Small Business CRM Is Here To Stay

If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are youll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners dont even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company. This prevailing ignorance of small business CRM (customer relationship management) usually stems from just a few basic causes.

Excuses not to invest in small business CRM
The first and most common reason for disinterest in small business CRM is the very nature of small business. With limited financial and personnel resources at their disposal, business owners believe they cant afford the money or time that a small business CRM system would require to show a significant ROI. Often times the chief concern is just staying afloat long enough to sign that big contract or receive a large product order.

Still other owners of new businesses believe that they can build and maintain quality customer relations simply by the virtue of the their cordial personality or particular market niche. They see small business CRM as an unessential luxury to be enjoyed exclusively by their larger competitors. What these owners often find is that without sufficient small business CRM support their business will never expand beyond the number of customer names they can remember. The problem is compounded when the company expands into internet sales (an essential move by any growing company) and suddenly finds its present customer tracking system overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming customer information.

The Bottom Line
The bottom line, as all successful small business owners have learned, is that it takes more than one good idea to build long-term business growth and stability. You may be great at attracting new customers to your business, but if you fail to care for, track, and understand your customer base, not only will you hemorrhage your hard-won clientele, you will also fail to capitalize on future opportunities by not anticipating future market trends.

The Solution
The good news about small business CRM is that there is an increasing number of automated systems available at prices that most smaller companies can afford without too much difficulty, usually around $2000 a year. Some CRM companies, effectively eliminating the need for small business owners to micromanage their CRM system, largely manage newer small business CRM systems. Now small business owners can reap the benefits of a smooth running CRM system with a minimal time/financial investment.

Features to look for in a small business CRM system
There are many features available to small business CRM users designed to not only track sales, but also cause sales. Here are some features to look for.
Power Dialing-This feature allows your outbound sales agents to place 300%-400% as many sales calls, effectively quadrupling your workforce.
Voice Messaging System-Allows you to automatically record and send sales calls designed to elicit a customer call back.
Custom Fax and Email-Following up on leads with timely fax and email can mean the difference between closing sales and missing out on potential revenue.

Other must-have features include:

Calendaring
Marketing management
Sales management
Order and quote management
Service management

With the ability to outsource these business functions, small business owners can concentrate on implementing strategies that theyve had to hold off on due to lack of customer information and/or time.

Cameron Brown is an internet marketer specializing in phone sales. For more information on small business CRM, please visit Inside Sales.

Microsoft CRM Typical Customizations

Microsoft CRM was designed to be easily customizable. Microsoft CRM Software Development Kit (MS CRM SDK) which you can download from Microsoft website contains descriptions of the objects or classes, exposed for customization. It has sample code in C# and partially in VB.Net. In Visual Studio.Net you can analyze all the classes, used by Microsoft developers to create MS CRM - you will discover that most of them are not documented in MS CRM SDK. Microsoft will not support your customization if you use undocumented class or do direct SQL access to CRM database.

Let us describe you - programmer, software developer typical cases of MS CRM Customizations.

1. Integration with SQL Server application. If you have legacy system on MS SQL Server - let's say you are transportation company and have in-house developed cargo tracking database. Now in MS CRM you want lookup the shipments for the customer (or account in CRM). This is SDK programming and calling SQL stored proc to retrieve cargo info. Instead of SQL Server you can have other database (ORACLE, MS Access, PervasiveSQL to name a few) - you can access multiple Database platforms via ADO.Net connection from your .Net application, which is easily integrated into MS CRM Account screen.

2. Email capturing in MS CRM. You have customer with email Bill@customer.com. Now you want all the emails that you receive from customer.com domain to be attached to Bill who is account in CRM. This is more difficult customization - you have to create MS CRM SDK web service, that one will be creating email activity and call it from COM+ application - Microsoft Exchange event handler (ONSYNCSAVE database event sink). This example maybe complicated with the following requirement. Imagine that Bill, instead of answering to your email (sent from CRM and processed by CRM-Exchange connector) sends you new message from MS Outlook. Then this email will not follow into MS CRM (because it doesn't have GUID in the header and so is ignored by CRM Exchange connector). If you want to capture these emails - you have to do it in Microsoft Exchange event sink. There maybe scenario when you want to capture and analyze in the sink all the outgoing emails - this is even more complex - y!

ou have to place the sink on transport event.

3. ASP Application integration. You have legacy ASP application, where you capture orders from your customers and you want these orders be transferred to the CRM as activity. Here you understand that ASP doesn't deploy Active Directory security - and the best way is to create HTTP handler and call it from your ASP page. This HTTP handler in turn will call MS CRM SDK web service with predefined (web.config) Active Directory credentials.

Some cautions. Never create your custom SQL objects (like stored procedure, SQL view, table) in MS CRM database. Instead, create your own database and place your objects there. When you see the first caution - you will never try to alter existing CRM objects, like adding new field to the table.

Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Oregon, Arizona, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Microsoft CRM SDK, Great Plains Dexterity, SQL, C#/VB.Net and Crystal Reports developer.
akarasev@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft CRM Programming Techniques overview for developer

Microsoft CRM is the CRM answer from Microsoft and it will have all the Microsoft Business Solutions muscles behind.

If you are developer who is asked: how do we customize Microsoft CRM read this and you will have the clues on where to look further.

1. Microsoft CRM SDK this is software development kit with C# and partly VB.net examples it is supported by Microsoft Business Solutions technical support. It is all web services based calls, if you are C# .NET developer you are excellently positioned to do this type of customizations. This is the preferred customization scenarios and this should be easily upgradeable customization.

2. Legacy SQL Data integration. This is also easy and safe. If you have SQL database, sitting on the same or linked SQL Server you can create ASPX .Net application and simply integrate it into CRM. You can place it on the navigation bar or menu in isv.config please refer to MS CRM SDK

3. Legacy ASP integration this is somewhat more sophisticated. You have to deploy HTTP handler to be a middle party between CRM which is .Net based and ASP which is legacy IIS. The trick is you have to have INI file with security settings to penetrate into MS CRM with proper credentials, calling web service.

4. Microsoft Exchange Programming. Microsoft CRM has Exchange connector which moves CRM incoming email to MS if it has GUID in its subject. You can alter this logic (for instance - move email to CRM if it doesnt have GUID but it is from the sender who is contact or account in MS CRM). Refer to MS Exchange SDK onsyncsave event handling. Then simply apply some MS CRM SDK programming

5. Direct SQL touch in #4 above I described you the scenario with MS Exchange handlers this would be ideal world if MS CRM SDK does the job. But in real world this is not always true you have to do direct flags correction in CRM database (like making Activity closed, moving email attachments/octet streams, etc). This is not supported by MBS technical support but you can rescue to this technique if you have to make job done.

6. MS CRM Customization tool you can feel free to use this this is rather end-user tool and we dont describe it here read the manual. Weve described above the options to use when this tool doesnt do the job

Happy customizing! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies USA nationwide Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, based in Chicago, California, Colorado, Texas, New York, Georgia and Florida, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer.

akarasev@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft Dynamics CRM V3.0 ? Customer Relationship Management

Customer Relationship Management software effectively implemented, provides business owners and management with an extremely powerful tool for bringing the front-office functions of sales, marketing and customer support together and working far more effectively as a combined team.

Many businesses think wrongly that a CRM solution is only for enterprise class concerns with large check books when in fact software providers such as Microsoft offer scaleable versions for all company sizes. Microsoft Dynamics Software has evolved from their enterprise class Great Plains software however versions have been developed and aimed specifically at the small and mid-range business market.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 allows businesses to respond to the growing challenges in the modern business environment by bringing client and prospect information into a central repository, organizing the information and allowing users throughout the business to access the data when they need it. Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 delivers the ability to manage the customer relationship throughout the entire sales cycle from initial enquiry in response to a marketing or sales campaign, through to pre-sales meetings, the actual sale and post sale issues such as delivery and repeat ordering.

Microsoft Dynamics software empowers every decision maker in your business to satisfy customer demands by providing the most up-to-date and accurate client information they need when they need it and ensure that the history of the relationship is encapsulated for all to share. Decision makers in this context need not necessarily be management but a customer service representative with a customer on the telephone asking about an order or information on your other products. All staff in contact with prospects and customers will be able to see at a glance what is happening with a particular account and in customer relations, knowledge is power. Customer relationship software provides everyone in your business with the ability to demonstrate an outstanding level of customer service not possible by traditional reporting methods.

The ability to integrate a customer relationship software solution with existing applications already employed by your business allows for the transfer of information between your word processor and spreadsheet applications and the CRM. Microsoft CRM software has been specifically designed with Microsoft Outlook and Office in mind, and allows a seamless user experience. Mobile workers reliant upon email are able to access Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 via their Outlook client, while marketing and sales campaigns can use data imported from the Dynamics Suite directly into Microsoft Word and Excel applications for marketing campaigns and mail shots.

If your business has several office and site locations, it is still possible to implement a customer relationship software solution across the whole company. Microsoft Dynamics v3.0 is well adapted to be delivered to remote locations via Microsoft Terminal Services, Citrix and other ?thin client? solutions. An example is where a business has a central warehousing facility in Detroit with sales offices in New York, San Francisco and Chicago and they all are able to utilise the customer relationship software solution almost in real-time.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM v3.0 benefits your business by saving time and costs, minimizing non-productive activity while maximizing sales revenue by ensuring that sales leads are followed up and do not get lost or ?fall between the cracks?, while customer retention is improved by enhancing customer relations and service.

Syed Ali, is the lead CRM consultant for a Toronto based company. His company offers, Microsoft CRM Software Syed can be reached at Tel : (905) 815- 1995 ext 22, email :asyed@cqsolutions.com

Nestle Waters Johannesburg needs customer relationship coaching

Nestle Waters in Johannesburg needs help. It's abundantly clear that in order to get a job in their accounts department you must score zero on emotional intelligence and if possible, even lower on a customer relationship-marketing index.

My little business paid over R 1 000 in advance for Nestle bottled water. Because I've been out of commission following surgery, I probably didn't notice that I'd been billed some R 300 for the annual rental of their water cooler. They didn't pick up the phone to tell me that. They just discontinued the service - 'put the account on hold' is their sad euphemism for the same action. Whichever way you explain it, they cut off the water delivery. Yet, overall, I'm still in credit with them.

I queried the absence of deliveries with their customer service people. The guy put me through to their accounts department where one Vanashree told me our service had been put on hold due to non-payment. I told her to have her superior call me.

He did. He's an arrogant man named Francois Roos. He shouldn't be allowed to talk to customers because he doesn't know how to. Having told me to keep quiet while he explained 'their system' (remarkably I managed to) he then proceeded to butt-in non-stop when I attempted to point out that the semantic nonsense of 'account on hold' still means cessation of service. When I told him that halfway-decent business professionalism decrees phoning a client before messing with the relationship and their service, he said, 'We're too busy to phone 6 000 people.' Interesting. When Nestle Waters one day start losing market share, as they surely will with this sort of gauche behaviour, he will have been a significant contributor to the fall-off.

He actually had the gall to laugh at me when I threatened to escalate the issue within Nestle and said, 'You do what you want.' Having worked as an Ogilvy advertising executive on Nestle's brand business many years ago, I was of the impression that they once were gentlemen. The Nestle water experience I've just had leaves no doubt that those days are gone.

I've put in two calls this afternoon for someone at Nestle Head Office in Johannesburg to call me back. Nuthin' - they're probably too busy cutting off water deliveries on the instruction of the anal customer-toxic accounts department.

Fortunately for Nestle I prefer the taste of their bottled water over most others. Otherwise I'd tell 'em to come collect their water cooler. Nasty people to do business with.

Clive Simpkins is a Change Architect and Strategist. http://www.clivesimpkins.com

How Empathic Listening Can Help Build Long Lasting Customer Relationships

I first heard the term Empathic Listening many years ago at a Stephen Covey workshop. He was talking about the principal and how it had helped several sales people make more sales. I was intrigued. Having been a sales trainer in several organizations, I knew effective listening was one of the hardest skills for many sales people. Myself included.

We all leave training armed with product knowledge? amazing features and benefits? and enough information to be dangerous. But no one teaches you how to listen. What helps you understand what?s going on in your customer?s world? Certainly not product knowledge. Listening is one of the most important, and least utilized skills, in most sales training programs.

Empathic listening takes listening to a completely different level. Most people listen to be understood by the person they?re talking to. Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand the person you?re talking to. See the difference? If you are trying to understand what your customer is telling you, they know you?re listening. If you keep speaking trying to get them bought into your agenda, it?s because the call isn?t about them?it?s about you and your agenda. The customer certainly knows who listens to their concerns.

It?s about finding a way to get in a person?s frame of reference. There are some simple ways to use this in you everyday business. For example, if you do a lot of customer interaction on the telephone, always ask, ?Is this a good time for you to talk?? You never want to try and have a conversation with someone who is distracted. This simple question tells your prospect you respect their time and have empathy for their situation. It?s much easier to reschedule than to try and have an ?information gathering? conversation with someone who isn?t listening.

If you do a lot of face to face customer meetings, a good way to open the conversation is with the question, ?Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?? This is a non-threatening way to open a meeting. It also signals that you?re ready to listen.

The better you get at listening, the easier customer relationships will become. A recent conversation I had with a friend illustrates this point. He is a VP of Sales in a large corporation. He was on a customer visit with a member of his sales team.

The customer had a lot of complaints and wanted to voice them to someone in authority. After the meeting, the customer pulled the VP aside and thanked him for coming. He also commented, ?I really feel like you listened to me. I can?t tell you how much I appreciate that. Your sales rep, by the way, doesn?t listen. Which is why I wanted to speak with you.?

The customer just wanted someone to listen. By listening, he validated the customer?s concerns. Even if the ultimate answer was that the problems would take a while to solve, it?s the fact that he listened that was important to the customer. Unfortunately, his sales rep wasn?t up to the task.

Ask yourself, how do you ever understand the needs of your customer if you aren?t listening? Imagine the relationship you can develop with a customer who believes you have listened to his concerns and acted accordingly!

In all of the sales training I?ve taken through the years, I don?t believe listening was ever mentioned. Most sales seminars are focused on some new process, and never get around to such a basic idea. Is anyone teaching you how to put yourself in your customers? shoes? I doubt it. If you?re losing a deal, and don?t know why, how can it hurt to ask, ?I would like to understand your current concerns regarding the recommendations I?ve made. When you feel I understand your situation, then we?ll review the proposal I made. Do you have a few minutes to discuss this with me??

We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason. Spend more time listening and less time talking and your sales calls will go a lot more smoothly. Maybe you?ll discover some hidden needs, and be able to provide solutions that involve your product or service.

It?s always important to remember that empathy is not the same as sympathy. Empathy allows you to ?walk in your customer?s shoes?. Sympathy is the expression of an emotion. Just because you empathize with someone, doesn?t mean you are agreeing with their position. Remember, your goal is to understand their position. Once you understand, you can move forward with addressing any objections. You?ve taken a customer who was ready to walk away, and have brought them back to the negotiation phase of the sale. Instead of having to discount price or give something away, you?ve created more value for yourself. All by listening.

It always sounds corny to say, ?People buy from people they like?. It?s true. I?ve always believed that if I had a good product that was competitively priced then what tips the scale in the deal would be likeability.

And listening is something that makes you likeable. Listening can create rapport with a customer in a way that nothing else can. I can?t imagine someone disliking a sales rep that took the time to really listen to his or her concerns.

If you?re looking for a way to improve your skills as a sales professional, I suggest making an effort to use empathic listening. Listen to your customers and really try to understand what they might be trying to tell you. Don?t end up being the person who has to have a VP come visit, just so your customer feels ?heard?. It?s your job to hear your customers. You just need to start listening.

Former Learjet Sales Star, Susan Adams, has sold products and services for some of the world?s most respected companies?..General Electric, Pitney Bowes and Bombardier Aerospace.

She takes a ?real world? approach to all sales topics. ?Successful sales people are experts at having conversations with customers. If you can empathize with people, create an environment of trust and really listen to their concerns, you?ll be a top sales performer.? More importantly, you?ll be able to develop long term relationships with your customers.

Susan has successfully sold to CEO?s, High Net Worth Individuals and celebrities. Twenty one years of talking to customers has give Susan a unique perspective on how to build a sales presentation that connects with your customers, and compels them to buy.

Susan has golfed with David Duval, raced cars with Bobby Rahal and dined with CEO?s from Fortune 100 companies. There is no sales situation she hasn?t seen?.

http://www.susanadamshome.com

Why does every company need a CRM (Customer Relationship Management)?

First, let?s define what a CRM is: The term Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a system that connects different parts of a company through the thread of customer relationships. Sales, Marketing, Accounting and Customer Service can all be tied together with a powerful, centralized CRM software made to retain customer loyalty, increase revenue, deliver consistent and efficient customer service, and finally, evaluate which customers to focus on.

Basically, every company has customers, and every company should maintain some basic information about those customers such as names, addresses, purchases, contracts, invoices, etc. Therefore every company should have at least some basic "CRM Technology" to track and serve their customers. Even small businesses use Outlook, Quicken or other applications for this purpose. If you use Microsoft Outlook for your daily communications, calendaring, tasks and appointments and need a way to track sales leads and opportunities, to share data across sales representatives, to improve the understanding of your sales process, to communicate with a broad groups of people on a one to one basis, to improve your business process in the most important area ? sales, and need a reporting system that beats multiple excel spreadsheets, then you need a complete CRM solution.

Why ? Because a CRM software can increase profitability for your business by reducing current operating costs, usually in the call center or distribution system, and by increasing customer value through smarter marketing using customer data to increase customer profitability.

Can you do it without a CRM ? Probably, but not as efficiently because only a CRM is built to take care of Customer personal needs ?centrally?, meaning that by using a single software, all the employees of the same company can access an organised database via Internet, where sales, customer service and management have access to the same customer data using tools such as ?Sales Force Automation? (provides Lead Management, Opportunity Management, Account and Contact Management, Reports and Dashboards specifically useful for your organization's sales team), ?Customer Support and Services? (provides Ticket Management, Knowledge Base, E-mail Notifications specifically useful for your organization's customer support team.), ?Marketing Automation? (provides Lead Management, Mailing Lists, E-mail/Mail Merge templates, Product Management, specifically useful for your organization's marketing team.), ?Inventory Management? (provides Products, Price Books, Vendors, Quotes, Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, and Invoices specifically useful for integrating your organization's sales, inventory, and accounting processes and enhance the sales effectiveness.) , providing a complete integration between pre-sales, post-sales, procurement, fulfillment, and other business processes within your organization.

In other words, a good CRM software will help you build customer relationships by setting mutually satisfying goals between organization and customers, establishing and maintaining customer rapport and producing positive feelings in your organization and for the customers.

Organizations that implement CRM and turn their business into e-businesses will find their competitors' customers ready to welcome them with a "smile". According to a study by IT Consulting firm Aberdeen - "The winners in this new economy will be those companies that can effectively leverage the Internet to redesign, automate and integrate all business operations".
Take the plunge!

Either jump on board with CRM and invest, knowing you need it, or get out the calculator and pencil and start adding up what you?re going to lose!

One thing is for certain ? a few short months after implementing your CRM solution, you?ll wonder how on earth you ever got by without it!
http://www.momentustech.ca

Real Estate Customer Relationship Management - Ways for Agents to Increase Their Business

In 2005, The National Association of Realtors reported that its membership increased by 13 percent over the previous year, reaching 1.2 million. With this many people trying to get a share of the pie, Realtors need to find ways to differentiate themselves and stay ahead of the competition. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can help them do exactly that, and even more.

CRM comes from the observation that developing good relationships with your customers helps you deliver superior service to your clients, thereby helping your business thrive. Developing a CRM-focused business is not especially hard. It starts with basic guiding rules.

In the marketing lingo, the many ways a business interacts with its clients are called points of contact. By developing the quantity and the quality of these points of contact, a real estate agent will gain more customers.

Of all the existing points of contact, the Internet should receive special attention. In just 10 years, the Web has become an essential marketing venue for today's agents. According to the NAR, 77 percent of home buyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2005. When people think about buying a home the first place they go is often the Web. It is therefore a good place for agents to capture consumers' attention and gain their confidence.

However, many agents are still missing the point: they now have their own Web sites because they know people are looking for them, but they haven't quite figured out how to use the Web as a good lead generator. Here are ways agents can improve their online points of contact.

The layout of your site is key to retain surfers. It should be flawless, and the navigation should also be easy.

E-mails are another critical point of contact. Many agents provide their e-mail address on their Web sites, but an article in Realty Times reported that one of home buyers' main complaints about Realtors online is that they don't answer their e-mails in a timely manner. Decide now about a reasonable e-mail reply policy for your business. A 24- or 48-hour reply policy is probably what most people expect. You need to state this reply policy on your Web site and stick to it. People will appreciate it.

Another option is to allow people to schedule a tour directly from your Web site. This option is a great way to get people to meet with you.

Most people start looking for homes on the Internet a few months before they actually make a decision. It is therefore important for a real estate agent to keep in touch with future home buyers. A good way to maintain that contact is to send out a monthly newsletter, which would give the latest information about the town or area. It would also provide future home buyers with the latest listings that meet their criteria. An agent who sends out this kind of newsletters will find that many of these people remember this agent when they are ready to buy.

The key with CRM is to regularly evaluate existing points of contact to fine tune them in order to better serve customers. This in turn will ensure that agents have a successful business.

Content provided by 10x Media. Established in 2003, 10x Media provides innovative online marketing tools.It has expanded its online presence through networks such as Inside Real state, Inside Finances and Grab Real Estate, which contain thousands of pages for city and state specific real estate information across the nation.

Build Customer Experiences, Not Relationships

Firms believe that forging relationships with customers will make them more profitable. But people recognize a company's true goal: to take their money. To succeed with CRM efforts, firms must make each interaction a satisfying experience in its own right.

Customer relationship management (CRM) is all the rage, as companies increasingly use technology to craft relationships with consumers. The goal: improving customer acquisition, retention, and lifetime value. Firms believe they can achieve this by:

Increasing contact. To expand their mindshare with customers, firms craft additional ways to interact with customers. This ambition drives automakers to pack cars with telematics equipment and just about every Global 3,500 firm to launch email campaigns. Harvesting data. Companies expect that data logs will reveal customer desires. To create as rich a record as possible, companies meld third-party data, such as credit bureau reports, with their own customer information. Tailoring offerings. From wireless telephone carriers' custom calling plans to Amazon.com's book recommendations, companies attempt to pitch just the right offer to the right person at the right time. Customers Don't Want Relationships In theory, CRM tactics mimic the way that interpersonal relationships evolve -- spending more time together, learning about each other, and exchanging something of value. But the similarities are misleading. Unlike person-to-person interactions, person-to-company interactions will never grow into relationships because consumers:

Like anonymity. A person may gladly share secrets with his friends, but he doesn't like to disclose information to a vendor. In a recent survey of nearly 6,000 North American online consumers, 69% of respondents told us they are either very or extremely concerned about losing control of their personal information. Pursue their own agendas. People don't contact companies for a friendly visit or an impromptu chat. Consumers interact to accomplish specific goals. That's why only 3% of visitors to consumer packaged goods (CPG) sites look for lifestyle content -- despite CPG firms' significant investments in this content. Remain suspicious. Companies' desire to build long-term relationships with customers falls prey to other objectives, such as meeting quarterly numbers. Customers see this in firms' high-pressure sales tactics, reluctance to replace defective products, and seemingly arbitrary contract termination fees. And highprofile events like the 1980s junk bond debacle or today's Enron scandal solidify people's belief that companies simply can't be trusted. CRM Must Focus on Customer Experience Since customers will rebuff corporate relationship advances, firms need a new CRM focus. Forrester recommends that companies build and sustain their customer base by obsessing about customers' experiences at every touchpoint. To succeed, firms must:

Redesign internal processes, not customers. Changing the way a company operate may be hard work, but changing human nature is nearly impossible. A large hotelier recently realized that confused customers called the reservation line for tech support, and vice versa. Rather than bracket the numbers with instructions that no one would ever read, the company built a consolidated contact center. Fulfill current goals -- don't rely on loyalty. Firms must redouble their efforts to anticipate user behavior, expecting increasingly empowered consumers to forgive even fewer missteps. Companies should use the questions of Scenario Design -- who are your users? what are their goals? and how do they accomplish those goals? -- to guide the design of customer-facing systems. Measure outcome, not activity. Companies must evaluate interactions from thecustomer's perspective. An immediate but nonsensical answer to an email inquiry may fulfill internal metrics for responsiveness, but it ultimately dissatisfies the consumer. To avoid this, firms must measure what matters to the customer -- if and when an initial problem was resolved. http://www.illusivecreations.com Calgary Web Design

Chris is the owner and operator of  http://www.illusivecreations.com Illusive Creations Calgary Web Design, with over 10 years exp. He can put together your new site, host your new site and then submit it to the search engines and gain TOP RANKINGS!!

Cement Stronger Customer Relationships By Following The Confirmation Letter ABC's

As more entrepreneurs enter into online commerce, many make a common mistake: they get so involved with the technology that they forget that there's a live person on the other side of the computer screen. They forget that they're dealing with PEOPLE.

As a result, the Internet has begun to get a reputation for being cold...lacking in the personal touch. And it's this personal touch that forges a strong customer bond. Ignore this and you may find your customers drifting over to your competition.

You must give them a reason to stay loyal!

Did you know that sixty-eight (68) percent of customers who quit buying from a company do so because they feel that the company doesn't care about them? Just their wallets?

And never assume that since you don't hear any complaints that all is well. Of the above mentioned sixty-eight percent, 96% will not let you know how they're feeling...they'll just disappear.

And though they wouldn't tell you, rest assured that they'll probably tell their friends - statistically, one person usually shares a bad experience with nine other people. And 13% will even take this one step further - spreading the bad experience to 20 or more.

Can you see, by not reinforcing customer satisfaction and loyalty, that this could become a costly business mistake?

Savvy marketers make sure to establish this human connection early...one of the easiest (though often overlooked) tools to launch a strong relationship is a well-executed order confirmation message.

A well-planned confirmation message is often the first contact a merchant makes with a customer after the initial sales letter. It doesn't have to be elaborate...just make sure you're not missing the basics.

For instance, does your message hit the following ABC's?

A - (A)cknowledge Their Positive Action.

By instantly reinforcing their wise decision to purchase your product, you may be able to head off a number of cases of 'buyers remorse,' thus cutting down on refunds.

With ezine signups, by sending a confirmation message, you're reminding a prospect that they'd requested the information. Often subscribers forget that they've signed up. Or, someone may have signed them up without their knowledge or approval - a confirmation message notifies them of the action.

Some ezine publishers are using their confirmation message to set up a double opt-in, requiring a new subscriber to physically respond that they wanted the subscription. Done by requiring a return email or click through, this has become an effective way to offset spam complaints and unauthorized sign-ups.

B - (B)enefits They'll Receive From Their Purchase or Free Subscription

After a transaction, the confirmation letter should reiterate the benefits of signing up or purchasing a service or product. Reinforce this positive action by reminding a customer of the value they will be receiving (this also underscores their perception of you as a quality merchant).

C - (C)larifying Terms Of Product Delivery

If the product is digital, and will be delivered sequentially (like an ezine or mini-course) the confirmation letter will remind the customer or prospect how often to expect an installment (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly). A gentle reminder makes for good customer relations, and, again, cuts down on potential accusations of spamming.

If the product is available immediately, the confirmation should reconfirm that it is digital, available through instant download, and then give clear instructions on the steps involved. Not everyone is a download veteran; you can't assume that they'll know what to do. Head off any potential frustration with step-by-step instructions. To those that need this extra help, you'll be an instant hero.

By keeping it personal, anticipating requests and questions, and by extending professional courtesy, you will be on the right track to forging a strong online relationship with your customers -- ultimately leading to a smoother and more profitable online experience for everyone involved.


Paula Morrow heads http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com She specializes in public relations, information marketing and creating cashflow systems. Her newsletter, IDEALProfits, is now read in 12 countries. Subscribe and receive 5 BONUS ebooks! http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/subscribe.html


As a result, the Internet has begun to get a reputation for being cold...lacking in the personal touch. And it's this personal touch that forges a strong customer bond. Ignore this and you may find your customers drifting over to your competition.

You must give them a reason to stay loyal!

Did you know that sixty-eight (68) percent of customers who quit buying from a company do so because they feel that the company doesn't care about them? Just their wallets?

And never assume that since you don't hear any complaints that all is well. Of the above mentioned sixty-eight percent, 96% will not let you know how they're feeling...they'll just disappear.

And though they wouldn't tell you, rest assured that they'll probably tell their friends - statistically, one person usually shares a bad experience with nine other people. And 13% will even take this one step further - spreading the bad experience to 20 or more.

Can you see, by not reinforcing customer satisfaction and loyalty, that this could become a costly business mistake?

Savvy marketers make sure to establish this human connection early...one of the easiest (though often overlooked) tools to launch a strong relationship is a well-executed order confirmation message.

A well-planned confirmation message is often the first contact a merchant makes with a customer after the initial sales letter. It doesn't have to be elaborate...just make sure you're not missing the basics.

For instance, does your message hit the following ABC's?

A - (A)cknowledge Their Positive Action.

By instantly reinforcing their wise decision to purchase your product, you may be able to head off a number of cases of 'buyers remorse,' thus cutting down on refunds.

With ezine signups, by sending a confirmation message, you're reminding a prospect that they'd requested the information. Often subscribers forget that they've signed up. Or, someone may have signed them up without their knowledge or approval - a confirmation message notifies them of the action.

Some ezine publishers are using their confirmation message to set up a double opt-in, requiring a new subscriber to physically respond that they wanted the subscription. Done by requiring a return email or click through, this has become an effective way to offset spam complaints and unauthorized sign-ups.

B - (B)enefits They'll Receive From Their Purchase or Free Subscription

After a transaction, the confirmation letter should reiterate the benefits of signing up or purchasing a service or product. Reinforce this positive action by reminding a customer of the value they will be receiving (this also underscores their perception of you as a quality merchant).

C - (C)larifying Terms Of Product Delivery

If the product is digital, and will be delivered sequentially (like an ezine or mini-course) the confirmation letter will remind the customer or prospect how often to expect an installment (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly). A gentle reminder makes for good customer relations, and, again, cuts down on potential accusations of spamming.

If the product is available immediately, the confirmation should reconfirm that it is digital, available through instant download, and then give clear instructions on the steps involved. Not everyone is a download veteran; you can't assume that they'll know what to do. Head off any potential frustration with step-by-step instructions. To those that need this extra help, you'll be an instant hero.

By keeping it personal, anticipating requests and questions, and by extending professional courtesy, you will be on the right track to forging a strong online relationship with your customers -- ultimately leading to a smoother and more profitable online experience for everyone involved.


Paula Morrow heads http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com She specializes in public relations, information marketing and creating cashflow systems. Her newsletter, IDEALProfits, is now read in 12 countries. Subscribe and receive 5 BONUS ebooks! http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/subscribe.html
 

Paula Morrow is webmaster of http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com and has extensive marketing experience earned from 20 years in the public relations, entertainment and advertising worlds. Now applying this experience to the Internet, she enjoys creating cash-generating systems and coaching new marketers on innovative ways to promote their businesses both online and off.

Top Ten Benefits of Sales Force Automation (SFA)

SFA saves you time & money
The advent of automated sales force technology allows businesses to subscribe to already built, on-demand, customizable services without the high fees for maintenance and other costs associated with the large, daunting process and time involved in creating a large, corporate version of sales force automation.

SFA allows you to concentrate more on your business
The architecture of sales force automation allows for a decrease in total ownership cost, risk reduction, less wasted time, and the ability to concentrate on business and management instead of technology. This means that you have more time and energy to give to the success of your business.

Contract management comes with SFA
Essentially, it allows companies to manage a contract's lifespan by shortening approval cycles for contracts, renewing contracts sooner, and reducing administrative costs. This Sales Force Automation component improves tracking and management of contract information, such as terms, conditions, and evaluations.

SFA is easy to use
Sales force automation is easy and intuitive. It makes jobs easier for users like professional sales representatives by giving them quick access to data (online, offline, mobile devices) links to tools like Microsoft Outlook and Office.

SFA offers real-time analytics & reports
Sales force automation offers a comprehensive analytics program that allows you to track ROI on marketing campaigns, traffic levels, lead conversion ratios, content effectiveness, and more. Users can access information to evaluate their company's past performance and point out its strengths and weaknesses with the intent to repair those deficiencies. It allows you to customize reports based on the data processed by the analytics program. All the information you get is in real-time and fresh, so that you never have to handle or see old data unless you want to.

Up-to-date information via SFA
Sales representatives get more time to sale and convert leads as they can avoid the hassle of administration and other similar duties. Because the information they have access to is always current, the leads are more qualified and easier to sell. The don't have to go through lines of other sales reps to find what they're looking for; all they have to do is get on the computer and access their company's central database to get the information they need, wherever they are.

SFA mobile capabilities
Sales force automation is now available with mobile capacities. This means that the application is compatible with any mobile device, such as a laptop or cell phone. Thus sales representatives or marketers have access to the information they need any time, any where, both offline and online.

Broad range of uses for SFA
Sales force automations can work for any company, from the largest corporation to the smallest boutique. It offers a number of uses, from sales management, analytics and forecasting to product information, workflow and integration.

SFA is Customizable
The sales force automation application is completely customizable, down to the color of bar graph you want on your analytics report. Many websites, like Salesforce.com, offer to work with you to develop the unique application you want.

SFA is Understandable
Unlike many CRM programs that abound on the web, sales force automation is a relatively simple program to implement and is easily understandable for the majority of users.

Salesforce.com is the world's first on-demand application service and a giant in the field of CRM. With over 24,000 customers, over 500,000 subscribers, and a 97% customer satisfaction rate, Salesforce.com continues to lead their field. To find out more about them, please visit www.salesforce.com .