Zoho Creator: Not-so-minor enhancements – Episode #1

Posted on by
0

Zoho Creator is one of our services that is frequently updated. Some of these are major, and get all the attention they deserve, while some are not major enough to make news, but are still significant. Here are such updates to three existing features, that were specifically asked for by our community.

Options of radio button and check-box in 3-column layout

Radio button and check-box fields are meant for fields with multiple options. They worked fine, except that when having many options, they would appear as a long list. Hereafter, it can be arranged in one, two or three columns.

Image field supports uploading of images

Image fields have been able to fetch an image from a web URL. Now, in addition to that, they are capable of locating an image on your local storage devices, and uploading it.

File upload via email attachment

Adding records to Zoho Creator forms via email, now supports uploading of files too.…


Read More

Enterprise Gamification for Business, Not Just Silly Games

Posted on by
0

Gamification in the enterprise is about solving a business problem. We’re letting ourselves be gamified and as a result business operations are happily changing thanks to disruptive technologies and new business models, said Ray Wang, Principal Analyst and CEO for Constellation Research, in his presentation, “Demystifying Enterprise Gamification” at the CRM Evolution 2012 conference in New York City.

Gamification in the office looks at the how, when, where, and why of work. We have lots of other motivations outside of money, said Wang. If you can tap into these other motivations, you can change behavior.

Goal of any gamification effort is to create an intention-driven economy where those that initiate the game know what you would want from an initial decision. Gamification becomes a series of processes to create incentives to change behaviors and outcomes.…


Read More

Customer Spotlight: Accounting Knowledge Not A Must For Zoho Books

Posted on by
0

College coursework is often deficient in giving 360 degree industry perspective to graduates who are ready and eager to join the corporate world. OysterConnect.com was founded to bridge that gap. OysterConnect.com is a technology platform, which connects seasoned industry veterans and educational institutes. Through mentorship, workshops, projects etc., these industry professionals are able to connect to the students and enrich their coursework by giving the much needed industry exposure.

A week ago, I was chatting with Pragya Sharma, Assistant Manager – HR (OysterConnect.com), where she shared her experience on managing the financial aspects of running the business. HR manager managing finance! Surprised right? When the company is young with very few employees, individuals invariably don multiple hats. Pragya didn’t like the idea of being chained to her desktop to know the financial health of the business.…


Read More

CRM is Not Just in Your CRM Application, It’s Everywhere

Posted on by
0

CRM doesn’t reside solely in your CRM application. It’s actually global with service participants being anyone that you can connect with online, not just official customer service representatives at a call center, explained Jesús Hoyos, Principal of CRM in Latin America, in our conversation at the CRM Evolution 2012 conference in New York City.

We’re undergoing a global impact of CRM where we’re not beholden to a specific call center to get an answer. Instead you can reach out to your neighbor who is someone on YouTube, on Twitter, on Facebook. Companies that have bad service but a good product can’t hide anymore, said Hoyos.

Hoyos relayed two personal stories. One of circumventing an auto dealership to save himself $600 from a defect in his Jeep Commander and another story of fixing a glitch for free on his Samsung TV.…


Read More

Small Business Tax Deductions – It’s All About Expenses

Posted on by
0

There are many things that you can deduct for your small business, but how can you make sure the government will see things the way you do? You might have a list of many business deductions, but making sure they are legit and easy to track is the bigger battle. Setting up deductions as expenses and keeping business expenses separate from personal expenses is the essential first step.

Pay for business expenses from a business bank account, credit card or PayPal.

Many small business owners are able to grow their business quickly, but organize their expenses and look for deductions toward the end of the year. To avoid end of the year angst, it is much easier to use a separate credit card and/or bank account to pay for your business expenses as opposed to constantly reimbursing yourself on the fly.

Keeping things separate will make business expenses easily identifiable when tax time comes.…


Read More

Stay Customer-Centric from CRM through Support

Posted on by
1

Each business is different in its own way. Likewise, each customer is different in his/her own way. A single all-encompassing customer support approach might not really hold good in real life. That’s one of the trickiest things in managing a customer support helpdesk.

There’s the customer who gives you so much of revenue directly. Then, there’s the customer who refers so many new customers to you. There’s also the customer who needs a little more help from your side. Oh, and there are many more kinds as well. How do you keep an eye on each of them and serve them differently, every single time?

We’ve finally solved that puzzle. Or, so we think. Zoho Support now has the next level of customization in workflows. You can create request-driven workflows for specific accounts or contacts imported from Zoho Support into Zoho CRM.

So, if Bob is your high-net-worth client, his request gets handled in a certain way.…


Read More

Tackling Traditional and Social CRM Integration

Posted on by
0

Not being able to lock down the customer profile is the reason so many companies have a difficult time with CRM integration, said Barton Goldenberg, President of ISM, during a presentation on preparing and launching a social CRM strategy at the CRM Evolution 2012 conference in New York City.

Typically, a CRM system consists of customer profiles filled with product information, service information, and outstanding financial information. That data alone gives you an idea who your customer is and what opportunities exist. The problem, said Goldenberg, is that many companies who are building CRM or have a CRM haven’t mastered the customer profile process, which perpetually asks questions such as:

“What information should I gather from which systems?”

“How do I pull it all together?”

“How do I keep it up to date?”

“How do I make sure my sales, my marketing, and my customer service use the profile to identify opportunities to identify, to cross sell, and to up sell?”

Many companies haven’t mastered the customer profile process right from within their CRM system, said Goldenberg.…


Read More