Zoho CRM

Salesforce did it to Siebel, Zoho CRM is doing it to Salesforce

Shankar R — Sun, 9 Nov 2008 07:46:34 -0800

Salesforce did something similar to Siebel long before, remember?

Have a happy Dreamforce guys. Hope you see our truck. Do post your views here.

Shankar

Change Owner - UI update

Rajesh — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 04:16:32 -0700

We have updated the "Change Owner" UI. Earlier to change a owner or select a new owner, one must go through 3 stage process that spans across 3 pages. Right now, the new UI can be invoked as a pop-up and the selection can be done there itself. This reduces the time taken to complete the process, compared to earlier one.

You can send your feedback to us.

- Rajesh Sundaram

Enjoy Life - Free Mobile Wallpaper

Rajesh — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:08:03 -0700

Free Mobile Wallpaper for Zoho fans! :-)

Tiny URL : http://tinyurl.com/3pxtue

- Rajesh

Shopping? - Pay by Cash, Avoid cards

Rajesh — Tue, 7 Oct 2008 00:44:46 -0700

Why should Zoho CRM blogs always talk about CRM? It is always good to have one or two off-topic posts isn't it? :-)

Shopping? - Pay by Cash, Avoid Cards
Last evening I was in our neighborhood grocery store to do some shopping. My list of items-to-purchase was not more than 7. But when I reached the billing counter, my basket was full and the total of items counted to 22! The bill amount was Rs.1176 (USD 26). If I stick to my original list of 7 items it would have not cost more than Rs.500 (USD1 11). On my way back to home, I was thinking about - what made me pick up 15 items more which were not in the list? The reason is - Cards. Having a card gives a push/temptation to purchase more, though you don't have a necessity. And super markets are very tempting, and they make people to buy more and more.

The best way to avoid this extra purchase and keep shopping habit under control is to pay by cash, and avoid using cards. Having cash in hand puts a psychological restraint and helps in purchasing only what we need with the cash in hand.

Coincidentally, today I read a similar article in consumerist.com which describes how one of their reader paid off her debt. One of the trick she used is - Paying in cash. I strongly believe that, it is an effective way to restrain yourself from purchasing more.

:-) Happy shopping.

- Rajesh

Zoho CRM - Inventory Management Crash Course

Gopal — Fri, 3 Oct 2008 16:00:00 -0700

Hello!

The idea is to showcase the Inventory Management of Zoho CRM in simple, lucid manner. This crash course assumes that the person has played with Zoho CRM and would like the gist to be given to him.

Let me know how you feel and if you would like more docs this way and yes, do mention which ones you want as a priority. Jambav needs to rest well before he works ;-)!

New! - Navigate to other Records in Zoho CRM

Rajesh — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 05:04:03 -0700

A new feature which helps to navigate to previous records has been introduced. This feature allows you to move to and fro, while viewing the details of a Lead, Contact, Potential etc.

Based on the feedback, we are planning to improve this feature.

- Rajesh Sundaram

Using 3D software to create Icons

Rajesh — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 04:54:24 -0700

Sometimes, I find using 3D software helps me to create good quality icons. Last week,we were in need of professional icons to use in some internal documents. So I tried my hands on with Truespace v3 and Photoshop combo. Well, the combo proved good. 2 such icons are shown below.

- Rajesh Sundaram

Small Companies Gain by using ZohoCRM

Gopal — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:07:33 -0700

ZohoCRM is perfect for small companies since they do not have to invest a great deal of money upfront. They can tryout ZohoCRM free for 3 users as long as they want to and in the process, figure out what all they need to track and how they can gain by it. This approach of using the product live and seeing how it impacts business live gives a lot of flexibility to the small biz owners.

Since there is no upfront fee-commitment, it gives a whole lot more flexibility to the business.

It also gives one a proper perspective as to what the person is venturing into and what all are available in a biz-handling tool like ZohoCRM.

Once the basics are firm and growth happens, the users can start buying up more seats. Again, the advantage is that you are not tied to a mode-of-payment. You can pay annually. So if your business is going good and you want more folks to use it then just buy whatever seats are required. In bad times, if you have to let go of people, then you just delete their accounts and pay only for what you have. This flexibility gives businesses a wide range of options to handle their finances.

In fact, to get a business up may be difficult but to control it or shape it is just a click away!

Ross Dawson has a good article here :-
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/Premium-Articles/EntrepreneurOnline/20080225-Web-20-ross-dawson-future.html

Hosted CRM vs On-Premise CRM

Gopal — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:07:01 -0700

What is the difference between Hosted CRM and On-Premise CRM?

The difference is the something similar to using a payphone vs using a cellphone. You do not own the Payphone, someone else owns it, you pay to the phone company or the person manning the payphone booth based on how long you talk.
While with the cellphone, you own the cellphone. You could have paid for it one-time and have had a buyout and you are free to use it unlimitedly. You possess it physically on you or in your office.

You get the drift??

Hosted CRM is hosted by someone else. You use the system and pay per use generally eg. Zoho CRM is hosted CRM. ZohoCRM cannot be installed in your office or home. You have to signup to ZohoCRM online and use your login to access it and use it.

On-Premise = At your premises, at your home. On-Premise means you can have the software installed at your place of choice. You generally make a buyout of the software. These are generally called as Applications. This is what most of the world is used to. Install the software in your system and use it when you want to locally eg your operating system Windows XP.

Nowadays, you will hear mostly about Hosted, Web2.0, On-Demand CRM. That is because CRM software has been hosted somewhere and is being given to the users as an online-service. This has huge business impacts, namely :-

No upfront costs resulting in flexible finance and biz options. You can collaborate with upto 3 users free!
No Data Lockup ( You are not tied to the system for life!!)
No need to use any hardware. Just connect through the internet using your login and password.
No maintenance headaches (for you. Plenty for us ;-)! ). ZohoCRM staff takes care of that. You just have to login and play ball.
Freedom of payment-methodology - you can pay monthly or yearly.
No installation charges.
Just Sign Up Online and Rock!

Now ain't that cool??!

Who needs CRM ?

Gopal — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:05:58 -0700

Who needs CRM?

Picture this scenario :-

Adam Baxter has setup a bakery shop. He is the only guy manning it.
He specializes in making bread.

He has started getting customers in his neighbourhood who come regularly and buy from his shop. Adam knows them all by face, after all it is a small neighbourhood.

News of Adam's Special Bread spreads and enquiries start pouring in. Adam diligently starts taking notes in his small paper-notebook. He has attended a few seminars and has taken notes too. He has also met some potential investors who would like to fund him to so that he can expand his business. He was asked to make some business plans and come and discuss with them sometime in the coming month.

Suddenly one day, his notebook is missing and he does not know what to do. In the midst of the panic, a potential customer - now what was his name - is on the phone enquiring about the delivery that he had commited to for the coming day. And that is not all, there is also some big expansion plans that he had noted down in the notebook to discuss with the potential investors- now what were their names, they were 6 of them. All are lost. Where is the damn notebook???!!!

Also he has been invited to speak at a function to share his knowledge. Hell, this is a good platform to reach out to more potential customers! Oh God! Where is the notebook now!!!

Adam needs CRM.

The above is probably an oversimplification but typically CRM is needed where one needs to have a proper control on business. CRM is a value add.
CRM cannot replace your business, it boosts your business effectivity. You get more thing done with much less effort, thereby directing your effort in what needs your attention.
This does not mean they are a record-keeping replacement. CRM systems help you add intelligence into the system by providing workflows and certain system-generated rules which provide a sense of direction and purpose to your business.
These help streamline business and improve overall efficiency.
CRM systems can generate reports and show where your business stands as on a particular instant visually through Dashboards and Charts.
A 360' view of the market is always readily available putting the businessman in a better position to do business.

Let us build on this example. I welcome you all to add your own variation of example and answers to this.