Marketers Space: Smarter Marketing with CRM Integration

Marketers Space: Smarter Marketing with CRM Integration


Hello Marketers!
Welcome back to another deep dive into smart marketing strategies at Marketers' Space! Today, we’re kicking off an exciting series focused on how Zoho CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation (ZMA) when integrated can transform your marketing efforts. Whether you're coming from Zoho CRM and looking to leverage Marketing Automation or primarily using ZMA and wanting to send your data back to CRM, this integration provides a full-circle solution for your marketing and sales needs.
Let’s explore how you can make the most of this powerful connection—from syncing contacts and deal data to running targeted campaigns to ensuring smooth data flow between both platforms for maximum efficiency.
In this post, we’ll cover the following: syncing data from Zoho CRM into ZMA, using ZMA’s Planner for campaign planning and calculating ROI, segmenting and targeting your CRM data, and finally, pushing the most relevant data from ZMA back to Zoho CRM. Let’s get started!

From Zoho CRM to Zoho Marketing Automation:

Seamless Syncing

Zoho CRM holds all of your important lead, contact, account, and deal information, which acts as the backbone of your marketing efforts. Once you sync Zoho CRM with ZMA, this data isn’t just a static list of names—it becomes actionable, enabling you to craft personalized and impactful campaigns.
The first step in this integration is syncing all the relevant data from Zoho CRM into ZMA. This includes Contacts, Leads, Accounts, Deals, and even Custom Modules, ensuring that your marketing team has access to the most comprehensive and up-to-date information. This sync is automatic and continuous, so as new records come into your CRM, they’ll be available in ZMA in real-time for marketing purposes.

For marketers, this sync is invaluable because it enables you to tap into your CRM’s wealth of information for targeted campaigns. Whether you're pulling in contact details or deal stages, you’re working with data that is fresh and ready to be activated in your campaigns.

Setting Smart Goals with the Planner using CRM Data

Once your CRM data is in ZMA, the next step is using the Planner to set clear marketing goals and calculate the ROI based on that data. You can set Goals using the count of leads closed (won or lost) from Zoho CRM. For example, you might aim to close 50 leads within the next quarter.
ZMA will then track this data directly from CRM, helping you monitor progress toward your goal. If you notice that you’re falling short, you can make timely adjustments to your marketing approach, whether that means revisiting your targeting strategies or re-engaging through personalized campaigns.
The Reports provide valuable insights into the performance of your marketing efforts.
It includes Revenue and Deal Stats, showing metrics like Revenue Generated and Deals Closed Won, giving you a clear picture of how much business your campaigns are driving. You’ll also find Expense and ROI Stats, which allow you to track your campaign spend and measure the return on investment (ROI), even across different channels.
Under the Contacts tab, you can view the Contacts Closed with Won Deals, helping you understand how effectively your campaigns are converting leads into customers.

ZMA’s Planner also makes collaboration simple—you can add team members, set tasks, and ensure that everyone is aligned with the campaign’s objectives, creating a coordinated effort between marketing and sales.

Segmentation for Precise Campaigns:

With synced CRM data in ZMA, segmentation becomes not only possible but incredibly powerful. You’re no longer sending generic, blanket campaigns to your entire contact list. Instead, you’re slicing your audience into precise segments with powerful Deal and Account-based criteria.

For instance, you can create a segment of leads in the Negotiation/Review stage of a deal and send them attractive, persuasive campaigns designed to push them toward deal closure.
This could include exclusive offers, limited-time discounts, or additional value propositions that address any remaining concerns, helping to tip the scales in your favor. You have much more deal and account-based criteria such as Deal Name, Deal Amount, Account Type, and Account Owner that you can use to create segments.

Reaching Contacts through Multi-Channel Campaigns:

Thanks to the seamless sync between Zoho CRM and ZMA, you can leverage all the CRM data in your campaigns, whether it’s via email, SMS, or WhatsApp. You can personalize these campaigns by using CRM fields to tailor various elements. The Sender Details can be personalized with the CRM lead owner’s name and email, while the subject line can include specific CRM merge tags to make it more relevant to the recipient.

Inside the campaign, you can incorporate Dynamic Content using Predefined Tags such as Account Type, Account Name, and Account Owner, ensuring the message speaks directly to the contact’s unique context.

You can leverage Merge Tags under both Account Tags and CRM Merge Tags to customize the content further.

This level of personalization ensures that each contact feels like they are receiving tailored communication, rather than mass-marketing messages, and drives higher response rates.

Maximizing CRM Integration using Journeys:

With Zoho CRM integration, the possibilities within Journeys in ZMA expand significantly, giving you more flexibility to automate tasks and create highly personalized marketing workflows.
One of the key features is Criteria Match, which enables you to target contacts based on specific account or deal information synced from Zoho CRM.

When setting up the sync between Zoho CRM and ZMA, you have the option to sync CRM contacts to a list. Once this sync is complete, you can use Journeys to target that specific list containing the synced contacts. By using the Added to List trigger within Journeys, you can then set actions such as sending personalized campaigns.

You can Update Contact Fields that have been synced from CRM, ensuring that your data stays current and relevant before sending a campaign.

You can also create Journeys that automatically move contacts into or out of marketing topics, helping you stay compliant with their communication preferences.
Beyond this, Journeys in ZMA offer specific CRM Actions such as Push Data (sending updated contact details back to CRM), Create Task (automating follow-ups for sales reps), and even Create Deal (automatically generating a deal in CRM when a contact shows strong buying intent).

Pushing Relevant Data back to CRM:

Syncing data from CRM into ZMA is important, but pushing data back to CRM is just as crucial. You may have collected contact details through various forms like sign-up forms, popups, or landing pages using ZMA, but it’s essential to push only the relevant data back to CRM for your sales team. 
ZMA enables you to create automated journeys that filter leads and only push the ones meeting specific criteria back to CRM. This not only keeps your CRM clean but also ensures that your sales team isn’t overwhelmed with irrelevant data. Typically, a lead will be pushed to CRM when it becomes a sales-qualified lead (SQL). In ZMA, leads are nurtured as they move through different stages based on their engagement or lead scores. Once a lead has shown sufficient interest and is ready for sales, you can set up a journey in ZMA to automatically push a lead to CRM. This ensures that the right contacts are passed to your sales team at the right time.
Additionally, this selective sync means that you only pay for the contacts that truly matter. Since ZMA enables you to manage contact limits carefully, you can decide which data gets synced to CRM, optimizing both your budget and your sales strategy.

The integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation is more than just a sync—it’s a complete, full-cycle solution for marketing and sales teams. By syncing contact and deal data, setting smart goals with the Planner, using targeted segments and journeys, and pushing valuable data back to Zoho CRM, you’ll have all the tools you need to optimize your marketing and sales performance.

Stay tuned for more posts in this series as we continue exploring the powerful features of this integration and how they can elevate your marketing efforts!

Regards,
Pearlin Nitika
User Education | Zoho Marketing Automation



        • Recent Topics

        • Update a lookup field in CRM from Creator using deluge

          I have a Creator form that creates a new account. When it creates the new account in the Accounts Module, I need it to also populate the Parent Account, which is a lookup field coming from the Module Parent Accounts, field Parent Account Name. I have

        • SMS Keyword Tracking in Zoho CRM From Zoho Campaigns

          Is there a way to track SMS leads in campaigns by associating them with specific keywords or codes? Additionally, can these leads be pushed to the CRM while retaining the keyword for tracking and reporting purposes?

        • Projects Multiselect API

          Having troubles setting a mutli select field via API. updateMap = map(); updateMap.put("UDF_MULTI1","picklist_id1,picklist_id2"); updateProjectRes = invokeurl [ url :"https://projects.zoho.com/restapi/portal/XXXX/projects/" + projectID + "/" type :POST

        • Bill quantity received / PO quantity

          PO's are raised & often the quantity received is greater than the PO quantity, so when we receive the bill & adjust the quantity on the bill we get.... Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered. This necessitates the adjustment of the PO

        • ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED

          Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered." 

        • Adding Bluesky channel

          Hello, Is Bluesky (AT protocol) soon added on Social ? Bluesky is being developped and is now open to anyone (no more invitation) Thank you

        • Using Queries with dynamic parameters in Kiosk Studio

          Hi, I'm pretty new when it comes to developing within Zoho (I'm really a .NET developer), as it was just added to my responsibilities. For a new feature in the CRM, I'm trying to develop a Kiosk function to show a list of records (retrieved by the new

        • Unused items should not count into the available number of custom fields

          Hey, I realized that unused Items reduce the number of available custom fields. I can't see a case where that makes sense. Especially in our case where we have two different layouts in Deals with a lot of different fields, this causes problems.

        • Introducing Bot Filtering for Accurate Email Campaign Analytics

          Dear Marketers, We're excited to announce a new feature designed to enhance the accuracy of your email campaign analytics: bot filtering. This feature helps you filter out bot-generated opens and clicks, ensuring your campaign reports reflect genuine

        • Tip 37: Time Log Restriction in Zoho Projects

          Timesheet in Zoho Projects helps you big time in entering log hours for the tasks and issues and approving them. Now, with the new Time Log Restriction option, you can set daily and weekly log hour limits. You can restrict users from entering extra log hours than the permissible limit. The limits are restricted to 24 hours per day and 168 hours per week by default based on business hours. To customize, navigate to Task & Timesheet settings under Portal Configuration in Zoho Projects setup and enable

        • Chart showing schedule

          I want to be able to create a chart for everyday to check and which of which driver is available on the timeframe. Here's my table Name City Day Start Time End Time Driver1 Medicine Hat Monday 11:45 AM 4:45 PM Driver 2 Medicine Hat Tuesday 11:00 AM 7:00

        • Multiple Vendor SKUs

          One of the big concerns we have with ZOHO Inventory is lack of Vendor Skus like many other inventory software packages offer. Being able to have multiple vendor skus for the same product would be HUGE! It would populate the appropriate vendor Sku for

        • In Zoho Projects, is there a way to create a folders template under documents that can be used once a project is created?

          We have a specific folder structure that we would like to use that is standard across every project. Instead of having to create this structure every time a project is created, is there a way to create a template for the folders that can be added?

        • Zoho Payroll in France

          When will Zoho Payroll be available in France ?

        • Blueprint - 'On hold' state with an automatic transition?

          I think I'm missing something here so I'm hoping if I explain what I'm trying to achieve someone might be able to give me a way around it. We sometimes get request far in advance but we don't want to action them unless it is 7 days from when they are

        • HOW TO VIEW INDIVIDUAL COST OF NEWLY PURCHASED GOODS AFTER ALLOCATING LANDED COSTS

          Hello, I have been able to allocate landed costs to the purchase cost of the new products. however, what i need to see now is the actual cost price (original cost plus landed cost), of only my newly purchased products to enable me set a selling price

        • Client Script: $Client.refresh({ triggerOnLoad: true }); not triggering onLoad Client Scripts

          Hey friends! I'm trying to store a temporary var, refresh the page for the user, then check that temporary var and do some actions. Theoretically using the title's code: $Client.refresh({ triggerOnLoad: true }); should refresh the page and trigger on

        • Calculate months and years between 2 dates on subform

          I am looking for a function syntax for an employment candidate to calculate the number of years and months (decimal format. eg 1.2 years) they are employed. I have their start date entered, but if the end date is blank, that tells me they are still employed

        • Combine related grouping values into categories in CRM analytical components

          Hello everyone, Analyzing large datasets can be challenging when dealing with numerous individual data points. It's often difficult to extract meaningful insights when information is scattered and ungrouped. To address this, we're adding options to create

        • How Kiosk Studio can simplify sales for bank employees | Kiosk Studio Session #4

          Hello everyone, Banks can boost revenue by cross-selling to their current customers. For example, they can sell credit cards, personal loans, and more to existing account holders. To do this, bank employees move all around the CRM, open and close records,

        • Tip #19 - Create checkbox tracker in your spreadsheet

          Hello Sheet users! We are here with yet another tip to help you get the most out of Zoho Sheet. Spreadsheets can be used to handle a variety of tasks, but ever tried using checkboxes to track the progress of your action items dynamically? Here's a sample

        • Integrate Oracle with ZOHO CRM

                               Please let me know if its possible to Integrate Oracle with ZOHO CRM. If yes then help me in doing it. 

        • UUIDs

          Has anyone coded a Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) generator in Deluge?

        • Introducing signer groups: Streamline signature collection and make it even faster

          Hello everyone, We're excited to introduce signer groups, a feature designed to make your signing process quicker, more efficient, and collaborative. With signer groups, you can send an envelope to a group of people, and any member of the group can open

        • Calendar - Recurring Event - End of Month and Last Weekday of Month

          How do I set a calendar event to recur on the last day of every month? How do I set a calendar event to recur on the last weekday of the month?

        • Duplicate Zoho Invoices and Sales Receipts

          We have been running into an issue where upon saving an invoice or a sales receipt, we get a duplicate: same information saved twice but with a different invoice id/number and sales receipt id/number. I have logged a ticket but so far no response. It

        • Introducing revamped Zoho Creator Developer Console—a powerful platform for developing and distributing apps

          Hello everyone! We're thrilled to announce the launch of the revamped Zoho Creator Developer Console—a dedicated platform designed specifically for Creator developers and Partners to build, test, and distribute apps to your clients. Developer Console

        • Phone App of CRM doesn't find contacts

          I open the crm to and do a contact search but nothing comes up. If I do a full zia search it will find an old note that is attached to a contact and I can open the contact. BUT I still can't enter notes of calls, set appointments, etc. It requests I go

        • [Product Update] Deprecation of 'Inbound Transport Details' module in Zoho Analytics - Amazon Seller Central integration

          Dear Customers, Please be informed that the Amazon Seller Central will be deprecating the 'Inbound Transport Details' module APIs effective December 20, 2024. As a result, this module will no longer be supported in the Amazon Seller Central - Zoho Analytics

        • Is there any support for Drivers license and other forms of ID scanning capabilities?

          When scanning a drivers license barcode for data input to a Form, the scanning tool receives all the raw data but there doesnt seem to be a function to limit or remove the unnecessary fragmrnts, like a prefix. Is there any support or info in the help

        • Exciting Update: Multi WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) Support Now Available in SalesIQ!

          We’re pleased to share an important update that will enhance the way you manage your WhatsApp Business accounts (WABAs) within SalesIQ. With the launch of Multi WABA support, you can now connect and manage multiple brands more effectively, each under

        • Gravity Forms plugin not passing some fields

          I use the gravity form zoho plugin to push data from my lead form into my lead page in Zoho CRM. Everything was working file for about 6 months. Suddenly on Oct 1st, some of the fields are no longer getting passed to Zoho. The fields with the problem

        • Can't delete bank transactions (i changed from 14 days trail to free just now)

          Hi, I manually added one bank transaction When i try to delete it, it say below: What should I do?

        • Feature Request: Search in the PC client. Some thoughts about the search.

          Hi all. I'm really excited to start using Zoho Notebook, but I'm missing some of the search capabilities on my desktop. There are also some thoughts on improving search in general. Search is very important to me, without it it is difficult for me to use

        • Leave Policy for Brazil

          Hi, Brazil asked us to configure Zoho People to apply the following policy: · To block starting vacations 2 business days before holidays or weekends; Employees cannot start their vacations 2 days before holidays or weekends. Example: If December 25th

        • Adding date field to each individual Items when creating Invoices?

          When adding items into an invoice I need to be able to have a date for each item. Example below: Date Item Description Qty Rate Discount(%) Tax Amount 31/07/13 Brown Sugar Performance 1.00 3,000.00 0.00 10% $3300 Is this possible or will it be in the

        • Auto-Create OneDrive Folder Structure Upon Lead Creation

          Hello, New to Zoho and looking for help on a critical process automation I'm looking to implement. My company currently utilizes OneDrive for file management and the folder structure is Proposals -> Client Name -> Address (where I need to initially create

        • Profile Page View Customization

          I need to change the fields, sections from the profile view of an emplyoyee.

        • What do the Image Sizes mean in Zoho CRM Email Templates?

          Below you can see the image options in email templates: Banner, Fit, Small, Medium, Original, Custom. Can someone from Zoho please share with me: What each is/means? How each will look on desktop AND mobile? How to edit "custom"?  If I choose "Custom"

        • Translate any published presentation to the language of your choice

          As part of our constant effort to enrich your presentation experience, Zoho Show has rolled out a new feature for translating published presentations. Consider the following scenario: Zylker IT services, a multinational corporation, has announced product

        • Next Page