Zoho adds email and social media marketing apps

Zoho is delivering on its promise to be a one-stop source for small-business applications with the addition of new cloud services for email and social media marketing.

The new application, called Zoho Campaigns, integrates into the company's CRM software, which means small-business owners can maintain a single customer list that might be used for different purposes including marketing, sales automation or customer support.

Oh, and did I mention that people responding to campaigns can be automatically added to your CRM application?

"Today, customers need to spend a lot of time and effort integrating different applications they use for sales automation, email marketing and customer support," said Raju Vegesna, evangelist for Zoho. "With the bi-directional integration between Zoho Campaigns and Zoho CRM, lists remain up to date and sales representatives can now see how customers acted on previous email marketing campaigns, right from within their CRM."

The new Zoho Campaigns application supports social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. It also can be integrated with Google Apps, allowing small businesses to synchronize lists with what's included in the Google Contacts database.

The new feature is available under the Subscription and Per User services that Zoho offers. Prices start at $5 per month for up to 500 email subscribers and unlimited emails.  

Zoho's addition of the Campaigns application builds on its strategy to be a single source of integrated applications for small-business owners. A similar strategy is being used by Sage North America with its Sage One service.

There are also plenty of examples of several CRM cloud providers that are seeking to move in the opposite direction, providing simple, laser-focused cloud applications that do one thing really well -- help small businesses close sales. The latest example of that strategy is OnePage CRM, a cloud service that prompts small businesses with action items and reminders related to sales prospects. That application links with existing contact databases, rather than force small businesses to maintain yet another one.