This Week in Zoho - Issue 28
Jake Harris
Zoho Consultant & Implementation Specialist (Primarily CRM, Desk, Creator, Campaigns, Marketing Automation, and Analytics)
Issue 28: 14th June 2024
Hi there,
Welcome to This Week in Zoho, your weekly drop of all the need-to-know Zoho news and groundbreaking updates that you won't want to miss!
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In this week's newsletter, we'll cover:
- 10 Big Updates in Zoho CRM
- BACS File Generation in Zoho Books
- Marketing Automation Migration Support
- Redesign in Zoho Thrive
Plus, you won't want to miss this week's Zoho tip, where I show you how to redesign your CRM home screen in my completely free training video.
This is your weekly roundup of the significant updates and changes from across the world of Zoho.
10 Big Updates in Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM has announced some fantastic new updates aimed at enhancing user experience and efficiency.
To make things confusing, each of the updates below are being released in phases with some changes already being available depending on where you're using Zoho in the world.
Let's dive into each new feature and explore the benefits they bring to the table.
1. Enhanced Duplicate Checking for Leads
One of the most frustrating aspects of managing a CRM is dealing with duplicate entries. With Zoho CRM’s enhanced duplicate checking, you can now verify duplicates in both Leads and Contacts. This update ensures your data remains accurate and clean, reducing redundancy and saving valuable time that would otherwise be spent on manual clean-ups.
2. Dynamic Filters for Lookup Fields
Searching for relevant data just got a whole lot easier. Zoho CRM now supports dynamic filters for lookup fields, offering real-time, tailored data lists. This feature allows you to customize your lookup filters based on specific criteria, ensuring you find the most relevant records quickly and efficiently.
3. Improved Global Search
The new and improved global search function includes module-based filters and follow-up actions, providing more precise search results. This means you can locate the information you need faster and take immediate action, whether it’s sending an email, making a call, or updating a record.
4. Flexible Validation Rules
Zoho CRM has introduced more flexible validation rules, allowing for field-specific validation, customised error message placements, and alerts. This ensures that the data entered into your CRM is accurate and conforms to your business rules, helping maintain data integrity and providing clear feedback to users.
5. Better Data Management in Analytics
Data management just got more powerful with the addition of component filters and the ability to restore deleted dashboards and components. This enhancement allows for better data analysis and recovery options, ensuring that your critical insights are never lost and always accessible when you need them.
6. Bulk Additions & Permissions for Subforms
Streamline your data entry processes with the ability to add multiple entries to subforms at once. This update also brings enhanced permissions management, giving you greater control over who can access and modify subform data. This not only improves efficiency but also boosts data security.
7. Advanced Multi-Select Picklist Filters
Managing large datasets is now easier with advanced filtering operators for multi-select picklists. This feature allows for more precise data management, enabling better data segmentation and analysis. Whether you’re filtering by region, product line, or any other criteria, you’ll find this update invaluable for organising your data.
8. Access Lead History Post-Conversion
Understanding your customer journey is crucial, and now you can view comprehensive interaction histories even after leads are converted. This feature provides valuable context for follow-ups and customer interactions, ensuring that your sales and support teams have all the information they need to build strong, lasting relationships.
9. Email Enhancements with Custom Email Addresses
Individuals often have multiple email addresses for various purposes. Zoho CRM's new feature supports sending emails and syncing conversations with custom email addresses. This ensures a comprehensive view of all communications, automatically syncing emails sent or received from custom email addresses and including these interactions in reports, all configured easily under the email settings.
10. Import Data into the Calls Module
Managing call records just became more efficient with Zoho CRM’s new capability to import data into the Calls module. This update allows you to create and update multiple call records in bulk, following the same import process used for other modules. This is particularly useful for teams looking to streamline their call management processes and ensure all call interactions are accurately logged and up-to-date.
Learn More: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/zoho-crm-upcoming-enhancements-may-2024 | https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/quickly-send-emails-and-sync-conversations-with-custom-email-addresses-in-crm
BACS File Generation in Zoho Books
Zoho Books has introduced a new feature that streamlines payment processes for UK businesses: BACS file generation. This update simplifies how you handle vendor payments, making it more efficient and error-free. Let's dive into what this feature offers and how it can benefit your business.
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BACS (Bankers' Automated Clearing Services) is a UK scheme for electronic processing of financial transactions. It’s widely used for direct debits and direct credits from one bank account to another. Zoho Books now supports the generation of BACS files, which can be uploaded to your bank for processing bulk payments.
How It Works
Generating a BACS file in Zoho Books is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Navigate to the Bills Module: Head over to the Bills section in your Zoho Books account.
- Select Payments: Choose the bills you want to pay and click on the “Pay via BACS†option.
- Generate BACS File: After selecting the bills, generate the BACS file, which can then be downloaded.
- Upload to Bank: Upload the downloaded BACS file to your bank’s portal for processing.
Benefits of Using BACS File Generation
- Efficiency: No more manual entries. Generate and process multiple payments at once, saving you time.
- Accuracy: Minimizes errors that can occur with manual payment processing.
- Compliance: Ensures your payment processes comply with UK banking standards.
- Security: BACS is a secure method for processing payments, giving you peace of mind.
Zoho Books’ new BACS file generation feature is a game-changer for businesses handling numerous vendor payments. By automating the payment process, you can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and ensure compliance with UK banking regulations.
Marketing Automation Migration Support
Zoho has announced migration support to allow existing Marketing Automation 1.0 users to move to Zoho Marketing Automation 2.0.
Zoho Marketing Automation 2.0 offers a revamped interface and new functionalities while retaining the core features you rely on. The migration process is designed to be straightforward, ensuring minimal disruption to your workflows.
Admins will see a migration switch in the current version of Zoho Marketing Automation. By enabling this switch, the migration process begins, transferring existing users and some modules to the new version automatically.
Important Notes
- Non-Reversible: Once you switch to Marketing Automation 2.0, you cannot revert to the older version.
- Deprecated Features: Some features are deprecated and will be available in a separate tab for one year.
- Exclusive Use: Users of both Zoho Campaigns and Marketing Automation must exclusively use the new Marketing Automation 2.0 version.
The migration support will be available until June 3, 2024. Dedicated experts are on standby to assist with the migration process, ensuring a smooth transition.
Existing users will be grandfathered into their current pricing plans, allowing them to access the new features without additional costs.
Redesign in Zoho Thrive
Zoho Thrive has just unveiled a brand-new user interface designed to provide a faster and more intuitive experience for setting up and running affiliate and customer loyalty programs. Here's a rundown of the major changes:
Zoho Thrive is a comprehensive platform designed to manage affiliate marketing and customer loyalty programs. It helps businesses increase engagement and drive sales by rewarding customers and affiliates through points, referrals, and other incentives.
Distinct Modules for Affiliate and Loyalty Programs
To streamline access and usability, Zoho Thrive has organized affiliate and loyalty solutions into separate modules. This makes it easier to navigate and manage each program independently, enhancing efficiency and clarity.
Integrated Review Tasks in Points Program
All loyalty tasks, including review tasks, are now consolidated within the Points program. This change simplifies task addition and monitoring, allowing you to manage all loyalty-related activities from a single place.
Dedicated Views for Reviews and Testimonials
Zoho Thrive now offers dedicated views for customer reviews and testimonials. This feature provides easy access to all customer feedback from a unified interface, making it simpler to track and respond to customer sentiments.
Enhanced User Experience
The new UI not only looks sleek but also enhances the overall user experience by making the setup and management processes faster and more intuitive. Users can expect a more streamlined workflow and improved navigation.
Struggling to find what's important to you in Zoho CRM? You're not alone! The CRM is designed to capture lots of data, but without proper organization and setup, that data can become overwhelming, making it difficult to find what's truly important.
The Importance of Customising Your Home Screen
One of the first things I do when working with clients who face this issue is fix their home screens. Most users still have the default Zoho home screen, but it’s unlikely that this default setup shows the most useful information for your needs.
Steps to Customise Your Home Screen
In today's video, I'll guide you through the process of completely customizing your Zoho CRM home screen to display only the information you care about. This can include views from each module, custom reports, or even KPI indicators!
Why It Matters
Getting the home screen right is critical to an efficient system. A well-organized home screen means you can quickly access the data that matters most, streamlining your workflow and enhancing productivity.
Take Action
Take a few minutes today to set up your home screen properly. Trust me, it will make a world of difference in how you interact with your CRM daily.
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9 个月Hey Jake, thank you for sharing this amazing update on Zoho! Your newsletter is always a great source of information for all things Zoho and I appreciate the effort you put into it. The ten new features in Zoho CRM sound promising and I can't wait to try them out. It's great to see updates across Zoho Books, Marketing Automation, and Thrive as well. Your tip on customizing the Zoho CRM home screen is also very helpful. Keep up the good work! #zoho #zohoone #zohocrm #zohobooks
Loving the information Jake. Thank you.