Zoho CRM Blueprint 3.0 — What's in store for you!
Hello everyone,
We hope all of you are doing well. We are excited to let you know that we have launched a set of useful enhancements in Blueprint. Here is a rather elaborate post on what those enhancements are and what to expect. Feel free to get back to us with any questions you may have.
Summary of enhancements:
- SLAs now support automated actions apart from existing default email alerts.
- "Same-state looping" has been introduced.
- The During Transition settings now let you mandate Tags.
- Introducing Automatic Transitions (Early access only*):Avoid process delays by automatically pushing records from one state to another after the passage of an acceptable time period.
- Introducing Mass Inclusion/Exclusion of records (Early access only*):Whether you want to include records into a Blueprint or take them out of one, you can now do so in bulk.
1. Automated actions now supported in SLAs.
SLA or Service Level Agreement in Blueprint, is a setting that enables you to keep a track of records that are falling behind in a process. How is this done?
By triggering a standard escalation alert to yourself or your team members, whenever a record has rested in a particular Blueprint State for more than a defined period. This way, you can take note of records that have stalled within a Blueprint and take further action on them before further delay.
Now in addition to standard email alerts, you can also now configure custom email notifications, tasks, field updates, run a custom function, or trigger a webhook as part of automated actions in SLAs.
For example, let's say that as per your process, you want to be alerted whenever a record has stayed in the Negotiation State for more than 5 days. For this, apart from the the default email alert you can choose to automate a field update where a field called "Urgency" gets updated from "Mild" to "Severe" whenever a record has stayed in the Negotiation state for more than 5 days. Later you can filter out records for which the urgency is severe and prioritise their transitions first.
2. Same-state looping
A process often contains steps which you have to attempt multiple times for it to be successful. A typical example would be an attempt to contact a customer. In order to gather their requirements you will have to call them. But often they may be unavailable or may ask you to call later. Unless you speak to them you cannot go to the next stage, so you have to stay in the same State until they answer. However your staying in the same state doesn't also mean you did not do your job — you just have to try multiple times until you are successful.
In such cases, you can now create a transition that "loops back" to the same stage. The From and To state is the same. For example, in the following deal follow-up process, you can use the "Retry contacting" transition infinite number of times, until you are successful in which case you will select Customer Available and progress further.
3. Mandate tags in the During Transition settings
You may now mandate tags as part of the During Transition section of a Blueprint. The transition owner would then be prompted to enter a value for tags in order to complete the transition.
4. Automatic transitions
Automatic transitions have been introduced in Blueprints, to help you combat process delays. Often, a record that traverses through a process tends to stagnate in a particular state and you may not even realise it. This causes unwarranted delays. One thing you can certainly do is set an SLA for the state and be notified whenever there's an escalation.
But ultimately, SLA is also a notification or a task/field update of sorts— the record at the end of the day, needs your manual intervention in order to progress further in the process. If you only want to be notified of escalations, you may configure SLAs. On the other hand, if you want the system to act and automatically move a record from one state to another at any point, you can now create automatic transitions.
So what are automatic transitions and how do they work?
An automatic transition is one in which a record in a Blueprint automatically moves from one state to another, after a specified "Wait" time has elapsed.
As per the process, in order for a record to go from State A to State B, you will have to perform a Transition A. If this Transition A has not been executed within a said time period, say, 5 days, then the Automatic Transition configured for that state will get executed and the record will be pushed forward automatically to another state in the Blueprint as per the configuration.
For instance, in the following screenshot, CRM will wait for one of the transitions to take place: Either "Confirm Interest" or "Drop deal". If no action is taken on this record until a said date, the record will be moved to the "Price Quote" stage automatically and the users can take it up from there.
To configure an automatic transition
Select the Automatic Transition checkbox as you create a regular transition.
Then, mention a "Wait time" and corresponding automated actions.
According to the following screenshot, the deal follow-up process flow has a handful of major steps to be performed before a price quote can be drafted — namely, Contact establishment, qualification, needs analysis and value proposition. If a particular deal has moved to the "Contacted" stage but the user has not taken the action required for Qualification, Blueprint will wait for 5 days and directly move it to the "Id.Decision Makers" state. From there the user concerned can take over drafting a price quote.
A price quote cannot be created without knowing requirements, contact details etc, so there the action items from previous states can also be done altogether at this point, without wasting any more time.
5. Mass Inclusion and Exclusion of records to a Blueprint
While creating a Blueprint for a module, you have the option to specify entry criteria. When you specify one, only records that meet these criteria can go through with the Blueprint.
Well, an important point to note is, only records that henceforth meet the criteria can go through with the Blueprint. So what about existing records? How can you get already existing records that qualify for the Blueprint into the Blueprint.
That is where the mass inclusion of records come in. With this enhancement, you can easily include a bulk of records by specifying your desired criteria. All you need to do is go to Bulk Include > define conditions to pull out the records you have in mind > click Include.
Also, if you have the need to "exclude" records in bulk from an existing blueprint, you can filter them out in a similar way.
When is it ideal to include/ exclude records in bulk?
- Bulk inclusion: When you have created a new Blueprint and you have existing records that qualify to enter the Blueprint, you can include them in bulk.
- Bulk exclusion: When you want to push records from one Blueprint to another, or you want to disassociate the records from a Blueprint altogether.
We hope you find these updates useful. If you have any questions or suggestions on this subject, please let us know by commenting below.
(*) Early access: Automatic Transitions and Mass inclusion/exclusion of records are early access features which will be enabled for those who have request them. This will be done in batches.
If you are interested in gaining early access to these two features: SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST HERE.
Further reading:
Help Document: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/process-management/blueprint/articles/design-a-blueprint
Access your files securely from anywhere
Zoho Developer Community
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources
New to Zoho Survey?
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Bigin?
Topic Participants
Vaagdevi Ravishankar
Kevin Flynn
David Haddad
Bueller Bueller
Ash-Tech.co.il
Sticky Posts
Accessibility in Zoho CRM: Not just a feature—a way to empower
For instructions on setting up these controls, please check this help document: Configuring accessibility controls. Hello everyone, Today (December 3, 2024), on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we begin our journey towards a CRM thatAct on your customers' voices in Zoho CRM
Dear Customers, We hope you're well! We are super excited to present a pivotal addition to VoC in Zoho CRM—the ability to act! Customer feedback is directly proportional to customer experience, and in this customer-driven market, that feedback has a powerfulFocus Group Webinar - Streamline Record Creation with Wizards
Hi there, With all the time your users spend on record creation, do you feel like they have the most seamless experience while doing it? For different types of records or those with a LOT of fields, do your users spend time navigating to enter data repeatedly?Notes and Attachments visibility can now be restricted based on profiles
Dear All, We hope you're well! We are here with a quick update about Notes and Attachments profile permissions. In the past, a record's Notes and Attachments were visible by default to all users with record access. However, as notes and attachments canIdentify and prioritize profitable deals: Zoho CRM Forecasts help users focus on revenue-driving opportunities
Post moderated on: 7th November: Release update: This feature is now available for users in all DCs. Dear Customers, We hope you're well! At any given time, a sales rep handles multiple deals, each progressing at its own pace. But not all deals will succeed—some
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
Zoho DataPrep Resources
Zoho CRM Plus Resources
Zoho Books Resources
Zoho Subscriptions Resources
Zoho Projects Resources
Zoho Sprints Resources
Qntrl Resources
Zoho Creator Resources
Zoho Campaigns Resources
Zoho CRM Resources
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
Zoho Show Resources
Get Started. Write Away!
Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.
Zoho CRM コンテンツ
-
オンラインヘルプ
-
Webセミナー
-
機能活用動画
-
よくある質問
-
Ebook
-
-
Zoho Campaigns
- Zoho サービスのWebセミナー
その他のサービス コンテンツ
Nederlandse Hulpbronnen
ご検討中の方
Recent Topics
Tip of the week 34 - 5 ways to maintain your email list
A proper email list often reflects the reach of an institution. This reach is coveted by all but achieved by some. We often forget about drawbacks and incline towards numbers. Success is often reflected by quality and not quantity. This simple message reverberates in maintaining a hygienic email list. Here are five tips which will help you maintain a proper email list. Organic email lists Non-stop competition can make us susceptible to shortcuts like buying and renting lists from third partyAdd Comment/Notes to Each Action in Zoho Flow for Internal Documentation
It would be great if Zoho Flow could introduce a field to every action where we can make an internal note about why we are doing something with a specific action. This is especially helpful if more than one person from the organization handles automationQuestions about To Do
1. I created a To Do note on Android and there is a line sorting option in the options drop down menu. But I didn’t find such an option in the PC client. I really need this option. 2. Why is there no search in To Do on the PC client? 3. Why is there noTip of the week 03 - Sending emails in batches
Today's marketers not only want their email marketing to be efficient, but also smart. For an email campaign, you may think you have all the essential elements for lead conversion—a big mailing list, an attractive template design, and the most-engaging message content, but after hitting the ‘send’ button, you may not get the expected conversions. Wondering why? Here’s one of the major reasons. Many marketers miss out on sending the email campaign the right way. Did you know that you should not beSites Speed and Performance Grades
I noticed that there are no recent inquiries or complaints about load speed or performance issues with Zoho Sites websites. However, I wanted to understand what Zoho has done to ensure that speed remains optimized, images are compressed and lazy loaded,Feature Request - Configurable Payment Icons + Pay Now link in email.
The PAY NOW buttons (icons) on invoices are really small. It would be great if we could make that a big, colored icon. Better would be to add a button to emails as well.Website Access Blocked (from one pc only) when attempting unattended access to any device
Hello From one of my laptops I cannot access any remote device using unattended access. A Zoho Assist error page didplays 'Website Access Blocked. See attached.Survey end date extension
Hi, Is there any way to extend the end date of my survey? I needed more time in finding respondents that is why I need to extend the end date of my survey. Help. ThanksAI read notes or explanation
It would be such a great feature to have AI voices be able to read our Notes or Explanation If not having the AI speak the notes at run time, how about a feature where inside of Zoho Show you can have it look at all the notes of all the slides and haveTop Menu Disappeared from Blog Page
Hi, Our top menu disappeared at Blog Posts page. However, it's still visible any other page on the website. I attached two screenshots, so it can be understood clearly. How can we bring back top menu? Thanks, K.Managing Prepaid Hours for Consulting
We are a consulting firm that bills clients a flat upfront annual fee plus an hourly rate and offer a discount for pre-paying a block of hours. Hours that surpass the pre-paid block are billed monthly at the normal rate. If there are any pre-paid hours remaining at the end of the project they are banked for future use. I'm not seeing a method of doing this in Projects/Books/CRM... thoughts?ZOHO Widget SDK not loading in html
I have this code below, I have imported the widgetsdk however I get the error shown in the image, I have tried many different ways of importing and initiating the function ZOHO but nothing is working. can someone explain what I'm doing wrong, if I amEnhancements to Zoho Corp Help Center "Team Requests" View
Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. The ability to view both my tickets and my team’s tickets in the Zoho Corp Help Center is a fantastic feature, especially as the focal point for Zoho in our organization. However, we’ve encountered aAllow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support
Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when schedulingProjectwise budget ---
Can we have a Project wise subject in addition to the Monthly, and quarterly ACCOUNT LEVEL budget?WorkDrive API Documentation
WorkDrive provides users and developers an extensive set of APIs to help integrate functionalities of Zoho WorkDrive with other Zoho applications and third-party tools. We have published the official WorkDrive API Documentation page for all external users.Error 403: Forbidden When Updating Email Signature via API
Hi Zoho Desk team, First, congratulations again on the excellent Zoho API. But, I’m encountering an issue while attempting to update an email signature via the API. Whenever I make a request to update the signature, the response returns an HTTP 403 ForbiddenWho can see draft replies on tickets?
We have noticed that we are able to see draft replies made by other agents. Which settings can limit this visibility? It makes sense to me that admins and the agent who created the draft would be able to see the draft, but no one else. How can we makeSerious question: Are there actually "solo-preneurs"/small business owners who made Zoho-one work well for them?
L.S. After already many years of continued struggle with Zoho-One, I am seriously wondering if there are actually solo-preneurs (one person small business owners - without a large, dedicated IT dept.) who got it (Zoho-One) to work well for their businesses.Major iOS issues when accessing forms via the browser
Hi, We have been using forms for some time, while the office staff are accessing the forms via the app on Android mobiles, we have a fleet of sub contractors that we would not like them having access to the main app as some of the forms are confidentialAll notes disappeared
I've been using the notebook app for over five years on my phone without being logged into an account. A few days ago I opened the app and all my notes had disappeared. Since then I tried restarting my phone, updating the app and logging into my account,How to Iterate a Function in Zoho Desk Workflow with Delay Between Calls?
Hi everyone, I’m working on a function in Zoho Desk that searches for a specific ticket record. If the ticket is not found, I need to retry the search multiple times with a delay between each attempt until the ticket is located or a maximum number ofHow to Iterate a Function in Zoho Desk Workflow with Delay Between Calls?
Hi everyone, I’m working on a function in Zoho Desk that searches for a specific ticket record. If the ticket is not found, I need to retry the search multiple times with a delay between each attempt until the ticket is located or a maximum number ofWork Orders / Bundle Requests
Zoho Inventory needs a work order / bundle request system. This record would be analogous to a purchase order in the purchasing workflow or a sales order in the sales cycle. It would be non-journaling, but it would reserve the appropriate inventory ofZoho Books API Limit Is RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 2,500 API call limit in Zoho Books is about as useful as AOL dialup. Seriously Zoho, not only can I use up 2,500 API calls in no time with my own app but YOUR OWN STUPID IPAD APP blows through them super fast too, so if any one of my clients wantsQR codes in templates
I'm excited about the new QR code generator. I have included a QR code that contains the record ID setting "${ID}" as input data. In the report detail it works perfectly but when printing it in a template the code is not shown.Button Display Conditions
Hi Guys, Is it at all possible to have extra button conditions? Context: We have data in our deals module which has a custom button which converts the deal into contacts + set up relationships between them. At the end of the conversion we set a fieldKnowledge base: The nitty-gritty of SEO tags
A well-optimized knowledge base with great SEO can benefit your company by allowing customers to find help articles and support resources using search engines. This enables customers to quickly and efficiently find the information they need without directSocial Media Simplified with Zoho Social: Make the best out of the publishing calendar
Are you a marketer who likes visualizing your plan of action before you start social media posting? Are you part of a team that works on social media on a rotational basis, so the most important task is to collaborate to avoid overlap and confusion? OrCustom function daily limit and procedural programming
Dearest Zoho Today, support confirmed that if I call a custom function from another custom function then I will use up two, with regards to my daily limit. A few times, we have blown our daily limit and that means that ordinary business processes don't run for the rest of the day. I have to mop these up the following day and there is no guarantee that I will get it right. Therefore, I can't afford to waste any. Procedural programming has been around for over 50 years now and it greatly simplifiesUnified customer portal login
As I'm a Zoho One subscriber I can provide my customers with portal access to many of the Zoho apps. However, the customer must have a separate login for each app, which may be difficult for them to manage and frustrating as all they understand is thatWelcome Link Expired
Hi The links sent to the users didn't get clicked on in time and now all the links have expired. Is there a way to send a new link without deleting them and re-adding them>New enhancements: Changing portal users' email addresses and new customization options for templates
Dear All, Portals have enabled organizations to extend access to various CRM modules to their customers, vendors, partners, and end users, per their business requirements. When a portal is created, an invitation email is sent to portal users with a linkGranular Time Frame Settings for Message Deletion and Editing in Zoho Cliq
Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. Currently, the settings for message deletion and editing in Zoho Cliq are configured globally under: Admin Panel > Organisation > Configurations > Conversations Delete messages: Time frame to allow message deletionNew Built In QR/Barcode Generator Print Settings
I'm trying out the new QR/Barcode generator field in Creator. I would think most people will want to print these, like I do. I am not seeing any way to control the height or width of the barcode for printing (inside the print/pdf template builder). TheZoho One. Client Script
Hi, I would like to know if the Client Script feature is available in Zoho One. If it's, how can I enable it?Calendar View for Zoho Tickets
Is there a way to view your tickets with due dates on a calendar view? I can not find a way to merge my Zoho Calendar and Tickets. This would be extremely helpful to my team.Delete / Modify Default Career Site - Zoho Recruit
Hello, It would be very useful if we could delete a default career site or change which of our career site is the default. Our Career site was created when there were issues with Zoho Recruit creating English CTA buttons on French Career sites. The onlyWorkflows for Timesheet
Good day, Any way to have timesheet as triggers? I looked into Zoho Flow and into Zoho Project automation but no where can I have timesheet as a trigger. Basically, I would like to trigger something upon timesheet approval. Right now, the only way toIs it possible to hide Developer Space for all user in Zoho Projects
Hello! I am Zoho admin in a company and we want to use Zoho Project to manage projects, but after a few days of testing we are not able to "hide" the Developer Space from all kind of users except the admin. To sum up, I want to hide this for all users.Next Page