Infolytics SA - Blog #Zoho CRM

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 11:04:11 +0200

Est.

1975

Location

South Africa

Industry

Manufacturing

Company Size

51 - 200

Est.

1975

Location

South Africa

Industry

Manufacturing

Company Size

51 - 200

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

In partnership with Infolytics, Plastic Bubbles implemented the Zoho One suite to replace fragmented, manual workflows with a unified, cloud-based platform, streamlining lead management, credit-application processing, and customer support tasks via Zoho CRM, Zoho Sign, Zoho Social, Zoho Analytics, Zoho Campaigns, Zoho Cliq, and Zoho Forms.

The phased roll-out focused on streamlining sales processes, enhancing marketing efforts, and strengthening client support. It featured tailored system configurations, mobile-friendly dashboards, and interactive training sessions. This resulted in improved operational efficiency, quicker response times to client queries, and real-time visibility across sales and support teams, while also establishing an even better scalable platform to support future expansion.

Article Read Time:

4 Mins

Executive Summary

Plastic Bubbles is a South African, family-owned packaging manufacturer specialising in injection and blow-moulded plastic solutions. Since its founding in 1975 by brothers Stratos and Menelaos Moutafis, the company has grown into a world-class, turnkey supplier, offering everything from in-house design and prototyping through to tool-room mould-making, production and logistics.

In early 2024, Plastic Bubbles engaged Infolytics to implement Zoho One, a robust bundle of Zoho business applications. The project encompassed Zoho CRM, Zoho Cliq, Zoho Social, Zoho Campaigns, Zoho Analytics, Zoho Sign, and Zoho Forms, delivered via a phased roll-out with hands-on training and ongoing support. Since embarking on this digital transformation journey, Plastic Bubbles has noted an improvement in the roll-out of their marketing campaigns, internal collaboration efforts, and overall business efficiency.

Strategic Strengths and Business Foundation

Before embarking on their digital transformation, Plastic Bubbles had already established a strong strategic and operational foundation that positioned the company for scalable growth:

Clear Vision and Purpose-Driven Culture:

Guided by a bold aspiration to become “the smartest injection moulding company in South Africa,” Plastic Bubbles operates with a clear purpose, “everything we make or do, we enhance value.” This clarity anchors both strategic decisions and day-to-day execution.

Sustainability and Circular Economy Focus:

Plastic Bubbles actively promotes recycling and reuse of plastic materials, aligning its operations with a circular economy model. Its commitment to non-single-use packaging and environmental stewardship sets it apart in the manufacturing space.

In-House Tooling Capabilities:

By designing and manufacturing their own injection moulds, Plastic Bubbles maintains tighter quality control, faster turnaround times, and long-term cost efficiency, key factors that give them a competitive edge.

Empowered Team and Company Values:

A strong internal culture built on open communication, proactive mindset, innovation, discipline, and teamwork has cultivated a resilient and engaged workforce. These values guide hiring, decision-making, and everyday operations.

Commitment to Digital Evolution:

Even before selecting Zoho, the leadership team understood the strategic importance of CRM and digital platforms. Plastic Bubbles readiness to embrace technology laid the groundwork for a smooth and impactful implementation with Infolytics.

Key Challenges

1. Fragmented, Manual Workflows:

Prior to Zoho, sales, finance, and support teams relied on spreadsheets, Word documents, and email chains to track leads, credit applications, and customer interactions, causing delays, data discrepancies, and lost opportunities .

1. Fragmented, Manual Workflows:

Prior to Zoho, sales, finance, and support teams relied on spreadsheets, Word documents, and email chains to track leads, credit applications, and customer interactions, causing delays, data discrepancies, and lost opportunities .

2. Time-Consuming Marketing Processes:

Marketing processes at Plastic Bubbles were heavily manual, requiring teams to build campaigns from scratch and schedule social media posts individually across platforms. This not only consumed valuable time and resources but also led to inconsistent brand messaging, reduced agility in campaign execution, and limited access to real-time performance metrics or ROI insights.

At A Glance

Key Applications

Zoho CRM
Zoho Cliq
Zoho Social
Zoho Campaigns
Zoho Analytics
Zoho Sign
Zoho Forms

Integrations

Zoho CRM with Zoho Sign, Zoho Social, and Zoho Forms.
Zoho Analytics with social media channels.
Zoho CRM and Office 365
WooCommerce with Zoho Flow

Tech Skills Applied

Zoho Deluge Scripting
WordPress Integration (HTML/CSS/JavaScript)
Email Integration
REST API and Webhooks
Mobile App Customization

Non-Tech Skills Applied

Project Management
Business Process Analysis
Customer Journey Mapping
Training and Facilitation
Change Management

2. Time-Consuming Marketing Processes:

Marketing processes at Plastic Bubbles were heavily manual, requiring teams to build campaigns from scratch and schedule social media posts individually across platforms. This not only consumed valuable time and resources but also led to inconsistent brand messaging, reduced agility in campaign execution, and limited access to real-time performance metrics or ROI insights.

The Solution

Zoho Application Suite Deployment:

Zoho CRM for unified lead management and credit-application tracking.
Zoho Social and Zoho Campaigns for standardised campaign creation, scheduling, and automated performance reporting.
Zoho Forms to digitize credit-application submissions and trigger automated workflows.
Zoho Signfor the electronic and automated signing of both internal and external contracts.
Zoho Analytics for real-time, data-driven insights into sales, marketing, and operational performance.
Zoho Cliq to enable faster internal collaboration and streamline communication across teams.

Key Customisations

Multi-Pipeline and Blueprints: Modelled Plastic Bubbles’ distinct opportunity streams as separate pipelines, with end-to-end Blueprints to enforce every hand-off and approval steps.
Automated Credit-Application Workflows: Designed automated workflows to capture credit applications, and initiate reference checks without manual intervention.
Automated Signing Processes: Developed automated signing processes for customer agreements, helping to ensure legally binding audit trails and eliminate manual paperwork.
Marketing Efficiency: Reusable templates and automated audience segmentation to halve campaign setup time. Real-time analytics embedded in dashboards deliver instant visibility into engagement metrics, enabling agile optimization and data-driven decision-making.
Unified Dashboards: Brought together key sales metrics into a single view, making it easy to identify bottlenecks at Plastic Bubbles at a glance. Interactive drill-downs let leaders zoom from high-level KPIs into the underlying details, ensuring data-driven decisions.
Hands-on Training Sessions: Infolytics delivered hands-on training sessions to ensure users could confidently navigate and leverage each Zoho application. Comprehensive supporting materials, tailored documentation and best-practice guides, reinforced key workflows and promoted consistent, efficient adoption across the organisation.

Sean Kenneth ~ Sales Manager, Plastic Bubbles

“With regards to CRM, from the point of the customer contact (leads), all calls, meetings, tasks are managed, and we are able to prioritize our sales activities, and ensure we are focusing on the most important strategic objectives. Our sales meetings are more productive as we can also see the analytics of what and how we manage our objectives.

Our experience with Infolytics has been amazing, from concept, design, integration and training and have truly kept to their values in ensuring that they are partners who want to understand and deep dive into resolving the most effective and efficient customer experience”.

Positive Results

Operational efficiency improved significantly at Plastic Bubbles within six months, driven by streamlined credit-application workflows and faster deal closures set out by Infolytics.
Overall Marketing productivity also increased, with campaign launch cycles reduced by half thanks to template-driven processes in Zoho Campaigns.
Improved responsiveness was realized as Plastic Bubbles sales and support teams leverage the Zoho CRM mobile app for live customer data and on-the-go updates, elevating the customer experience.
The foundation is poised for further growth as with Plastic Bubbles plans to extend its productivity gains in the next six months and explore additional Zoho applications, namely Zoho Desk and Finance Suite.

Categories

ALL ARTICLES

CASE STUDIES

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:41:44 +0200

Est.

1999

Location

South Africa

Industry

Manufacturing

Company Size

11 - 50

Est.

1999

Location

South Africa

Industry

Manufacturing

Company Size

11 - 50

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

Connect-it, a provider of modular connectors for DIY enthusiasts and manufacturers, faced mounting operational hurdles as it scaled—chief among them were inconsistent e-commerce order creation, scattered email-based support, and fragmented data across multiple systems.

To address these pain points, Connect-it engaged Infolytics to deploy a Zoho One–centered strategy, uniting Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Mail into an integrated ecosystem. This overhaul ensured automatic sales-order generation regardless of payment method, seamless shipping data flow via Bob Go, and centralized help-desk ticketing.

Furthermore, Connect-it’s website forms now funnel leads directly into Zoho CRM for swift follow-up, while knowledge base and Service Level Agreement (SLA) tracking have been improving customer support efficiency. As a result, Connect-it has seen a marked reduction in manual re-work, faster response times, and greater visibility into overall operations—positioning the company for sustainable, scalable growth.

Article Read Time:

6 Mins

Executive Summary

Established in 1999 and headquartered in South Africa, Connect-it is a specialized brand providing modular connectors (fittings and brackets) in multiple sizes. The connectors allow DIY enthusiasts, large-scale retailers, and manufacturers to assemble frames, desks, racks, and other structures with minimal tooling. As the business grew, so did the complexity of fulfilling online orders, handling shipping details, and providing ongoing support to both B2B and B2C customers.

Connect-it embarked on implementing a Zoho One-driven digital transformation strategy, integrating Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Mail into a unified system.

This transformation enabled automated sales-order processing across all payment methods, seamless synchronization of shipping data with Bob Go, and a centralized help desk for streamlined customer support. Additionally, website forms now directly capture leads in Zoho CRM, ensuring timely follow-ups, while knowledge base resources and Service Level Agreement (SLA ) tracking enhance support efficiency.

As a result, Connect-it has significantly reduced manual workload, improved response times, and gained greater operational visibility, setting the foundation for long-term scalability and growth.

Key Challenges

Despite a robust product offering, Connect-it faced growing pains:

1. E-Commerce and Payment Integration Gaps

Online orders using direct bank transfer occasionally failed to create corresponding sales orders in Zoho.
Different payment gateways (bank transfers vs. iKhokha) introduced inconsistent data flows and manual intervention.

2. Complex Shipping and Inventory Requirements

Certain items lacked consistent dimension/weight data, causing shipping label errors or rejected shipments in their courier portal (Bob Go).
“Old stock” or miscellaneous connector items with non-standard dimensions complicated pick-and-ship processes.

3. Unstructured Customer Queries

Email was the primary channel for customer inquiries. Without a unified help desk, messages often went to personal inboxes, risking overlooked or delayed responses.
Website forms simply emailed customer data to sales@, without automatically capturing leads or follow-ups in a CRM system.

4. Fragmented Email and Collaboration

Multiple mail servers and addresses (some with legacy hosts, others in personal inboxes) led to inconsistent brand presence and significant overhead in routing emails to the right person.

5. Limited Visibility and Reporting

No centralized way to see open tickets, common support issues, or key order metrics. Staff struggled to measure resolution times or effectively share knowledge within the team.

At A Glance

Key Applications

Zoho CRM
Zoho Books
Zoho Inventory
Zoho Desk
Zoho Mail
Zoho Projects

Integrations

Zoho Inventory and Bob Go
Zoho Inventory and WooCommerce
Zoho Books and Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk
Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory
Zoho Mail and Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects

Tech Skills Applied

Zoho Ecosystem Configuration
Deluge (Zoho Scripting Language)
Business Process Design
Third Party Integrations
Email Migration
Financial Systems Management
Customer Journey Mapping

5. Limited Visibility and Reporting

No centralized way to see open tickets, common support issues, or key order metrics. Staff struggled to measure resolution times or effectively share knowledge within the team.

The Solution

Zoho One Suite Deployment

Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory: Automated order-to-invoice conversion, integrated real-time stock management, and standardized dimension data.
Zoho CRM: Website form submissions now feed leads directly into the CRM—vital for new distributor inquiries and general consumer leads.
Zoho Mail: Infolytics migrated email hosting from legacy providers (such as Outlook) to Zoho, creating shared inboxes (sales@, support@) so team members could respond cohesively.
Zoho Projects and Task Management: Structured tasks and milestones improved the internal ability to track custom statuses (Closed, Cancelled, etc.), owners, and completion timelines.
Zoho Desk: Set up ticket management, SLAs for response times, and an escalation path when issues require technical input. Knowledge base articles were also planned for common queries.
Third Party Integrations: Seamless integrations of various Zoho One applications with WooCommerce, banks, payment gateways, website forms and Bob Go to create an omni-channel setup designed to improve overall customer experience as well as collaboration within the team.

Positive Results

By working with Infolytics and leveraging Zoho One, Connect-it achieved the following:

1. Unified E-Commerce Order Flow

WooCommerce–Zoho Integration: Infolytics helped to refine the logic so every online order, regardless of payment method, generated a Sales Order in Zoho. This eliminated manual re-entry and data loss.
Shipping Data Standardization: With Zoho Inventory, Connect-it systematically assigned weights/dimensions to each connector SKU, reducing shipping errors and auto-syncing data to Bob Go.

2. Centralized Support and Enhanced Customer Experience

Unified Ticketing: All support emails go into Zoho Desk, with assigned owners, status tracking, and embedded knowledge base resources.
Higher Responsiveness: Clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) reduced response times, boosting customer satisfaction and trust.

3. Consistent, Automated Order Processing

Zero Missed Sales Orders: Bank transfers and iKhokha payments now create sales transactions in Zoho every time, cutting hours of manual intervention.
Real-Time Shipping Updates: Bob Go shipping info syncs with Zoho Inventory, letting staff and customers see accurate ship-out times.

4. Better Lead Capture and Follow-Through

CRM Integration: Website queries instantly become leads, ensuring timely sales follow-up and improved marketing campaigns.
Automated Catalog Distribution: Potential distributors/customers now receive professional, consistent email communications rather than ad-hoc manual replies.

5. Greater Team Efficiency

Shared Mailboxes and Project Views: Eliminated confusion over who handles which email or which step in the project pipeline.
Robust Reporting: Connect-it leadership can run Zoho-based reports on order volume, top support issues, or open tasks—helping them prioritize continuous improvement.

6. Cost and Time Savings

Less Manual Re-Work: Freed staff from chasing missing orders or dimension data, letting them focus on higher-value tasks like product innovation or partner relations.
Fewer Support Bottlenecks: With a knowledge base in progress, staff spend less time repeatedly answering basic queries.

Categories

ALL ARTICLES

CASE STUDIES

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 09:00:02 +0200

The Exciting World of Zoho

My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

I recently had the amazing opportunity to attend the Zoholics 2024 Workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the Head of Digital Marketing and Client Success, I have attended many Zoho events but this marked my fourth attendance at Zoholics. While the previous events were excellent, providing a one-of-a-kind user experience, networking opportunities, valuable insights, delicious food, and even fun memorable moments, this year's Zoholics exceeded my expectations.

Zoholics events have been held in more than 30 countries globally, and Africa has not been left behind. Zoho has invested significantly in the growth of African businesses with various business events and workshops being held in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, only to name a few.

As highlighted by Kelly Payton, Zoho Africa's Partner Account Manager, this year's Zoholics in Johannesburg was the largest in South Africa. That grand scale was undoubtedly felt throughout and it was evident that the number of attendees was much higher than previous years. The extensive range of breakout sessions, tracks, an abundance of informative resources, many one-on-one sessions with product experts, and increased exhibitor participation made this year’s Zoholics exceptional. There were many changes all around, but as an individual who loves all things Zoho, there was something about it that still felt a little "like home".

In this article, I will share my first-hand experience and key takeaways from this awesome two-day workshop.

Article Read Time:

4 Min

Exploring the World of Zoho

Upon arriving at the Zoholics venue, I was greeted by a vibrant atmosphere buzzing with energy and enthusiasm. There was live music from The Muses, an All-Girl Electric String Quartet which I thought was a nice touch to add to celebrating women during Women's Month. The entire event was managed using Zoho Backstage, from selling tickets to the checking in of attendees during registration.

Inspiring Keynotes and Presentations

The workshop kicked off with an engaging keynote address from Prem Anand, Zoho MEA's Associate Director - Strategic Growth, that highlighted Zoho's journey in Africa and commitment to empowering businesses with cutting-edge technologies. Prem used the famous quote from Sridhar Vembu, "Our mission since beginning has been just one thing, make work easier for businesses", to effectively convey Zoho's vision of providing intuitive, integrated solutions that cater to diverse business needs.

Andrew Bourne, Zoho Africa's Regional Manager provided a detailed overview of all the new and exciting features in Zoho as well as the plans that South African users can expect to see in the coming months. He explained the Zoho Gateway Connector and how applications such as Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho Commerce, Zoho Billing, and Zoho Checkout integrate with Paygate, Paystack, Payfast, and Netcash. Andrew shared that for now, Paygate and Paystack are already available and development work for Netcash and Payfast are now in their final stages. This is a great milestone for Zoho as developments like this will create an even better environment for businesses to seamlessly collect and track payments online.

Insightful Customer Case Studies

The Beancounter, a top South African accounting firm gave an insightful presentation on how Zoho has completely transformed their business processes and helped them to drive sustainable growth. The company shared how they have been using various applications such as Zoho Cliq, Zoho Desk, and Zoho PhoneBridge to keep their teams connected, manage client interactions efficiently, and build a culture of transparency. The Beancounter also went on to further detail how their internal developers used Zoho Creator to create a bespoke application to optimise their operations, streamline their processes and enhance customer experience.

Impressive New Features and Capabilities

Throughout the workshop, I was impressed by the extensive new features that users can now enjoy when they dive into Zoho's ecosystem of business apps. From automating sales processes and managing customer relationships to optimizing project management workflows and enhancing analytics-driven decision-making, Zoho's solutions showcased unparalleled versatility and customization options. I enjoyed the hands-on approach that each of the speakers took as they effortlessly navigated through Zoho's interfaces and functionalities. It reinforced my confidence in the platform's potential to drive efficiency and innovation not just within our organization, but also for our clients.

Here is a list of some of my favourite product updates:

1. Zoho CRM for Everyone

The new Zoho CRM facilitates collaboration among departments like Sales, Marketing, Legal, and Customer Service all within the CRM application, improving coordination and enhancing the overall customer experience.

In addition to all the good stuff we already have in the old Zoho CRM, Zoho CRM for Everyone comes with:

An intuitive sidebar for easy access to key modules.
TeamSpaces that create dedicated "spaces" for each team.
Team Modules to enable you to bring all associated teams onto CRM so you can streamline your business pipeline.
Requester Profiles to allow you to automate cross-team coordination by empowering departments to assign tasks and track progress in real-time.
Workflows to trigger WhatsApp notifications, and many more exciting features!

To get access to Zoho CRM for Everyone, submit a request here. You can also start a free Zoho CRM trial from here.

2. Zoho Forms and Paystack Integration

You can now collect payments using your forms by integrating Zoho Forms and Paystack. Paystack processes over 50% of all online transactions in South Africa which makes this a big win.

3. The Courier Guy Integration to Zoho Commerce

Finally, the integration we've all been waiting for! Work around integrating The Courier Guy is almost complete and early access will become available from the 25th of August 2024. This integration will help businesses to automatically sync product stock and stay on top of their inventory management.

4. Zoho Books South Africa Edition

The new Zoho Books for South Africa comes with much-needed new features around VAT reconciliation and other important improvements specifically for businesses operating in the country. This upcoming version is supported on all Zoho Finance apps such as Zoho Inventory and Zoho Billing formerly Zoho Subscriptions. As Infolytics, we have already done live preview sessions exclusively for our customers. If you need early access to the new Zoho Books South Africa edition, email us at support@infolytics.co.za.

5. Zoho IOT

If you run a business where you need to track animals, vehicles, or any asset that moves, then Zoho IOT is for you. You can use it to detect anomalies, predict asset downtimes, get real-time alerts, schedule maintenance check-ins, and make data-driven decisions using actionable insights. To know more about Zoho IOT and how it can benefit your business, email us at sales@infolytics.co.za.

6. Breakout Rooms for Zoho Meeting

Zoho Meeting now enables you to have multiple breakout rooms for different groups to collaborate or have brain-storming sessions.

7. Zoho Practice

Zoho Practice is perfectly designed for accounting firms to streamline workflows for enhanced efficiency, collaboration, and drive sustainable growth. It offers a comprehensive solution that simplifies the daily operations of a CA firm, providing them with essential insights to deliver exceptional services and enabling efficient team management.

8. Zoho Projects 8.0

The latest version of Zoho Projects is developed with the goal of bridging the divide between functionality and user experience, creating a platform that offers an incredible working experience.

In Zoho Projects 8.0, you get:

Immediate access to intuitive industry-based project management templates.
Enhanced Task Gantt charts with a Timeline view.
Integration with Zoho People to allow half-day leaves.
ZIA, Zoho's AI Assistant can now help you to search for specific project information, analyze data and many other tasks to improve your productivity.

9. Zoho Creator

Building applications has never been this easy! By providing prompts and brief use cases, users can now build a full-fledged application in seconds. This functionality also extends to form creation and field suggestions, ensuring that users are on the right track without losing context.

Interactive Tracks and Breakout Sessions

One of the major highlights of the Zoholics Workshop was the array of interactive breakout sessions tailored to address various facets of Zoho's products and services. From hands-on demonstrations of Zoho One and Zoho Workplace to in-depth discussions on Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk, the workshops provided valuable insights into the versatility and functionality of Zoho's software suite.

Key Takeaways and Future Endeavors

Attending the Zoholics was a transformative experience that deepened my understanding of Zoho's solutions and their transformative impact on businesses across the African continent and beyond.

Most of the Infolytic's team was able to attend including our Chief Executive Officer, Tichaona Wadi, and Chief Operating Officer, Takunda Kowo. I believe that the knowledge we all gained from the workshop has inspired us to explore the further integration of Zoho's applications into our organization's operations, with a focus on enhancing collaboration, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.

In conclusion, this year's Zoholics was a captivating journey into the world of Zoho, where innovation, collaboration, and empowerment converge to redefine business excellence. I look forward to embracing the insights gained from the workshop and leveraging Zoho's solutions to unlock new possibilities and drive sustainable growth within my organization.

Are you ready to embark on your own Zoho-powered digital transformation journey? Contact us today to discover how Zoho's suite of applications can revolutionize your business operations and propel you toward success.

Remember, the future of business is here, and it's powered by Zoho.

Rufaro Kowo, Head of Digital Marketing and Client Success.

Categories

ALL ARTICLES

CASE STUDIES

Zoholics Johannesburg 2024

Start Your Zoho Journey Today

BECOME A CLIENT

BOOK A FREE LIVE DEMO

Start Your Zoho Journey Today

BECOME A CLIENT

BOOK A FREE DEMO

We help businesses grow

Infolytics is a Zoho Premium Partner and Registered Zoho Creator Partner. We offer expert Zoho assistance and help businesses of all sizes grow and reach their full potential during their journey of discovery, selection, implementation, training, and ongoing success with the Zoho suite of Web and Mobile Apps.

What's new in Zoho One?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho One.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Uganda

Zimbabwe

Eventagrate Group Eliminates Silos and Boosts Team Productivity with the help of Zoho One

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 11:23:40 +0200

Eventagrate Group Eliminates Silos and Boosts Team Productivity with the help of Zoho One

Est.

2010

Location

UAE

Industry

Technology

Company Size

51 - 200

Est.

2010

Location

UAE

Industry

Technology

Company Size

51 - 200

"Zoho has been able to remove all the guesswork of what we are doing, and where we are going because we've now got actual data that's synchronized across all of our applications."

~ Miguel Galvao (CEO & Co-Founder, Eventagrate Group)

Article Read Time:

3 Min

Eventagrate Group Zoho Case Study Summary

Eventagrate Group is a Dubai-based company that was founded in 2010 and currently has a team of over 65 experts across six countries. They use the latest creative technologies to deliver unique and extraordinary digital content production for their clients.

With the growth of the company, it began to face challenges with using standalone systems that did not communicate with one another. It was difficult for their teams, particularly those working within Marketing, Customer Experience, Accounting and Project Management to collaborate efficiently as they completed their daily tasks. Manually updating data across multiple systems not only created data inconsistencies, but also affected overall team productivity. It was important for the Eventagrate Group to find a solution that helped them to eliminate silos, seamlessly track all their marketing expenses, optimize internal processes, and boost employee productivity. They discovered how the Zoho ecosystem could expedite their processes and have begun to successfully implement it across their entire group.

Eventagrate Group started off with four Zoho applications: Zoho CRM, Zoho Cliq, Zoho Projects and Zoho Mail. They now use 23 Zoho applications which have proven to work best for their business. Zoho has helped Eventagrate Group to have a better understanding of their business and enabled them to focus their energy to scaling it at a faster pace. Zoho has removed all the guesswork they were experiencing and provided actual data that is synchronized across all their business applications. Their teams now collaborate seamlessly and have clear visibility on the metrics that they need to be tracking.

Categories

Take Zoho One for a spin for FREE!

START FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW

NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

BOOK FREE LIVE ZOHO DEMO

We help businesses grow

What's new in Zoho One?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho One.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Uganda

Zimbabwe

Zoho CRM and WhatsApp Integration: The Best Sales and Customer Experience Strategy

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 10:12:50 +0200

Zoho CRM and WhatsApp Integration: The Best Sales and Customer Experience Strategy

Does Zoho CRM integrate with WhatsApp?

Yes, you can integrate Zoho CRM with WhatsApp! In today's fast-paced digital world, businesses need to stay on top of their game by utilizing the latest tools and technologies to optimize their processes. One such tool that has gained immense popularity in recent times is Zoho CRM.

Zoho CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management software that helps businesses to manage their sales, marketing, and customer support activities. Zoho CRM offers a range of features and integrations that make it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes. An integration that has gained a lot of attention since it was launched in 2022 is the Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration.

WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging apps in the world, with over 2 billion active users. It is not just used for personal communication but also for business purposes. WhatsApp has become a powerful tool for businesses to communicate with their customers, and now with the Zoho CRM integration, it has become even more powerful.

Zoho CRM provides a seamless integration with WhatsApp enabling businesses to interact with their customers and manage them all from a single platform.

Categories

What are the key features of the Zoho CRM and WhatsApp Integration?

One of the most important features of this Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration is that you can connect with your customers on a platform they are comfortable with in a simple, reliable and secure way.

Some other important key features of this integration are that you can:

Seamlessly generate leads from your WhatsApp business account and add them to your sales pipeline in Zoho CRM.
Manage and track conversations with customers from a single view.
Use multiple agents to respond to queries and provide customer support.
Save and reuse messages that you frequently send and easily respond to common questions in no time.
Send personalised canned messages which improves overall customer experience.
Schedule tasks, meetings, calls or send emails without leaving the conversation.
Highlight your products and services and send them as a message, or attach documents or images through WhatsApp.
Update customer information from a single view.
Associate your leads with Deals, Tasks and Notes and ensure that your WhatsApp leads never fall through the cracks.

So what do you need to integrate Zoho CRM to WhatsApp?

Integrating Zoho CRM with WhatsApp simply requires a few clicks but before you can implement this, you must meet the following requirements:

A Facebook Business Manager account.
A verified business on your Facebook Business Manager account.
A WhatsApp Business account.
A new and registered phone number to access the WhatsApp Business API. The WhatsApp number must meet the requirements mentioned here.
WhatsApp Business Messaging Credits. You can learn more the WhatsApp business messaging credits here.

Even though you will be managing your WhatsApp conversations in Zoho CRM, these interactions still need to comply with the WhatsApp Terms of Service and the WhatsApp Commerce Policy. As mentioned above, for this integration, you cannot use a WhatsApp business number that is already in use. You can only use new numbers and only these will be approved for the integration. For businesses that already have active numbers that they are using to support clients on WhatsApp (and are not willing to change or add a new one), you would need to be a little bit patient until the new Zoho CRM updates are launched hopefully in the next couple of months. These may allow customers to use their existing WhatsApp numbers to integrate into Zoho CRM.

According to Facebook Business (Meta) regulations, businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform are charged per conversation. Instead of charging your customers for every message they send, businesses are charged per conversation based on the new Meta policies. Every conversation has a 24-hour messaging window where your customers can send unlimited messages. You can buy credits based on the frequency of your usage so that the charges are automatically deducted from it. After the first purchase of credits, you can use the auto recharge option to avoid running out of balance. You can also specify the number of credits that can automatically be purchased when the limit is exhausted.

How is integrating Zoho CRM with WhatsApp the Best Sales and Customer Experience Strategy?

WhatsApp is one of the most widely used text-messaging applications which has gained immense popularity among businesses owing to its quick, and hassle-free messaging services. The Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration allows businesses to engage with their customers in a more personalized and efficient manner. With this integration, businesses can send WhatsApp messages to their customers directly from the Zoho CRM interface. This means that businesses can now have all customer conversations in one place, making it easier to manage and track. Multiple agents can respond to queries as they come in enabling businesses to create a solid customer support framework.

One of the biggest advantages of the Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration is that it helps businesses to improve their customer engagement. With WhatsApp being a highly popular messaging app, businesses can reach out to customers on a platform they are already comfortable using. This leads to better customer experience, customer satisfaction and loyalty, ultimately resulting in increased sales and revenue for the business. The integration also enables businesses to send personalised canned messages, which can save a lot of time and effort. This feature is designed not only to improve productivity, but to create a more personalised approach to interacting with customers.

Another advantage of the integration is that it helps businesses to save time and resources. With all customer conversations in one place, businesses can quickly respond to customer queries and resolve issues. From each conversation, you can immediately update the customer's details such as their email, contact numbers and other important information that you collect without having to switch your view. You can also add notes and send attachments such as documents and media files from a list of cloud storage options like Google Drive, Sky Drive, Evernote, and Dropbox. In addition to this, you can schedule tasks, meetings, calls or send emails directly from the conversation. This saves time and helps to ensure that customers are satisfied with the service provided.

In conclusion, the Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration is a game-changer for businesses looking to optimize their overall customer experience, customer engagement and communication processes. With the integration, businesses can send personalized messages, automate their communication processes, and improve customer satisfaction. If you are a business looking to enhance your customer engagement and streamline your processes, the Zoho CRM and WhatsApp integration is definitely worth considering.

Take Zoho CRM for a spin for FREE!

START FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW

NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

BOOK FREE LIVE ZOHO CRM DEMO

Categories

We help businesses grow

Infolytics is a Zoho Advanced Partner and Registered Zoho Creator Partner. We offer expert Zoho assistance and help businesses of all sizes grow and reach their full potential during their journey of discovery, selection, implementation, training, and ongoing success with the Zoho suite of Web and Mobile Apps.

We are also digital growth experts with a passion for designing and executing innovative digital marketing strategies that boost business growth and increase revenue. At Infolytics, we are committed to being a sustainable partner to our customers by providing the best and the most reliable Zoho and Digital Marketing services.

What's new in Zoho CRM?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho CRM.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa

+27 72 704 6843 (Mon - Fri)

info@infolytics.co.za

Zimbabwe

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Tynwald, Harare · Zimbabwe

+263 78 744 4417 (Mon - Fri)

sales@infolytics.co.zw

Infolytics win the Zoho Partner Key Business Contributor Award

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 12:21:51 +0200

Infolytics win the Zoho Partner Key Business Contributor Award

At the Zoho Partner Inspire 2022 Summit, Infolytics was honored with the Zoho Partner Key Business Contributor Award. It was a proud moment for us when we attended the Zoho Partner Inspire 2022 Summit and our team was surprised with a recognition award as a Key Business Contributor in South Africa. We definitely did not see it coming which made the moment even more special.

The Zoho Partner Inspire Summit is an exciting one day event for all Zoho Partners to learn more about Zoho products and support services. During this summit, Zoho Partners in South Africa participate in various workshops and share knowledge on how to improve Zoho business apps and overall customer experience.

We always look forward to the Zoho Inspire Summit as we consistently get an opportunity to gain deeper insights into Zoho product offerings. Attending these important workshops allows us to improve our quality of services as we provide seamless and automated operational business environments for our clients using Zoho's ecosystem of business apps.

Categories

Importance of Winning the Key Business Contributor Award

Zoho is growing in leaps and bounds in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) with a thriving footprint in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt and Saudi Arabia (only to name a few). As we go into 2023, Zoho will be opening new offices in Kenya and Nigeria to support both it's growing Zoho Partner and client base. As Infolytics, we have also extended our Zoho Services to the other parts of the MEA with a growing client base in Zimbabwe, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia. Winning the Key Business Contributor Award in South Africa is a reflection of the efforts we have been making to drive business growth in the country and the rest of the MEA region.

According to the Business Insider Africa, South Africa will grow by just 1.5% in 2023 as higher interest rates, power supply issues and weak demand weigh on domestic and export-oriented business activity. Due to the current global recession, Africa's economic recovery will be subdued in the year ahead, but the region is still however expected to hold steady in terms of economic growth. These unprecedented changes will drive more businesses to reduce their spending and continue to focus on lowering operational costs. One of the best ways that they can do this is to digitize and move to cloud. Our goal as Infolytics is to help businesses to do more with less and working with Zoho's cloud-based apps has enabled us to achieve this. Zoho's cloud-based solutions provide a unique cost-saving approach to managing daily operations associated with Sales, Marketing, HR, Accounting, Reporting and Support.

Winning the Zoho Key Business Contributor Award is evidence that we have the knowledge, experience and skills required to help businesses to identify and select the right Zoho Apps that will work for their unique circumstances. We are truly passionate about helping growing businesses to automate their processes and boost revenue growth and it's exciting to know that our efforts have not gone unnoticed.

Our entire business runs on Zoho

Our entire business runs on Zoho and this is a testament of our commitment to upskill our team continuously through practical use of the different apps. Our experience with Zoho's suite of business apps allows us to customize the best process automation solutions for our clients and ensure that they get the most out of their Zoho investment.

As we use Zoho on a daily basis, we are also quick to identify feature changes and upgrades which have proven to be valuable to our clients. We have also built a list of our favourite Zoho Apps based on the value that we have been able to give our clients. Some of our favourite Zoho Apps include Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho Sites, Zoho Social and Zoho One. Zoho CRM has helped us to take on an omni-channel customized approach to automating Sales, Marketing, HR, Accounting and Reporting business processes. We have seen amazing turnarounds for our clients as their sales conversions and revenues took an upward trend month-on-month in the past year. Zoho Books has allowed us to automate key accounting processes for our clients enabling them to enjoy seamless financial business operations.

Zoho Sites gives us the platform to build easy-to-use, clean and professional websites for our customers who wanted to create a solid online presence for their brands. We continue to see their online traffic rise with well-thought out lead generation strategies. Zoho Social continuously surprises us with new features and detail-rich analytics for Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Business Page and Ticketing-based support. Helping our clients to customize their dashboards and reports so that they can make data-driven decisions and also track their Return on Investment (ROI) is beyond fulfilling. We consider Zoho One to be the ultimate game-changer as we have been able to help many of our clients to manage every aspect of their business from Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations to HR using only one business app. This has seen many of them streamline their business processes and save significantly on both their short-term and long-term operational costs.

We believe that using Zoho products everyday and having a genuine interest in all things Zoho contributed to us being considered as one of the best Zoho Partners in Africa. This level of recognition not only motivates us to keep giving our customers world-class Zoho support but to remain dedicated to helping businesses of all sizes to reach their full potential during their journey of discovery, selection, implementation, training, and ongoing success with the Zoho suite of Web and Mobile Apps.

We would not be here without our Customers and Partners

We enjoy working with our customers and seeing their businesses thriving is fulfilling. We would like to take this moment to thank all our customers for your support and the trust that you have placed in us as your Zoho Partner. Every license purchase, project, email feedback, online review, recommendation and referral has not gone unnoticed. We would also like to thank our Partners who have helped us to provide and support Zoho services in South Africa, the UAE, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Zambia, the UK and Australia. We know that you could have worked with other businesses but you have chosen to work with us. We appreciate you and are grateful for the partnerships. We truly believe that we would not be here without both our customers and partners.

We really love what we do and super excited to go into 2023. To our current and future clients, we look forward to helping you crush all your 2023 goals as you achieve next level business performance with Zoho!

What does 2023 look like for Infolytics?

Our goal for 2023 and beyond is to continue to raise the bar on streamlining and automating business processes using Zoho. 2022 was about optimizing our most efficient practices, building trust and relationships with our customers, creating custom solutions as well as exploring new regions. 2023 will be all about this and more as we look towards providing world-class service with uncompromising standards, improving overall user experience with the Zoho's ecosystem of business apps, forming partnerships that are valuable to our customers and helping as many businesses as we can to enjoy their Zoho investments fully.

Zoho is not just a cloud-based solution but a way of thinking about how to run a business efficiently and effectively. It's about moving away from silos and many overwhelming apps and moving towards a unified approach to running your Sales, Marketing, Accounting, Operations, HR, Support and IT departments. We are looking forward to helping businesses to build long-term success driven by digital technology, business efficiency, collaboration, creativity and continuous learning.

We have some big goals and big ideas that we cannot wait to share with both our customers and partners in the coming year!

Take Zoho One for a spin for FREE!

START FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW

NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

BOOK FREE LIVE ZOHO DEMO

Categories

We help businesses grow

What's new in Zoho CRM?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho CRM.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa

+27 72 704 6843 (Mon - Fri)

i nfo@infolytics.co.za

Zimbabwe

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Tynwald, Harare · Zimbabwe

+263 78 744 4417 (Mon - Fri)

sales@infolytics.co.zw

Infolytics achieves Advanced Partner status with Zoho

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 12:21:51 +0200

Infolytics achieves Advanced Partner status with Zoho

In recognition of our performance this past year with Zoho's suite of web and business apps, Infolytics was honored with the Advanced Partner status with Zoho in November, 2022. Becoming a Zoho Advanced Partner in South Africa and Zimbabwe is an achievement that the entire team is proud of.

We have supported a portfolio of over 200 customers in more than eight countries and in less than a year of operating in Zimbabwe, we have reached Zoho Advanced Partner status making us the leading Zoho Consultants in the country. This achievement is a testimony of our commitment to equipping organizations with the business systems they need to perform better. From entrepreneurs and freelancers to small and large businesses, we are passionate about helping all our customers boost business growth and increase revenue by leveraging our services.

Zoho was launched in 2005 with Zoho CRM as it's flagship product and in 25 years, has managed to grow its entire offering to more than 55 business apps that are being used by over 80 million users around the world. Zoho offers a unified business management software suite that works seamlessly to empower and grow your business.

At Infolytics, our goal is to equip organizations with the right business systems they need to perform better. We love to see our customers win and becoming a Zoho Advanced Partner will enable us to continue to do this, hopefully for many more years to come.

Categories

What is Zoho?

If you are hearing about Zoho for the first time, allow us to quickly get you up to speed. Zoho is a web and mobile app business software solutions company with over 25 years of experience in cloud-based business software development. It has a unique and powerful suite of more than 55 business software apps that businesses of all sizes can use to become more efficient and boost overall business growth. Over 500 thousand businesses in more than 180 countries are using Zoho to transform the way they work in terms of Sales, Marketing, Human Resources, Accounting, Operations, Team Collaborations and IT Support.

What is a Zoho Advanced Partner?

Zoho offers a global partner program designed to help its growing client base to receive the best Zoho consulting services from qualified Zoho experts. Zoho Partners are authorised to provide consulting services to businesses that are interested in or already using Zoho's solutions to address various business needs. Like in most partner programs, there are different achievement levels to display your experience as well as expertise and the Advanced Partner status is right up there with the best of the best. It is by no means an easy status to achieve but one that requires consistency in terms of successfully providing the best Zoho consulting services.

To sum it all up, as a Zoho Advanced Partner we have:

Certified and qualified team of Zoho Consultants, Zoho Implementation Experts and Developers.

Support from Industry leaders and other Zoho Experts as a credible provider of Zoho Consulting Services.

Priority support and work closely with Zoho Development teams for each of the different business apps.
Developed custom business apps and innovative software solutions within Zoho's ecosystem of web and mobile apps.
Happy and satisfied customer portfolio with feedback and reviews to back it up.
Early access to new Zoho products and feature releases.
Access to exclusive benefits, events, resources and programmes designed to help us to provide better services to our customers.

Becoming a Zoho Advanced Partner is a huge milestone for us and we are deeply honored to be recognized by Zoho at this level. Zoho Advanced Partner status is an indication that Infolytics has not only met but exceeded Zoho's expectations in terms of Zoho Onboarding, Zoho Support, Zoho Training and Zoho Implementation. We have also done extremely well by investing in Employee Learning and Development when it comes to Zoho's suite of business software apps.

What does becoming a Zoho Advanced Partner mean for our Customers?

The Zoho Advanced Partner status comes with a lot of exclusive benefits, resources and programmes designed to help us to provide even better services to our customers when it comes to our Zoho Onboarding, Zoho Training, Zoho Support and Zoho Implementation services.

With a certified team of Zoho Consultants, our customers receive only the best recommendations when it comes to adopting the right Zoho solutions to solve their various business challenges. Our dedicated team of Zoho Business Consultants, Zoho Implementation Specialists and Developers are already working closely and relentlessly with Zoho to develop custom web and mobile apps to help our customers to enjoy and get the most out of their Zoho investment.

We have also partnered with business software experts who are based in multiple countries across the globe to help us to continue supporting and creating transformative business solutions. All this means that our customers are going to have first access and a front row seat to some of the most innovative business solutions within the Zoho ecosystem.

As a Zoho Advanced Partner, we have early access to new Zoho products and feature releases. This means that our team can conduct internal User Acceptance Tests (UATs) keeping our customers needs in mind and provide valuable feedback to the various Zoho Development teams. Our customers will benefit immensely from this as we help to push forward their solution needs/requirements and anticipate changes that could potentially accelerate their business growth.

We currently have clients in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, the UK, Australia, Swaziland, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. With access to Zoho Support and Zoho Development teams, we can ensure continuity across different time zones. This means that we can also implement projects much more smoothly and provide improved ongoing support to our Zoho customers no matter where they are in the world.

On top of all this, we have access to Zoho partner-exclusive events, resources and programmes designed to help us to provide better Zoho consulting services to our customers. We are in the best position to network with other partners and participate in knowledge-sharing platforms with industry leaders and other Zoho experts.

Why should you choose Infolytics as your Zoho Consulting Partner?

Choosing the right Zoho Consulting Partner is a decision that should not be taken lightly. You need to work with a partner that not only has a team of skilled Zoho Consultants but genuinely cares about the success of your business. When you become our customer, we legitimately want to see you grow. We go above and beyond to help you to formulate the best process optimization strategies and ensure that you get the most out of your Zoho investment.

As an Advanced Zoho Partner, we are knowledgeable about Zoho's business software apps and are ready to provide you with the expert Zoho Support you need. Our entire business runs on Zoho so this is a reflection of our commitment to be continuously knowledgeable about all things Zoho. We believe that you can only be a true and honest advocate for a service if you actually use it. At Infolytics, we will provide you with honest guidance that will help you to resolve your business challenges and improve the overall performance of your business. We put all the cards on the table and give you expert advice on your Zoho solution needs.

Our Zoho consulting and implementation services are based on best practice, experience and expertise and the end-game is to make sure you maximize on everything that the Zoho ecosystem has to offer. We also over custom-tailored services based on your specific business needs as well as dedicated support to help you maintain operational excellence.

At Infolytics, we believe that a satisfied customer is the greatest strategy of all so we work hard to ensure that we go above and beyond to provide the best customer experience in town. With real people dedicated to ensuring that your business succeeds, we continuously strive to deliver amazing support and be better than we were yesterday.

We are so excited about 2023 and what it means for our customers. We know that we are already on the right track to make it one of the best years for our Zoho Customers and cannot wait to dive into it!

If you would like to learn more about Zoho or are interested in any of our Zoho Services, please contact us or book a FREE Zoho Walkthrough Session and one of our friendly Zoho Consultants will get back to you.

Take Zoho One for a spin for FREE!

START FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW

NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

BOOK FREE LIVE ZOHO DEMO

Categories

We help businesses grow

What's new in Zoho CRM?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho CRM.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa

+27 72 704 6843 (Mon - Fri)

info@infolytics.co.za

Zimbabwe

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Tynwald, Harare · Zimbabwe

+263 78 744 4417 (Mon - Fri)

sales@infolytics.co.zw

Looking for a Zoho Partner? Here are 5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Zoho Partner.

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 11:40:00 +0200

Looking for a Zoho Partner? Here are 5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Zoho Partner.

Choosing the right Zoho Partner is just as important as choosing the right software.

Zoho is a suite of online business software apps that can be used by small and large companies to run their entire business, end-to-end. Zoho’s collection of business apps can be overwhelming to go sieve through and understand. Deciding which Zoho Software App to use in your business is a big commitment and determining which Zoho Partner to work with for your implementation, training or support needs is an even bigger commitment. It’s important to make the right selection the first time to avoid making decisions that can cost your business a tonne of money. We have listed down five recommendations that you may use in your journey to hiring the right Zoho Partner for your business.

1. Are they an Authorised Zoho Partner?

First things first; it’s important to make sure that the Zoho Partner is authorised to sell, implement, manage and support Zoho’s business solutions. Zoho Partners are knowledgeable about Zoho’s suite web and mobile solutions. They have been trained in the Zoho Business apps that they support and are proficient enough to help you choose not only the best Zoho solution but also the appropriate Zoho implementation strategy for your business. Zoho Partners have working experience with Zoho as they interact with the business apps on a frequent basis. They are also well informed on Zoho best practice and software updates that can help you to achieve your goals.

For example, Infolytics is an authorised Zoho Partner and we have a very detailed approach on how to assist our customers to select the best Zoho Solution for their business. You can learn more about our Zoho Onboarding approach here https://www.infolytics.co.za/zoho-onboarding.

2. Do they have the right Business and Industry Knowledge?

Most Zoho apps are highly customizable and can be used by both small and large businesses in various industries across different global regions. It is best to work with a Zoho Partner that has worked with a different types of businesses as this shows their range in terms of business and industry knowledge. The best place to assess this would be looking at a few of their customers to determine the type of businesses that they have worked with.

An important thing to note is that you should not judge the Zoho Partner by the size of their business. Vanity metrics are amazing to look at on paper but do not necessarily translate to solid performance results. Zoho has a powerful suite of business apps that can be successfully deployed and managed by the smallest of teams. It will not always be the case when you need to hire a large business to fulfill your business needs and requirements.

Due to the fact that we are living in a highly competitive global business environment, software consultants should bring more than just IT skills to the table. Every business has its own unique requirements and challenges that software consultants should be aware of. The Zoho Partner should display an understanding of how a business needs to operate in order for it to succeed. Such insight is invaluable as they will give the most suitable recommendations and action plans to solve your problems as well as identify opportunities for potential business growth.

Categories

3. Which top Zoho Apps do they already Offer and Support?

Zoho has more than 45 online business applications with some of the top ones being mainly Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho One, Zoho Inventory and Zoho People. Knowing which of the top Zoho business apps the Zoho Partner already offers and supports is a good reflection of not only their experience but level of expertise. These apps require a lot of existing comprehensive knowledge on Zoho to be able customise, integrate, automate, implement and support them. If a Zoho Partner is already offering any of these, they are highly likely going to be able to manage other Zoho business apps. These apps are also widely used by many companies across the world and play an integral part into boosting sales, driving team productivity and improving complex business processes.

4. Do they have a detailed blueprint of how they are going to deliver their service?

A Zoho Partner that designs the entire execution process with a clear strategy in mind will set you on the right path. They will also save you a lot of time and money which should already be an important consideration in your decision making. This blueprint is evident in the way they interact with you, the nature in which they conduct their needs analysis and business requirements gathering process. Knowing that you are working with a team that has a clear understanding of what they need to do to help you achieve your strategic goals will give you peace of mind. It also helps you to better manage your expectations as timelines, costs, milestones and deliverables are shared with you transparently. This will give you a critical eagle-eye-view of how the entire project will be implemented which should help you to better manage your own internal operations and resources during the period. If you would like to know more about our Zoho Implementation Services, you can view them here https://www.infolytics.co.za/implementations.

5. Do they provide ongoing support and maintenance?

Knowing what happens once your Zoho systems are in place is important. It goes without saying that changes can occur or requirements may change after the Zoho Partner has completed their job. If it’s training, you may realise that you need additional Zoho training on other Zoho business apps or refresher courses after a certain period of time. If it’s a complete system changeover, new business needs may pop up which may require a bit of tweaking in the system and it is not something any one in your team is qualified to do. In all these scenarios, having affordable and professional ongoing support is imperative to ensure that you not only get the most out of your Zoho investment but continue to operate at your best. If the Zoho Partner provides dedicated and flexible Zoho support, that’s even better because you will be in a position to fully enjoy the benefits of using Zoho without any interruptions.

Bonus Tip!

6. Are they chasing paper or they genuinely want to see your business grow?

Once you have ticked all the above, you are almost there as these recommendations provide with a solid foundation on what you need to really sit down and consider when hiring a Zoho Partner. A bonus tip is work with a Zoho Partner that genuinely wants to see your business grow and succeed. They will put your business needs first and will do a stellar job in making sure that you achieve your strategic business goals. A Zoho Partner who has your business at heart will be authentic in their approach and will advise you on the right solutions for your business. Their services will be based on best practice and transparency which are both important in making sure that you get the most out of your Zoho investment.

Categories

We help businesses grow

Infolytics is a Zoho Authorised Partner and Registered Zoho Creator Partner. We offer expert Zoho assistance and help businesses of all sizes grow and reach their full potential during their journey of discovery, selection, implementation, training, and ongoing success with the Zoho suite of Web and Mobile Apps.

What's new in Zoho One?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho One.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa

+27 72 704 6843 (Mon - Fri)

info@infolytics.co.za

Zimbabwe

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Tynwald, Harare · Zimbabwe

+263 78 744 4417 (Mon - Fri)

sales@infolytics.co.zw

Why Zoho CRM is the best CRM Software for 2022.

Mon, 13 Dec 2021 10:00:00 +0200

Why Zoho CRM is the best CRM Software for 2022.

Some of the largest businesses on the planet trust Zoho CRM.

Some of the top leading businesses on the planet trust Zoho CRM to automate their entire sales and marketing processes. They use it to boost sales as well as build meaningful lasting customer relationships. The pandemic has created a great shift in terms of how businesses interact and engage with both existing and potential customers in order to drive sales. It’s now more important than ever to understand what a CRM software is actually designed to achieve so that you can select the right CRM solution for your business in 2022.

Zoho CRM has been accredited with multiple awards and is consistently recognized as one of the leading cloud-based CRM software. In terms of lead generation, pricing, sales automations, integrations and customisations, Zoho CRM was recently acknowledged by PC Magazine as one of the best CRM software for 2022.

What is CRM Software?

Before we go into why Zoho offers the best CRM software out there, it’s important to first familiarise yourself with the concept of CRM software and what it is meant to achieve. The term CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Customer Relationship Management simply put, is the process of managing customer interactions in terms of engagement and communication. The focus is not only on existing customers but also on potential customers through lead generation. CRM Software put all your strategic efforts into a single system that helps you to manage your customer database, interactions, sales force automation and marketing campaigns. CRM software has increasingly become important to businesses who want to improve customer experience, build customer loyalty, empower employees, drive productivity and streamline their sales pipelines.

Zoho CRM is built for every business across every industry.

One of Zoho CRM's major features is that it is designed to cater for every business large and small across various industries no matter where you are in your business journey. Canvas is a unique feature within Zoho CRM that allows you to personalise your user interface so that you can navigate it with ease and access the features that are the most relevant to you. CRM platforms sometimes have too many features that can make them tedious, overwhelming and difficult to use. This not only affects your team’s adoption levels but can also interferes with their overall productivity. The amazing thing about Canvas is that you do not even need to use a single line of code so anyone within your team can achieve this through an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor. You can redesign the layout for the backgrounds, buttons, lists and fields that are within your Zoho CRM user interface according to your own personal tastes and requirements. Working with a user friendly interface drives usage and creates a happier work environment for your team.

Categories

All

Zoho CRM

Zoho Integrations

Retain the right customers and focus your marketing efforts where it counts.

Not all customers are created equal and knowing where to focus all your sales and marketing efforts makes a huge difference to your bottom line. Zoho CRM is an all-in-one marketing automation platform that works with a highly intelligent sales funnel workflow designed to blow your sales through the roof. The most successful businesses close sales like it's about to go out of fashion simply because they have a well-structured sales funnel that helps them to convert prospective buyers into customers. Zoho CRM helps businesses to have a clear view of their customer journey map from the time a customer makes first contact with their brand to the final stage when they actually make a sale. Zoho CRM has features such as Lead Scoring, Social Media integrations, Google AdWords integrations, offline campaign management and website forms lead tracking to help you to build your online presence, referrals and organic ratings. You can implement successful lead nurturing campaigns through Zoho CRM’s website live chat and marketing automation capabilities.

Zoho CRM also has an interesting feature called Zia which is an AI companion that helps you to manage your customer relationships like a pro. Zia assists you to start and carry out conversations with both prospects and leads and also predict which of these leads are most likely to become buying customers. With Zia, you don’t have to shoot in the dark as you will be in a better position to close deals and boost your sales conversions. To learn a little bit more about Zia please click here.

Bid farewell to generic email blasts and cold calls that never convert.

Closing the gap between your sales and marketing teams in one of the top revenue growth strategies that every business needs to have on their board. If your sales and marketing teams are not aligned, you could be losing opportunities that would have boosted your sales conversions. Zoho CRM offers seamless integration with over 100 business apps and popular email marketing tools such as Mailchimp. By integrating your sales and marketing activities, you will be able to sync all your contact and campaigns. This gives you a clean up-to-date and duplicate free database that is packed with rich data that helps you to determine the campaigns that each lead interacted with the most. Both your sales and marketing teams will have access to the same data offering them vital information on the quality of your leads. Using Zoho CRM’s marketing attribution features, your teams will also be able to identify the campaigns that brought in the best results.

Using Zoho CRM, you can segment your customer base using filters such as lead source, region and level of responsiveness. This helps you to create targeted marketing campaigns that give you the best ROI.

Tap into the true pulse of your business with the right Sales and marketing metrics.

When it comes to sales, numbers don’t lie and they are for obvious reasons a key motivator. Zoho CRM comes with in-built analytics that help you to monitor every aspect of your sales pipeline from awareness to closing the deal. Zoho CRM gives you Lead Analytics, Deal Insights and Activity Stats that give you a clear understanding of how your business is performing. Using Zoho CRM’s AI-powered anomaly detector, your sales teams will be able to effortlessly monitor sales patterns and compare your actual sales performance against predicted trends. You can also keep track of email open rates, click rates and bounce rates to assess the effectiveness of your lead generation strategies and overall email marketing campaigns. Zoho CRM comes with standard reports and custom reports which you can create across multiple modules. Other amazing sales analytics features that you will find within Zoho CRM are cohorts, target meters, quadrants and zone maps.

Seamlessly integrate with the business apps that you are already using.

Zoho CRM offers next-level integrations to some of the top business apps that you are already using. As mentioned before, Zoho CRM integrates with over 100 business apps which may give you further opportunities to sustainably grow your business. The awesome thing is that for a good portion of these integrations, you are not charged for the integration process and it all happens within a few clicks.

Zoho CRM integrates with office suites such as Office 365, GSuite and PandaDoc. For telephony and messages services, it offers free integration to Twilio, WhatsApp and Ringcentral only to mention a few. Other amazing free integrations are with popular business apps such as Eventbright, Zoom, Slack, Xero, Quickbooks, Adobe Sign, Proposify, Google Ads, Facebook Ads Manager and Survey Monkey. All these integrations enable your team to work more efficiently with access to tools that help them to save time, be more productive and stay engaged.

Enjoy flexible monthly subscriptions that can grow your business.

One of the things that suffocate growing businesses are sticky and lengthy contracts that are difficult to get out of. Another thing is costly systems that are difficult to sustain in the long run. In South Africa, the rand often fluctuates against the US dollar making it sometimes expensive to pay for services at international currency rates. For small and growing businesses, keeping costs low is a top priority. Zoho CRM has a free plan which is ideal for start-ups and small businesses that are aiming to slowly ease into using high-performing business support systems. The features are just enough for your start-up to get started and then you can move onto other higher plans as your business grows.

Zoho CRM also offers affordable and flexible monthly subscriptions which help businesses of all types to be able to use the platform as and when required. With Zoho CRM, a business is not forced to sign up for long-term contracts meaning that they can cancel their subscription at any time. Zoho CRM’s full pricing structures are available online so there are no hidden costs or unexpected add-ons. This also makes Zoho CRM a leading contender as one of the top CRM software in South Africa and countries alike.

Grow your business in 2022 and beyond using the right CRM Software.

Every business is unique so it therefore up to you to determine which CRM software best meets your needs and requirements. Zoho CRM is designed to assist businesses of all types no matter where they are in their business journey or the industry they operate in to build healthy long-lasting customer relationships. The best CRMs give you valuable insights into what your customers need from you as well as how they behave; and this is what Zoho CRM does. By streamlining your sales pipeline and automating your marketing efforts, your business may see a jump in revenue growth as a result of much improved sales conversions. With next-level integrations, your teams do not have to toggle between platforms as data and functionalities seamlessly sync together.

Zoho CRM clearly offers mouth-watering features that taste as good as they sound. It offers the best value for growing businesses with customisable user interfaces, detail-rich reports, and AI-powered functionalities; top deck collaboration features for your sales and marketing teams and not forgetting hassle free monthly subscriptions which you can cancel at any time.

Take Zoho CRM for a spin for FREE!

START FREE 30-DAY TRIAL NOW

NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED

BOOK FREE LIVE ZOHO CRM DEMO

Categories

We help businesses grow

What's new in Zoho One?

Check out all the features and latest developments in Zoho One.

LEARN MORE

Office Locations

South Africa

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Randburg, Gauteng, South Africa

+27 72 704 6843 (Mon - Fri)

info@infolytics.co.za

Zimbabwe

Infolytics Pty Ltd

Tynwald, Harare · Zimbabwe

+263 78 744 4417 (Mon - Fri)

sales@infolytics.co.zw

Infolytics SA - Blog #Zoho CRM

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Est.

Location

Industry

Company Size

Est.

Location

Industry

Company Size

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Streamlined, Sustainable, Smart: How Plastic Bubbles is Transforming Packaging Sales and Operations with Zoho One

Article Read Time:

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Strategic Strengths and Business Foundation

Strategic Strengths and Business Foundation

Key Challenges

Key Challenges

At A Glance

Key Applications

Integrations

Tech Skills Applied

Non-Tech Skills Applied

The Solution

The Solution

Sean Kenneth ~ Sales Manager, Plastic Bubbles

Positive Results

Subscribe to our Blog

Categories

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

Est.

Location

Industry

Company Size

Est.

Location

Industry

Company Size

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho

Article Read Time:

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Key Challenges

Key Challenges

At A Glance

Key Applications

Integrations

Tech Skills Applied

The Solution

The Solution

Positive Results

Positive Results

Subscribe to our Blog

Categories

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho​My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

The Exciting World of Zoho: My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa

Article Read Time:

Exploring the World of Zoho

Exploring the World of Zoho

Inspiring Keynotes and Presentations

Inspiring Keynotes and Presentations

Insightful Customer Case Studies

Insightful Customer Case Studies

Impressive New Features and Capabilities

Impressive New Features and Capabilities

Here is a list of some of my favourite product updates:

Here is a list of some of my favourite product updates:

1. Zoho CRM for Everyone

1. Zoho CRM for Everyone

2. Zoho Forms and Paystack Integration

The Exciting World of Zoho

My Experience at Zoholics Johannesburg in South Africa