THE ONE MISTAKE BUSINESSES CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO MAKE SINCE COVID-19

As we gradually return to some semblance of normalcy since Covid-19 hit our world, businesses have adopted innovative ways of ensuring health restrictions doesn’t affect daily operations. The success and profitability of businesses now seem married to how best each component of an organisation can effectively communicate.

The Pandemic has unravelled the communication gaps, raising certain questions such as;

● The usability of communication technologies that are already in the market (does these business solutions software meet business criteria and how quickly can they be implemented).

● The adaptability of human resources to these technologies (how quickly can teams function efficiently and optimally with this software).

● The scalability of these technologies to meet the medium and long term goals of the organisation (Is this technology still relevant post restrictions)?

These questions have forced business owners and teams to make uncomfortable adjustments that mitigate the impact of the restriction on communication, which is key to the sustainability of the organization.

However, business owners are quickly realizing that a quick fix is not a smart solution to these communication problems the pandemic has enunciated.

How many times have you told a client, ‘I must have missed your email’ or heard it from an employee? That is the first sign of cracks in your communication system which almost certainly leads to loss of deals for your business. In today’s marketplace, where competition is teeth-tight, little gaps in communication are significantly the difference between securing and retaining customers. Often the problem is not that a team member you suspect isn’t working hard enough, neither is the hiring and firing culture you’re about the establish the solution.

Rather than trial and error in finding the right person to inherit a dysfunctional system that isn’t designed to handle fast and flexible business communication and process, invest in finding the right system that can seamlessly.

With Zoho CRM, you can tailor your email notification so that you never have to miss important emails. The keyword here is “important emails”. The major reason why people miss emails is not that they don’t bother to check, rather it’s because there are so many emails to check now and then, and sometimes the important emails might get lost in this cluster.

Zoho CRM’s customizable email solutions give businesses and their teams' flexibility that is streamlined to ensure important business messages are no longer lost in the crowd.

With advanced criteria settings, you can define the alert level of different kinds of emails that comes and also set timely reminders if you missed it the first time. Imagine having to no longer bother about missing important emails, the flexibility it would give your workflow and the time it would save you from the monotonous hassle of constantly checking your emails.

These can also be integrated with your website. Those enquiries from your website you’re missing and hot leads that are escaping your grasp due to late replies can now become a thing of the past. You can also improve the overall customer satisfaction of your website if complaints are no longer left unread and unattended.

Sounds good to you? Talk to us so we can start implementing solutions that will directly impact the profitability and customer satisfaction of your business.

Zoho CRM Integrations Lead to Greater Business Efficiency

Integrating Zoho CRM with your other tools and platforms can create massive efficiencies within your business. Zoho CRM also has a number of its own apps and add-ons for greater success. But exactly how can Zoho CRM integrations lead to better business performance?

Firstly, what applications integrate with Zoho CRM?

Out of the CRM platforms available Zoho CRM has some of the widest integration options. You can connect Zoho CRM to Google Drive, Office 365, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Mailchimp, Shopify, Facebooks Ads, Dropbox, Gmail, WordPress, Slack and many more. Here’s a more detailed list from Zoho.

What are the benefits of Zoho CRM integrations?

1) No more platform jumping

Other than improved sales efforts and better business processes one of the main purposes of a CRM like Zoho is to bring customer and sales records, admin and marketing, all into one platform. If you don’t then integrate Zoho CRM with your other business applications, you lose a major benefit. And, if you do you can port over data and insights from these platforms. If you integrate all your social and marketing platforms and customer channels with Zoho CRM, you can view all your customer interactions and importantly, opportunities to interact, in one place.

2) One platform, Zoho CRM, means all applications will be better utilised

A Zoho CRM with integrations will show your employees all customer history and points of interaction AND it will mean integrated applications are better utilised.

Let’s take Mailchimp, perhaps it’s been a while since you used it, but seeing it there in Zoho CRM reminds you that you can use its email marketing creation functionality as well as Zoho’s.

3) Data sharing

In fact, taking the Zoho CRM and Mailchimp integration as an example. You install the Zoho MailChimp extension from Zoho Marketplace or from within the Zoho CRM, then login to your MailChimp account. The extension will then allow you to synchronise your MailChimp data with Zoho CRM and vice versa. You can then see your MailChimp data under the Zoho CRM Campaigns tab. There’s lots you can do with this extension alone, for instance Zoho CRM can be quickly setup to notify you if someone subscribes or unsubscribes via MailChimp, giving you another opportunity to interact with a customer.

4) Better analytics

Better data, from all your integrated platforms, simply means better analytics. What customer channels do you have? How many customers can you reach with each marketing option? Which clients have you not been in contact with, by any medium, for too long, and so on?

5) Zoho CRM integrations are easy

Zoho CRM was built to integrate with other applications and services so it makes it easy for most users. Some integrations need a quick setup, others the installation of an add-on. It might be a little time consuming initially but Zoho CRM is well worth the time. If you use many platforms or have a substantial amount of data, or are moving from another CRM such as Salesforce, you might want to hire a little help to make sure the transfer and Zoho CRM integration process goes smoothly.

Zoho CRM can be 80% less expensive than other platforms and offers equivalent functionality.

At CRMSocius we can help you setup your Zoho CRM integrations, show you how Zoho CRM integrations leader to greater business efficiency, help you port your data to Zoho from another platform, or quite literally conduct a full Zoho CRM implementation for you. Then you can just concentrate on the sales process with your new, streamlined, operation.

How to Get the Most Out of Zoho CRM

To get the best return on your CRM investment you need to integrate it fully within your business and sales processes and adapt it to your specific needs. A CRM is only as good as the information that’s entered and the quality of ongoing utilisation. If you’re wondering how to get the most out of Zoho CRM, read on for a few pointers…

1) Assess how Zoho CRM will be used, for what goal, and by whom

We all know that you can’t adopt a CRM, issue logins and leave it that. The first step to truly maximising the potential of a CRM for process efficiency and revenue generation is to decide how it will be used. What do you hope to gain from a Zoho CRM deployment and who will be your Zoho CRM users?

2) Ensure customer information is updated

Zoho CRM can only transform your business, connect you with your customers, and provide powerful analytics that help you to drive sales and revenue if it has a constant flow of accurate information. Entering customer information into Zoho CRM at every stage of a sales process is vital and every employee must be encouraged to do so as a basic part of their role.

3) Use Zoho CRM to automate basic tasks

Once you have your Zoho CRM goals and users down, it’s time to begin automating your business processes. This might be daunting at first and you may want to concentrate on simply using the software, but you would be wasting one of the best features of Zoho CRM. The platform can cut down administration tasks for your employees, leaving them to focus more on customers than clicking. Zoho CRM can schedule follow-ups, send emails, offer promotions and much, much, more. Zoho has hundreds of automation options leaving you to concentrate on a personal touch to convert your clients. And, your CRM vendor or consultant could help you with customising Zoho CRM, if you have a task not already available on the platform.

4) Incorporate Zoho CRM into your marketing strategy, or your marketing strategy into Zoho

CRM’s like Zoho have built in marketing features, like email campaigns, and even text messaging. It’s worth spending the time seeing what Zoho CRM can do for you, then adding this into your marketing strategy, fully integrating the platform’s functionality with your plans.

Then, ensure your marketing strategy is incorporated into Zoho. Can you align marketing campaigns digital or otherwise with Zoho CRM tasks and pipeline planning, for example?

5) Customise Zoho CRM

Not only does Zoho CRM have a massive suite of activities it can perform for you, track, and analyse, it can also be customised by a professional to your exact business needs. A Zoho CRM consultant will understand your business needs and adapt Zoho CRM to your business processes. Zoho CRM customisation is easier than you think. Workflows and native integrations can be optimised and implemented quickly, and more complex custom workflow management takes little time in the hands of an expert.

6) Train Zoho CRM users

Zoho CRM must become second nature to sales and customer facing employees and they must embrace the system and its opportunity. Employees can only do this if they are comfortable with a platform. Train Zoho CRM users to deliver the best return for you and in doing this, confident users are ever likely to come up with even more process and workflow improvements.

At CRMSocius we understand your time is limited but you need to get the most out of your Zoho CRM investment. Our consultants are available on a short-term, per hour basis, or as long-term support and as a Zoho CRM partner for all your Zoho administration, training, and implementation needs.

We take time to understand your business, show you how to get the most from Zoho CRM, implement and customise the platform for optimum results, and can perform customisations to create the perfect platform for your own operation.