Customizing and Integrating

Transcription

1 Customizing and Integrating NetSuite CRM The Essential Guide 1

2 INTRODUCTION What s in this Guide This guide is meant to help business who are using NetSuite CRM, specifically around implementing, customizing and integrating NetSuite. Regardless of whether you re a implementing NetSuite for the first time, or a business who has been using NetSuite already and is looking to integrate or just get more out of the system this guide will help you enhance your company s usage of NetSuite. Some topics we ll cover in this guide include: System Design: How easy is the system to use for your company s users? What are the best features of this system, how do they work and what can they do for your team? The Data Model: How are the system s objects setup? How will data flow between those objects? Will this setup work for your business? Customization: We will look at custom fields and custom objects in NetSuite, as well as customizing layouts so users can actually use their data. Integration and APIs: Does the system have an API and how easy is it to use? Do out of the box integrations exist? Automation: Automation refers specifically to lead assignment and workflow rules. We ll review these capabilities and focus on ease of use of these features. Pricing and Scalability: We ll review the pricing and editions of NetSuite, including the flexibility you get and the pros and cons of certain editions. Mobile: Short review of available mobile applications on both Android and ios platforms. Overall: Bottom line: how good of a system is this for your business. 2

3 INTRODUCTION Introduction to NetSuite CRM NetSuite was one of the pioneering SaaS business systems that really put cloud computing on the map. Before Larry Ellison invested in Marc Benioff and Salesforce.com s success, there was NetSuite, which also received Ellison s backing: the company was founded in 1998 by Ellison and Evan Goldberg, and had an IPO in 2007, which was highly successful. NetSuite is an entirely cloud-based ERP system. If you re not familiar with ERP, it s essentially a CRM with many other features and data objects built in. You can use an ERP like NetSuite to manage product inventory, shipping, accounting, product management, sales (CRM), marketing and more. If you re considering NetSuite for your business, be warned: it s not a simple system, and unless you happen to have a NetSuite expert on staff, you re looking at consulting fees for implementation help. You can t just buy NetSuite, setup users and hand it off. NetSuite is extremely customizable, and to take full advantage of NetSuite, getting some assistance customizing it is a must. The consulting model at NetSuite was clearly evident to us when digging into this system, as easy to find and digest documentation is not NetSuite s strength. 3

4 EASE OF USE Ease of Use and System Design The first time we started playing with NetSuite, it was difficult for us to find the different areas of the product. For example, the CRM aspects of the NetSuite product are sort of hidden ( Lists > Relationships ), and opportunities aren t located in the same section as Leads and Contacts (they re in Transactions ). You can change/customize this of course, as you can with essentially all aspects of the system. NetSuite makes heavy use of user roles, and you can customize these to suit your needs. Users can have multiple roles, and switch between them in the user interface. Focusing on the CRM aspects of NetSuite, the data model is a bit different than the traditional CRM data models that we see in the other systems in this e-book. Leads in NetSuite can have 2 separate types: Companies and Individuals. A company lead has contacts as child records underneath it. An individual lead does not. B2B Companies If you re a B2B, then the first decision that you want to make is whether to use the Lead Conversion feature or not. Lead Conversion will let sales reps convert leads into contacts and prospects (companies) once they re qualified. We consider and recommend Lead Conversion for all B2B companies who want to implement and automate their lead flow. The other option is to simply create Leads as companies, with associated contacts. B2C Companies If you re a B2C, then you will naturally want to create individual leads, which will follow the typical lead stage down your sales funnel. 4

5 NETSUITE DATA MODEL The NetSuite CRM Data Model B2C Funnel B2B Funnel B2C companies will want to just use The individual lead types in NetSuite B2B companies using NetSuite can choose to use Lead Conversion or not, based on their sales automation and integration needs. 5

6 CUSTOMIZATION Customization NetSuite is an extremely customizable system. Check out the Customization menu for access (admin required). Fields You can certainly add custom fields to NetSuite. In fact, there are around 7 different types of custom fields that you can create (welcome to the land of ERP). For more information on creating custom fields in NetSuite, check out this blog post on the Bedrock Data blog. Forms NetSuite forms are for entering data into NetSuite. These can be for different types of records (leads, contacts, promotions, parts, etc ). You can create custom forms to make sure that data is entered correctly into NetSuite. Objects NetSuite calls custom objects records in the system, and you can certainly create custom record types under Customizations > Lists, Records, Fields > Record Types. Scripts NetSuite allows you to script against the system, using custom code. You can use these scripts to perform tasks and setup integrations. 6

7 INTEGRATIONS AND API Integrations and APIs (For IT and Developers) NetSuite has a SOAP API, but the WSDL file we found to be essentially un-usable, so not very helpful unless you want to roll with your own XML. NetSuite also provides API and integration options through RESTlets and SuiteScript (as well as Suitelets ) explained here: SuiteScript API and Suitelets This provides a way to manipulate the NetSuite user interface (NetSuite Pages), in order to customize your internal NetSuite instance. You can use Suitelets to build custom workflows, build unique custom pages, add UI elements to existing pages and much more. RESTlets RESTlets are pieces of JavaScript code that allow you to interface with the SuiteScript API using REST-ful methods (GET, POST, DELETE, etc ). You can load RESTlets into Net- Suite and then deploy them in order for the code to be executed via a URL. If you re looking for a NetSuite integration, or a straight REST-ful NetSuite API for your own internal use, talk to us! 7

8 AUTOMATION Automation Workflows NetSuite Workflows are located under Customization > Scripting > Workflows. You can use NetSuite Workflows to automate certain processes in NetSuite, such as lead assignment to sales reps, sending marketing s, creating new opportunities, and much more. NetSuite workflows work a lot like workflows in other systems, where you have triggers and actions. The workflow will fire when the conditions are met, and the actions will be executed thereafter. Here s a screenshot of a NetSuite workflow that is assigning a lead to a user based on their geographic location: Lead Assignment Like with any other CRM system, automated lead assignment is an essential part of automation for your sales team. In NetSuite, you can assign leads using Sales Territories, which will assign records based on their geographic region. You can also do this with a Workflow, if you want to use other fields besides state/region to assign leads. 8

9 PRICING Price and Scalability NetSuite s pricing is not readily available on their website, in fact they have pretty strict rules about not advertising their pricing (they forbid their partners from advertising it also). Luckily, some kind soul added a NetSuite pricing table on Wikipedia it s from 2007, so probably not accurate, but does provide a guide for what you re looking at (essentially $99/user/): NETSUITE CRM NETSUITE SMALL BUSINESS NETSUITE CRM+ NETSUITE LIMITED LICENSE $79 $99 $129 $249 $0 user / $49 user / $0 user / $49 user / NETSUITE $499 NETSUITE GLOBAL CRM $1,499 NETSUITE MC3 $1,999 $99 user / $129 user / $129 user / So the good news is that NetSuite is fairly cheap for its base pricing, but they make their money on all of the little add-ons in the system that you may need as your company scales over time. For what you get though and all you can do with NetSuite once it s implemented and rolled out, NetSuite is a great value. It will scale with however big your growth plans are: you won t need to switch systems once you have NetSuite implemented. 9

10 MOBILE APPS NetSuite Mobile App NetSuite s ios mobile app is pretty robust and easy to use. There is a lot of functionality built into the app, which is a great thing for any user. You can add new records (of essentially any record type), edit records (including all related fields, like Addresses, Companies, Marketing Campaigns, etc on a particular record). You can also view dashboard reports (KPIs and such) on the mobile app dashboard. Another unique thing about the NetSuite app, is that you can customize the layout of the data, right from within the app, which is ahead of the curve for business mobile apps, but fits NetSuite s overall customize anything and everything mantra. The Android app by NetSuite is called OpenAir and only appears to support Timesheets and Expense Reports look for a new version more along the lines of the iphone app in the near future. APP STORES RATINGS IPHONE 2/5 STARS ANDROID 2/5 STARS NOTE - These iphone app reviews appear to be based on an older version of the app. Note that there are many other 3rd party Android apps that we didn t test with some higher reviews. 10

11 OVERALL Overall Takeaways NetSuite isn t a CRM, it s an ERP - be clear about that distinction. Many companies use NetSuite for CRM, but also use lots of other features around their ERP as well. If you re considering NetSuite for your CRM needs, make sure that you can make use of it s other features as well (finance for instance), before you purchase the system. NetSuite s CRM features specifically are adequate, though the UI is a little clunky (there is a new UI release coming out right around the time of this writing, so that will hopefully change). The old UI feels a bit like a web application from As I ve mentioned throughout this guide, NetSuite s best feature is its flexibility and customization. Just know that this comes with a pretty steep learning curve, which means implementation fees and potential training and consulting for your users it s not an easy or intuitive system to understand right out of the box. Overall, our experience with NetSuite, as well as working with many NetSuite clients over the years have been positive. The general feeling we get is that sales and marketing reps don t love using NetSuite, finance, IT and Ops reps love it. 11

12 In Conclusion Hopefully we ve provided you with helpful information that you can use to make educated decisions about implementing, customizing and integrating NetSuite. Should you have any questions about anything that may not have been covered in this guide, feel free to contact us at any time. We will be more than happy to get you started. Easily Integrate Your Business Data You can use Bedrock to sync between your cloud business systems and keep a running backup of your critical business data TRY BEDROCK FOR FREE Or, Schedule a Demo Bedrock Data is a data management platform that allows businesses to synchronize and manage their data quickly and easily. Bedrock connects to a lot of different bussiness systems, including CRMs, ERPs, Marketing , Suppot, Finance and E-commerce systems. Connect with us to learn more, or just get started with an integration today Atlantic Ave. 3rd Floor Boston, MA sales@bedrockdata.com 12