@headhunter: @zoho ROCKS … new CRM GUI is just simply STUNNING….Would have to be one of the best web apps I have EVER seen – EVER – Usability PLUS!
This was one of the responses to the public launch of our new UI.
It has been just a month since we launched the new look of Zoho CRM and the response we received was encouraging. The whole idea of the change was to make all our customers more productive at work.
Most of you liked the change. But, not everyone’s tastes are the same. We understand. A few of you who were still accustomed to the old UI felt that you were missing some functionality.
You asked, we listened and here are the updates that we have made…
Reflect your priorities. Customize Business Card View
For Sales Reps who just want to focus on selling and not on data entry, the business card view gives instant access to customer information. As a user, you could also change the fields – so, if you prefer to see the contact’s mobile number instead of the email id, you could set it from a list.
While this is very helpful, some of our users also asked for an option to change the priorities of the fields. For example, here’s a comment we received in our forums:
“The problem with the business card view is that it does not reflect my priorities, but someone else’s. When I click through on a contact, I do not want to see my own name. Nor would I have chosen the items you have chosen…”
We now have that option. You can not only select the fields but also change their order. There’s more. In case you feel that you do not want to see the instant information, you can hide it too.
How do you benefit from this? More customer information on the screen and minimal scrolling. Less scrolling means you can get to your information faster.
Do not want the Quick Actions? Hide It.
Quick Actions – these are the basic actions you can take from a record’s detail page. For example, if you want to add a task related to a contact, it’s easy to do so right from the contact’s detail page itself.
This is a time-saver! But it is not necessary that you’d want to use these links always. Like this comment we received: “These ‘Quick Actions’ to the right of the new business card also have no useful function for me. Sorry to be so negative, but this is the truth. I just don’t use them...”.
You can now choose to hide the Quick Actions from a record’s detail page and work the way you want to.
Wide Screen? No problems now!
Previously, we had set a fixed width of the page. Customers who are using wide screens or high resolution monitors told us that this wasn’t pleasing to the eye. “We rely heavily on the wide screen view for all of our data to be visible and this new UI does not scale automatically…“, was a comment we received.
With the latest update, you can choose the layout that you prefer. Fixed or Wide Screen, Zoho CRM fits your screen just the way you want it!
Sticky Recent Items
In our new interface, we changed the Recent Items list to a drop-down at the top menu bar. It could be clicked and used whenever needed. But then, you could not keep those items in view always.
This is another option we have provided now. You can pin the Recent Items list to your screen while you navigate within your account. You can always close it once you are done.
Let your CRM match your company’s image
A cleaner, clutter-free look. This is what we achieved with the colors that we had selected for the new UI. Color preferences can vary, of course. For example, we received a comment like this: “But if I could “skin” my UI to match my company colors, I’d feel a little more in control of what changes were coming my way…”
Zoho CRM already had the ability to add your company’s logo to your account. And now, with custom themes, you can set the colors for your tabs and also choose a different background. Your account will look unique and match your company’s brand image.
We understand that every user has different work patterns. Thank you very much for your feedback and we hope that you like these updates.
Any other ideas? Let us know in the comments below.
– Sharanya R
I would like control over fonts in the fields in Layouts.
Also, width of the Label and Value columns parts (and width of the overall column too) would be great. For both one and two-column "Column Layouts."
Lastly I would like to see a right-justify option (for numerics).Thanks!
If you are still listening....
Reminders for tasks must have a snooze feature. Very rarely is a single task reminder the end of a process. Creating a recurring reminder doesn't work because the subsequent reminders may not be daily, weekly, etc... It varies. I may have a reminder to follow up w/ a CUSTOMER on Monday. I call the CUSTOMER on Monday and he is out sick. Now I need to either edit the task to create a new reminder date or create a new task. No way I could have anticipated that when the original follow up task was created.This is basic functionality in all programs that use calendars and dates. You must provide this in zoho. Automate anything you do more than once. I've done this dozens of times.
The good news is zoho is the best CRM for the money. The bad news is zoho is the best CRM for the money.
I sell to customers. Lots of them. My sales cycles can vary from a few minutes to a few years. Some B2C, some B2B. All CUSTOMERS. Does anyone else find it strange that a Customer Relationship Management software program does not refer to anything as "Customer".
Make it Customer centric. If a customer works for a company, I'll put the company in there. Allow me to attach more than 1 customer to a company. I might sell one thing to a person in the engineering dept at a company and a completely different line of parts and accessories to a fleet manager of the same company. The company is not the customer, the customer is the customer. If my customer leaves the company, I now have a new customer at that company.
I want to look at the customer's profile and see all activity, including all prior sales. I don't want to have to be concerned w/ whether or not a lead became a contact became a potential. All leads are contacts are customers are potential sales. To silo this information in modules because that's the way some software developer sees the world is just plain nonsense. Nonsense that costs me time.Oh, and how can you allow me to create a follow up task from a phone call and not copy all the info from the phone call? Is not the task a direct result of the phone call? It is related to the customer (there's that word again), but it has everything to do with the phone call.There is so much fundamentally wrong w/ this and all other CRM's I might just have to develop my own.
Thanks. You just solved my problem. I took it off Fit to Screen and can now access my subfolders.
Zoho is great, but now the RECENT ITEMS tab covers the folders and I cant get to my subfolders.
Zoho customers are time sensitive. We want to find what we need rapidly:+ ALPHA SORT at the top of the page instead of the bottom
+ Quick Actions should stay fixed at top of page, so they can be accessed at any time while on the page – rather than having to scroll back to the top of the page first.
+ TOO much white space, and too large of fonts, means wasted time and frustrated scrolling (=bad).
I agree. The old UI was much easier to navigate. Now I have lost notes, emails and phone numbers that are not consistent. The emails and phone numbers do not transfer between Leads, Accounts, Opportunities, and even when I click on each tab, sometimes the information is not there, as it used to be in the old UI. I have to click five times as much to get around. Ironically, the New IU was supposed to reduce the clicks. I'm disappointed and frustrated. I appreciate the effort to make the new UI more effective, but it just isn't working for me.
I would love to see the ability to add your LEAD SOURCE to your Web Forms and being able to hide it automatically rather than changing the code.I think for people who are unfamiliar with HTML would find this very helpful. I am comfortable with HTML, but I would also find this option much easier and useful.
We asked....you did NOT listen. While you may think it is a more aesthetically pleasing User Interface, the fact is the form does not help the functionality at all. I can no long print a concise version of the daily calendar on one page (whether on fit to screen mode or not), the colors blend in and make the page more difficult to use. For instance, notes are getting lost because it is more difficult to tell that the note was not saved. All notes are attached to the events which causes us a problem because some people in our company do not and should not have access to all the notes on a customer's contact page. There is no way to limit who is to see these notes. It just seems to me that you chose form over function and everyone knows that looks fade. Customers chose programs because it suits their needs and will work best for their company. Apparently you forgot that when you changed the program. The changes may seem small and inconsequential to you but to some companies they are HUGE and cause a big problem. Sadly your "clean, more cluttered free look" might have you looking for new customers.
I mostly agree, if well the Administration screen is more logical now... but please if you wish to improve really listen to what experienced users say, do not feel tempted to follow the next advice of a HTMLX/CSSX guru so fast!
I have several issues with Zoho. I love the new UI, much better, but as a new user (my company of 30 employees just adopted Zoho CRM) I have some technical issues I'd like the development team to address:1 - why do Events sync to Google Calendar only every 6 hours? This is too long.
2 - why can't you "Add Invitees" to an event while you're creating it?
3 - why does a Task assigned to someone else not sync to their Google Task List?
4 - the wording of Workflow rules is unclear. It needs to be clearer what the criteria in this area mean - it's not the same as criteria in other areas of Zoho
5 - when someone invites someone to an event, they get an email saying they are an event "Owner", which is not true, they are only an invitee. This confuses people.Please change these things! Would be much appreciated!natasha
It would be nice to Integrate into Skype's Business Solution. You don't even allow for one click calling with Skype right now w/o manually adding the +1 for US based calls. It would be nice to allow this as an option rather than hardcode it.
Ask a salesperson... a field salesperson. Computer and web-designers like pretty fonts and flowing layouts, with their giant screens and hi-res dreams. Salespeople want it compact and all on one screen, "just the facts, mam" (ie Googles new compact view). If you don't have 10 salespeople for every designer when developing and beta testing you are going the wrong way.Setting up a huge sales force and the biggest differential advantage some have over the Zoho CRM is the automatic social media integration. Nothing could be better than a click to have a contact, picture, info AND all social media for that contact imported and updated. Knowing the guys kid just won his soccer championship can be just as important as his Linked-In profession. You have the technology... make it so. :))Thanks, Michael
Thanks for the LinkedIn integration.
1. Give us a way to easily copy the LinkedIn image when we associate the record or make it automatic.
2. I want my Admin to update all records to LinkedIn. We need a social integration screen so we can quickly see who is and is not linked and link them. Or better yet, click a button that runs a LinkedIn query.
I dont know if it has been suggested however I would consider a normal function of any system when creating a sales order for a current lead, at the very least the billing address would transfer into the sales order. I find myself writing addresses twice within 2 minutes!
my function on the CRM is to update data so I need to be able to search all areas easily and quickly. I don't find the new UI at all friendly in this respect. The old layout with the search facilities on the left hand side of the screen (and quick create, calendar, and recent items) works perfectly for me, bringing up the search results and enabling me to search quickly. I'm totally lost with the new layout. It would be great if I could change my home page to be like the old version. I agree that it is good to have the recent items available on all screens but it does get in the way and obliterate stuff on the screen if pinned. Surely the other items on screen should resize to accommodate pinned recent items feature. Basically I intend to carry on with the old version until the new one has better functionality.
I agree with these comments:Put the ALPHA SORT at the top of the page instead of the bottom - not sure why that change was made at all. For quick use, the ALPHA SORT should stay top of page.Quick Actions should stay fixed at top of page, so they can be accessed at any point you are in the page - rather than having to scroll back to the top of the page first.There is TOO much white space, and too large of fonts, resulting in tremendous amounts of scrollingI think you should also provide the ability to HIDE the recent items, or keep them open (like the << on the other side of the page). And I think the Search bar should be WHITE, not GRAY, and placed to the left of the screen, as most users read left to right
This was posted in a CRM thread on the support side by one of your support staff 2 years ago:IMAP ::: Our mail team is working to support the IMAP server and now it is in closed beta. Regarding the IMAP client, we don't have this feature in our short term road map. It will take more time and we will consider this after finishing the IMAP server's full functionality. Is there any update on when IMAP support will be available with CRM Mail Add-On?
Please add IMAP support to CRM
One cool feature I would like to see is email tracking. The Salesforce CRM has a GREAT feature where you can see if an email had been opened and how many times is was opened.
Great new UI, and great new tools to do more sales and less working on looking stuff or CRM's configuration, you're making my job-life easier :)Thanks Zoho!
I love working with your software. It is hands down the best CRM outthere. What I love the most is your constant innovation. I like to know that as my business evolves, I can count on my customizable CRM to evolve as well. Thanks for your wonderful work! ;)PS: Quick request, pls increase the format size of the image we can upload for our company logo, 20kb is way too small. By formatting it that low, the resolution looks terrible in all of my logos. Thanks
Love the new UI. Waiting for Multicurrency capability now. Is there a way you also incorporate page breaks in quote print layout?
If we can just get the ability to add new fields to the PRODUCT DETAILS SECTION of ZOHO CRM This would be the ultimate. Our business is only missing a few fields that need to be at this level like Height, Width, Len so we can do calculations on them and show them on the product details line. PLEASEEEEE open this up and this would send this over the TOP !Thank you
Hi-
The new interface looks nice!
A couple of comments.
1. A LEAD is not John Smith - John Smith is a contact. A LEAD is Company XYZ. The contacts come and go (new people assigned, the contact left the company etc). We are going after Company XYZ. When I go to the A-Z directory, I want the names of companies in there. 2. When I bring up a contact page, I should be able to click on the "Company" and be brought to that screen to see the information about Company XYZ. Now when I find a contact, I have to go back to the leads page, sort alphabetically by company, then hit "edit" to be brought to the company page to see details that were previously entered.3. Web-to-Lead: There needs to be an email alert when a new lead comes in. This is absolutely crucial.
Thanks for listening.
Jack
I have that same problem too!! I hate it because I can't get into my over organized folders.
Love all the changes ZOHO! The LinkedIn link is great but it's missing an important feature. The profile image from LinkedIn should automatically show up for any contact linked to a LinkedIn profile. I don't want to hunt down pictures for all my contacts and upload them.
Font Size? Ctl + will zoom you in... make ti as big as you want, or get better reading glasses! lol
You still have not addressed the alphabet at the bottom of the screen for client to put back to the just like the old version. We have to click to the bottom of the screen to use the alpha tabs. Please fix. I still like the old version. How long will we be able to use?
This is an excellent idea ++
Definitely on the right track with these updates and it's refreshing to hear your listening - but I found the business card order points difficult to understand above.One thing I would like to see is the ability to add a few more items to the business card view. The current number is rather arbitrary I'm sure some organisations need less/some need more. Can we customize?
Thank you Jeremy, four very valid requests and I had to laugh on point four.. I too liked the ability to 'pin' the Recent Items list - which promptly hid most of the Business Card! Stupid.We're entering a new stage here and Zoho need to listen up... this new UI is a total failure swapping what was generally on the right with what was generally on the left does not lead to increased productivity. What were you thinking?The font size and acres of white space are crazy - I want to see as much as possible with no scrolling... I don't like clicking to see submenus, now I have the worst of both worlds... more scrolling and more clicking.Features such as 'fit-to-screen', 'recent items' and the business card thing - all go to prove I'm not alone.I gave the new UI the benefit of the doubt, I really tried it, but the old UI is infinitely better is almost every request... sorry.
I think phone field masking is not a simple feature co'z this is really important field. Hmm but actually other people are ignoring it.
For the new version of CRM tool - when I view the over 180 potentials I have for Powerband X Email Blast view I only see one. while in the older version they all show up. What is wrong here? I go back to the old version - since I do not want to miss out on my potentials>? Help?
What about the iPhone app? Any updates coming? I love the new look of CRM, I signed up a long time ago and never used it because it lack key features, but now that I can integrate with Google and sync at the same time this thing ROCKS!
Two Things:1) A Home Screen Button easily accessible from ANY PAGE which takes you back quickly.2) The ability to customize the Home Screen Field Layout when activities are displayed. Also, the ability to "roll-over" an activity contact name on the home screen, and see the phone number.
I like how the quick actions for Potentials, Contacts, etc. such as Edit, Delete, Clone, etc. are fixed at the top of the screen when you scroll down. However, it would be better if the entire top navigation were fixed to the top of the screen, so I wouldn't have to scroll back up to get access to it.
All sounds well and good but no instruction directions on how to make the changes. Specifically - how do I get to business card view; how do I select wide screen vs fixed width?
There is TOO MUCH scrolling required in the new version. If I want to find an account or contact that begins with the letter G, I have to scroll to the bottom of the screen to find the alpha sort. It was much better when it was at the top of the page. Is there any way to move the alpha sort back towards the top of the page?
I just want to thank you Zoho for listening and making available what we need from Zoho CRM for our everyday activities with clients. To feel as a spoiled kid that gets all he asks is great when comes to relationship with CRM provider.
I use Zoho CRM for Google Apps and would LOVE LOVE LOVE it if leads and contacts were synced to my Google Contacts. Maybe put an option in on the lead and contact entry to Sync to Google Contacts, like there is on the Events section to Sync to Google Calendar?
It would be nice if you would allow for the criteria to change for the main views rather than having to recreate a new view. You can go in and edit the fields you want displayed, but are not allowed to change the criteria of the fields being displayed.
I understand we are resistant against change. Over all i like the new GUI. However the ridiculous small font size is totally wrong. Why not have the user control of the font size?
I had the same issue, but when I switched the setup in Themes to "Fit to Screen", it pulled the floating "Recent" tab away from the lists it was covering up.
No, the mask isn't working completely. If you check, say, the phone# of a contact or account in the look-up list, the masking is not present. I wish this would be implemented across the program.
One thing I didn't see mentioned that seems to be updated is the phone field masking. I've been waiting for this feature for almost 3 years now and I finally see it in there! Thank you! I thought this was a simple feature to be added...not sure what took so long but glad to see it in there!
I like the new interface, but would like to echo the comments above; more data on the screen would be helpful, as I, too, use a laptop & constantly have to scroll up/down to find data.
Also, I'm in desperate need of printing mailing labels. The current method is simply not usable - font is too small for postal workers to see; it prints in the top left corner of the label; there's no easy way to print the city/state/zip on 1 line. It's hard to imagine after all these years (and requests from others) that there is STILL no usable mailing label function. PLEASE ADDRESS AND PROVIDE THIS !!
1) Please please please will you now attend to the ridiculous font size. And if you can get rid of the acres of vast white space that would be a bonus. It is no improvement to useability when I'm having to scroll endlessly because there's so little data visible on each screen. It also probably explains the many comments about eye strain with the new UI as there's much more eyeball movement required.Doubtless on a large modern desktop screen it's not so bad but a major benefit of life in the cloud is we can use zoho on the move. Which means on laptops. Try using a 1366x768 res screen and you'll see the problem. We use these screens for hours each day. We don't need big fonts and lots of white space to make things "clearer", we need the maximum amount of data on a single screen, well laid out.2) Can we have the module specific search back please. There's plenty of room for it at the top of the screen. Then if I'm in Leads and want to search for a Lead, I don't have to use the drop down every time to select Leads! (Improved productivity - you have to be joking)!3) I see I still have to go through the pointless Setup screen just to get in to Set up which then seems to have all the same options readily available. Can't the Facebook generation navigate without pictures?4) When you produce your puffs such as the one above, can you please include some links to the instructions on how to make the changes. I've just wasted another 5 minutes finding out how to hide the Business card, as the means to do so is now hidden behind the recent Items tab!! So I echo Flavio's comment above.I look foward to sensible fonts. Until then I'm off back to the old UI, and if that goes before the font problem is sorted, I think we'll be headed for another CRM system.We are however delighted to see you're taking note of comments. I'd just rather not need to spend time supplying them!
We really need themes for the web-to-lead forms. The standard web-to-lead form is very outdated as far as style goes. I can not imagine that the majority of Zoho customers are familiar with coding to create there own custom forms.This would defiantly be a great feature and would market better to those that are looking for website integration features. That is definitely a huge market.Lewis
When we set the new crm to fit to whole width of monitor, the width of email plugin is still fixed and does not fit with whole screen. Can that be fixed?
The recent items tag is a very good idea, but could it be moved at the bottom of the page, because it interfere with the ability to view the list of mail boxes and dropdown folders when in the email page.