Zoho CRM Experience

Zoho CRM Experience

If you type “CRM tool” into the search engine of your choice, you’ll see that the list of results will be endless. If there is one thing you need to know: CRM systems are a dime a dozen on the market. If you explore the ratings and functions, you are guaranteed to stumble across a tool: Zoho CRM. So why does it stand out as a “newcomer” in the CRM world? As an official Zoho partner, we can explain this to you in detail. In this blog article, we would like to introduce you to Zoho CRM in more detail and share our experiences with the software to take some of the legwork out of your research!

About Zoho CRM

As soon as you decide on a CRM for your company, or more precisely for your sales department, you should know everything about the tool of your choice. After all, this is where your customer relationships will be maintained, your leads acquired, your pipeline management set up, customer data stored and dedicated automations written. A CRM solution that works for everyone is essential for the success of your company. That’s why we don’t want to waste any time telling you everything you need to know about Zoho CRM!

What is Zoho CRM?

This is the fundamental question that needs to be answered first: Zoho CRM is a cloud-based business management platform for companies of all sizes. In addition to helpdesk, analysis and customer support functions, it offers extensive sales and marketing automation tools. In short: It provides the teams in your company with the right tools for maintaining customer relationships. What’s more, thanks to its wide-ranging functions, the CRM enables you to respond to your customers in real time via all channels and forms a comprehensive customer relationship management solution. One example: You can connect Zoho CRM to your website and integrate a contact form. As soon as a customer submits an inquiry, their contact details end up in your Zoho CRM – a lead is won and ready to be converted into a customer by your team. This is exactly where the CRM system supports you.

What does Zoho CRM cost?

If you look at the prices of the other rival systems, you will see that Zoho CRM is one thing above all – affordable. The software is available in four different price packages: Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, which range in price from €14 to €52 per profile per month. Which package you buy depends on the size of your team and your need for functions. A little tip… with the annual billing method, you can save a little more money!

Can Zoho also be used free of charge?

One of Zoho‘s strongest USPs is the fact that it offers a free trial version as well as a free package. You can use this for up to 3 different users and benefit from a wide range of basic functions that cover your day-to-day work requirements. A perfect solution to get a feel for it! Ideal for small companies and especially for start-ups!

Is Zoho GDPR compliant?

Zoho and GDPR are a strong unit that you can rely on one hundred percent. The software stores sensitive data and provides many features for data security. We can therefore assure you that the system is fully equipped to comply with the GDPR.
First and foremost through the sole collection of data via double opt-in. By obtaining the customer’s consent twice, Zoho ensures that your storage of customer data and the data agreement has taken place in accordance with a consent form. The only important thing is that you conclude a corresponding data processing agreement with Zoho so that you are on the safe side!
Once you have saved the data in the system, the comprehensive encryption at rest (EAR) also ensures security: Zoho CRM uses one of the strongest and most robust ciphers to encrypt sensitive data: the Advanced Encryption Standard, or AES for short. With the AES-256 encryption standard, the system stores your data securely and guarantees the anonymity of your customer information in the event of a data leak.

Who is behind Zoho CRM?

The title says it all: Zoho CRM is one of the powerful tools from Zoho Corporation, a multinational technology company focused on creating web-based business tools.

Where is Zoho come from?

Zoho‘s story began in 1996 when the company was founded in India, where its headquarters are still located today. In Chennai, numerous company headquarters around the world, such as the corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, California, communicate with each other – today Zoho is one of the largest software companies, trusted by companies such as Amazon, VW and Phillips.

Is Zoho CRM considered reputable?

Zoho‘s reliability has been beyond question for a long time. On portals such as Trustpilot, the system enjoys an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. If that doesn’t impress you, then trust the numbers! Zoho counts around 100 million users in more than 150 countries among its customers and, as a multiple award winner, can rightly define itself as one of the most powerful CRM tools.

What other products are available from Zoho?

Tell us which areas of your business you want to digitize and Zoho has a solution for everything. The software’s portfolio includes more than 40 applications that are tailored to the company’s needs. Everything from the in-house mail program Zoho Mail to the webinar application Zoho Meeting and the event management tool Zoho Backstage. In the area of marketing, Zoho Social, Zoho Campaigns and Zoho Marketing Automation cover targeted campaigns and social media marketing. In Zoho Projects, the project management tool, you can plan your projects efficiently across teams. When it comes to inventory management, Zoho Inventory is a comprehensive application for inventory management and Zoho Books is the digital solution for your bookkeeping. You can also connect your HR department to your digital transformation with Zoho People for your human resources and Zoho Recruit for your recruiting.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the company

Adjectives such as “powerful” are often used – including by us – in connection with CRM tools. Why is this? Because the meaning of CRM, i.e. Customer Relationship Management, fits precisely into this description.
Customer relationship management is what any company uses to keep in touch with its customers. Or, as business economists aptly summarize it, the strategic design of a company’s relationships and interactions with existing and potential customers. A CRM supports your work in staying in contact with customers, optimizing processes and increasing the profitability of your company.
And it can implement this in different variations. As a technological solution, i.e. as a CRM system, as a strategy in relation to your customers or as a fully comprehensive process, such as a system or tool that you introduce for your customer care.

Functions of CRM software

Initially, a CRM tool was used to store customer data and was therefore a kind of digital order book. The CRM software has long since evolved beyond this function and stores contact information across all channels, whether via the website, email, telephone or social media. And not only that! Thanks to this information, the system simultaneously records the customer’s personal preferences and activities and can sketch a 360-degree overall view using all the information. This means you don’t miss anything, and you know exactly when, where and how to target your customers.
As you can see, CRM is fundamentally important for intensifying your relationships with customers, partners and suppliers. After all, it’s much more than just information that the system provides, it always gives your sales and marketing teams an up-to-date status of each customer. For example, you can see the status of the request and derive corresponding to-dos. Or you can have them derived from an integrated and fully automated workflow management system, which you can design for each step in your sales strategy.
Thanks to the overview of all detailed information and to-dos, marketing in particular gains important input about the customer journey from lead generation to sales. Social media integration allows you to understand your customers’ behavior and tailor your strategy accordingly.
Your customer service team will also be thankful for the CRM tool: With the construct of a common platform, it is easy to track interactions in order to provide the customer with the best possible assistance.
Furthermore, an insight into performance, from customer service to revenue, not only helps the management, but also the HR team, who can track and adequately evaluate employee performance.

Which companies use CRM?

The CRM is the basis for any economic activity – so you can be sure that all companies of any size use a CRM. Especially in view of the fact that customer loyalty and lead generation are becoming increasingly important.

What are the advantages of CRM systems?

The R in CRM stands for “relationship” and that is the goal for every CRM system. The relationship should build bridges between what is on offer and the customer’s needs. Think about your day-to-day life: Where do you prefer to shop, who do you use for certain services? Right – where you feel you are in the best hands. An equation that has been a constant for centuries: The better the customer relationships, the higher the satisfaction and ultimately the better your turnover.
As we have already explained above, the CRM system is your digital assistant and offers a number of advantages:

Optimal customer knowledge

Do you remember the definition of the 360-degree overall view of your customer? There is no better way to define the functional scope of a CRM tool. You receive all the necessary customer information, which you can of course add to continuously after each call or personal conversation. In CRM, these are saved individually in the digital customer file, everything from inquiries and orders to invoices.

Dedicated segmentation

With this system, you know almost everything about your customers and can therefore segment them optimally into different target groups. You can divide data into categories and criteria and plan and implement your marketing campaigns in a targeted manner, be it in the form of offers or measures.

Stronger customer loyalty

Workflow management is one of the most important functions that strengthen your customer loyalty. The automation associated with this means you won’t miss any appointments or follow-up to-dos, so you can stay in regular contact with your customers.

Foresight of the customer’s needs

Using the customer file, you also know the customer’s purchase history and can send new offers with individual purchase incentives at regular intervals.

Comprehensive and fast communication

In dialog with your customers, the CRM system also reveals the scope of the assistant job so that you don’t have to keep your customers waiting for long when they have questions. The software makes it easy to create email templates, documents and offers and also to plan the dispatch. To top it all off, you can collect your customers’ questions and create an FAQ.

Comparison with other CRM systems

A packed market, a varying range of functions and countless price options – we know that finding the right CRM is not difficult, but making the right choice for your company is a supreme discipline. That’s why we’ve put together a few pointers to help you make your decision!

The right compatibility

Whether you are a start-up or a multinational – this question is not insignificant when it comes to choosing the right CRM tool. Therefore, the first step is to know whether the CRM is suitable for the size of your company or whether it can be adapted accordingly. If you opt for a software that does not meet the business requirements on the desired scale, you might as well start your search all over again.

Local or cloud-based

In some manageme nt levels and IT departments, opinions differ on the CRM software environment. Some want an on-premise solution, i.e. local hardware, while others want a cloud solution. Or perhaps a hybrid solution after all? This needs to be clarified, because it is only on the basis of these decisions that you can select the most suitable system.

Range of functions vs demand

Before you start your research, define in your team which needs and processes the CRM should cover. This makes it easier for you to explore the offers. If, for example, a system is not able to cover certain aspects of your goals, you can cross it off your list straight away.

Budget

Perhaps you’re smiling at this point and thinking “Of course I’m primarily thinking about the budget!”. But when planning your budget, consider not only the costs incurred for licenses or usage, but also for setting up and implementing your CRM. These can vary greatly from provider to provider.

Employee training

Speaking of implementation… when outlining your project plan, you should also think about your employees who need to be trained in CRM. It can therefore be essential to determine whether training and consulting is included in the software provider’s range of services.

Which is the best CRM system?

If you throw this question out into the IT world, you can be sure that a large number of companies will shout “ME, ME, ME!”. Of course, we know that every software has advantages and disadvantages when you compare them, but these have to be weighed up, because acquiring new customers can be five times more expensive than maintaining existing customers. That’s why you’re looking for the most professional CRM on the market.
Always bear in mind that there are certain basic requirements that every CRM must fulfill, regardless of its price-performance ratio.
The main focus is on the centralization of information and shared access to customer data, ideally according to a role construct. Alongside this, the function of structuring information and sales processes is a must-have. This forms the basis for sales management and customer relationship reporting, on which your sales department then builds. This is enhanced by the optimization of the sales campaign, which allows for increased responsiveness. Through the automation of workflows and to-dos, saving time in daily business is also essential in this cycle.

Experience: HubSpot CRM compared to Zoho CRM

We have already presented one of the most popular CRM systems in more detail above: Zoho CRM. But of course, a comparison with one of the strongest competitors, HubSpot CRM, also makes sense here. Both systems offer many features and tools and at first glance their strengths are on a par. In this section, we therefore examine the differences between the two systems, something that should not be ignored.
What HubSpot CRM and Zoho CRM have in common is that they are both cloud-based solutions. And, of course, the fact that both pieces of software have been designed for managing customer relationships. But while HubSpot CRM focuses on applications for marketing, sales and customer support, the Zoho CRM horizon is one step further and offers additional tools for analytics and product configurations.
An advantage that is reflected in the price-performance ratio: In comparison, both systems offer a free version and various packages, with Zoho CRM setting its prices slightly higher than HubSpot.
If you take a closer look at the functions, you will find that it is worth paying the small surcharge for Zoho CRM, as it offers far more features than HubSpot.
Zoho CRM enables the creation of a personalized customer journey as well as a detailed analysis of each process step in this journey. In terms of workflow management, the software offers more options in the form of blueprints and AI-supported optimization suggestions for more efficient processes.
With the help of the huge database, Zoho CRM also gives you the ability to create e-catalogs and work with various partners, whether internal or external, via one platform.
You can also comprehensively evaluate your daily work at any time by accessing the standard report templates or customized reports from the system.
Assistance wherever you go and wherever you need it – whereas with HubSpot you have to purchase expensive add-ons or APIs, Zoho CRM‘s range of functions provides everything you need and is also structured intuitively.

Zoho CRM vs. other CRM products: Advantages and disadvantages

In the battle for the CRM crown, it’s not just HubSpot CRM that could rival Zoho CRM. And they all offer their individual advantages and are certainly equal to Zoho CRM alternatives: Bistrix24, for example, offers a high degree of flexibility and user-friendliness. CentralStation CRM is rated by the competition as streamlined and ideal for the needs of small and medium-sized companies with flat hierarchies, with the simplified task management being particularly emphasized.
Insighting, on the other hand, is aimed at smaller organizations, freelancers and the self-employed and is considered a luminary in the field of high-performance marketing campaigns. Pipedrive is, as the name suggests, a classic for pipeline management and the activity history provides an overview of every single step.
What sets Zoho CRM apart from all its competitors is the holistic nature of its services: Zoho CRM does not just focus on one area of specialization but bundles its expertise to map all facets of CRM in one digital application.

Different versions of Zoho CRM

The flexibility of the subscription functions is one of Zoho‘s greatest assets. As described at the beginning, Zoho permits free use for up to 3 users, which enables smaller and younger companies in particular to get the best possible start with CRM. The other price packages Standard, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate have a price range of €14 to €52 per month per user. It is worth carefully studying the various functionalities and weighing them up for your use. In the end, nothing helps you better to decide on the most suitable edition.

Zoho CRM offers these functions

We have already told you quite a bit about what the Zoho CRM can do. Information, information and more information bombard you in such reports, which is why we would like to shorten things here and simply list the functions that Zoho CRM offers you:

• Central management and linking of data, processes and communication
• Storage and evaluation of leads for customer acquisition in sales management
• Multi-channel customer communication
• Sales forecast
• Process management with workflows and blueprints
• Marketing automation
• Certified safety functions
• Mobile app
• Process and data analysis
• Service administration

But that’s not all: Behind all these major points there are many more dedicated features, such as support or live chat, which are included in the ratings of the CRM software. Zoho CRM supports you in all aspects when it comes to optimizing your processes and achieving success with your customer relationship management.

FAQ

How can I cancel Zoho?

Depending on your subscription, you can cancel Zoho on a monthly or yearly basis by deleting your account in Zoho CRM.

What is Zoho Forms?

Zoho Forms is Zoho‘s online form builder that can be used to design forms on the web or on mobile devices. The creation via the provider can be easily implemented using the drag & drop solution.

What is Zoho Mail?

Zoho Mail is a business email hosting service offered by Zoho Corporation. It is a cloud-based email service designed for companies according to the highest security standards in compliance with the GDPR.

Conclusion

If you talk to colleagues, not everyone will recognize Zoho immediately – the software is still considered “new” even though it has been in the world of CRM tools for 20 years. And now that you’ve learned so much about Zoho CRM, you can talk at length about its benefits! But joking aside, the functional scope of Zoho CRM alone makes it impossible to deny that the tool is an application that has been created to keep up with the times and comprehensively meet the needs of companies. And this will continue to expand thanks to the huge community behind Zoho, which is continuously developing the tool’s functions.
Are you now a convinced fan? Then give the go-ahead for your CRM process! If you have any questions, need input or are looking for a strong partner to set up Zoho CRM with you, you’ve come to the right place. As a Zoho partner, we can provide you with comprehensive advice and implement your system according to your individual requirements and configure the features to suit your needs. Contact us today and we will arrange a free introductory appointment!