Slack is equally good but as we went for ZohoOHO CRM it made sense to go in for Zoho Cliq to benefit from the integrations. Zoho Cliq is intuitive and user-friendly with no extra learning required. Google Chat had very limited capabilities and was not very user-friendly.
At the company I work for, we use Notion as an organizational base for all sectors and projects. For example, we use it for the marketing team, customer support team, among others. And for each one, we can create pipelines, tasks, due dates, execution time, tags with different colors. It's something very versatile that helps with everything around here. We've even created a sales funnel in Notion.
It is very well suited as a messaging tool, where one needs to communicate quickly to a colleague the status of a particular task or an update to the work. This is especially useful for field work where the field team can report the work done and any additional resources required. We have faced issues when virtual meetings are held for a team of 10+ members with a lot of drop-offs and poor quality of reception (audio & video). While some may be attributed to poor internet connection, we do not face the same issue when using Zoom meetings. This area requires strengthening.
I use Notion on my personal tablet, and unlike on the computer, I have a lot of difficulty editing backgrounds, GIFs, and page dividers. It's not as user-friendly, and often the elements end up cut off or misaligned, which is frustrating.
While the current calendar feature is helpful, I'd love to see more customization options. The Google Calendar style isn't always ideal, especially for tasks without specific times or for ongoing projects that require daily maintenance.
It would be fantastic to have more flexibility in customizing Notion pages. For example, I'd love to create planners with the freedom to add illustration boxes, stickers, or GIFs without being restricted to a fixed layout.
Initial set up can be a little daunting if you aren't a tech-savvy person. For large organizations, this might not matter since you would have a dedicated IT team that will handle it (as we did) but if you are a small business owner looking to set this up yourself, I imagine it would take some trial and error to get working.
Zoho Cliq has become an integral part of our daily business. Every single member of our team who has a job involving a computer has an active Zoho Cliq license and uses the tool continuously throughout the day. It cuts down on meetings and allows the team to feel very connected to one-another even though we are distributed geographically.
Notion addresses most of our needs and help teams to organize their tasks, track their progresses and then archive for future reference. The company uses Notion to share announcement, holiday schedules, employee contact information and organizational structures. Everyone finds it useful and helpful. The notifications are instant. Reminders are on time.
Easy to use Larger File sharing like videos, audios, even zip files Make internal group calls Multiple channel creation sharing development scripts is also easy
It's available 24X7. We have never faced any serious issues with the connectivity. Whenever we faced issues, it has been traced to a browser issue or Windows app issue or a mobile issue.
Excellent support. Online training and supporting videos, and resources are more than sufficient to get started. Moreover, their support channel, especially the chat window, is very helpful and provides an instant solution to all our queries. For any complicated issue, they always get back by email with the solution and on occasions even call back.
Implementation is very simple and easy. Create a Zoho account (free or paid), send/ receive an invite, log in, verify your credentials and get started. Admin would have created the channels for you, and you start contributing. The entire process is smooth, and you can get started within minutes. The Admin has to work at the backend, initially, and decide on the permissions for the individual and the team and set up permissions for access to other applications too. This needs to be planned out, tested and implemented.
Jira is a great tool, that is probably more robust than Notion and more scalable. But for a small company (under 50 people) the investment is hard to swallow without a significant revenue stream justifying it. Notion is a perfect low cost option that meets 80% of the capability, and that extra 20% is not needed by most organizations.
Functionality wise Zoho Chat fairs pretty well against the other options. I still use all the other options as I need to be flexible in how I communicate with clients. It is the integration into the ZohoCRM & Cliq that puts Zoho Chat above the others and is why I try to encourage clients to move across to the app
The system works perfectly well. At times, we have faced issues with the desktop application - it doesn't start, or takes time to start, or even logs off on its own. However, the browser as well as the mobile application work perfectly well, and we have never faced issues with them
The first positive impact of using Notion is saving time and increased productivity. Since switching to Notion, I spend less time searching for notes, tasks, or messy documents. Everything is in one place, making my workflow at least 30% more efficient compared to using multiple apps.
The second positive impact is a better organization (and it leads to fewer missed business opportunities). Before Notion, it was easy to lose track of ideas, follow-ups, or small tasks. Now, I rarely forget important details, which has led to more consistent execution of projects and fewer last-minute rushes.
Because Notion’s free plan has been more than enough for my needs, using the free plan has another positive impact on ROI for me. If I had to replace it with separate tools for note-taking, task management, and project planning, I’d likely spend $10–$30 per month on multiple subscriptions.
Although they are very few, Notion has some negative impacts or limitations on ROI. I think the most important one is the offline mode issues can interrupt productivity. There have been times when I needed to access an important document while traveling or in a meeting with poor internet and couldn't. This led to delays or extra effort to work around the issue.
While Notion is fantastic for organizing work, it's not a full replacement for spreadsheets, collaborative docs, or task management software in all cases. This means I still need to use some other apps for specific tasks, which slightly reduces the efficiency gain.
If I need to give some figures; Notion helps me at least 3-5 hours per week to save time; $10–$30 per month by not needing multiple apps. Even with some limitations, Notion has had a net positive impact on my productivity, organization, and overall efficiency, all at zero cost!
our business save time and improve communication. We noticed a 20% faster response time to customer issues because team members can communicate instantly.
reduced our internal email clutter, saving about 10 hours a week for staff who used to spend time sorting through emails.
