Changelog
Follow up on the latest improvements and updates.
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September 2024
— Vendasta is set to retire the Sales & Success Center on January 15, 2025
, as part of its commitment to continuous innovation and platform evolution. All partners are required to transition to Vendasta’s unified Partner Center CRM
by this date to continue utilizing the company’s powerful sales and client management tools.The Partner Center CRM, launched in November 2023, has quickly become the go-to solution for managing SMB clients, offering an all-in-one platform that supports both agencies with dedicated sales teams and those without. The transition reflects Vendasta’s strategic vision to provide partners with a more cohesive, efficient CRM experience, featuring integrated workflows, enhanced automation, and seamless customer management.
Key Dates and Transition Requirements:
- Sales & Success Centerwill no longer be accessible afterJanuary 15, 2025.
- Partners currently using Sales & Success Center should migrate to the Partner Center CRMas soon as possible.
- Proposal Builder document creation, one of the most requested features, has been fully migrated to the Partner Center CRM. Partners can now design documents using the same tools that were available in Sales & Success Center’s Proposal Builder, ensuring a smooth transition for teams relying on this functionality. Some incomplete features that saw low usage, like creating a sales order from Proposals, and sending proposals for comments, will not be carried over to the Partner Center CRM.
Vendasta has already onboarded new partners to Partner Center CRM since June 2024, and all existing partners must make the transition by January 2025 to continue accessing these features.
Why the Change?
Vendasta’s Partner Center CRM now offers feature parity and beyond with Sales & Success Center. This evolution includes significant enhancements, such as:
- [Now available] White-label experience for salesperson- Your sales team will see your agency’s branding within their Partner Center, from logging in to using the software.
- [Now available] Market permission- If a salesperson is limited to a specific market, those restrictions will be applied within the Partner Center CRM as well.
- [Now available] Proposal Builder document building features- Vendasta’s development team has successfully migrated the most requested part of Proposal Builder to Partner Center; partners can now design documents using the creation tools of Proposal Builder.
- [Coming soon] Ownership permission- ensures that users can only view the records they are directly assigned to, preventing access to records owned by other users. Currently, Sales & Success Center uses a 'Market-wide account' access setting, which applies to all users in the market. We are now introducing a more specific, user-based permission system, replacing the instance-wide setting with individual user record access control.
- [Coming soon] “Product” under “Resources”- ensures that salespersons know what products are available for them to sell and at what price.
Due to low usage, and to ensure users receive the best possible experience, some features currently only available in Sales & Success Center will be retired completely.
- [Retired] Creating a sales order from Proposals, and sending proposals for comments- Vendasta’s Proposal Builder in Sales & Success Center was primarily used to create documents, which users would commonly download as PDFs. As such, we’re removing the complicated sales order workflow as part of the migration of our Proposal Builder to Partner Center.
- [Retired] Chrome extension- Vendasta’s Sales & Success Center Chrome Extension was primarily used for autoBCC’ing and logging emails in the CRM. Yesware is now the better alternative for autoBCC’ing.
- [Retired] “Stores” and “Sales” under “Resources”- Provided as self-serve sales training materials, though the sales content hasn’t been actively maintained.
- [Retired] Impersonate as a salesperson- Previously, a partner could “mimic” what the salesperson is able to see. In order to do this with the new Partner Center CRM, a partner can create a salesperson account to go through the salesperson experience.
- [Retired] Calendar- This shows the sales tasks and meetings booked via the meeting scheduler, but it hasn’t been widely adopted due to the lack of integration with users' calendars, such as Google and Outlook. Note that Partner Center CRM users are still able to create their own meeting scheduler link, so prospects and clients can easily schedule appointments with them.
By consolidating these capabilities into a single, streamlined platform, Vendasta is eliminating the need for partners to switch between multiple systems, thus providing a more efficient user experience.
What’s New in the Partner Center CRM?
- Unified Sales Workflow:Manage sales cycles, capture leads, and launch email campaigns directly within Partner Center, without the need to toggle between different platforms.
- Enhanced Automation:Features like AI-assisted web chat, Form Builder for lead capture, and Zapier integrations for workflows streamline sales operations.
- Improved Customer Management:New "Companies" and "Contacts" tabs offer better data organization, with advanced filtering and AI-driven lead capture tools.
- Customizable White-label Experience:Sales teams can enjoy a fully branded interface, ensuring a consistent experience from log-in to CRM usage.
- Permission Controls:Sales teams can now access only the records assigned to them, enhancing security and data privacy.
The Path Forward: What Partners Should Do
Vendasta encourages all partners still using Sales & Success Center to begin their migration to Partner Center CRM immediately. Detailed training resources in our Academy and support documentation in our Help Center are available to assist partners in making a smooth transition.
For any assistance or to request additional support during the migration, partners are encouraged to reach out to their Vendasta account manager or contact support by emailing support@vendasta.com.
FAQs
Q: What’s the deadline to transition to the Partner Center CRM?
A:
All partners must complete the transition by January 15, 2025
, when Sales & Success Center will no longer be available.Q: What are the key benefits of switching to Partner Center CRM?
A:
Partner Center CRM offers integrated workflows, powerful automation, enhanced customer management tools, and a fully customizable white-label experience — all within one platform.Q: Will there be any pricing changes?
A:
No, there are no changes to pricing or contract terms as part of this transition.Q: Where can partners find additional resources for the transition?
A: Vendasta’s Help Center and Academy offer training resources. Partners can also reach out to their account manager for more personalized support.
Final Call to Action
To maintain access to Vendasta’s suite of CRM tools and continue benefiting from our cutting-edge platform, partners must transition to the Partner Center CRM by January 15, 2025. For questions or further assistance, contact your Vendasta account manager or visit the Help Center for detailed resources.
new
Advertising Intelligence
Business App
Inbox
Partner Center
CRM
Platform
Now Available
Product Updates: 2024-09-26
The following improvements are now available!
Business App
- [CRM] Export Contacts and Companies from a Business App CRM for upload to other software.
- [Inbox] Start an Inbox conversation with a Contact from their profile in a Business App CRM.
- [Inbox] Avoid duplicate SMS conversations with Inbox. Select existing contacts and conversations to pick up communication in the same thread
- [Inbox] See the name and avatar set for a business' AI web chat assistant in Inbox conversations for improved context on who is participating in a conversation.
- [Inbox] When an AI web chat assistant has been given a custom name, it will recognize and respond to its name when addressed in conversation with a lead on a website.
- [Inbox] View conversation summaries written from the perspective of the AI assistant who helped the lead to get better context on how the business was represented. The AI assistant will wait briefly before summarizing lead capture conversation for the business in case the lead continues the conversation with additional details about their needs
Platform
- [CRM] Export Contacts and Companies from your Partner Center CRM for upload to other software.
- [Inbox] Start an Inbox conversation with a Contact from their profile in your Partner Center CRM.
- [Inbox] Avoid duplicate SMS conversations with Inbox. Select existing contacts and conversations to pick up communication in the same thread
- [Inbox] See the name and avatar set for a business' AI web chat assistant in Inbox conversations for improved context on who is participating in a conversation.
- [Inbox] When an AI web chat assistant has been given a custom name, it will recognize and respond to its name when addressed in conversation with a lead on a website.
- [Inbox] View conversation summaries written from the perspective of the AI assistant who helped the lead to get better context on how the business was represented. The AI assistant will wait briefly before summarizing lead capture conversation for the business in case the lead continues the conversation with additional details about their needs
Products
- [Advertising Intelligence] Compare ad performance metrics across campaigns and ad networks to make informed decisions on adjustments, and get the most out of your clients' ad spend. Select and compare specific creatives, customize columns, sort, and filter to quickly identify top performers, and ads in need of refinement. Learn more
fixed
Reputation Management
Social Marketing
Multi-location
Business App
Partner Center
CRM
Platform
Product Fixes: 2024-09-26
[Business App] View files in Business App > My Business > Files.
[Business App: Multi-location] Use dark theme logo in Multi-Location Business App.
[Platform] View active products on Account pages in Partner Center.
[Platform: CRM] When salespeople assigned to a single market create Contacts, the Contacts will be assigned to that same market.
[Platform: Marketplace] White label icons display on add-ons.
[Platform: Marketplace] Icons display in marketing materials of packages.
[Products: Reputation Management] Send review requests to up to 100 Contacts at a time.
[Products: Social Marketing] Posts set to "Hidden Draft" retain that status when rescheduled.
[Products: Social Marketing] Use "Bulk create with AI" to create social posts, even if you only have one or two accounts.
new
What's New
What's New: 2024-09-19
This week, exciting news about how we share updates with you, our partners! For the past two years, we've been communicating all newly available products and features weekly through our What's New and Next series. Consisting of a summary video and an accompanying Changelog article (published right here!), it provided a one-stop shop for learning about improvements to the software you use and sell every day.
After speaking with partners to discover opportunities for improvement, we're excited to share that we're revamping how we communicate product updates to help you better understand the new capabilities being added to our solution. You'll learn why and how to sell the latest and greatest Vendasta has to offer, and find out how to get started!
What's Changing
We're saying goodbye to the What's New and Next series to introduce more focused content that will be easier to understand, and harder to forget. Weekly videos detailing each release will be replaced by monthly videos that tie together top releases to help you understand the unique value that's being added to your partnership with Vendasta.
What's Not Changing
Stay tuned right here, and you'll never miss an update. All product updates, big and small, will continue to be communicated through this Changelog. Weekly articles will share small improvements released recently. Once a month, we'll publish articles announcing the launch of releases that are bound to make a big contribution to the growth of your and your clients' businesses. Video summaries, resource articles, and more will be linked to ensure you have everything you'll need to start using and selling new products and updates right away.
fixed
Reputation Management
Social Marketing
Business App
Snapshot Report
Partner Center
Billing & Payments
Orders
Platform
Product Fixes: 2024-09-19
[Business App] View numerical data by hovering over the Impressions, Engagement and Leads graphs in
Business App > Home.
[Business App] Your clients can invite other users to their Business App account.
[Platform: Billing & Payments] Search for Invoices by Invoice Number in
Partner Center > Commerce > Invoices.
[Platform: Orders] Upload and save image files when creating Sales Orders.
[Platform: Snapshot Report] Snapshot Reports display accurate count of Instagram followers.
[Products: Reputation Management] Update the layout of a review widget with Review Widget Pro in
Reputation Management > Reviews > Review Widget > Layout.
[Products: Reputation Management] Import Contacts in bulk via .csv.
[Products: Reputation Management] Capture NPS scores submitted via mobile.
[Products: Social Marketing] Post to Linkedin.
[Products: Social Marketing] View post thumbnails when reviewing insights in
Social Marketing > Insights > Post Performance.
new
Business App
Inbox
AI
APIs & Integrations
Now Available
What's New
What's New: 2024-09-12
This week, Kendall Johns shares new integrations, and updates to AI web chat that encourage web visitors to engage.
Business App
- [APIs & Integrations] Integrate Jobber and Housecall Pro directly with Business App to sync CRM data, automate review requests, centralize communication, and more. Use Automations to further streamline workflows and create engaging post-purchases experiences for customers. Learn more
- [Inbox] On mobile, the AI web chat’s avatar pops up immediately with a greeting, complete with a green “online” indicator to encourage visitors to engage in a conversation.
- [Inbox] Position AI web chat to show in the bottom left or right corner of a website by setting the Web Chat bottom corner position field in Inbox > Inbox Settings > Configure Web Chat > Appearance > Web Chat bottom corner position.
- [Inbox] Web chat messages appear on screen more quickly to assure visitors that their enquiries are being captured and processed immediately.
fixed
Reputation Management
Social Marketing
Opportunities & Pipeline
Platform
Product Fixes: 2024-09-12
[Platform: Opportunities & Pipeline] View Opportunity totals in the Partner Center > CRM > Opportunities > board view.
[Products: Reputation Management] Questions display once in Reputation Management > Google Q&A.
[Products: Social Marketing] If a warnings banner appears on screen, view warnings requiring action by clicking "View Warnings."
new
AI
What's Next
Now Available
MatchCraft Product Updates: September 2024
Learn about the opportunities and obstacles of digital advertising, and how MatchCraft, an advertising platform by Vendasta, can help you navigate this complex, yet important component of your business' success.
Accelerate Keyword Selection for Ad Campaigns with AI
Join Jeff Leach to learn how MatchCraft’s new AI-powered keyword suggestions tool helps you quickly choose the best keywords for your Google and Bing search campaigns.
Keyword Selection
Keywords determine when and where search ads are shown, and negative keywords help save money by avoiding expensive and irrelevant clicks. The right keywords put advertisers in front of their target customers, which lowers cost per click and increases return on ad spend.
MatchCraft helps accelerate campaign set-up, and handles the selection of an initial set of keywords. You can pick from over 6,000 business categories related to your advertiser. Each category added to a campaign comes with a starter set of ad copy and keywords to jumpstart campaign creation.
AI-Powered Suggestions
To automate and accelerate campaign creation even further, our AI-powered category suggestions recommend the appropriate category based on your website.
To customize the campaign for the specific advertiser, use the new AI-powered keyword suggestions tool. It pulls data directly from the advertiser's website to offer relevant keyword ideas beyond those that have already been added to the campaign, offering more options to help attract the ideal customers for your advertiser.
For more details on all updates to the MatchCraft advertising platform for September 2024, please contact us.
Automate Bid and Budget Management with MatchCraft
In case you missed it, Jeff recently reviewed how MatchCraft can help you get the most out of any digital advertising budget.
fixed
Business App
Task Manager
Partner Center
Sales & Success Center
Orders
CRM
APIs & Integrations
Platform
Product Fixes: 2024-09-05
[Business App] View Guides from
Business App > My Business > Guides
.[Platform: APIs & Integrations] Call APIs with website urls beginning with http or https.
[Platform: CRM] Companies selected in
Partner Center > CRM > Companies
display as selected (checkboxes filled).[Platform: Orders] Download order data as csv from
Partner Center > Commerce > Orders
.[Platform: Orders] Order multiple instances of an add-on in one order.
[Platform: Task Manager] Create standalone Tasks without attaching them to a Project.
new
Business App
Partner Center
Campaigns
Orders
Platform
Now Available
What's New
What's New: 2024-08-29
This week, Kendall Johns shares updates to Campaigns Pro, Orders, and Vendasta’s Help Center.
NOW AVAILABLE: Send SMS campaigns from Campaigns Pro!
Send dedicated SMS campaigns, or build multi-step, mixed campaigns from Campaigns Pro in Business App, including email and SMS to boost engagement with promotions, invitations, review requests, and more.
SMS messages will be sent from the same local texting number that your clients in the U.S. and Canada are already using to communicate with customers from Inbox, and request reviews with Reputation Management Premium. With this add-on to Campaigns Pro, you’ll help local businesses increase engagement with their target audiences, while simplifying customer communication for their team!
The add-on is available in a range of denominations of 50-1,000 for both Canada and the US. Whether your clients estimate they’ll need 100 credits or 1,000, you can provide the right version for each of your clients, and they can always trade up as they grow. Learn more
Platform
- [Orders] Create Sales Orders more quickly with several UI improvements:
- When selecting items for the order, products and packages load more quickly.
- When selecting packages for the order, click "view contents" to see which products are included in each package.
- Once items are added to the order, set-up fees on any products or packages are clearly indicated. You can also add new set-up fees at this time.
- To undo pricing edits, press “reset to default” to restore the original pricing and structure.
Help Center
August 30, 2024: Find resources more easily in the Help Center with its new look and feel. When you arrive on the home page, you’ll notice that the side bar navigation matches what you’re used to in the platform, making it easy to find the section you’re looking for.
You can also search for something specific, browse the categories displayed here, or check recent releases and updates. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, direct links will take you to ask the community, find a course, submit a ticket, or give product feedback.
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