Back in 2011, to help our customers focus more on selling and less CRMing, we started offering integration with LinkedIn along with various other important features. Our users quickly embraced the integration with leads and contacts modules and it became one of the popular features in Zoho CRM.
Fast forward to today, we are unhappy to announce the discontinuation of the LinkedIn integration with Zoho CRM immediately. The latest changes in LinkedIn’s Developer API agreement do not allow us to offer this integration to customers any more without strategic partnership. In the past few months, we have been trying our best to convince the team at LinkedIn but we have been unsuccessful. Recently, we received this notice from the LinkedIn API review team:
LinkedIn prioritizes whom we partner with based on strategic alignment, size of opportunity, and current needs. At this time we do not believe your product would add enough sufficient value beyond our existing products to warrant a partnership. However, given the dynamic nature of our industry, we are continuously evaluating our partnership criteria and potential partners.
At this point, LinkedIn has made a conscious choice to restrict their CRM partners to just two companies. We obviously think that is a bad idea, and we don’t understand how it is in their own interest to adopt this approach. However, we hope they would reconsider this decision. Until then, we have no choice but to discontinue this feature. We are sorry that it has come to this stage.
We will continue to explore the possibilities of strengthening our integration with social platforms, like Facebook, Twitter and others.
Thank you for your support!
– Gopal
Hi Gopal Do you have any update now that LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft ? Do you discuss with them ?
Hi Gopal With the situation now confirmed about Microsoft owning Linked In, is there a renewed opportunity For them to change their position on integration with CRM Policy? After all, I know they are of course CRM main players...but they do support collaboration apparently. If they decline your new request(I hope you will at least try), will they now also continue to keep the integration with Salesforce, or will they close the door on them also?? (I am not aware as yet, that they have done so?). I look forward to hearing from you. All best. Eileen Murphy. Informed Training
Guys! Come on.. It's time to move on. Should be really integrated in any way.
Why company like www.prosperworks.com have full integration with LinkedIn and they are a small CRM company. Matter a fact their integration within GMail and LinkedIn is very impressive. Perhaps it's time to revisit this issue with LinkedIn.
have just set up zoho crm and loving it. have also sent a note to linked in telling them they should update this policy. most linked in users are free users anyway, so don't understand why they wouldn't integrate regards hunter
That is terrible! Keep working on them. I want to integrate this system. shame on linkedin....
Com'on LinkedIn, turning into xerox, ibm, microsoft, salesforce ... too young a company for that behavior, short-term tactical monetization will kill long term strategic engagement and retention :-(
While LinkedIn may be wrong in removing Zoho's partnership, I see how it makes business sense. All their partners deliver great product quality and are focused on one business. You can look around on LinkedIn, and you will see the customer complaints on those LinkedIn partners are not as many as Zoho. Zoho has it's fingers in every pie and the turn around on valuable feedback-infused changes in products like CRM takes forever. On your forums, you will notice that some threads have been sitting for years about functions that are asked for by your community and time and time again, your team gets back and says "It is not done. It is on our roadmap, but I will forward this to my team for further analysis." Again, it sucks that LinkedIn did that - but their partners are the best in their respective games. Zoho isn't. How could it? It is trying to be everywhere.
Gopal, good move on your part and follow the great suggestions like providing a linked in profile field and integrating with FB and Google +. Very silly and petty of Linked in to discontinue a link that is already set up. I can understand if they decided to not ad any more but to discontinue something already set up is very very negative.
I aim to plan a Zoho pro. package and, honestly what I see from this: Linkedin chose Salesforce, not Zoho since of profitable potentials (could be terms & conditions among partners and competitors)... G+ alternatives could be cool I think ;)
My previous relation with linkedin and my understanding about them, they have always been into favouritism and a lot of politics. The team there is not bothered about the company they work with, rather their personal gains. I know they are consolidating their partners, but they are keen to keep only those partners who have personal relations with them...
this is good, now we know that Linkedin are leveraging their position to make money. Can't blame them. But this is opportunity for anyone who want to get into their niche and compete againsnt them. They have a good head start though.
Any chance you could add a generic button where the LinkedIn Button was where ZOHO CRM users could add any link they want...? :)
From my knowledge, Zoho is a Google partner (if not created by Google), so do you really think that this was a "1-sided" decision? ... Zoho will now take advantage and over-promote Google+.. If you really want to see that person's face, add their FB profile, you can see whatever you need. Someone said above "create a field named" LinkedIn profile"" - I totally agree. I click the link, it takes me to their page and that is it.. I don't really care for any other information about the person. I would not understand why this would make most of you "switch" to a different provider (when only Dynamics and SalesForce are available - much more expensive) just for the fact that you don't have an "in" button ... There are always two sides to every story.. if you search on LinkedIn about Zoho, you barely have any information about this situation, as Zoho seems to be only the crumb from the whole pie ..
Dear Gopal I was impressed at your handling of this situation, I have been using this product for a long time now, I suspect that Linkedin have missed a trick here. They have based the decision on commercial values only and I suspect your growth will out perform all competitors and in time it will be Linkedin who will get the boomerang message. "At this time we do not believe your product would add enough sufficient value beyond our existing products to warrant a partnership" Good luck your doing a great job. Regards sean
As headhunters we use Linkedin continuously. They recently contacted us to offer us their recruitment services upgrade and the cost was abhorrent and certainly not affordable for a small business. They missed a few tricks when Linkedin was set up and they are now going all out to make as much money as they possibly can. This is a really poor decision.
Well, Zoho got Linked-Out... that's what happens when you prioritizes money over customer satisfaction. Bad move for LinkedIn.
In brief: What jerks, and a poor business move on the part of LinkedIn. I urge people to go to the LinkedIn group page http://lnkd.in/bjTbPpj to complain and join the Twitter campaign. It's clearly possibly to create a Custom URL Field (named LinkedIn Profile) to work around this - I'd personally be interested if there are other solutions.
I am not happy about this. Zoho should pay the fee and LinkedIn should allow this to happen. I will cancel my premium membership to LinkedIn. I hope Zoho will also reduce my monthly fee. Thank you
I would like to know how much are Microsoft and Salesforce paying LinkedIn for the "Exclusive".
You may say I am being guilty of semantics but Zoho is NOT dropping LinkedIn...LinkedIn is Dropping Zoho. I am big fan of both companies but if there is any 'negative vibe' I don't see it coming from Zoho.
This is a shame and what looks like a strategic move by LinkedIn to support a small number of CRM options. Google+ usage is growing significantly from our experience. I would recommend making your own move and provide a very good integration with Google+ - as this would give you an advantage over other CRM providers. Stephen
Lets promote our own Social Media! Zoho Connect can certainly do good in the business environment, provide all CRM providers with Zoho Connect API and we should see the popularity of Zoho Connect grow exponentially... and who knows maybe become more popular than
Tough break but this seems to be the way LinkedIn operate. They are equally disengaged / slow off the mark with Mozilla's Open Badges programme.
That is a real shame but I really appreciate your professional handling of the situation and honesty.
Such a shame & in my opinion bad choice on LinkedIn's part but also agree with a few other comments on here - keep up Zoho or you'll sadly lose out! CRMs & sales platforms are developing all the time. As a small business I need something which does everything in one place. You do a lot of this really well but then there's just a few niggles which need sorting or people will walk....
The attitude of LinkedIn says more about LinkedIn than about Zoho. Please consider to move forward with Google+ as social media connection.
Surely poor grammar by LinkedIn?: "LinkedIn prioritizes whom we partner with...." Should be "...with whom we partner...." I would have thought?!
Me parece que el valor de LinkedIn es la información profesional de todos nosotros, que con gusto le hemos brindado a cambio de los beneficios de hacer networking y conseguir contactos que de otra manera sería difícil conseguir. Con este movimiento, creo, en mi humilde opinión, que LinkedIn manda el mensaje de que no solo es dueño de tu información, sino que además hará lo que le convenga hacer sin importar que opinamos al respecto, y es en esto en lo que no estoy de acuerdo, porque si LinkedIn esta tan valorado como lo esta ahora no es por las grandes inversiones de Don Valentino, más bien es por millones de usuarios que han depositado su confianza en ellos entregando, actualizando y manteniendo sus datos profesionales para servir a sus propósitos comerciales a cambio de unos cuantos beneficios. Estas nuevas póliticas de LinkedIn los tomo como el pretexto para decir que ya no estoy de acuerdo en que se utilicen mis datos profesionales y personales, para su enriquecimiento, crecimiento monopólico y propósitos comerciales. Goodby LinkedIn ..... unpluged
It's time to integrate Google +
Never used it. I haven't figured out a way to benefit from any of the social networking in my business.
If you want to bring in your LI contacts, I know of a great tool that does so. Costs a couple of hundred US, but well worth it. Excellent support and they will customize if you want add'l fields. I just export my LI names and import them into Zoho as leads. Works great! Email me at dwhitephp@gmail.com if you want more information.
Personally I think you should reword the title "We're discontinuing.." with "Unfortunately Linked in have given us no choice but to remove the integration..." I and I am sure many others are massively disappointed in Linked ins attitude about why they have stopped the facility for all CRM other than Salesforce and MD to integrate their CRM with Linked in. Perhaps we could demonstrate power by numbers by letting Linked In know how we feel and encourage them to make the right decisiion in opening the api to not just Zoho but many other clients of other CRM it affects. MESSAGE ALREADY POSTED ON LINKED IN AND TWITTER - PLEASE RECONSIDER AS COLLABORATION CAN ONLY BE OF BENEFIT TO ALL. WHY HAVE YOU (linked in) CHOSEN TO KEEP THE INTEGRATION WITH JUST 2 PROVIDERS. Is there a hidden agenda here? Why would you want to upset all other CRM users who endorse Linked in. I have posted my concern already on Linked in Zoho user group and this has been followed up by Lucy Beck @i-dynamics. Please publice and voice your opinion where ever you can and that includes Zoho as well a their users.
Well you can kiss me goodbye then ZOHO. If you think your CRM is more important to me thank Linked-In, you are very flawed. Your CRM has lagged for the last 2 years in ALL aspects. Especially Outlook Syncing, and some common sense things like only limiting Custom Fields to 10 or 15.
I've used both SalesForce and MS Dynamics in the past. I use Zoho CRM because it's a better tool for the businesses I run. LinkedIn's decision will in no way effect my CRM choice. I will continue to buy services from both Zoho and LinkedIn.
its about sharing information. everyone stop doing business w linkedin and see what happens. once the favors stop, theyll be begging to come back.
Yes, this is sad news. This is a sad trend throughout the industry. Hopefully the Zoho community can raise enough noise so the LinkedIn's of the world can hear the voice of need.
Disappointed in LinkedIn's move to limit there CRM partners. I've been using Zoho for the past few months, and had previously used Salesforce. I'm overall happy with the choice to use Zoho and was very much looking forward to the LinkedIn integration. This is a short sighted decision by LinkedIn and a disturbing one. We'll stick with Zoho and see if we can accomplish our goals via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and limit our LinkedIn activity moving forward. Keep up the good work team Zoho!
Does ZohoCRM partner with Gov't Agencies such as the NSA, HOMELAND SECURITY, CIA Well I bet my bottom dollar the only two CRMs sharing their data is the two they have partnered with. LinkedIn, LinkedIn Shares this data with the information agencies mentioned above, at will. They post the statistics. LinkedIn gets a big fat check for it.
I was excited to have this as an option and hope this changes in the future. It is a very poor decision by linkdin to limit the people who use their social site this way.
I am really disappointed in LinkedIn shame on them. The integration was a really cool feature and allowed for cross platform use. We have used Zoho for over a year and find it to be a tremendously useful CRM service with great support. Are reporting processes are better than they have ever been and we have only tapped Zoho's potential. I suggest you share these posts with LinkedIn's API team they need to wake up!
habilitar linkedin
It's too bad that they have decided not to include Zoho. I guess the easiest thing to say is that I am disappointed in them for not working with Zoho. To bad. It was nice to have the integration.
Linkedin is kind of a joke anyway. We've tried to use it and have found it to be a waste of time. People connect for the sake of connecting. There really is no point to it so I couldn't be happier that its gone!
No problem; I recommend Google Plus.
A pity, but it indeed only shows how LinkedIn is working towards a monopolistic and propietory cloud. However, this only encourages me to write to you what I always wanted to write: Why don't you build an integration with Xing. I agree that this not really relevant for users outside the German speaking markets, but within these, it is much more popular and hence relevant than LinkedIn. We are speaking about 100M+ users... Cheers, Martin
I didn't even know the integration was possible in the past. I wish I did....I would have used this feature non-stop. Very unhappy to find this out so late, and unhappy now that I know.....It's Gone.
LinkedIn really does not care about what users think --- read this LinkedIn Polls in Groups - No Longer Supported What is happening to the polls feature? Last Reviewed: 04/14/2014 Report Answer Inaccuracies At LinkedIn, we aim to provide a simple and efficient experience for our members. To do this, we're continuously evaluating how our current products and features are used, and seeking new ways to focus our resources on building the best products. This sometimes results in the retirement of certain features. LinkedIn Polls in Groups will be retired on May 15, 2014. You can continue to engage with fellow members by posting a question to get the group's response or sharing an update or participating in conversations directly on the LinkedIn homepage.
this is bad and we should sign on this discussion as a petition.
Is this not just a consequence of LinkedIn's public share offerings? LI should be acting in the best interests of their shareholders. LI's strategy to maximise shareholder wealth seems to be to maximise revenue in the short term by keeping only two partners, perhaps missing opportunities by not taking a more broad market approach. I would be interested to hear from others on this.
LinkedIn is so pivotal to what I do that this is a major blow. I won't be migrating though as I've only just started using Zoho and like the ease of use. LinkedIn; bad move guys, protectionism at it's commercially selfish worse.
Bad decision from Linkedin. I think that as many Zoho users as possible, should sign on this discussion as a petition. Maybe mass of people saying that it is a bad idea can convince Linkedin to change their mind.http://lnkd.in/bjTbPpj
Is the a way to setup a custom link to search for linkedin profles. Like the twitter example?
Never heard of Microsoft Dynamics and I LEFT Salesforce for Zoho because in my opinion Zoho is better; less complex and easier to use...
This is a very bad move by LinkedIn and it shows how monopolistic they are.
What a limited view by LinkedIn. Like every business uses those two CRM systems....
Very disappointing. Is there a forum whereby users can express dismay to Linkedin?
Hello Nick, Please share your feedback here. Or you can also up-vote in our LinkedIn group: http://lnkd.in/bjTbPpj Gopal