Introduction to Zoho CRM
Introduction to Zoho CRM
What is CRM?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can be defined in many ways depending on what an individual intends to achieve. For some, it is the strategy to identify, understand, manage, and cater to the business needs of their prospects and existing customers. For others, it is a system that:
- Helps with capturing all the required information to provide a 360-degree view of customers' interests and preferences.
- Provides various options to manage the sales and marketing processes and to interact and engage with customers regularly.
In both these ways, a CRM system helps a company strengthen and build a long term relationships with its customers. Check out the CRM implementation guide for step-by-step process to setup your CRM account.
Why do businesses need a CRM?
Imagine you walk up to your favorite restaurant, 'Home Made Wraps', that you frequently visit, and are greeted by the owner with a big smile! He nods at you and gestures for you to take a seat and informs that your order is 5 minutes away. But, wait a minute, when did you place an order? Well, Roger remembers what you like: your made-to-order cocktail and the favorite savories to go with it. You think, it's just your order he remembers because you visited last week. But, he does that with nearly every second customer who enters his restaurant. Amazing, isn't it? Remembering every visitor's preference is quite a feat because sometimes it may take years to understand their needs and get acquainted with it.
But its different with Roger Philips, the owner of 'Home Made Wraps', he takes customer satisfaction and engagement quite seriously. For him and his team, the customer is the king and they know to go the extra mile to make sure they understand the pulse of every customer and therefore, build a good relationship with them. They keep track of every customer's preferences, their customized orders, preferred chefs and in not-so-rare cases their diet restrictions too!
His job doesn't end here. He needs to be on top of several other transactions like raw material purchase, monthly expenditures, annual growth, and profit tracking too. He must track and value every sale that he makes, so that his annual report doesn't miss out important details. At the same time, he must make sure that his entire team is aware of the business processes and follows it without any deviation.
Managing every aspect of the business can be made easier with a robust CRM system. It should readily understand the business, unite it with the employees and customers alike and capture the business information such that one gets a holistic view of each customer in real-time.
Benefits of having a CRM system
An ideal CRM system should be multi-faceted that provides:
Uninterrupted access to customer data - We understand that prompt responses and immediate solutions go a long way in building a lasting relationship. So, your customer's information is securely stored on a cloud-based platform and your teams can connect with the customers from anywhere in real-time.
Bring inter-departmental coordination - Another advantage of having data on cloud is, it can be shared across the teams. You can create customer centric tasks and assign it to the relevant members of your team. This will make sure that every sales person has a defined role and clear objectives, no one is left out or performing the same set of tasks and no sales opportunity will be ignored.
Streamline different processes - CRM comes with wide array of features that can help in increasing the sales team's ability to close more deals, assist the marketing team in acquiring more leads, make it easier for support teams to resolve tickets faster; all at the same time.
Proactively participate in customers' journey - CRM will help you create milestones and remind you of important events with customers. You can also get insights on the customer's preferences and requirements that in turn will help the sales team organize their strategies for a better and faster customer engagements. Overall, it can go a long way in boosting retention and mitigating churn.
Make intelligent decisions - A customer feels valued when the sales team remembers their needs and gives them solutions quickly. CRM can help you draw insights, anticipate possible outcomes, recommend choices, and even suggest next course of action with customers by taking cues from past interactions and data.
Key functionalities in Zoho CRM
Once you have adopted CRM for your business, it's ideal that you modify it to your needs and not the other way around. Zoho CRM is flexible enough to accomodate your business process and allow you to replicate it online. Since, every business is unique we let you build the CRM according to your requirements using the customization features.
An ideal day of a rep would be - step into the office, fire up the laptop and jump-start with the routine tasks. CRM can automate some of those repetitive tasks and save time for other important activities. With some easy-to-setup automation features, the sales processes can be streamlined and made efficient. Sit back and plan your next business move while CRM continues to work for you.
Communication has reached a whole new level and with Zoho CRM you can bring it all under one roof. Be it email, phone calls live chat or social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, all your interactions can be accessed from one place. Your customers and prospects have their presence across multiple channels its best to make sure your business is not left behind and takes strides along with them.
When you have so much to do, you cannot waste time looking for your customer's details in different places. Having them all in a single place, that's just a click away save a lot of time. You can track a client's purchase history, go through notes, view past conversations, and check related emails simultaneously. The contextual view lets you cross-sell products and eliminate the time spent on gathering details from different sources.
Certain software solutions might be used to carry out specific functions and you don't have to abandon them in order to use the CRM system. With our string of developer centric features- APIs, SDKs, Functions, Widgets and much more you can bring your software into the CRM and manage everything from one place.
Check out the CRM implementation guide for step-by-step process to setup your CRM account.
Begin your Admin Journey
What is Your Role as an Admin?
As a Zoho CRM administrator for your organization, your role is to deliver a trusted ecosystem to your employees where they can thrive successfully.
There are a list of activities that you must perform to utilize the benefits of the CRM tools in the best possible way, let us see a few examples of your core actions:
- Help your employees learn and use the CRM tools appropriately
- Customize the CRM platform according to your business needs
- Design automated processes to help sales reps work faster and focus on things that matter more
- Give your sales reps multiple channels to stay connected and interact with their customers
- Analyze business metrics and make best use of the data
We will help you discover your roles and actions in implementing Zoho CRM for your organization in the below mentioned sections:
- Setup your organization account
- Secure your CRM account
- Manage users, roles and permissions
- Customize your account
- Automate your business process
- Manage your CRM data
- Manage subscriptions
Check out the CRM implementation guide for step-by-step process to setup your CRM account.
Understand your CRM Account
Key CRM Terminologies
In any business environment, there are terms such as Leads, Deals, Campaigns, Invoices, etc. Following are the list of such terms and their definitions as used in Zoho CRM. You can refer to more such terms in the Zoho CRM's Glossary. Check out the CRM implementation guide for step-by-step process to setup your CRM account.
| Leads | Accounts |
| Leads are the unqualified contacts or sales opportunities in your business. They are the raw details gathered about individuals or representatives of organizations collected from trade shows, seminars, advertisements and other marketing campaigns. A lead goes through the follow-up process by sales reps and when qualified, they're converted into an account, contact and deal (opportunity) in Zoho CRM. Watch video | Accounts are the companies or departments within a company with which you have business dealings. In Zoho CRM, single or multiple contacts can be associated to an account. In a typical B2B scenario (one business selling products or services to another business) accounts play a major role in keeping track of the important company information. |
| Contacts | Deals |
| Contacts are the people in an organization with whom your company has business communications in pursuit of business opportunities. Some of these contacts may belong to different departments in a company or multiple contacts of the same company. CRM contacts are typically converted from qualified leads, imported from an existing list or added individually based on the business relationship with the associated company. Watch video | Deals are the business deals with organizations (B2B) or with people (B2C), which generate real revenue for your organization. It evolves through different sales stages such as Prospecting, Qualification, Needs Analysis, Value Proposition etc. before it is actually a deal, lost or won. Leads that show interest in your business can be directly converted to opportunities that represent potential sale. Watch video |
| Forecasts | Campaigns |
| Forecasts are the factual insights needed for making smart business decisions and anticipating future sales. They provide a personalized view of your real time business for tracking and fine-tuning the sales process in your organization. | Campaigns in Zoho CRM, provides a platform to organize and record the overall cost for marketing campaigns. It helps in marking the various stages, importing targeted contacts, associating all the tasks, events, and calls related to the campaign. Also, it gives a detailed view of all marketing campaigns an individual customer has been a part of. |
| Price Books | Vendors |
| Price Books are the agreed price for selling a product to a customer. Based on the agreed terms, the prices can even vary for different customers. The unit price which is the price fixed by the manufacturer for the product and the list price which is the sellers' price can be quoted in the price books. Additionally, the discount ranges can be defined. | Vendors are the companies, individuals or contractors from whom your organization procures products and services. The vendor details stored in Zoho CRM can provide better visibility on the vendors or suppliers for the future procurement of products. |
| Quotes | Sales Orders |
| Quotes are legal agreements between customers and vendors to deliver the requested product within the specified time at the agreed price. A quote can be converted into a Sales Order or Invoice with a single click. Templates can also be created based on the quote details and can be sent to the customer. | Sales Orders are the confirmation of sales generated after the customer sends a purchase order based on your quotes. A quote can be converted into a Sales Order with a single click. |
| Purchase Orders | Invoices |
| Purchase Orders are legally bound order-placement documents for procuring products or services from vendors. Each product can have a different reorder level to trigger the creation of a new purchase order. | Invoices are bills issued by the vendor to the customers along with the goods or services with the purpose of receiving payments. A quote can be converted into a Sales Order or Invoice with a single click. |
| Module | Record |
| In Zoho CRM, data is categorized into groups or divisions based on similarity. Each division that has similar data is called a "module". For example Leads is a module that contains all your business leads' details. Contacts, Accounts, Deals, Quotes etc are other examples of modules. In Zoho CRM, modules are of two major kinds - default modules and custom (or user-generated) modules. | "Record" is the generic name given to any entry made in a module. For example, if there are ten leads in the Leads module, each lead is a record. If there are 10 contacts in the Contacts module, each contact is a record and so on. |
Quick Screen Tour
Take a screen tour to know your CRM display better.
Home Tab
When you open your Zoho CRM account, the first screen that you see is the home page. Here, you can take a quick glance at the progress of your CRM activities. It is a dashboard that contains components from different modules, and you can customize the home tab by specifying which component to include.
- List of modules.
- Icons for Search, Feeds notifications, adding records, Zoho CRM calendar, MailMagnet, Setup.
- Components in the customized view.
- CRM footer with Ask Zia, Gamescope, Sticky notes, Zia notifications Activity Reminders and Recent Items icons.
Module View
- List Views.
- Different types of Views - List, Kanban and Canvas.
- More options - Mass actions, Autoresponders, etc. based on the module.
- Advanced Filters.
- List of records in the selected module.
Record View
- Info, Timeline and Data Privacy (when GDPR Compliance settings is enabled).
- Related Lists short cut.
- Option to view the detailed information.
- Business card view.
- Actions to perform on the record - sending email, converting lead, editing, etc.
Setup Page
You can configure the settings of your CRM account by clicking on the Setup icon present in the header tab. Zoho CRM contains setup options for configuring General settings, Users and Control, Channels, Customization, Automation, Data Administration, Marketplace, and Developer Space. To begin with, you can configure the General settings initially, that will allow you to fill in your personal details and your company's details. Navigate to Setup > General to access the General settings.
Specifications in Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM Editions
Zoho CRM is a cloud based application that offers five different editions each comprising of different features focusing on specific business needs.
- Standard
- Professional
- Enterprise
- Ultimate
Each edition is priced differently, and contains different set of features that can be accessed after purchasing. Before purchasing an edition you should understand the requirements of your business so you can select the appropriate features. We also have a 15-day trial version for Professional, Standard, and Enterprise Editions. You can sign up for the basic or Free Edition to evaluate all the editions before purchasing.
Apart from the Free edition all other editions are based on user licenses i.e. based on the number of users who are going to log-in and access the organization's CRM account. For your organization, all user licenses that you purchase should belong to the same edition. For instance, you cannot purchase 10 user licenses in the Standard edition and 5 user licenses in the Enterprise edition, for one organization.
For details on features' availability and limits in each edition, refer to the Feature Availability table. Zoho CRM is a pay-as-you-go service, and you will be billed on a monthly or yearly basis for the edition that you are currently using. So there is flexibility to upgrade your edition as the business evolves or downgrade it if you cut-off few services.
Supported Languages
Zoho CRM supports 28 languages. You can choose the language that you require by navigating to Setup > General > Personal Settings in your CRM. In the section Locale Information, click the Edit icon. Choose the language that you wish to use from the list in the Language option.
The languages supported in Zoho CRM are listed below:
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System Requirements
Zoho CRM is a cloud-based application, and therefore the application and the data are not stored in your computer system's memory. Since cloud applications rely on remote servers, you are required to have a continual internet connection for accessing Zoho CRM. You are not required to download or install any files in your computer to use CRM.
Zoho CRM is compatible with basic system configuration, the details of which are listed below:
| Operating System | Windows, Linux and Mac OS X |
| Web Browser | Safari 13 Google Chrome 73 Mozilla Firefox 69 Edge 79 Opera 60 |
| Other requirements | Enable JavaScript |
We also support those browsers which use ES6.
Note
- It is necessary to use browsers, APIs, and Plugins that support TLS v1.2.
- You may not be able to access Zoho CRM if you have enabled the Compatibility mode in Internet Explorer.
To disable compatability mode in Internet Explorer 11
- Click the Gear icon (in the top right corner of IE) and select Compatibility View Settings,
- Uncheck the Display intranet sites in Compatibility View checkbox.
- Click Close.
Storage Space
The storage space in Zoho CRM is divided into two categories: Data and File for a clearer representation. These categories are further classified into Storage and Usage details.
Data storage: is the total space occupied by the records in the standard and custom module, which is inclusive of the notes that are added to the records. It also includes the space occupied by the data in your recycle bin.
File storage: includes the space occupied by the images, attachments (records and email), email templates, and documents associated with a record. Under file storage, you can see the feature-wise storage break-up, for example mail-merge and documents. This storage also includes the space occupied by data and files present in the recycle bin.
Check feature availability to know more about default storage space for each edition. Also, read more about purchasing additional storage space.
Mobile Apps
The Zoho CRM mobile app allows you to take your CRM, wherever you go. It gives you the same access to the data that you have on your desktop, but organized to help you finish your tasks on the go. The mobile experience offers a clean user interface, optimized for easy access of data that you need. The app allows you to work offline, so you can access records that are stored locally, and add, modify, and delete records. When you reconnect with your network, any changes made offline will be automatically synchronized. See also Zoho CRM Mobile Edition
Supported Devices
The Zoho CRM app is available on Android and iOS devices, and can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store. It's also available as mobile web in supported mobile browsers.
| Operating System | Version |
| Android | 5.0 and above |
| iOS | 10.0 and above |
| Mobile web | |
| Android | Chrome (Recommended) |
| iOS | Safari (Recommended) |
Supported Modules
You can access a set of Zoho CRM modules from your device. The data they contain will be stored in a local database on your device. Supported modules differ based on the edition of CRM you are subscribed to. The following modules are supported in your device.
| Leads | Contacts | Accounts | Deals | Tasks |
| Meetings | Calls | Products | Cases | Solutions |
| Vendors | Price Books | Quotes | Sales Orders | Purchase Orders |
| Invoices | All custom modules (Max: 15 custom modules) | Dashboards | - | - |
Check out the CRM implementation guide for step-by-step process to setup your CRM account.
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