, YouTube, Google Ads, or Facebook. 

Within Analytics, simply select your chosen data sources, and pull them into the same workspace. From there, you will be able to query those different tables together to build reports that span across each application. 

Customizing Your Data Drill-Downs

Like Zoho CRM, Analytics allows you to choose from a variety of charts to present your data. However, with Zoho Analytics, you also have the option to customize charts and tables for tailored insights with Zoho Analytics.

Once you have built your table or chart, you can drag and drop them onto your dashboard for enhanced visibility. 

You can also utilize global filters–such as user, team, and date–to drill down into your data. For example, if you wanted to check on an individual team’s performance, you could filter your reports by team. All of the charts and tables that include a team filter would then be updated and displayed accordingly. 

Trend Reporting

One final feature that may make Zoho Analytics a better fit for your organization is its predictive capabilities. Analytics displays trends and projections, enabling informed predictions for future business decisions and investments.  

As a note, this is not an ‘either/or’ situation. You can Embed Zoho Analytics reports into Zoho CRM via the Analytics widget, by inputting the dashboard URL. Overall, Zoho Analytics is valuable for teams needing trend reporting, global filtering, and multiple data sources.

It is worth keeping in mind, however, that Analytics is not a real-time dashboard. The tradeoff for this enhanced functionality is that you will have a three-hour sync to contend with, though this is not likely to be a deal-breaker for most teams.

Zoho CRM vs. Zoho Analytics Reporting

As you explore your different Zoho reporting options, weigh your options within CRM and Analytics carefully. Taking these and other key points into consideration will help you arrive at the right solution for your team.

Any other questions about Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics? Reach out to the team at ZBrains if you have any queries or need clarification.

Zoho Trial

Published on: May 14, 2021Category: Last Updated: May 23, 2023

Get a Zoho Tuneup

Published on: March 28, 2020Category: Last Updated: December 12, 2023
Crexendo

Crexendo

Published on: August 23, 2019Category: Last Updated: January 25, 2024