Keeping in close contact with customers should be the top priority of any business owner and manager. In my earliest days managing customer relationships and contacts, I had a Rolodex and business card file to maintain contact information. Like most of us, I tried and failed with dozens of electronic gadgets to capture and manage customer data. Even in the early days of computers, I messed up ACT, ACCESS, DBASE 1 and 2, and a host of off the shelf programs to manage my contacts.
My companies have invested unbelievable and sometimes unbearable sums of money on software to manage customers. I've tried Oracle, PeopleSoft, and Goldmine, and OnBase at various companies. Monster.com even spent $1million on a CRM package that they ultimately never launched, and actually affected their quarterly earnings in their startup phase.
Ultimately, it took the Internet to make customer relationship management simple, efficient, and effective. Among the many CRM solutions available online to small business, two services really stand out.
For very small businesses who need a low function but highly usable tool to manage contacts and customers for the life of the company, try Highrise from 37Signals. Readers of The Business Perspective probably know how much I respect 37Signals for their simple, efficient, and effective online products for business. I use the Basecamp product daily to keep teams on task with projects and special programs.
Highrise is the web based contact manager tool that offers you the best features of a CRM that you are likely to use. With Highrise, you and your sales people can:
Add a new lead and set a follow up appointment for key contacts and accounts at the click of the mouse.
Make calls and takes notes to keep information at your fingertips.
Turn emails into tasks, and leverage how email-focused we have become to force action with your customers and sales staff.
Set reminders for appointments and follow ups.
Group information into cases and forums that reflect how your business operates.
Like the range of online solutions from 37Signals, Highrise is available in a free version, then scales very reasonably for small to medium sized teams. Highrise is a great way for a small business to enable a sales or customer service team to work with key contacts and customers and achieve increase your sales. I can't speak highly enough about this company.
If you have an established sales force and have tried and failed with other CRM products, visit SalesForce.com and get a trial. We've migrated our Enterprise sales team to this solution, and the results have been exceptional.
SalesForce.com offers all of the features of the best packaged CRM packages, integrates seamlessly with your other web services applications, and constantly improves its platform. It's also a Software as a Service plan, so the company constantly polls customers, actual users, to find out how they use the products. SalesForce.com then turns that feedback into regular updates to their software. Since you log into the solution on the web, you have no software to maintain or network to manage. As long as you can get to the Internet, you can get to your CRM solution.
SalesForce.com has some special integration opportunities. We've just launched a customer survey to more than 5000 installations. Not only can SalesForce.com handle the email and provide amazing marketing statistics about the email campaign, but it can power your survey and all aspects of those customer communications.
SalesForce.com scales to meet the evolving demands of your growing business. It integrates easily with Google Adwords, so you can manage online campaigns and get immediate feedback on how search engine marketing programs promote sales growth.
Sales Managers love the forecasting features of SalesForce.com, and reporting makes it plain for everyone to see not just which of your sales people are meeting and exceeding their goals, but makes it plain to see how they are reaching those objectives.
I will spend future editions of The Business Perspective on SalesForce.com as our teams employ more of its features, but it deserves your attention, especially as you grow to need a really robust CRM tool to help power your business growth.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
GroupSwim Improves Communciation Around the Enterprise
"Marco"
"Polo"
"Marco"
"Polo"
Too often, office communication is like a child's game of "Marco Polo" with executives calling out blindly with initiatives or projects, and only some of the team hearing the details or reporting back on progress.
Every company suffers from "communication dissonance," that random feeling of disconnectedness that comes from not trusting that everyone is on the same page. How may of your employees know all of your company initiatives? How often do employees get stuck using old forms or contracts? How can you monitor what remote teams are doing to collaborate on projects or programs?
GroupSwim, a great online tool, helps bring together the various forms of communication across your company and foster team awareness of issues, large and small.
My company is using GroupSwim for a Intranet Portal in order to keep everyone connected. We have two offices and a variety of remote workers, each of which has different ways to connect to our network. When that happens, we can't always trust that having information available to the network is the same as having information available to all of our team members.
So, GroupSwim offered us a single point of virtual contact for keeping people informed and keeping information at the fingertips of all of our team members. People can log on, read updates and special messages, get progress reports on current projects, see achievement towards our corporate goals, get the latest phone list or office supply forms, even submit suggestions to our e-suggestion box.
GroupSwim offers much more, though, than just a repository for information and basic file sharing. GroupSwim has functions like a blog or electronic bulletin board where users can start discussions, contribute to projects, and collaborate on any number of programs within the company. It's a moderated function, so managers can stay in tune with what's going on in the enterprise.
One of the core tenets of The Business Perspective is finding low or no cost online services to improve productivity or efficiency in your busienss. GroupSwim offers big value, as they include a free trial, and their monthly fees are very affordable for all businesses.
I recommend GroupSwim for you to try, and I'll keep people posted on how it works at our company in future editions of The Business Perspective
Monday, September 15, 2008
Outsource Your Phones!!
In Part 2 of using virtual services to save money and keep you focused on the real needs of your business, I want to suggest outsourcing your phones.
Not any phones, mind you. If you have up to 4 lines in your business and you are happy with store-bought phones and plain old telephone services, called POTS lines, you are probably in good shape. I'll work on finding deals for POTS in future editions of The Business Perspective.
Today, I mean outsourcing a phone system. If you decide to buy a telephone system for your small to medium sized business, have you evaluated the investment fully? Even a modest Key System, the basic "starter" phone system, will run $5000+, require a modest installation fee, and tie you to your telephone vendor for maintenance and support fees. Are you prepared for that investment? A better question is how can you use that $5000-$7500, plus annual maintenance, to invest back into your business? Whatever business plans could benefit from that money now become opportunity costs lost to a phone vendor.
Consider outsourcing your voice service to one of a number of top quality business voice specialists. Pick a vendor, buy business class VoIP phones, and let a trusted partner maintain your services.
You'll find two tiers of service in the business class VoIP space:
1. Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) depending on a home Broadband connection from a phone or cable company. These services usually deliver a VoIP gateway that connects to your Broadband service and phones. Some of these devices plug directly into your home phone jack, which turns all of your internal phone jacks into VoIP phones. You can use off the shelf phones or pay extra for "optimized" phones that improve the quality of the Voice call. Generally, this is the type of digital phone service that you can order from your cable company or from a national service like Vonage. It's acceptable for a very few number of lines, but does not scale and offers few business class features. You also may not be able to get a business white pages listing for your business number. Avoid it unless you need just 1 or 2 phone lines and free long distance.
2. Hosted PBX - A PBX, or private branch exchange, is another phrase to mean phone system, so a hosted PBX is a service that delivers the features and adaptability of a phone system, but over the Internet. Anyone with 5 or more voice lines in their business should consider the option of a Hosted PBX solution for their business.
A Hosted PBX leverages economies of scale and Internet technologies to move voice calls through your Internet connection to the voice gateway of a major telco company and routes those calls over the Internet to their destination. Typically, services are available on a per line basis, includes a large block or unlimited long distance, and full service features for your business. You can have an auto attendant, call routing, hunt groups within your company, and call forwarding services. The best companies offer conference calling and full integration into your network systems, which means that your phones will integrate with your email service and contact lists so that you don't lose phone numbers ever again.
Because these systems are basically software, there's no on-premise equipment for you to maintain. Essentially, your desktop phone becomes your phone system. The carrier maintains all of the other hardware, and your ongoing maintenance costs are built into your monthly service charges.
I've been on VoIP systems for more than 3 years, and though the quality wasn't always stellar, the services have steadily improved, and the call quality is now virtually indistinguishable from a traditional land line call.
One of the best benefits of a hosted PBX system is portability. When I need to work from home, I just bring my phone to the house and plug it into my Broadband router. Within 30 seconds, the phone synchs with the VoIP provider and I get all my calls as if I am at my desk.
We've moved offices twice as our business grew and changed. Most recently, about half of the staff moved to a new building, while the other half started working remotely. No problem! With hosted PBX, all we did was move the phones and register new e911 addresses with the providers. Everything else is packaged in the software, the phone, and the network.
The only initial expense is for VoIP desktop phones, but just about every provider offers selections from solid vendors like Cisco.
Check out Speakeasy, Bridgevine, and Packet8 to name but a few of the top providers in the category. And, let me know if you have any questions about how to save with VoIP in your small business.
Not any phones, mind you. If you have up to 4 lines in your business and you are happy with store-bought phones and plain old telephone services, called POTS lines, you are probably in good shape. I'll work on finding deals for POTS in future editions of The Business Perspective.
Today, I mean outsourcing a phone system. If you decide to buy a telephone system for your small to medium sized business, have you evaluated the investment fully? Even a modest Key System, the basic "starter" phone system, will run $5000+, require a modest installation fee, and tie you to your telephone vendor for maintenance and support fees. Are you prepared for that investment? A better question is how can you use that $5000-$7500, plus annual maintenance, to invest back into your business? Whatever business plans could benefit from that money now become opportunity costs lost to a phone vendor.
Consider outsourcing your voice service to one of a number of top quality business voice specialists. Pick a vendor, buy business class VoIP phones, and let a trusted partner maintain your services.
You'll find two tiers of service in the business class VoIP space:
1. Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) depending on a home Broadband connection from a phone or cable company. These services usually deliver a VoIP gateway that connects to your Broadband service and phones. Some of these devices plug directly into your home phone jack, which turns all of your internal phone jacks into VoIP phones. You can use off the shelf phones or pay extra for "optimized" phones that improve the quality of the Voice call. Generally, this is the type of digital phone service that you can order from your cable company or from a national service like Vonage. It's acceptable for a very few number of lines, but does not scale and offers few business class features. You also may not be able to get a business white pages listing for your business number. Avoid it unless you need just 1 or 2 phone lines and free long distance.
2. Hosted PBX - A PBX, or private branch exchange, is another phrase to mean phone system, so a hosted PBX is a service that delivers the features and adaptability of a phone system, but over the Internet. Anyone with 5 or more voice lines in their business should consider the option of a Hosted PBX solution for their business.
A Hosted PBX leverages economies of scale and Internet technologies to move voice calls through your Internet connection to the voice gateway of a major telco company and routes those calls over the Internet to their destination. Typically, services are available on a per line basis, includes a large block or unlimited long distance, and full service features for your business. You can have an auto attendant, call routing, hunt groups within your company, and call forwarding services. The best companies offer conference calling and full integration into your network systems, which means that your phones will integrate with your email service and contact lists so that you don't lose phone numbers ever again.
Because these systems are basically software, there's no on-premise equipment for you to maintain. Essentially, your desktop phone becomes your phone system. The carrier maintains all of the other hardware, and your ongoing maintenance costs are built into your monthly service charges.
I've been on VoIP systems for more than 3 years, and though the quality wasn't always stellar, the services have steadily improved, and the call quality is now virtually indistinguishable from a traditional land line call.
One of the best benefits of a hosted PBX system is portability. When I need to work from home, I just bring my phone to the house and plug it into my Broadband router. Within 30 seconds, the phone synchs with the VoIP provider and I get all my calls as if I am at my desk.
We've moved offices twice as our business grew and changed. Most recently, about half of the staff moved to a new building, while the other half started working remotely. No problem! With hosted PBX, all we did was move the phones and register new e911 addresses with the providers. Everything else is packaged in the software, the phone, and the network.
The only initial expense is for VoIP desktop phones, but just about every provider offers selections from solid vendors like Cisco.
Check out Speakeasy, Bridgevine, and Packet8 to name but a few of the top providers in the category. And, let me know if you have any questions about how to save with VoIP in your small business.
Virtual Outsourcing!
The premise of The Business Perspective is that small and medium sized businesses can save money by using online or virtual services to avoid in-sourcing common business practices.
I’ll spend the next 5 days reviewing the top 5 services available online for low or no charge to eliminate real costs in your business.
Today, we’ll tackle the biggest time waster of the decade, email. Not only has business become “managed by Outlook,” when employees seem to function only in response to email requests for action or information, but managing email internally is a technical black hole for expenses. Email causes more calls to the IT department or “tech guy” than any other computer application in your business.
If you own your own email server and pay someone to manage it, STOP!
If you are thinking of buying an email server and paying someone to manage it, STOP!
With the ubiquity of business-class email solutions available online, and dozens of top quality hosted Exchange services to provide Microsoft Exchange platforms on a monthly basis, you have no reason to support email internally. Even giant companies are moving email to the virtual world. Why shouldn’t you?
First, call your Internet Provider and ask if they support business class email. The most important question you can ask is “Do you support domain based email addresses?” If they do, you can use email for your team with your website domain in the address. Otherwise, you are stuck with addresses that end with “@yourisp.net” or something equally “small time.”
If your ISP is too expensive or can’t offer domain based emails, check online. Any number of services will get you online with business class email in a day. Google BlueTie, GoDaddy, or Everyone.net. You should also Google “Hosted Exchange Services” and wade through hundreds of results
I use Cheap Domain Registration.com, a great site that offers hosted business class email from just $8 per month.
For a home based business or small office of under 5 staff, you can be up and running with 10 accounts for under $25 per month. Small business owners can find quality hosted Exchange based services for about $20 per employee per month. Medium sized firms should expect to pay more, but receive a lot more, including archived access, large account storage, and backup/retrieval services. Firms above 50 employees can improve quality and save up to $10,000 by going virtual with their email management.
Email is the first best Internet application, so don’t reinvent the wheel. Log into one of these sites, sign up, and be getting email for your business tomorrow, with none of the hassles of managing your own systems.
I’ll spend the next 5 days reviewing the top 5 services available online for low or no charge to eliminate real costs in your business.
Today, we’ll tackle the biggest time waster of the decade, email. Not only has business become “managed by Outlook,” when employees seem to function only in response to email requests for action or information, but managing email internally is a technical black hole for expenses. Email causes more calls to the IT department or “tech guy” than any other computer application in your business.
If you own your own email server and pay someone to manage it, STOP!
If you are thinking of buying an email server and paying someone to manage it, STOP!
With the ubiquity of business-class email solutions available online, and dozens of top quality hosted Exchange services to provide Microsoft Exchange platforms on a monthly basis, you have no reason to support email internally. Even giant companies are moving email to the virtual world. Why shouldn’t you?
First, call your Internet Provider and ask if they support business class email. The most important question you can ask is “Do you support domain based email addresses?” If they do, you can use email for your team with your website domain in the address. Otherwise, you are stuck with addresses that end with “@yourisp.net” or something equally “small time.”
If your ISP is too expensive or can’t offer domain based emails, check online. Any number of services will get you online with business class email in a day. Google BlueTie, GoDaddy, or Everyone.net. You should also Google “Hosted Exchange Services” and wade through hundreds of results
I use Cheap Domain Registration.com, a great site that offers hosted business class email from just $8 per month.
For a home based business or small office of under 5 staff, you can be up and running with 10 accounts for under $25 per month. Small business owners can find quality hosted Exchange based services for about $20 per employee per month. Medium sized firms should expect to pay more, but receive a lot more, including archived access, large account storage, and backup/retrieval services. Firms above 50 employees can improve quality and save up to $10,000 by going virtual with their email management.
Email is the first best Internet application, so don’t reinvent the wheel. Log into one of these sites, sign up, and be getting email for your business tomorrow, with none of the hassles of managing your own systems.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
