Introducing 'Queries' In Zoho CRM

Introducing 'Queries' In Zoho CRM

Hello everyone!

We are here with an exciting feature - Queries in Zoho CRM!

A little context before we dive right into the feature specifics :)

In today’s fast-paced business environment, immediate access to relevant data is essential for informed decision-making.
We are thrilled to announce Queries, a powerful feature that allows you to dynamically retrieve data from CRM as well as third-party services directly within our platform. With Queries, you can streamline your workflow, gain deeper insights, and make data-driven decisions without leaving the product.

Whether you fetch records from CRM or data from any other third-party services, the Queries feature gives you the power to present that data the way you want. For example, displaying only closed deals of a contact on a canvas or displaying the details of a ticket from Zoho Desk on a screen(Kiosk) in Zoho CRM.

All you have to do is write a query that solves your business need and associate that query with the relevant CRM feature like Canvas, Kiosk etc. This helps you leverage the power of data retrieval using REST API and COQL, along with schema management, serialization of responses, and other functionalities in data handling.

Let us consider a Canvas Detail View where Deals is a related list in the Contacts module. Here, a contact can have multiple deals associated, but you want to display only those that are won.

You can write a query with the required criteria to filter out the deals and simply drag and drop them on to your canvas just like how you include other components now. Simple, isn't it?

Read on to know more!

Components of Queries

  1. Query
  2. Source
  3. Variables
  4. Serializer
  5. Schema

1. Query

Query is a component of this feature that allows you to fetch data. You can set variables, serialize the response, and manage the schema during query creation.
Query configuration depends on the Source type. You can choose the source type as COQL, Modules, or REST API to construct your query.
  • COQL type is based on CRM's Object Query Language, very similar to SQL.
  • Module type is to retrieve the records from a module by selecting the module and its fields. You can also specify the conditions to filter records.
  • REST API type is to retrieve data from external services.

2. Source

A source is the data provider.
Zoho CRM provides pre-configured sources like COQL and Module in Queries to fetch records from Zoho CRM. Apart from this, you can also create your own source in the REST API standard to fetch data from other services.

Info
Right now, you can add a source as a REST API. Future enhancements will allow you to have sources like GraphQL, Databases like MYSQL & PostgreSQL, Cloud Databases from AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, OData Protocols, etc. This broadens the range of services you can connect with Zoho CRM and simplifies data handling.

3. Variables

Queries allow you to use dynamic variables in the query for module criteria, COQL statement, endpoints, headers, etc,. When you are testing the query, a pop up asks for the test value of the variable.
However, you should pass the values of the variables(like merge fields) to the query during association.


4. Serializer

Serializer lets you modify your response using JavaScript to use it for further processing. For example, you can combine the Full_Name and Designation fields in the Leads module to be displayed as Full_Name (Designation) in the response using the serializer.


5. Schema

Schema refers to the path of each field in the result of the query. You can alter the schema to suit the field types in CRM and change their labels to suit your needs.


Association of Queries

Queries is a game-changer for users as all your data is available inside Zoho CRM's interface. Currently, you can associate queries in Canvas Detail view and show the responses of the query as "field name and value" or a list.
In Kiosk Studio, you can associate a query and use it in a screen or in the criteria component.

Canvas Detail View

Use case

Fetch only those deals of a specific account whose stage is "Negotiation" through a query. Associate this query to a Canvas and add the fields of the query to it.
Step 1: Associate a Query



Step 2: Drag and drop the fields from the associated query on the Canvas.




Kiosk Studio

Use Case
Pass the user ID as an input from the first screen to the second screen where a query is used to fetch and display the user details.

Step 1: Enter the User ID to the input field on a screen.




Step 2: Associate and configure the required query to fetch and display the relevant user details. The query will take the user ID that was input in the first screen as a variable.








Queries can be associated with the "Decision" component of Kiosk, as well, as depicted in the following images.





Info
In future enhancements, you will be able to associate a query in various features of Zoho CRM, for example in the Canvas List View as a column, in Client Script to fetch data, in Standard Detail View/List View and etc.

Supported Editions

Queries is available for the Enterprise/Zoho One and Ultimate/CRM Plus editions, and will be available in the Professional edition soon.

Exciting, isn't it? We are sure this feature will save you tons of time!
Give it a try and let us know your comments.
You can read our documentation here.

Cheers!
Shylaja S
Zoho CRM