Sector Spotlight: Industry Insights and Tips (April 2024)

Hello there,

A lot has happened since our last post: discussions, ideas, meetups, and plentiful perspectives. As part of the Zoho Community's effort to help you make the most of Zoho's products, we've set up some industry-based groups where we have hyper-specific discussions about using Zoho in a niche sector (such as manufacturing).

Find Your Industry Group and Join the Conversation!

These groups (comment below to let us know which group you're in!) meet virtually once a month to discuss a topic of your choice. After the meetups, we continue our discussions on our Cliq chatrooms, where tapping into each other's expertise is just a text away. Joining one of these groups is straightforward; just fill out this form and you'll be invited to the groups that best fit you. Let's look at some of these upcoming events and recent discussions.

Upcoming Events:

We have some exciting news for the April events. Some of our community members will be sharing their Zoho experiences with the group. @Laverne will share her evolution of Zoho setup in the next Small Business ZUG meetup and  @Troy will walk us through how he uses multiple apps for his daily operations in the Law Firms ZUG meetup.

Industry	Date	Topic	Link to register
Healthcare ZUG	Apr 18, 10:00 AM CDT	TrainerCentral for Effective Healthcare Training	Link
Law Firms ZUG	Apr 24, 10:00 AM CDT	Optimizing Zoho for a Law Firm	Link
Small Business ZUG	Apr 25, 1:00 PM CDT	Becoming a Zoho Champion in your Firm	Link

Tips and Discussion from the Groups:

Small Business ZUG

Searchable Knowledge Base: @Asif Khan initiated the discussion, highlighting the need for a searchable knowledge base. @Toms suggested leveraging Zoho Desk's Knowledge Base, mirroring the system Zoho uses for its own public information. @Chris Kiadii offered an alternative approach: utilizing Zoho Connect's external networks. He also mentioned Zoho Campfire, a beta tool to create communities and knowledge bases.

CRM Updates: To help keep the group updated, @Chris Kiadii shared a video about the latest CRM updates.

Converting Accounts to Leads: In some special cases, an account needs to be converted back into a lead. This helpful video kick-started this discussion. @Nagarajan helped with the script that can help solve this.

Deactivating Users and Email Syncing: @Jordan was concerned about losing emails exchanged by an employee with clients when that employee leaves the company. Since the emails were being synced to CRM via  the IMAP configuration, there was a concern they might be lost. However, there's a solution: by using Zoho Mail's Add-on, emails can be backed up. This means that no matter which email provider is used (Zoho Mail, Gmail, etc.), the emails will stay in your CRM even after deactivating a user from your organization.

URL Shortener: For those wanting a URL shortner, @LaVerne Cox shared the tip of using short links in Zoho Marketing Automation.

Law Firms ZUG

Collecting Client Documents: @John Heck wanted a better way to collect and store client documents. Currently, Zoho Forms, which John was using, had a limit of five documents. So we suggested using Zoho Flow, WorkDrive, and Forms together. Here's how the flow would work: Someone fills out a form, a WorkDrive folder is created in their name, an external share link of the same folder is generated, and this link is then shared via email. This link can then be saved by the client and updated with the relevant documents when needed.

Automating Cliq Channels: @Matthew Crider wanted to streamline task automation at his law firm, specifically in managing case discussions through separate Cliq channels. We proposed a solution using Zoho Flow. Here's how it operates: When a case is generated in the CRM, a corresponding Cliq channel for that case is automatically established. As long as the case is active, the channel serves as a means for case discussions. Upon case closure in the CRM, the associated Cliq channel is archived, ensuring organized workflow management.

Manufacturing ZUG

Printing Labels with Barcodes: @Matt Holmes wanted an easy and time-efficient way to print labels using the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) of items as barcodes in Zoho Inventory. @Dmitry suggested Zoho Inventory's barcode generator for this, which would work well for small batches.

Inventory Management: @Ryan was puzzled about utilizing Zoho Inventory for managing items that require processing. Specifically, he inquired, "How can I transform an unfinished part XXX into a finished part XXX after sending it out for plating or heat treating and getting it back?" In response, @Sayali recommended leveraging composite items in Zoho Inventory. This involves categorizing the unfinished item as a regular inventory item and the process needed as a service.

Let's Talk!

This is just a glimpse into the vibrant discussions happening within our Zoho User Groups. We encourage you to find your industry group and join the conversation! If you're interested in an industry not mentioned above, feel free to leave a comment below, and if there is sufficient interest, we will be happy to arrange meetups for additional sectors.

Nowman

Zoho Community

• Topic Participants

• Mohamed Nowman N

  

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