Earlier this summer, we covered some basic tips for getting started with NetSuite CRM. After implementing these, you’re ready to unlock the next level of potential within your CRM instance. Whether you’re a seasoned NetSuite CRM user or a newcomer looking to expand your knowledge, there’s opportunity to maximize what you get out of your system. Let’s explore some more advanced tactics and how to implement them.

Optimize Lead Management Workflows

Once your business attracts an interested party, it’s paramount to ensure the process of moving the lead through the sales cycle to become a customer is a smooth one. NetSuite CRM can improve the internal collaboration that drives lead management with the help of automating lead management workflows.

An automated workflow guides each lead through a consistent sales process for better conversion rates, eliminating disjointed, manual lead follow-up. You can choose workflows based on status changes and sales transactions (commonly used for B2C) or using the Lead Conversion feature (B2B). After that, NetSuite’s marketing automation capabilities help manage marketing efforts in one location. Users can: 

• Manage leads from custom online lead capture forms and imported lists
• Generate Marketing email through customized templates
• Determine which customers provide good selling opportunities
• Track search engine keywords that bring leads to your website
• Access reports and KPIs that provide real-time information

Workflow triggers will take action after a change occurs in status, field value, etc.. This lets you tell NetSuite what to do with the information gathered, such as send an email, update a field, or create a new task. 

Create a Lead Scoring Model

If your marketing team is crushing it, your CRM could be receiving hundreds of leads each week, leaving the sales team with the tough job of figuring out how to prioritize reaching out. Adding lead scoring will rank each lead based on different attributes and data points that assess their readiness to buy so sales knows where to focus their efforts first. NetSuite can help:

• Add scoring criteria under Setup > Lead Management > Lead Scoring
• Assign numeric values to profile details and interactions
• Refine models based on correlation with closed deals

With only about 25% of leads proving to be legitimate with the potential to convert, lead scoring will help save time and improve lead generation costs, along with a better experience for your customers.

Track Campaign Influence

Tracking campaign responses so you can continually refine how campaigns are delivered helps understand the marketing activities that are driving your pipeline. This allows you to optimize your investment and avoid spending time on campaigns that aren’t netting the results you need to move forward. Be sure to review campaign influence metrics so you maintain visibility into the impact of specific nurture streams and ads.

NetSuite can help set up some solid campaign influence tracking:

• Enable tracking under Setup > Campaign Management  
• Tag contacts when added to campaigns.
• View influence on status changes in reports

Integrate Key Systems

Not only does integrating other systems with NetSuite help make teams more productive, it can also give your business a competitive advantage by streamlining processes to provide better business results. Using NetSuite as the base system, integration allows organizations to also manage other platforms that suit the needs of the business and specific departments within it. 

For example, seamless workflows between CRM and tools like email, chat, and marketing automation boosts productivity and context for customer interactions. Built for NetSuite integrations for every facet of your business are available to purchase on the SuiteApp marketplace.

• Visit SuiteApp marketplace to explore available integrations 
• Install apps and configure preferences

Analyze Metrics with Reporting

One of the most valuable functions of NetSuite is its saved searches tool. This tool is useful for acquiring insightful data and improving the way the business is run. Saved searches let you search and filter data in NetSuite to create the custom reports you need to uncover trends and make critical, data-driven business decisions.

By navigating to Reports > Saved Searches > All Saved Searches > New, NetSuite lets you:

• Create saved searches on key metrics.
• Add charts, graphs, and KPIs to dashboards.

Make NetSuite CRM Work for You

NetSuite is a powerful CRM tool leveraged by companies of every size, from startups to growing businesses. If you’re just joining the NetSuite experience, these tips can help you maximize your experience and get the most out of your CRM investment. 

Looking to leverage that integration benefit? CloudExtend apps are purpose built to integrate with NetSuite to help automate processes and make your teams more efficient. With direct integrations to email and spreadsheets, CloudExtend lets teams work where they are most comfortable while still keeping NetSuite systems up to date and accurate as a single source of truth. Try it here for free.