In the realm of business, identifying and categorizing customers accurately is crucial. For many companies, understanding the distinction between customers who have made sample orders and those who have progressed to placing real orders (purchase orders, or POs) is essential. NetSuite, a popular cloud-based business management software, offers robust capabilities for managing customer data. However, a common challenge arises when attempting to differentiate between these two types of customers within the system.
The Challenge
In NetSuite, distinguishing between customers who have only placed sample orders and those who have placed real orders is not straightforward. Currently, both types of customers are identified as ‘real’ customers, leading to difficulties in targeting potential leads effectively.
The Solution
To address this challenge, a solution was proposed during a recent meeting involving JJ, a member of the team, which involves implementing a checkbox body field in the sales orders. This checkbox would be used to distinguish between sample orders and normal sales orders. By flagging sample orders, it becomes easier to filter out these customers through saved searches, thus enabling the identification of potential leads.
Implementation Options
Script Implementation: One option is to create a script that flags a sales order at the body level to indicate whether it is a sample order or not. By using this flag, it becomes possible to pull a list of customers who have only placed sample orders.
Multiple Saved Searches: Another approach is to use three separate saved searches: one for customers with sample orders, another for customers with actual orders, and a third for customers listed as end customers in sales orders. By comparing the results of each search, it becomes possible to identify the customers meeting the filtering conditions.
Alternative Tools: Utilizing a workbook or spreadsheet to filter out the customers manually is another option, albeit less efficient compared to automated methods.
Conclusion
Identifying potential customers who have only placed sample orders and have not progressed to placing real orders is a nuanced task. While directly filtering out these customers through a single saved search in NetSuite is not feasible, implementing the proposed solutions can help streamline this process. By leveraging the flexibility and customization capabilities of NetSuite, businesses can effectively identify and target potential leads, ultimately driving growth and success.