Kaizen #113 - Raising Signals in Zoho CRM through Zoho Flow

Kaizen #113 - Raising Signals in Zoho CRM through Zoho Flow

Hello everyone!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!

Last week, we discussed raising signals in Zoho CRM through functions. This week, we will discuss raising signals in Zoho CRM using Zoho Flow.

What is Zoho Flow?

Zoho Flow is an integration platform that allows you to automate workflows and connect various applications, including Zoho CRM. Using Zoho Flow to raise a signal in CRM can be beneficial in certain scenarios, particularly when you want to automate processes, trigger event-specific actions, or integrate CRM data with other applications.

Raising Signals using Zoho Flow

Consider the use case of Typeform. Typeform is an application that allows you to create forms and share them.

Let's consider you have a form in Typeform, where you get the details such as the Last Name, Company, Email. You also have a question if the user wants a demo of the product, and if yes, a convenient date for the same.

The aim is to create a lead in Zoho CRM when a form is submitted from the details obtained on the form in Typeform. You want to check if the user wants a demo. If yes, you want to raise a signal in Zoho CRM and create a task.

For data transfer to happen between Typeform, Zoho CRM and Zoho Flow, you must create connections with Zoho CRM and Zoho Flow, Typeform and Zoho Flow, respectively, and authorize them.

Here is a gist of the process.
  1. Create a flow and choose the app that triggers the flow. In our case, it is Typeform that triggers the flow when a form is submitted.
  2. Next, you must choose the Typeform trigger. In our case, it is form submission.
  3. Now, create a connection between Zoho Flow and Typeform. This requires you to sign in to Typeform and provide your consent.
  4. Configure the trigger and choose the right form from the list of forms displayed.
  5. In Zoho Flow's Builder, you can see an action block for Typeform.
  6. Next, you want to create a lead in Zoho CRM from the details submitted on the form.
  7. For this, choose the app as Zoho CRM and create a connection between Zoho CRM and Zoho Flow, and authorize it.
  8. After authorization, choose the "Create or Update Lead" action block, and map the necessary fields.
  9. Add the Decision action block to check if the user wants a demo.
  10. If yes, add the Raise Signal action block.
  11. Test and debug your flow and then enable it.

Let us discuss these steps in detail.

1. Creating a flow

  1. Log in to Zoho Flow.
  2. Give a name, description, and choose the folder for the flow.
  3. Click Create.

2. Choosing the trigger for the flow

  1. Since it is an app(Typeform) that triggers the flow, choose App and click Configure.

  2. From the list of applications displayed, search for Typeform.

  3. Choose the Typeform trigger. In our case, it is Entry Submitted. Click Next.

3. Creating a connection between Zoho Flow and Typeform

  1. Create a connection between Zoho Flow and Typeform for Zoho Flow to access Typeform's data. Click Connect.

  2. Specify a connection name and choose what this connection should execute—All triggers and actions or specific triggers and actions.
  3. Click Authorize.

  4. You will be redirected to Typeform. Log in to Typeform and provide your consent for Zoho Flow to use Typeform's data.
  5. Now, choose the form that you want Zoho Flow to use and click Done.

  6. Zoho Flow's Builder opens and you can see an action block for Typeform already in place.

4. Creating a lead in Zoho CRM

  1. After connecting Typeform and Zoho Flow, you want to create a lead in Zoho CRM. Choose the Create or Update Lead action block.
  2. For this, you must first connect Zoho Flow and Zoho CRM.
  3. Specify a connection name and choose what the connection should execute—All triggers and actions or specific triggers and actions.

  4. Click Authorize.
  5. You will be redirected to Zoho CRM's login page. Provide your credentials and your consent for Zoho Flow to use Zoho CRM.
  6. After successful authorization, the Create Lead form opens.
  7. The variable name will already be populated.
  8. Map the Owner ID in CRM, here.
  9. You can see that Last Name, Company, and Email are mandatory fields in the Leads module. These details are to be collected from the form and mapped with the fields in CRM.
  10. On the right pane, you can see the form. Click the drop-down arrow. You can see the fields on the form.
  11. Place the cursor on the Company field and click the field on the form that holds this data. It is the field "Give us your last name, please." field here. You can see that the field is populated by the $ key.
  12. Similarly, map the other fields.

  13. Click Done.

5. Checking if a demo is needed

  1. You want to check if the user needs a demo, and raise the signal in CRM only when they need it.
  2. On the left pane, click Logic.

  3. Drag and drop the Decision block in the Builder.
  4. Choose the criteria to make the decision. In our case, the criterion is "Would you like a demo?", the operator is "contains" or "equals", and the value is "Yes".

  5. Click Done.

6. Using the Raise Signal action block

  1. When the user wants a demo, you want to raise a signal in CRM and create a task.
  2. In the Builder, on the left, under Apps, search for Zoho CRM.
  3. Click the drop-down and choose the Raise Signal block.

  4. The Raise Signal form opens.

  5. Choose the module you want to associate the signal to and the record ID.
  6. Specify the Subject of the Signal.
  7. You can also construct the message you want to see when the signal is raised. For this, under the Message field, map your message with the right field on your form in Typeform. The right pane shows the list of fields available for you to map from the form's response.
  8. Click Done.

  9. This is what the complete flow would look like.

7. Testing the Flow

  1. Click the Play button in the builder at the top-right corner.
  2. Submit a test form in Typeform. This triggers the flow.
  3. In Zoho Flow, you can see the data for the form you submitted. Click Test.
  4. You can now see the action blocks being executed for Typeform and the subsequent action blocks.
  5. Each block has input and output tabs. Click them to see the execution.

8. Viewing the Signal in Zoho CRM

  1. Log in to Zoho CRM.
  2. Click the bell icon at the top-right corner.
  3. You can see the signal. Click the notification and you can view the body of the signal.

  4. You can also see that a lead with the name Smith will be created.

  5. This lead will also have an associated task.

Now, turn on your flow and get instant notifications whenever users submit the form.

The advantage of using Zoho Flow is that it takes care of the logic of raising the signal through the Raise Signal action block, and does not require you to write the function in CRM. This also does not require much coding knowledge.

Once you set up the flow, it automates the entire process of lead generation, raising a signal and other actions.
Zoho Flow supports multiple apps and therefore, integrating between Zoho CRM and other apps through Zoho Flow is much easier.

We hope you liked this post. Let us know your questions in the comments.
You can also email us at support@zohocrm.com.
Cheers!