This guide explains how to map out your relationships before configuring anything in Tribe. It helps you define your processes, clarify your relationship types, and decide which data truly matters. You might use this step when setting up Tribe for the first time or when rethinking your CRM structure. By following this guide, you will create a clear foundation that supports long-term usability and growth.
Table of Contents
Background And Context
What Does This Step Do?
Step By Step Instructions
Tips And Best Practices
Quick Summary
Background And Context
A successful Relationship Management setup begins with clarity. Before configuring anything in Tribe, it is important to understand how your organisation works with relationships and what you want to achieve. Making these decisions early helps keep your setup simple, logical, and scalable.
What Does This Step Do?
This step helps you define how relationships move through your organisation and what information you need to support that process. It ensures that Tribe is structured around your way of working, rather than forcing you to adapt to the system. It also reduces complexity by focusing only on what truly adds value.
Step By Step Instructions
Define Your Process
Identify your objectives and how relationships move through your organisation. Clarify what outcomes you want to support so Tribe reflects the way you actually work.Define Your Relationship Types
Decide which core relationship types you need, such as customers, prospects, partners, or suppliers. Keep the number of types limited to maintain clarity and ease of use. This video can help you with this process:You may also want to review information about data base models as well before defining relationship types such as What is the Relationship and Activity Structure in Tribe? or this video:
Configure Your Relationship Types
Create only the relationship types you actively use and deactivate anything that does not add value. This keeps your environment focused and intuitive.
Check out How do I configure relationship types? for more information on this step.Determine What Data You Want To Capture
Decide which information is relevant for each relationship type. Focus on what is essential rather than what might be useful someday. The data you choose here directly affects usability, data quality, and user adoption. These videos can support you in understanding fields and data you want to capture:
Set Up Fields In The System
Create the fields that will store your selected data. Start with the minimum required fields and expand later as your needs evolve. Some resources to help you with this step includes:Accessing a Field
Creating a Field
Deleting a Field
Editing a Field
Creating Connections
How do I use and manage labels?
How do I create and manage list boxes?Test Your Setup With Example Relationships
Before moving on, it’s time for a quick reality check. Create a few example relationships in Tribe and test your setup. Do the relationship types make sense? Are the fields logical and easy to use? This small test helps you validate your choices early.
Use this short guide to make sure your setup feels right in practice.
Create Your First Reporting View
Build a simple reporting view to become familiar with Tribe’s reporting concepts. This helps you understand the difference between dashboards, views, and widgets without adding complexity. This video can help guide you in this step:
Tips And Best Practices
Keep your structure simple at the start.
Focus on what you truly need rather than what might be useful later.
Test your setup with real examples before moving on.
Treat this step as a foundation for everything that follows.
Quick Summary
By completing step 1, you lay a strong and thoughtful foundation for your entire Relationship Management setup. Everything that follows will be easier, cleaner, and more effective because you started with clarity.
Ready for the next step? Let’s move on to the next step, recording contact moments.