Marketer's Space: Streamline marketing and sales by integrating ZMA's Planner with Zoho CRM

Marketer's Space: Streamline marketing and sales by integrating ZMA's Planner with Zoho CRM


In a competitive market, clear goal-setting and seamless campaign execution are crucial for marketing and sales alignment. When integrated with Zoho CRM, Zoho Marketing Automation's Planner enables marketers to create, manage, and measure campaigns effectively with comprehensive reporting and goal tracking.
This post covers how to use ZMA's Planner to manage campaigns, track budgets, and view activities by stages via the Kanban board. You'll also learn to track ROI with reports, set goals, and view contacts segmented by CRM insights in the Contacts tab.

Adding activities to ZMA's Planner online and offline

ZMA's Planner bridges the gap between digital and traditional marketing campaigns by enabling you to add and manage activities across multiple channels.

Digital activities

You can associate existing email campaigns or create new ones within the Planner. For instance, a marketer can configure an email campaign promoting a new product and track its engagement metrics. Similarly, they can add, configure, and directly monitor SMS campaigns.

Offline activities

Add activities like trade shows, events, or print ads to give marketers the flexibility to manage all campaigns in one place, including generating shareable short URLs and downloadable QR codes for use in physical stores.

Let's look at an example to see how adding activities to Planner works.

Let's say you're a marketer planning a product launch campaign targeting sales qualified leads (SQLs). Using ZMA's Planner, you create an email campaign and configure it directly, as well as track link clicks and email engagement metrics to gauge interest levels. One of your sales executives uses the Planner's contact filters to identify SQLs who have interacted with your campaign and then personalizes follow-ups to close deals faster.

Tracking progress with the Kanban board

The Planner's Kanban board visualizes campaign progress under stages like the following:
  • Ideating
  • Yet to start
  • In progress
  • Scheduled
  • Completed

You can also add custom stages to suit your campaign needs.


Why is this valuable to marketing and sales teams?

This segmentation ensures that campaigns are on schedule, providing clarity for both marketing and sales teams. For example, if a campaign is “In Progress,” the sales team knows when to prepare for lead engagement.

The Budget tab: Monitoring campaign finances

The Budget tab is vital for tracking the following:
  • Total budget
  • Total expense
  • Acquired leads
  • Cost per acquisition

It also provides insights through views that cover budget split, expense split, budget versus expenses, and detailed breakdowns of how budgets and expenses are distributed.

Setting goals with CRM data

ZMA's Planner enables you to define goals using metrics like the following:
  • MQL to SQL conversion rat
  • Count of SQLs, MQLs, and raw leads generated
  • Lead count by stage
  • Average lead score and location
  • Count of leads that have moved up a stage
  • Email engagement and leads engaged via Planner
  • Website visits by source, referral URL, location, and type (new or returning)
  • Organic and social website visit count
  • Website engagement metrics, including page views and visit types
It also includes CRM-related goal metrics like the following:
  • Leads closed (won or lost)
  • SQL to Closed Won conversion rate
You can also drill down into categories and set numerical targets for granular tracking. These insights provide a comprehensive view of marketing performance and help align efforts with sales goals.

Let's say you've set a goal to achieve 100 closed-won deals in Q4. Using the Planner, you track your count of closed-won leads and align your marketing activities to support this target. With CRM data integrated, you can ensure your campaigns focus on high-quality leads and help both marketing and sales teams stay aligned and meet their shared goals effectively.

The Reports tab: Actionable insights for ROI

The Reports tab consolidates key metrics, such as the following:
  • Existing leads reached and leads engaged (also shows how many contacts have achieved your plan's primary goal.)
  • Revenue and deals stats: Revenue generated and deals closed won
  • Expense and ROI stats: Campaign expense, ROI, and Channel-Wise ROI.
  • Website and location stats: Consolidated views of website visits by region.
For example, let's say you review reports to evaluate the success of your campaigns. For example, the Channel-Wise ROI report helps you identify which marketing channels delivered the highest returns and therefore serves as a guide for your future budget allocations.

Contact engagement with ZMA's Planner

The Contacts tab shows engagement at every level:
  • Leads reached
  • Leads engaged
  • Contacts closed with won deals
You can also create a contact segment within the Planner by selecting the "Segment Filter" icon.

Let's say your sales executive uses the Contacts tab to filter for “leads engaged” and focuses on SQLs who've interacted with the campaigns. This enables them to prioritize warm leads and boost conversion rates.

The integration with Zoho CRM enhances the Planner by providing valuable insights that enable marketers to set precise goals and track performance effectively. It bridges the gap between marketing and sales, ensuring both teams are aligned and focused on shared objectives. With access to detailed metrics, marketers can craft more impactful campaigns while the sales team benefits from higher-quality leads and actionable insights that help close deals efficiently.

Stay tuned for more posts on ZMA's Zoho CRM integration. Until then, happy marketing!

Regards,
Pearlin Nitika
User Education | Zoho Marketing Automation

    • Recent Topics

    • Performance Appraisal Probation Period

      Hello All,  Is there any possible way to create an appraisal cycle for new staff members, at the end of probation period? Many thanks!

    • Zoho Creatorの一括操作における処理の同期/非同期について

      現在、Creatorのレポート機能を利用して、複数のレコードに対して一括で処理を実行しようとしていますが、処理の実行順序について確認したいことがあります。 レポート内の複数レコードに一括で処理を実行した際、処理は同期的に行われるのでしょうか？それとも非同期的に行われるのでしょうか？ 【同期処理の場合】 レコード①に対する処理が開始され、終了後にレコード②に対する処理が開始され、最後にレコード③に対する処理が実行されるように、処理が順番に行われる場合。 【非同期処理の場合】 レコード①、レコード②、レコード③の処理が一斉に開始され、それぞれ並行して処理が行われ、全処理が終了する場合。

    • Adding Chargebee as a Data Connector

      Is it possible to get Chargebee added as a Zoho Analytics data connector?

    • Delete commerce website

      I need to delete a commerce website, but the only option is to click on settings, REQUEST DELETE, choose an urgency notice, add a message....AND THEN nothing, no way to send the request. Why is nothing simple!?!?!  I just want to delete the store.  The

    • Adding external users to Zoho Social under Zoho ONE licence - how to best achieve this

      My client has a small business, and we are looking to implementing Zoho ONE with a single flexible user licence as that is all they really need and offers the best pricing for the range of modules we eventually wish to set them up with, one of which will

    • Has anyone built a custom AI support agent inside Zoho (SalesIQ/Zobot)?

      Hi all, I’ve been experimenting with building my own AI support assistant and wanted to see if anyone here has tackled something similar within Zoho. Right now, I’ve set up a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipeline outside of Zoho using FAISS. It

    • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

      Problem Description: One of our sales agents in our organization is unable to sign in to Zoho Mail. When attempting to log in, the following message appears: This mobile number has been marked as spam. Please contact support at as@zohocorp.com @zohocorp

    • Zoho Books - Hide Convert to Sales Order if it can't be used.

      Hi Books team, I noticed that it is not possible to convert a Quote to a Sales Order when a Quote is not yet marked as accepted. My idea is to not show the Convert to Sales Order button when it is not possible to use it, or show it in a grey inactive

    • What’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025

      Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additions

    • Zoho Books - Quotes to Sales Order Automation

      Hi Books team, In the Quote settings there is an option to convert a Quote to an Invoice upon acceptance, but there is not feature to convert a Quote to a Sales Order (see screenshot below) For users selling products through Zoho Inventory, the workflow

    • When Zoho Tables Beta will be open to EU data center

      Hello all, We in EU are looking at you all using and testing and are getting jealous :) When we will be able to get into the beta also? We don't mind testing and playing with beta software. Thank you!

    • Pass current date to a field using Zoho Flow

      I am trying to generate an invoice automatically once somebody submits a record in Zoho CRM. I get an error in the invoice date. I have entered {{zoho.currentdate}} in the Date field. When I test the flow, I get "Zoho Books says "Invalid value passed

    • API: Mark Sales Order as Open + Custom Status

      Hi, it's possible to create Custom Status (sub-status actually) states for the Sales Order. So you have Open, Void. Then under Open you can have Open, and create one called Order Paid, Order Shipped, etc etc...which is grouped under Open. I can use the

    • Zoho Quartz Screen Recording

      Hello, can we get access to Quartz, please, as a standalone solution? It would be great for creating training videos for current and future staff on how to use Zoho software according to our company requirements. Thank you

    • Tip 26: How to hide the "Submit" button from a form

      Hi everyone, Hope you're staying safe and working from home. We are, too. By now, we at Zoho are all very much accustomed to the new normal—working remotely. Today, we're back with yet another simple but interesting tip--how to hide the Submit button from your forms. In certain scenarios, you may want to hide the submit button from a form until all the fields are filled in.  Use case In this tip, we'll show you how to hide the Submit button while the user is entering data into the form, and then

    • filter broke my data

      I uploaded a file recently from Sheets and it has top 2 rows frozen, with table headers in second row and each one is filterable. somehow my first 2 columns became unfiltered and no matter what I do I cannot reapply the filter?? also didn't realize they

    • How do I move Notes around within a Group?

      It says here: " You can now sort notes by title (alphabetically), or by date modified and date created. You can even organize your notes by dragging and dropping them into a particular order. To sort your notes, simply go to Settings and tap “Sort By.” Please note: all sort settings will be saved and synced across devices, except for custom sorting. Custom sorting will be device specific."However, I am unable to 'custom sort' in either Notebook for Mac or on the Web. In addition, I can't find the

    • Generate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email

      Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need to

    • Zoho Sign: need to leave document pending for up to a year, or maybe there's a better way?

      I have zoho one, maybe there's a better way to do this with another service than sending a zoho sign template from zoho crm. At the end of the day this requirement is due to regulations, no matter how dumb it may seem. I'm just looking for a way of getting

    • Separate Items & Services

      Hi, please separate items and services into different categories. Thank you

    • What's New in Zoho Inventory | Q2 2025

      Hello Customers, The second quarter have been exciting months for Zoho Inventory! We’ve introduced impactful new features and enhancements to help you manage inventory operations with even greater precision and control. While we have many more exciting

    • Mastering Zia Match Scores | Let's Talk Recruit

      Feeling overwhelmed by hundreds of resumes for every job? You’re not alone! Welcome back to Let’s Talk Recruit, where we break down Zoho Recruit’s features and hiring best practices into simple, actionable insights for recruiters. Imagine having an assistant

    • We are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

      I cannot sign up and return the error of we are unable to process your request now. Please try again after sometime or contact support@zohoaccounts.com

    • Multi-currency - What's cooking ?

      Hi,       We have been doing this feature for sometime and we would like to give you some glimpses of it.  Working with Multi Currency :        Multicurrency support gives you the ability to handle business transactions in multiple currencies. You can define a base currency for your organization and add more currencies with exchange rates based on the base currency.  Setup :        From the setup page, you can manage all the currencies supported by your organization.       Currencies page        

    • Integrating Chatbot with Zoho Creator Application

      Is it possible to integrate a chatbot with a Zoho Creator application?

    • How to reduce programmatically the image uploaded by user?

      I need a function that will automatically reduce the pixel dimension to 800 x 600 pixels / 180 resolution or (approx. 1.37MB) of image uploaded by user from digital camera, for example, 2271 x 1704 pixels /180 resolution or approx. 11.1MB. After the user selected the image, the function will able to detect if pixels is above 800x600, process the photo (crop/ reduce) and resume upload. Need help...  

    • Dark mode for Zoho Creator / Zoho CRM Code editor

      Hi Team, Is there any plans for Dark mode in Zoho creator / Zoho Crm code editor and development pages in pipeline?

    • Is there a way to make a button scroll down?

      Looking to have a button on a landing page scroll down to another section on the page. Any recomendations outside of coding?

    • Collective-booking event not added to all staff calendars

      We assign two staff to certain events. When the client books this event, it adds it to one staff calendar (the 'organiser') but not the other. How can I ensure all staff assigned to a collective booking get the event in their calendar? (A side note: it

    • ZOHO Android Client

      Hi, I installed the Android app, but it had an issue, so I reinstalled it. I was able to add multiple accounts, but now when I add the next account, it just duplicates the one I already have and will not even allow me to enter the info for another account.

    • I'd like to suggest a feature enhancement for SalesIQ that would greatly improve the user experience across different channels.

      Hello Zoho Team, Current Limitation: When I enable the pre-chat form under Brands > Flow Controls to collect the visitor’s name and email, it gets applied globally across all channels, including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. This doesn't quite align

    • Enhance Barcode/QR Code scanner with bulk scanning or continuously scanning

      Dear Zoho Creator, As we all know, after each scan, the scanning frame closes. Imagine having 100 items; we would need to tap 100 times and wait roughly 1 second each time for the scanning frame to reopen on mobile web. It's not just about wasting time;

    • Non-depreciating fixed asset

      Hi! There are non-depreciable fixed assets (e.g. land). It would be very useful to be able to create a new type of fixed asset (within the fixed assets module) with a ‘No depreciation’ depreciation method. There is always the option of recording land

    • Managing Rental Sales in Zoho Inventory

      I am aware that Zoho Inventory is not yet set up to handle rental sales and invoicing. Is anyone using it for rentals anyway? I'd like to hear about how others have found work arounds to manage inventory of rental equipment, rental payments, etc. Th

    • Megamenu

      Finally! Megamenu's are now available in Zoho-Sites, after waiting for it and requesting it for years! BUT ... why am I asked to upgrade in order to use a megamenu? First: Zoho promised to always provide premium versions and options for all included Zoho-applications

    • Cannot access KB within Help Center

      Im working with my boss to customize our knowledge base, but for some reason I can see the KB tab, and see the KB categories, but I cannot access the articles within the KB. We have been troubleshooting for weeks, and we have all permissions set up, customers

    • Zoho Flow to Creator 3001 Respoonse

      I have updated my Flows with the new V2 connection to Zoho Creator, but now some Flows do not work. They take in data from a Webhook and are supposed to create a record in Creator, however creator returns a 3001 message along with a failure, but I cannot

    • File Upload to Work Drive While Adding Records in Zoho Creator Application

      Hi I am trying to set a file attachment field in zoho creator form, to enable the user to upload a scanned document from their local pc. The file should be uploaded to zoho workdrive and not to the default zoho creator storage. The file link should be

    • Why not possible to generate?

      Using this https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#TicketCount#TicketCount_Getticketcountbyfield on my ZML script url :"https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/ticketsCountByFieldValues?departmentId=XXXXXXXXXXX&accountId!=XXXXXXXXX&customField1=cf_country_1:XXXXXX&field=overDue"

    • email

      Hi My crm email is not working, can you check, I have zoho one account.

    • Next Page