CRM AND SMALL BUSINESSESWritten by Bob McElwain
CRM (Customer Relationships Management) appears to mean different things to different people. I haven't seen two definitions that really agree. The giant companies have many goals when they speak of CRM. One that annoys me, that continues to crop up, is notion of immediate software response to customer requests. Sounds great. But when you read fine print, it also means less one-to-one company to customer interaction. This is not a direction in which a small business wants to move. In end, what these million dollar CRM systems do or do not do, matters little to small businesses. The price tag is too high for most. Is "Personalization" The Useful Part? The better approach may be to look at some aspects of CRM to see what can be done with software on our website to provide our visitors and customers with a more pleasant and enjoyable experience. It may help to exit CRM derby, stroll down a related path, and think of only part of it: personalization. Neat things flow forth from this orientation. For example, maybe invite visitors to check on things new since their last visit. Or on specials for day, specifically tailored to this visitor in some way. Or when a customer clicks a form to reorder, fill entry fields with data provided earlier. A great time saver for customer, something they will appreciate. Simple, effective things such as these can be abstracted from CRM models at modest cost. Large Scale Models Large firms with bucks to burn can make personalization central to a new kind of website. At a minimum, each page can address visitor by name. At extreme, entire site can be presented according to previous information collected about this visitor. For example, if visitor has kids, and a appropriate new product is available, it can be offered. And not offered to another visitor without children. Building a website on fly is a bit heavy for a small business. The coding challenge alone is heavy. The price tag for software is high. Still, a small business can implement simple ideas as suggested above. And more will spring from these. For Starters As a fellow into site performance and promotion, I'm always leery of anything that may annoy a visitor. Hits are so hard to get, there's just no point in inviting anybody to leave. So I'm very concerned about any technology that risks turning visitors away. I used a Pentium II PC for almost two years. Beginning about a year back, some sites would not allow me to visit because I didn't have latest and greatest. Maybe giants can get away with this, but a small business can not afford to lose even one visitor. In most cases, reason I could not visit was that my browsers could not handle trick JavaScript in place. I've a new system now, just 4 months old. A couple of days back I ran into a site that told me my software is out of date.
| | Seven Surefire Strategies To Recession-Proof Your BusinessWritten by Collin Almeida
"We are about to witness deepest depression since 1930's," reported Martin Weiss, Ph.D. for The Daily Reckoning. Pessimistic as Weiss may seem, facts lend credence to his statement. Since tragedy of September 11,more than 415,000 layoffs have been announced, initial jobless claims jumped to 528,000, highest level in decades, consumer confidence has tumbled and billions of dollars worth of business has been lost. With new uncertainties raised by attacks and many economists forecasting a deep and prolonged recession, businesses will have to do everything within their power to brace for coming storm and survive bad times-predicted by some to be bigger and more devastating than Great Depression of 1929. Infact a recent OECD Report says "Global Slump Could Last Until 2003" Use these surefire strategies to immediately recession-proof your business and you'll not only weather recession, but you'll come out on top of your competitors when economic tide reverses. Diversify In a weak economy, diversification may be your business' best friend.The more services you can offer, more clients you will be able to find.For example,if you primarily create business plans or marketing collateral for big name clients, you could expand your services to include press releases, sales letters, web content, or other business-related products and services.And you can diversify even further by repackaging your product and selling it to a different clientele. For example, you could host a seminar or workshop on writing business plans. Each person who attends may not be able to pay your normal fee, but combined not only may you earn more, you could also score a few new clients. No matter what service you offer,with a little innovative thinking you should be able to develop several "new" offers. All of which will help keep you ahead while your niche-focused competitors bite dust. Offer Outstanding Customer Service Once you've started attracting customers, you'll have to worry about retaining them, and in a stagnating economy that may be even more difficult. You must provide not only a high quality product, but also exceptional customer service. When money's tight, clients expect more for their dollar. If you want to keep their business, you must keep them happy. Refine your customer service strategy to insure that every step from taking order to delivering product is client-focused and effective. You may want to conduct a customer satisfaction survey or two in order to make sure your customers' needs are being met. Also consider making your service more valuable to clients with faster delivery times, wider selections, or more flexible payment terms. Intensify Marketing One of biggest mistakes business owners make during periods of economic slowdown is to cut back on marketing and advertising, doing this could be most detrimental to your business.Instead, your marketing needs to be more aggressive and more comprehensive than ever. Start by contacting past clients and simply touching base. Chances are a good number of them will have projects or assignments for which your services may be required Offer discounts, freebies, or other extras as incentives. You may also want to set up a referral reward program for clients as part of your marketing efforts. You also need to re-evaluate your current marketing methods. If you are not seeing some increase in sales from every dollar you spend on promotions, then you are wasting valuable revenue. Whether you use billboard ads, direct mailings, or yellow pages now is time to make sure your current marketing is cost-effective and efficient. I am often haunted by P.T. Barnum's stark reminder: "Without promotion, something terrible happens - NOTHING!"
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