In a previous blog post I spoke about how you may use workflow in Zoho CRM. Today I am going back to basics, what even is a workflow anyway? Typically workflow means how you organize your work patterns, the flow of your work, so to speak. In Zoho CRM, workflow is an automation tool that will execute a certain action when a condition in the CRM is met. Essentially- you do something in your (i.e. create a new lead) and an automated action fires off (a welcome email is sent).
How Do You Decide What Should Be A Workflow in Zoho CRM?
There are two main criteria when creating a new workflow: can you map it out on paper and do you want the action repeated no mater the circumstance. Lets break this down:
Can you map it out on paper before putting it in Zoho?
The first step to creating a workflow in Zoho CRM, especially if you are new to automation, is writing it out on paper. Create a flow chart of how your automation will go. What is the first action that starts the workflow? In our example from above that action would be creating a new lead. From there, think about the “conditions” of this automation. Does the workflow fire just when you create a new lead in Zoho, or when you create or change a lead? Does this workflow fire off for every new lead, or just new leads that are in a certain state? One of the nice things about workflows in Zoho is that they allow you to customize a workflow for any type of condition.
Do you want the action to be repeated no matter the circumstance?
This is fairly straightforward. Workflows are helpful when the automated action is something that happens every single time you do something. That’s broad terms, I know. Let me break it down a little further using our example from above. If every time you create a new lead, you want a welcome email to go out, then it’s a perfect action to automate. If half the time you create a new lead you send an email, but the other half of the time you do a welcome call- then don’t automate it! Automation in Zoho CRM strives to make things easy, but really take the time to think about the things you want to automate.
The Basics of Setting Up a Workflow in Zoho
You can create workflow under the “Automation” section of the set up page. Once on the Workflow Rules page, you will be able to choose the “create new rule” function. This is on the right hand side of the screen. A window, like the one pictured below will pop-up, allowing you to create a workflow for specific actions or standard operating procedures specific to your needs. Check out our YouTube videos for more on creating a workflow, where we will walk you through the step by step on how to do this in Zoho CRM.
The Marks Group offers expert-led Zoho training and support on all Zoho apps and products. Contact us at info@marksgroup.net to find out more and check out our YouTube video library!
