How Do You Know Your Business Needs CRM?

"I just need a Simple CRM"

CRM systems are no longer an option, they’re a necessity. Customer Relationship Management systems are now used by businesses of all scales and sizes. How do you know you need one? It’s simple, just ask yourself: Are you selling services or products? If your answer is yes, then you definitely need a CRM software. If you’re still not convinced, here’s why else you need a reliable CRM system:

You’re losing precious data

When you don’t have a CRM system you’re bound to store data in emails, Excel spreadsheets, paper files, and notes. The worst thing is that all that pieces of information are scattered, and as such they become meaningless because you can’t have them all at once when you need them the most. The process of storing customer data becomes laborious and even impossible.

You’re having communication problems

When you don’t have a centralized data system available to all your employees in real time, it’s difficult to communicate and pass on important information and decisions as they happen. The communication gets delayed and the results of that are missed opportunities and clients gone elsewhere.

Your sales team isn’t doing much

If you feel like your sales team isn’t making any progress despite their best efforts, then you know you desperately need a CRM system. Today, there are so many things you can find out about your potential customers that can help you transform your business into something more prosperous. The key lies in managing and using your data more efficiently.

Leads turning cold

When your once hot leads start to turn cold and there’s nothing you can to do reverse that, again, you know you need to get a CRM system. Sure, there will always be leads who turn cold for no apparent reason, that’s not the point. The point is that in the majority of cases you lack the knowledge that would make them change their mind. You lack the details about your customer behavior and their habits that you could use in your advantage.

You lack data access at all times

When your sales people are gathering information about the customers, if they’re storing it on their own laptops or even papers, you don’t really get to see that information right away. Plus, with a CRM it’s easier to keep everyone updated on all the changes and new data entries. The ability to access your data at any time can significantly improve the quality of your work.

3 Simple Steps for Generating Leads with Social Media

3 Simple Steps for Generating Leads with Social Media

When business owners think of social media, they usually think of the process of building a brand image, and not so much of generating leads. But that’s where they are wrong. Social media can be a huge addition to your overall lead generation strategy, that is if you know how to use it to its fullest potential.

However, before you begin generating leads through social media, it is important to position yourself as an authority figure in your line of work. You can achieve this through your website, blog, your newsletter and by establishing good rapport with your customers. That means being responsive and attentive to your customers’ needs.

Once you’ve mastered that, it’s time to harness the power of social media for lead generation. Below are three basic ways to get started:

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#1: Join relevant Twitter conversations
Twitter can be a great source of new leads once you start searching. There are thousands of people who are interested in what you have to offer, you just have to find them. Luckily for you, Twitter has made it easy to explore conversation threads already in progress. Here’s how you can search Twitter conversation threads and dive deeper into your search for leads. In addition, you can also create your own threads and generate leads that way.

#2: Follow brand mentions and maintain a positive image
Maintaining a positive brand image is crucial when it comes to generating leads through social media. Brand tracking is important, especially across social media. With this method, utilizing special monitoring tools, such as Hootsuite, Mention, Social Mention, Topsy, Talkwalker, etc., is key.

Monitoring what others are saying about you on social media is important so you can respond to critics when necessary, and engage in relevant conversations. By doing this you’ll be able to keep your brand image positive and (relatively) untainted. This is crucial, as when potential prospects start researching about you, they can see negative comments which can discourage them from doing business with you.

#3: Create Facebook contests
Contests are huge on Facebook, and they tend to attract a lot of people. A Facebook contest is a great way to get tons of likes and comments, and collects email signups by offering a prize in return. The downside is that not all leads will be ideal, but at least you will gather emails which you can use later on for targeting.

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Don't forget to maintain and track your clients and leads within Client Relationship Management (CRM) software, such as AddressTwo's simple CRM and Email Marketing solution. Staying in contact with your prospects and on top of your sales efforts is crucial to generating sales. Don't allow follow-ups to slip through the cracks and miss out on potential business. Sign up for a Free Trial of AddressTwo, and see what the power of Two, can do for you!

Mom Did Know Best: Clean it up!

It has to happen every once in a while and this is the perfect time of year to face it. I’m talking about cleaning up your list.

This realization came crashing down on a client recently and it just serves to remind me that it is one of the last things busy small business owners are thinking about, but it is just so important.

photo credit: ginasanders @123rf.com

Is your list a mess?

This client wanted to establish a monthly email newsletter. One of the steps was uploading the CSV

file of his list into the app. When the CSV file arrived and my team and I took a look at it, we immediately realized that there was a lot of work to do before it could ever be uploaded.

First off, information had been entered into the wrong fields and we had first names like Quick and surnames like Order. Then there were company names entered where the contact’s name should have been. That was just the beginning. After reviewing the file, there were lots of other changes like who the contact for the company was now and outdated email addresses.

Hey, don’t beat yourself up because there are always changes and mistakes, it’s inevitable that your list needs to be cleaned up, sorted out and purged of all sorts of inaccurate information. But the thing you have to keep in mind is that your list of contacts is one of the most valuable assets you have in your business. So you need to keep it polished up and in good working order.

Make an update part of your regular maintenance.

The end of the year is a busy time and part of the busy-ness is sending “thank you for your business this year” greetings to your clients. Take this opportunity to review your list. Make it part of the process in sending those greetings. Schedule it for fall. That gives you time to actually remove any problem entries as well as request new, updated data.

In some instances, the email contact may be the only information you have. Sending out requests for actual postal mailing addresses via email will help you sift through outdated emails as well as provide an extra touch with the client and get more information from them.

AND, while you are doing that, remind yourself of all the contacts and potential clients that you haven’t connected with for some time. Out of mind means just that – out of mind, and out of mind means a big NO SALE on the cash register.

So cleaning up is not just cleaning up, but use it for bringing to mind potential clients that need a note, call or some other bit of communication from you. Use it to re-connect and update your records. The biggest benefit is that you are ready for a big push in the New Year.

To Your Success!

Jack

GrowYour Business™ Coaching founder Jack Klemeyer is recognized as a preeminent resource for business professionals. As a John Maxwell Certified coach, speaker, trainer and facilitator of Mastermind groups for business owners and professionals, his results-driven philosophy calls for action and accountability. He and his Grow Your Business™ team are dedicated to taking businesses and their owners to the next level. Jack can be reached at Jack@GYBCoaching.com or at 317-755-6963. Learn more at GYBCoaching.com.

The Secret to CRM Success: Having a CRM Guru on Staff

Simply having access to a CRM system does not allow you to instantly reap the benefits of that customer database. With a simple CRM like AddressTwo, there isn’t much of a learning curve when it comes to understanding, but there are some important habits to form in order to hit the ground running.

Therefore, the key to receiving CRM benefits is the CRM Guru. This is your go-to CRM girl or guy who will drive your business to success through customer knowledge. You won’t want to leave home without them, but who are they and how can they help you succeed?

Your CRM guru is the owner, front desk person, sales manager, or head of IT (you get the idea). There are no limits to who the guru can be. As long as your chosen one is a hard working individual who is dedicated to learning the ins and outs of your CRM software, you can’t go wrong.

These Gurus play three key roles in your organization.

#1: They are your CRM user

One sole person can learn everything there is to know about using the CRM and pass on their wealth of knowledge to everyone who will be using the software. Forming habits in one person to pass on to many is easier than trying to form the habits in everyone from the beginning. As mentioned in our previous blog, it can be a pain in the butt to get started in your CRM. There is a lot of data entry, data management, and organization that goes into getting started in a CRM system. Having your CRM guru get you started will make the transition so much easier. They can also be in charge of data maintenance as your business grows.

This allows one person to be in charge of the start-up. This means your sales team won’t have to slow down their selling process in order to learn the new software on their own without help. Selling is already a process and it’s hard to break those habits. Having a CRM guru can help the sales people learn how to use the CRM system more quickly and efficiently and will help them to add it in to their already developed sales process.

#2: They are your CRM support

When employees have trouble figuring out how to do something specific in the software, they know exactly who to turn to. Your CRM guru will most likely know how to solve their problem. If not, they will know where to turn for the information you need, whether it be to the software support staff or to the posted tutorial videos on the website. Having one person deal with all of the support issues can streamline the efficiency of getting help in your CRM and may help the support staff work through any deeper problems much faster.

#3: They are your CRM advocate

These gurus know the ins and outs of your CRM. They are the people who will push to gain the benefits from the system. They can hold everyone else accountable for using the CRM software to its fullest potential. Your CRM guru will go to the end of the line defending the benefits you gain by knowing everything there is to know about each customer. When they defend your CRM, they defend your bottom line.

Your CRM guru will be a key to your success. Do not take this go-getter for granted. They play some very important roles in your CRM adaptation. Make them known, and they will make you proud.

ARE YOU THAT GURU?

If you are your company’s CRM guru and are looking for support help in your role, we have posted tutorial videos on our website and are always available to help through email at support@addresstwo.com. Feel free to reach out to us any time. We also offer free weekly training on our CRM software, which would be a great online event for you to attend, Guru. You will be the all-knowing power of your company’s CRM in no time. 

AddressTwo a Year in Review

In June of 2008, there was one customer and a web-based tool called the “Carter and Company, LLC Simple CRM for Small Business.”  In August of the same year, the product donned it’s new brand as AddressTwo.  By year’s end, 34 customers had signed up.  Revenues soared to $340 per month. 

Four years later, we sit positioned as a market leader in small business CRM.  Over 2,000 companies rely on AddressTwo for managing leads, networking and referral efforts, sales follow-up tasks, and more.  At times like this—the end of the year, holidays approaching, and yet another profitable year behind us—it’s fitting to look back… but only for a moment. 

Looking back I’m amazed at how many mistakes and wrong turns litter the landscape of this young company’s history, all the while our customers have never been more fiercely loyal nor our team so enthusiastically engaged.  But that’s what it takes to succeed.  No CEO can say “I did it perfectly.”  And for that reason, no CEO can say, “I did it alone.” 

We have not done it alone.  Our customers have been incredibly loyal, spreading the word about AddressTwo with all the gusto of evangelists.  Our network of Partner Providers and Affiliates have added tremendous growth to our business.  And most importantly, our two directors Chad and Troy have carried AddressTwo on their shoulders and adopted its mission as their own.  I owe a debt of gratitude to all who have been a part of the phenomenon that has become AddressTwo.

But as gratifying as the past four years have been, it’s the next four years that will put the name AddressTwo on every small business owner’s tongue.  We are in the process of a major new product development that will expand our capabilities exponentially—reaching far and wide into new verticals, industry specializations, and marketing channels.  By this time next year, when we look back at 2013, we will marvel at how many new CRM applications we power and how many new innovations in small business sales and marketing we have deployed. 

Four years ago, CRM was a mature market.  I am on record as saying on more than one occasion that there was no room for disruption—that AddressTwo succeeded by simply building a better mousetrap.  Today, with the perspective I now have, I am ready to admit that I was wrong.  Our team has come up with new developments that the CRM market has never seen.  The disruption is coming.  AddressTwo will lead the way. 

Happy New Year!

Nick Carter
Founder & President

ZebraCard.Me: Are QR Codes Dead?

Back this project on Fundable.Com/ZebraCard

Is the QR Code a fad that's fading into the distant past of marketing tactics from yesteryear?  That's what my friend Brandon thinks.  In response to a tweet last week, he had a pretty firm opinion that he wasn't afraid to share.

I agree with Brandon to some degree.  The QR Code is overused.  It will certainly fall from glory as the "next big thing" if it hasn't already.  But I don't see it disappearing.  Instead of the next big thing, it will become just another thing.  A valuable thing.  A thing that can be used when and if it has purpose.  But not slapped on everything just because it's the next big thing.

Here at AddressTwo, we've been working on a side project: ZebraCard.Me.  We think that one place QR codes could be used is in the exchange of data.  Where else do people exchange data more than anything else?  Business cards.  What if your business card contained more data than just what was printed in ink?

But here's the catch.  Here's the one thing that will make the QR code functional, not just a fad: Analytics.

What if you could know who had viewed your business card and what actions they took? Did they visit your website? Did they read your blog? The QR Code has been implemented on business cards to-date merely as a means to enhance the recipient's experience--offering more data, making it easy to scan, etc. But ZebraCard.me offers value both to the recipient as well as the giver of the business card. ZebraCard.me creates a QR code or barcode for your business card that points to a URL where each user's interaction with your business card data is tracked. If they download your vcard, you'll know. If they read your blog, you'll know.

The power of digital data isn't just in ease of transfer, it's in the trackability of those transfers.  

Back this project on Fundable.Com/ZebraCard

Infographic: How Small Businesses use Software to Manage Contacts

We surveyed small businesses across the U.S. to find out how they manage contacts, and what they do with them. Read our full findings in the new whitepaper under Featured Articles.