Business Hub Customer Guide

This guide covers how to manage customers, contacts, notes, timeline, tasks and follow-ups in Business Hub — the CRM core of Ottili ONE.

Customer Management

Creating Customers

Customers are the foundation of your business operations. To create a new customer:

1. Navigate to Business Hub → Customers

2. Click "New Customer"

3. Fill in the required information:

- Name*: Customer name (individual or organization)

- Email*: Primary contact email

- Phone*: Primary contact phone

- Address*: Billing and shipping address

4. Optionally add:

- Company Details*: Organization name, industry, company size

- Custom Fields*: Business-specific information

- Tags*: For categorization and filtering

5. Click "Save"

Customer Types

B2C Customers*: Individual consumers with personal contact information.

B2B Customers*: Organizations with company details. For B2B customers, you can:

• Link multiple contacts to one organization
• Track company-level information (industry, size, revenue)
• Manage relationships at both contact and company level

Customer Status and Lifecycle

Customers can have different statuses:

• Active*: Currently engaged customer
• Inactive*: No recent activity
• Prospect*: Potential customer not yet converted
• Churned*: Former customer

Lifecycle stages track where a customer is in your relationship:

• Lead*: Initial contact, not yet qualified
• Prospect*: Qualified potential customer
• Customer*: Active paying customer
• Churned*: Customer relationship ended

Viewing Customer Details

Click on any customer to open their detail view, which shows:

• Contact information and company details
• Communication history (emails, calls, notes)
• Related records (orders, invoices, deals, tasks)
• Timeline of all activities
• Customer 360 view (comprehensive overview)

Contact Management

Adding Contacts

For B2B customers, you can add multiple contacts:

1. Open the customer record

2. Go to the Contacts section

3. Click "Add Contact"

4. Fill in contact details:

- Name*: Contact person's name

- Role*: Job title or position

- Email*: Contact email

- Phone*: Contact phone

5. Click "Save"

Managing Contacts

• Update*: Edit contact information as needed
• Archive*: Remove contacts who are no longer relevant (soft delete)
• Primary Contact*: Designate a primary contact for each customer

Notes and Communication

Adding Notes

Notes capture important information about customer interactions:

1. Open the customer record

2. Go to the Notes section

3. Click "Add Note"

4. Write your note

5. Optionally:

- Set visibility (private, team, public)

- Add tags for organization

- Link to related records

6. Click "Save"

Note Types

• Communication Notes*: Record of calls, emails, meetings
• Internal Notes*: Team-only observations and decisions
• Follow-up Notes*: Reminders for future actions

Communication History

The timeline automatically captures:

• Emails sent and received
• Call logs
• Note additions
• Task completions
• Order and invoice changes

Timeline and Activities

Customer Timeline

The timeline provides a chronological view of all customer activities:

• Activities*: Emails, calls, meetings, notes
• Transactions*: Orders, invoices, payments
• Tasks*: Created, completed, overdue tasks
• Deals*: Pipeline movements and status changes

Filtering the Timeline

Use filters to focus on specific activities:

• Activity Type*: Show only communications, transactions, or tasks
• Date Range*: View activities within a specific period
• User*: Filter by who performed the action

Tasks and Follow-ups

Creating Tasks

Tasks help you track follow-ups and action items:

1. Open the customer record

2. Go to the Tasks section

3. Click "Add Task"

4. Fill in task details:

- Title*: Brief description of the task

- Description*: Detailed instructions

- Due Date*: When the task should be completed

- Priority*: Low, normal, or high

- Assignee*: Who is responsible for the task

5. Click "Save"

Task Types

• Follow-up*: Callbacks, emails, check-ins
• Administrative*: Paperwork, documentation
• Sales*: Proposal preparation, negotiation
• Support*: Issue resolution, customer service

Managing Tasks

• Update*: Change task status, priority, or due date
• Complete*: Mark tasks as done when finished
• Reassign*: Transfer tasks to other team members
• Link*: Connect tasks to specific customers, deals, or orders

Follow-up Reminders

Set up automatic follow-ups:

• Recurring Tasks*: Regular check-ins (weekly, monthly)
• Trigger-based*: Tasks created automatically based on events
• Due Date Alerts*: Notifications when tasks are approaching deadline

Customer 360 View

The Customer 360 view provides a comprehensive overview:

Key Metrics

• Total revenue from customer
• Order frequency and value
• Payment history and status
• Support ticket count
• Last activity date

Relationship Health

• Engagement score based on activity
• Communication frequency
• Response time metrics
• Satisfaction indicators

Cross-Module Connections

• Deals*: Active and closed opportunities
• Orders*: Purchase history and status
• Invoices*: Billing and payment status
• Tasks*: Open and completed follow-ups
• Notes*: Communication history

Best Practices

Data Quality

• Keep customer information current and accurate
• Use consistent naming conventions
• Regularly review and update contact details
• Archive inactive customers to keep lists clean

Communication

• Log every meaningful interaction
• Use notes to capture context and decisions
• Set follow-up tasks during calls and meetings
• Respond to customer inquiries promptly

Task Management

• Create tasks immediately after customer interactions
• Set realistic due dates and priorities
• Review and update task status regularly
• Use task templates for common follow-ups

Team Collaboration

• Share important notes with the team
• Assign tasks to the right people
• Use tags to organize customers and activities
• Leverage the approval queue for sensitive actions

Permissions and Access

Customer management requires appropriate permissions:

• View*: Read customer records and related data
• Write*: Create and update customer information
• Delete*: Archive customers (requires manager role)

Plan entitlements may apply — customer management features may require specific plan levels.

Integration with Other Modules

Marketplace Connect

• Customer data syncs from Shopify, eBay, Kleinanzeigen
• Orders automatically link to existing customers
• New customers created automatically from marketplace orders

Ottili AI

• AI can summarize customer history
• Draft customer communications
• Suggest follow-up tasks
• Analyze customer behavior patterns

Flows

• Automate customer onboarding processes
• Trigger follow-up tasks based on events
• Send automated communications
• Update customer status based on behavior

Troubleshooting

Customer Not Found

• Check if the customer is archived (filter includes archived)
• Verify you're searching the correct company context
• Ensure you have permission to view the customer

Tasks Not Appearing

• Check task filters (status, assignee, date range)
• Verify tasks are linked to the correct customer
• Ensure tasks are not archived

Timeline Missing Activities

• Activities may be filtered by type or date
• Check if the activity was logged in a different context
• Verify integration settings if activities should sync automatically

Next Steps

• Learn about [Business Hub Overview](/docs/business-hub-overview) for broader context

- Explore [Deals and Pipeline](/docs/business-hub-overview) for sales management

• Set up [Integrations](/docs/connect-an-integration) to sync customer data
• Configure [Flows](/docs/build-a-flow) for automated customer workflows