As a Small Business owner, you know all about Accounting. You understand that Accounting knowledge and using accounting software is the most basic requirement of your business to manage dollars and cents and ultimately make a profit.

Successful business owners also understand that in order to continue to make a profit, you must not only find a customer but also make sure that they keep coming back for more of your products and services. Simple! Right? Sure it is simple; if you only have a hand full of customers. You, the business owner, can easily keep track of your customers’ names, their likings, their favorite color, etc. etc., heck you may even know their pet’s name. But we all know that in today’s competitive world, you need more than 10 customers to survive. To be successful, you need 100′s of customers doing business with you every single day!  And trust me, you don’t want to get names or pet’s names mixed up when communicating with your customers!

So, forget those sticky notes; note pads, the memory games, and no not even eating almonds (as mom said it would help your memory) is going to make any difference!   

Just like you don’t do all your accounting in your head to make a profit it is impossible to provide the best service, retain your best customers, to constantly communicate and inform customers of your specials, offers, discounts, giveaways, bundles or just interesting facts about products and services that provide that additional value by using your head!  Nope, you need help! That is why a Customer Relationship Management or CRM Software solution is a must just like your accounting software is for your business to be successful.  

A CRM Software will help you manage all your marketing communications, your sales and customer service activities in an automated electronic (inexpensive) fashion so that you can start using your memory for more importing things.  Let the CRM software help you communicate to your customers how and when they should keep coming back for more of what you sell!

Sound interesting?  It better! Your competition is using it, why are you left behind?  Perhaps it’s time you learned more about CRM and how it can help you and your business grow. The most importing thing is you will have happy customers who will keep coming back for more.  

So, start using the power of the internet to help your business grow and don’t just Tweet, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google!  Start using CRM just like Surado CRM Online! 

TRY NOW

CRM  DEFINED…

CRM is first and foremost a strategy and corporate philosophy that puts the customer at the center of business operations so as to increase profits by improving customer acquisition and retention.

It involves identifying high-value customers and automating processes so that sales, marketing, and service efforts will be more efficient and effective.

In its complete form, CRM provides a 360-degree view of the customer and integrates all necessary information about the customer at every touch point – be it traditional voice, Internet-based, or wireless.

A CRM software solution is the vehicle that enables the 360-degree view. The major integrated system components that make up a CRM system include account and contact management, sales automation, marketing automation, customer care (service and support), and integration with back-office applications.

Better Manage Your Business -CRM 1080

Have you ever been frustrated because you can’t find your agreements?       Or don’t know which of your employees last spoke to a client?    Or which one of your sales brochure is the latest version?         

Or why don’t your employees realize that “Bob” is your high valued customer that requires special attention?      

 If this sounds familiar, you are in dire need of CRM. When implemented successfully, a CRM initiative will transform your muddled, messy, mis-managed and disorganized business into a lean, mean, tech-savvy machine!         

Although there are many ways how CRM Software can help you better manage your business, I have limited our discussions to some of the popular ones below:         

1. No More Messy Desk – Track & Manage Information in One Place. Stop buying post-it notes for reminders. All your contact information and reminders will be available in your CRM System.         

2. No More Lost Documents, Contracts, Images, Music, etc. CRM Software will allow you to attach documents, images, etc. to each contact. So, to review a document, simply bring up the contact and look at the document attachments.         

3. Don’t Waste Time Looking for Past E-Mails. Because e-mails are synchronized automatically, your history folder will always be repository of past e-mails sent/received to a particular individual. No more having to search through tons of e-mail for a particular attachment.         

4. Leverage Individual Expertise through Knowledge Management. Every organization has a few individuals who know a lot about the business. CRM software allows you to track various information, documents, brochures, etc. in a knowledge management area. Because this is a searchable knowledge base, anyone in your business will be able to search and access policies, brochures, industry information, business documents, HR documents and more.         

5. Automate Business Processes to Set Action into Play. So, you want to make sure that when your sales reps complete an introductory call, they get a reminder to send a thank you e-mail. Or how about sending a “friendly reminder” to your contacts one day prior to your appointment to make sure that all parties show up for the meeting. Automated business rules, when done right will save you time, money and lots of frustration.          

6. Know Which Marketing Campaign is Bringing in Results. You spend hard earned dollars to advertise in the Yellow Pages, local Newspaper, Direct Mail, Internet, etc, but do you have a clue as to which campaign is really working? CRM will change all this. You will be able to focus your marketing dollars on campaigns that clearly provide the results you are looking for – sales!         

7. Improve, Automate and Be on Top of Sales. Standardize your sales process with automated reminders, to-do’s, follow-ups, best practices that you know work. Review and be on top of activity logs, top opportunities, forecasting, quota and much more. CRM’s sales force automation features will help your sales team excel to new heights.         

8. Track & Provide High Levels of Customer ServiceGood service is no longer memorable. Great service makes all the difference. With CRM, you will be able to track each and every customer service call and the steps taken to resolve them in a timely fashion. With Automation, Knowledge Base and standard processes, your customers will be rewarded with Great service which will result in return visits and referrals.           

9. Use Dashboards to gauge Key Performance Indicators. So, you have 5 minutes before you dash off. But how is your business doing? Meetings? Sales? Marketing? Customer Service? With CRM, you can create customized Dashboards that will give you a quick graphical overview of all the things that are important to you and your business. Dashboards can also be extended for all your employees so that they can better focus in their area of specialty.         

10. Consolidated all your various database silos into your CRM solution. Most small business have several different databases – all have name, address and telephone numbers of your customers, vendors, prospects, etc. Over time, frustration begins to set in as you realize that one database telephone number was updated and the rest were not. Before too long, people are calling the wrong number and accounting is sending invoices to the wrong addresses and you know the rest. The point here is that you can consolidate all disparate databases into your CRM software.       

Most people confuse CRM Software with a contact organizer – If you are one of them, don’t feel too bad. Because of the tremendous success of CRM software, most contact management or contact organizers advertise themselves as “CRM” in one form or another just because they may have part of what a complete CRM software delivers.   

There is a vast difference between Contact Organizer or Contact Manager Software and a CRM Software. Contact Managers are geared towards individuals with features limited to the needs of a single professional.   

 For small and growing businesses, Contact Organizers will not be able to handle the needs of a team – workgroup features, speed, security, storage, limited features for sales automation, workflow, marketing automation, customer services, integration to other products and the list goes on and on. Some Contact Managers are available for small groups of users. However, why go with Contact Manager Software when you can achieve so much more with CRM Software at a price you can afford.   

The key message here is, if you use Microsoft Outlook or other e-mail systems to do e-mail and track information about your contacts and schedules, that is NOT CRM. Yes, you are better off than not having any kind of an electronic system to track your customers but you are way behind in what you can do with CRM in place.   

A true CRM Software solution provides complete front office automation for Account and Contact Management, Sales, Marketing, Customer Service and Back-Office Integration.   

Contact Organizer Software versus CRM Software-CRM1080

Contact Organizers are great for Single Professionals   

With Limited Needs While   

CRM Software provides a Full-Featured   

Team Solution for Growing Companies   

What is Web Self-Service? CRM1080

These days, since businesses are expected to provide personal service and form relationships with thousands of customers, self-service tools are a blessing.

No matter how great your customer care is, if you’re not offering support on the Web, your customers are left wondering why. Many experts agree that having self-service is one of the cornerstones of establishing an e-business presence.

The Self-Service model is founded on the principal of enabling customers, partners and employees to obtain information or conduct transactions directly over the Internet, avoiding time-consuming and costly traditional processes involving multiple verbal or written interactions.

Self-service provides control, performance, convenience and efficiency. This is because customers can perform tasks themselves when they want to through a secure, customized self-service web site. This 24×7 coverage provides convenience to customers while reducing customer service costs to businesses.

Although it has been known for some time that a good self-service program can increase financial returns and maximize customer satisfaction, some businesses have even discovered self-service can have a positive impact on their businesses in areas beyond customer care, in particular marketing, product management and customer information access.

Self-Service clearly has become the norm these days for businesses to remain competitive. Companies that don’t provide consistently high quality service in all channels will find their customers returning to the faithful and expensive telephone or defecting to the competition. Interestingly, although a phone call can be as much as 22 times more expensive than a self-service transaction, an even bigger long-term issue is the lost revenue opportunity from customers that never return at all.

Benefits of Web Self - Service/ CRM 1080

Capture, Route, Follow-Up and Close Leads from the Web!

You work for an office automation solutions company.   You are one of 100 sales reps but you specialize in selling high end copy machines — you know, the ones that does pretty much everything except pour coffee…   

It is a busy day and you are on the road when your PDA sounds off  — you have mail.  It is a new lead that was just routed to you by your CRM solution.    The lead was a result of the prospect visiting your website and filling out a web form. 

So, why did you receive the lead and not any one of the other 99 sales reps?  Well, it is because based on the type of solution requested by the prospect and other infographics, your CRM system was intelligent enough to route the lead to you.   And here is the best part!  Your CRM solution already contacted the lead on your behalf and provided with initial brochures, case studies, benefits, etc.   Now, you just have to follow-up with a phone call.  And just in case you miss that step — well, you won’t!  Because, your CRM system is intelligent enough to keep bugging you until the call is made! 

Next, your CRM solution makes sure that you utilize the best practices established by your organization to ensure that you close the sale.   The system also informs sales engineers that they will have to work with you to demonstrate the solution to the prospect.   All of these activities are being scheduled and/or taking place at precise intervals. 

The above capturing of leads and automation is a must have tool in today’s competitive landscape for sales representatives.  Companies no longer can rely on static web pages with basic telephone numbers or email address for prospects to call or to send a question.  With web forms, leads are captured from the web and routed to the appropriate sales rep based on criteria that you set up.   Automated triggers can also send out acknowledgements, follow-up reminders, drip marketing messages, etc.   The system also can automatically create a contact record as well as a sales opportunity record.   So, now, this opportunity is in the Sales Rep’s pipeline.  This pipeline is visible not only to Sales Rep but also to his supervisor, his regional manager as well as the VP of Sales.  All of this happens in seconds form when a prospect clicks on the submit button requesting the information on the corporate web site. 

Your marketing folks will be really happy too!  Because, your CRM system will automatically associate the sales opportunity to “corporate web form” as the marketing source.  So, on a realtime basis, marketing folks will be able to tell the impact of various web pages and/or web forms. 

So, welcome to the world of CRM and capturing leads from the web.  It is the only way to improve response times, associate the right rep to the right deal, follow-up in a timely manner and close the deal based on the science behind best practices. 

Now… go close the deal! 

Regards,
THE CEO

Configure, Automate and Deliver Literature when requested!

Ever wondered how companies are able to send you the exact information you are looking for when you have visited their web site?  Welcome to the world of Literature Fulfillment using CRM automation.    

One sure way to reduce operational cost is to create a knowledge management database that supports the constant needs of your prospect or customer base from product brochures to annual financials to credit application forms to contract templates.   Why should you dedicate any human capital when this can be done so much more efficiently through the right CRM automation?  You shouldn’t! 

So, how can CRM solutions help again?   Well, when you visit a website, they often ask to your create an account or login before you can view certain information or before you can request to see a demo of a product.   Once you do that, the CRM system immediately tracks your every move and at that point is able to match your request or your web page visits to information that you may find useful.   This information is then automatically emailed to you in a timely manner in the delivery method that you have selected. 

That’s it… pretty simple for the prospect or customer since they had to do little to request the information they need to make a decision.   

Literature Fulfillment using CRM can handle a multitude of activities including ongoing communication relating to product offerings, updates, recalls, cross-selling and up-selling opportunities and more!   You can also schedule drip marketing relating to literature fulfillment. 

Of-course Literature Fulfilment is not simply limited to someone visiting your website.  It can also be used to fulfill request that comes through your customer service or sales department.   The goal is for the agent to quickly search for the information being requested and quickly send it to the person requesting the information with minimal effort.  

The best part about CRM is that every activity is tracked — regardless of how it was requested or how it was delivered to the end user.  This allows for historical audits when necessary for certain industries. 

CRM automation and Literature Fulfillment has come a long way… but you will start seeing more and more use as CRM automation intelligence continues to stride forward towards continued innovation. 

If you have a CRM solution, make sure that you have configured it to deliver Literature to your audience when requested around the clock! 

Have a great weekend,
The CEO

Wouldn’t you like your sales staff to receive business alerts regularly?
Let’s see what kind of alerts you pick!

Welcome to another week of Fun and Excitement!

What Will Make My CRM Deployment A Success? - CRM1080

As the economy continues to limp by, you realize your business requires efficiencies.  You need to better compete and you want to do more with less.  So, you do some research, verify with business associates and come to the conclusion that you need a new system to help streamline and automate operations.   Yes, you have been introduced to Customer Relationship Management — a combination of strategy and software solutions may take your business to the next level.   Caution!  It is a serious move that requires a serious investment — both time and money.

You are now ready to start reviewing the many different vendors and options relating to your deployment.   It is somewhat overwhelming but with the help of the internet and perhaps a consultant, you start your review.  Once you have narrowed it down to the last 3 vendors, it is time to make a decision.   Right before you do this, perhaps asking some Common Sense Questions may be prudent:

• Does the Solution Deliver Business Objectives
  Not just general business objectives but objectives unique to your organization or your small business.  The specific way your Sales team works.   The unique marketing methodologies you utilize.  The outsourced customer service company that you use.   Or perhaps, something as simple as the various internet devices utilized by your business to get the job done.
   
• What is the Programs Long Term Value
  Is this a permanent Hosted (SaaS) model where you subscribe to the service or is the solution an on-premise solution where you require the right IT staff to deploy and maintain the system.   Or better still,  is there flexibility — can you move between Hosted or On-Premise?   As your business requirements change, does the solution grow with you or will you be going to this entire process again in 3 years?   So, what is the ROI again?
   
• Cost
  Many a time, you look at the cost of the software license (if it is an on-premise solution) or monthly subscription cost (if it is an online hosted solution) and you make your decision based on that.  Wait a minute!  There is more.   What about the cost of training your staff, on-going maintenance and additional services not part of the “package” ? 
   
• Staffing Requirements
  Time and time again a deployment has gone south just because the appropriate level of staffing to deploy a CRM initiative successfully was completely neglected.   The sooner you realize that this is NOT just like installing a new version of MS WORD, the better!   The CRM system will force everyone in your organization to work a certain way!  So, not Configuring it correctly can be disastrous!  It is absolutely critical that the CRM solution works the way you do business and not the other way!   This requires appropriate levels of staffing to review, coordinate and get trainned.   It will take time of your managers, your executives, your line staff, your…  you get the message — it touches everyone in your organization.  So, all staff must be trained on it.  Make sure that you have allocated and accounted for the time.
   
• Risk
  Last but certainly not least — the Risk.  What if you do not meet the timeline for deployment? What if the CRM initiative is a Failure?  Yes, what if it is?  How will it impact your business.   Answering these two questions will avoid any undesirable consequences to the health of your business should you have to face them.   Having said this, CRM industry has come a long way since the late 1990 and your chances of success is almost a guarantee — of-course, you must follow best practices.

In addition to the above questions, there are best practices that can help ensure a successful CRM deployment.  I encourage you to visit our Resource Links.    But as always, feel free to ask a question and we will utilize our vast experience to put you on the path to success.

Have a great business week!
The CEO