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CRM

CRM Integrations Study Guide

What is CRM?

CRM stands for:

Customer Relationship Management

A CRM stores customer information and interaction history.

Common CRMs:

  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk
  • ServiceNow
  • HubSpot
  • Microsoft Dynamics

Why CRM Integrations Matter

CRM integrations allow platforms like Glia to share customer data with business systems.

Example:

Glia ↔ CRM ↔ Banking System

This helps agents see:

  • customer profile
  • account details
  • previous interactions
  • open tickets
  • case history

Common CRM Integration Use Cases

Use Case Description
Customer lookup Find customer details when interaction starts
Screen pop Automatically open customer record for agent
Ticket creation Create case after chat/call
Interaction logging Save chat/call history in CRM
Status updates Update ticket or customer journey status
Routing logic Route customer based on CRM data
Authentication context Use logged-in user info to identify customer

Basic CRM Integration Flow

Customer starts chat
      ↓
Glia receives customer ID
      ↓
Glia calls CRM API
      ↓
CRM returns customer data
      ↓
Agent sees customer profile

Example CRM API Request

GET /api/customers/12345
Authorization: Bearer token
Content-Type: application/json

Purpose:

Retrieve customer profile from CRM.

Example CRM API Response

{
  "customerId": "12345",
  "name": "Cesar Gonzalez",
  "status": "premium",
  "openCases": 2
}

Common Integration Patterns

Pattern Description
API integration Systems exchange data using REST APIs
Webhooks CRM receives event notifications
Embedded widget Glia embedded inside CRM
Screen pop Customer record opens automatically
Data sync Customer data synchronized between systems
SSO Users authenticate once across systems

CRM Integration With Webhooks

Example:

Chat completed
      ↓
Webhook sent to CRM
      ↓
CRM creates case summary

Webhook payload:

{
  "event": "chat_completed",
  "customerId": "12345",
  "agent": "agent01",
  "summary": "Customer asked about loan status"
}

CRM Integration With Screen Pop

Screen pop means:

automatically opening the customer record for the agent

Example:

Incoming interaction → CRM opens customer profile

This improves:

  • agent speed
  • personalization
  • customer experience

CRM Integration With Routing

CRM data can influence routing.

Example:

Customer status = VIP
      ↓
Route to priority queue

Other routing examples:

  • language
  • account type
  • product
  • region
  • open case severity

Common CRM Integration Problems

Problem Likely Cause
Customer not found Wrong customer ID or CRM record missing
Screen pop not working Bad URL mapping or missing customer field
Ticket not created API failure, bad payload, permissions issue
Data not syncing Webhook failure or field mapping issue
401 Unauthorized Invalid or expired token
403 Forbidden Missing CRM permissions
400 Bad Request Invalid JSON or missing required fields
Slow response CRM latency or network issue

CRM Integration Troubleshooting Flow

Step 1 — Understand the Expected Flow

Ask:

What should happen?
What actually happened?
Where does the flow fail?

Example:

Expected: Chat ends → CRM ticket created
Actual: Chat ends → No ticket appears

Step 2 — Identify the Integration Type

Check whether the issue involves:

  • REST API
  • webhook
  • SSO
  • screen pop
  • embedded widget
  • data sync

Step 3 — Check Authentication

Validate:

  • OAuth token
  • bearer token
  • API key
  • permissions
  • scopes

Common errors:

  • 401 = authentication problem
  • 403 = permission problem

Step 4 — Validate API Request

Check:

  • endpoint URL
  • HTTP method
  • headers
  • JSON payload
  • required fields

Example:

POST /api/cases
Authorization: Bearer token
Content-Type: application/json

Step 5 — Validate Field Mapping

Field mapping means matching data between systems.

Example:

Glia Field CRM Field
customerId Contact ID
email Email
interactionId Case Reference
agentName Owner
transcript Case Notes

Common issue:

Glia sends customerId, but CRM expects contactId

Step 6 — Review Logs

Check:

  • API logs
  • webhook delivery logs
  • CRM logs
  • timestamps
  • request IDs
  • correlation IDs

Step 7 — Validate Network

Check:

  • DNS
  • firewall
  • proxy
  • HTTPS/TLS
  • allowlists
  • rate limits

Step 8 — Test With Known Good Data

Use a test customer record.

Example:

Customer ID 12345 exists in CRM

Then validate:

  • lookup works
  • screen pop works
  • ticket creation works

Step 9 — Escalate With Evidence

Before escalating, collect:

  • timestamps
  • request/response examples
  • HTTP response codes
  • screenshots
  • affected users
  • correlation IDs

Common Troubleshooting Scenarios

Scenario 1 — CRM Customer Lookup Fails

Possible causes:

  • wrong customer ID
  • missing record
  • incorrect endpoint
  • expired token

Troubleshooting:

  • verify customer exists in CRM
  • test API call manually
  • check 401/403/404 errors
  • validate field mapping

Scenario 2 — Ticket Creation Fails

Possible causes:

  • missing required fields
  • invalid JSON
  • insufficient permissions
  • CRM API outage

Troubleshooting:

  • validate JSON payload
  • check required fields
  • review API response
  • confirm CRM service status

Scenario 3 — Screen Pop Not Opening

Possible causes:

  • browser pop-up blocked
  • bad URL template
  • missing customer identifier
  • CRM permissions issue

Troubleshooting:

  • validate URL format
  • confirm customer ID is passed
  • test manually in browser
  • check agent permissions

Scenario 4 — Webhook Not Updating CRM

Possible causes:

  • webhook URL incorrect
  • endpoint unavailable
  • authentication failure
  • TLS certificate issue

Troubleshooting:

  • validate webhook delivery logs
  • check endpoint availability
  • verify HTTPS/TLS
  • inspect response codes

Scenario 5 — Slow CRM Response

Possible causes:

  • CRM latency
  • network delay
  • rate limiting
  • overloaded integration middleware

Troubleshooting:

  • check API response time
  • review rate limits
  • validate middleware health
  • compare with other requests

Good Interview Answer

“How would you troubleshoot a CRM integration issue?”

“I would first confirm the expected workflow and identify where the failure occurs, whether it is API, webhook, SSO, screen pop, or data sync related. Then I would validate authentication, request payloads, field mapping, response codes, logs, network connectivity, and test with known good records before escalating with clear evidence.”

Key Terms To Know

Term Meaning
CRM Customer relationship management system
Screen pop Auto-open customer record
Field mapping Matching fields between systems
API integration Systems exchanging data through APIs
Webhook Event notification to another system
SSO Single sign-on
Data sync Keeping systems updated
Correlation ID Tracking ID for troubleshooting
Rate limit Maximum allowed API calls
Middleware System between two applications

Easy Memory Trick

CRM integration = customer context + automation

It helps agents know:

Who is the customer?
What happened before?
What should happen next?
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