What is Zoho CRM?

Zoho CRM is a customer relationship management software (CRM) designed to help businesses streamline their operations to provide excellent value to their clients. It offers a suite of tools for managing and monitoring every aspect of the business, from its customers to sales and marketing efforts, including sales pipeline and forecasting.

First released in 2005, this cloud-based management platform has emerged as an incredibly popular CRM service provider trusted by countless clients. Aside from gaining public trust and consumer confidence, Zoho CRM has led to the development of other Zoho software, contributing to its increased functionality and seamless operation as a CRM.

The updates are never-ending, which makes the software more robust and stable. New features are being added to make sure that Zoho keeps up with the competition and meets the needs of its customers.

Due to this, Zoho has become a staple name as far as customer resource management software is concerned. It is consistently one of the top choices for companies looking for an all-around CRM to help in their operations. However, to know which CRM software will suit your needs, getting to know your prospects is necessary.

Read along through our in-depth review if you want to know whether Zoho CRM is the right fit for you and your business.

What popular features do you get with Zoho CRM?


  • Sales Force Automation – enhancing your sales productivity
  • Canvas Design Studio – tailor-fitting Zoho CRM for your business
  • Process Management – seamless execution of all tasks
  • Journey Orchestration – giving a personalised experience to customers
  • Omnichannel – an all-in-one platform for your business

  • Performance Management – manages performance in all aspects
  • Predictive Sales with Zia – making things easier with Zoho’s AI
  • Customisation – making the software work for you (not the other way around)
  • Marketing Automation – running your best campaign yet
  • Team Collaboration – lets everyone be in the loop

  • Remote Work – optimised for remote working arrangements
  • Analytics – optimising data for your growth
  • Sales Enablement – more efficient sales processes
  • Mobile – accessibility at its finest
  • Security – data breaches no more
  • Developer Platform – scripts and codes for your business.

Customer Support is available at Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM encompasses the entirety of customer resource management, making it an all-in-one software for all your large, medium, or small business CRM needs. Moreover, Zoho continues to up its game through its continuous and consistent updates to cater to its clientele’s ever-growing needs and demands of its clientele.

With this, they have accumulated a variety of services in their software:

1. Sales Force Automation
Zoho’s sales force automation tool makes your sales CRM process more efficient and streamlined. The software takes care of everything from lead capture to opportunity management to quotes and invoices. You can also automate repetitive tasks such as emailing and data entry to focus on selling.

2. Customer Service and Support
When it comes to customer service and support features, Zoho’s are top-notch – so customer management is made easy for everyone. Zoho includes a ticketing system, knowledge base, live chat, call centre integration, and more, and you can also create custom fields to track any information that’s important to your business.

3. Marketing Automation
Zoho also has a marketing automation tool; with it, you can automate your marketing tasks, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. Lead nurturing, campaign management, and webinar integration tools allow for easy tracking of your marketing efforts and their success.

4. CRM Project Management
Zoho’s CRM project management tool helps you manage your projects from start to finish. With features like task assignment, timeline view, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and more, you can easily keep track of your project progress and ensure that all your team members are on the same page.

5. CRM Reporting & Analytics
The CRM reporting and analytics tool that comes with your Zoho subscription provides you with insights into your customer relationships. Access both sales and customer reports, and easily track your business CRM performance to identify areas for improvement.

6. Customisation
Finally, Zoho’s customisation features allow you to tailor the software to fit your specific business needs. Create custom fields, workflows, templates, dashboards, and more. You can also integrate the software with third-party applications to extend its functionality.

What kind of business is Zoho CRM ideal for?

Zoho CRM is capable of catering to a variety of industries. The versatility and flexibility of its features and services are not lost even when used in various fields. The following are the types of business and industries Zoho CRM is ideal to use:

1. Enterprises
Some of the aspects that make Zoho CRM an ideal tool for enterprises are its scalability, automation capabilities, and workflow management. These features make Zoho CRM highly suitable for enterprises.

2. Small Businesses
Small businesses can take advantage of Zoho CRM’s features such as sales automation, process management, and reports & analytics. The software is also budget-friendly as it offers a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Zoho works particularly well as a restaurant CRM.

3. Service Industry
The service industry can use Zoho CRM to manage customer support requests and track their workers’ performance. Additionally, the software can be used to create work order tickets or schedule preventive maintenance visits.

4. Financial Services
Financial service firms can use Zoho CRM to streamline their loan origination process and automate repetitive tasks such as generating quotes or sending out reminders for payments. The software’s document management system can also be used to store important client documents securely.

5. Life Sciences
Life science companies can use Zoho CRM to manage their clinical trials by tracking patient data, recording adverse events, and managing investigator sites. The software’s reporting & analytics feature will come in handy in creating detailed reports on the progress of clinical trials.

6. Retail
Retailers can use Zoho CRM to keep track of their customer’s purchase history, manage loyalty programs, and send out targeted CRM marketing campaigns. The software’s POS integration will also help streamline the retail CRM operations.

7. Real Estate
Real estate firms can use Zoho CRM to manage their properties, clients, and agents. The software’s real estate CRM features, such as lead capture forms and automation capabilities, will help in generating leads and converting them into customers.

8. Agencies
Agencies can use Zoho CRM to keep track of their projects, clients, and employees. The software’s document management system can store essential project documents, while the social media integration can be used for managing client accounts on social media platforms.

9. Insurance Industry
The insurance industry can use the Zoho CRM platform to automate the quote generation process and keep track of policy renewals. Additionally, the software’s reporting & analytics feature will come in handy in creating detailed reports on the insurance company’s performance.

10. Non-Profit Organisations
Non-profit organisations can use Zoho CRM to manage their fundraising campaigns, donor information, and volunteer data. The software’s reporting & analytics feature will come in handy in creating detailed reports on the progress of fundraising campaigns.

Pros and Cons

  • Ease of use. Zoho CRM is very user-friendly, even for those who are not tech-savvy; it is designed to be easily navigated by users.
  • Comprehensive features. The Zoho platform offers a wide range of features covering all aspects of customer resource management, from sales and marketing to customer support and order management.
  • Affordable price. Compared to similar software with its comprehensive features and ease of use, Zoho CRM is very affordable.
  • Multiple plans. Zoho CRM offers different plans that suit the needs and demands of your business.
  • Free trial. To give you a test drive with its features, Zoho CRM has a free trial on all plans which allows you to experience their service.


  • Requires a lot of customisation to get started. Zoho CRM requires customising its features before you can get started.
  • AI features only on top tiers. Zia, Zoho CRM’s AI, is only available for enterprise and ultimate plans.

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How much does Zoho CRM cost?

*based on information provided by the vendor. Actual cost may vary.

Zoho CRM offers multiple plans to choose from for your business needs. The following are the prices of Zoho CRM together with their inclusions:

Standard Plan – $20 month to month or $14 per month on a yearly contract
Everything in FREE +

  • Scoring Rules
  • Workflows
  • Multiple Pipelines
  • Mass Email
  • Custom Dashboards
  • Canvas (1 view/org)

Professional Plan – $35 month to month or $23 per month on a yearly contract
Everything in STANDARD +

  • SalesSignals
  • Blueprint
  • Web-to-Case Forms
  • Validation Rules
  • Inventory Management
  • Canvas (3 views/org)

Enterprise Plan – $50 month to month or $40 per month on a yearly contract
Everything in PROFESSIONAL +

  • Zia AI
  • CommandCenter
  • Multi-user Portals
  • Advanced Customization
  • Mobile SDK & MDM
  • Canvas (5 views/module)

Ultimate Plan – $65 month to month or $52 per month on a yearly contract
Everything in ENTERPRISE +

  • Advanced BI – bundled with Zoho Analytics
  • Enhanced Feature Limits
  • 30-day Trial
  • Canvas (25 views/module)

Final thoughts...

Zoho CRM is a comprehensive and powerful CRM solution that can benefit any business in most industries. It does not matter whether you are a startup, a small business, an empire, or whether you are in the service, retail, or financial industry – Zoho CRM has something for your business.

With its user-friendly and intuitive interface, Zoho makes it convenient for everyone to use. The customizability of its processes and features make it suit the unique demands of any business. Aside from that, it is relatively affordable for the capabilities it offers.

Are you interested in what Zoho CRM can do for your business? Visit them on their website.