Your business has changed, sales aren't where they used to be, but customers seem to be holding steady. Now more than ever you want to continue to grow your business, maybe it's slightly lowering prices to sell more at a higher volume, or spending more on advertising to get that extra customer -- the moves you make right now will determine how you do business in the future. Let's make some assumptions before we begin. Your business is most likely running QuickBooks for financials and Microsoft Office or maybe Excel. Your current software setup works, but it's not amazing. Calendars have become out of sync with the Blackberries, Bob forgets his laptop and can't access his contacts while on business travel. You become stuck to your business's physical location and it is tying you down. Time to turn it the other way around, have your business stick to you... go on demand with Internet based software, go anywhere in the world and your business will follow. It's that simple.
1. Content Management Software (CMS)
You have set up a website, maybe you built it in-house using HTML or you have contracted a web development agency to carry out your design. After a month or two of the website being published, you are beginning to see what the power of the web can do to expose you to new business opportunities and accelerate growth of your company. As you expand, you’ll want your website to be able to do new things, more things or the same things, but better. Content management software makes all of these “things” easy to implement. It allows for organized, smooth uploading and tweaking of website content, little to no HTML knowledge needed. Want to add video, forums, polls and news feeds? Need to update your pictures or staff information? Want to keep track of documents and blog posts? The easiest way to do all of this and keep your website fresh is by using a content management system.
2. Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
Once you have set up your website with a Content Management System, configured it, and launched email marketing campaigns to generate tons of leads, it's time to find a place to store all this information. You need a central location on the web that all appropriate parties within your organization can access business contacts and potential new customers, manage accounts, and of course manage sales. CRM software will help you answer the following questions: Which leads and prospects are hot and should be contacted by a sales rep? Which ones are early in the sales cycle and need to be nurtured and farmed? What information is falling through the cracks contributing to lost sales? Which campaigns generate the most qualified leads for sales? Customer Relationship Management software helps to organize and track all these factors so that nothing slips between the cracks and you don’t lose any potential customers through inattention or inaction. CRM software can play a crucial role in the process of organizing and farming your leads, turning them into sales, which will in turn will grow your customer base.
3. Email Marketing Software Whether your business is on the web or you are operating a retail location at a mall, you should come up with a method for collecting email addresses from leads, customers and visitors to your website and storefront. Make it a regular practice to start asking for email addresses from visitors who access a demo, order a product, request information or download a white paper. This will help you easily build a prospective customer base and give you some targets to start emailing newsletters or marketing campaigns to. It is now time to look at implementing a Email marketing software solution for your business, which can help you take these visitors, and convert them into leads and customers. This is a great way to grow your client base. You know how the saying goes: "out of sight, out of mind," stay in front of your customers and prospective customers at all times. Since most of your email addresses came from someone who already trusts you enough to give you their email address, you have their undivided attention. This is a perfect opportunity to spread the word about your company and your offerings. Use the practice of collecting email addresses from people that you meet at trade shows, networking events, seminars or any other place where you are in a position to gather and collect email addresses. The more email addresses you collect, the more lead generation and cultivation you can perform by inviting them to events, announcing new products or initiatives, or sharing case studies of your current clients. Use the the power of the of the web and email to launch your business to the next level. In recent times you have seen President Obama's success with email campaigns and social networking. If it wasn't for the the software behind the emails, Obama most likely would not have achieved his overnight success and would not be sitting in the White House today. Use Email Marketing Software if you want to easily launch, run and track an email campaign, get data on opens, bounce-backs, unsubscribes and contact lists. 4. Social Networking Software
So you have set up your website, it's up and running with a CMS, you also interface your CRM with the site to gather leads. On top of that you have integrated the CRM with the Email Marketing Software, now what? Your website has information about your comany's products and services and your blog offers a personal prospective. It may seem that you are stuck with a one-way flow of information from you to your customers. Content has platowed, the site is not advancing and does not offer any collaboration with customer driven content. Your website doesn’t have to be one-way. In fact, it probably shouldn’t be. Customers and prospects are bursting with ideas, comments, complaints and praise that can be extremely useful in evaluating your own products or services and, hopefully, improving them. You might also discover that some of these ideas can lead you into new product lines and other opportunities for expansion. Social networking software, aside from wasting hours of the day browsing pictures and poking others, can help you set up a customized network for your target market and add a ton of value, while even boosting your website's search ranking. Create a social network for people interested in what your company offers. If you started your company to serve a particular market, focus on that market and provide a place for customers, prospects, and anyone needing information on your market to collaborate. It is okay if not every discussion is related to the products and services your company provides. Build credibility within the community and provide a place for good honest information and feedback. Implementing Social Networking Software will immediately increase your ranking and shows customers and prospects that your are at the top of the technology curve. Conclusion If you are looking to grow your company, increase efficiency, and save money, any of the solutions we mention above can help you achieve your goals. Whether it’s using the latest technology to manage your website more effectively, increasing the number of prospects and leads you market to directly, these types of software are key to helping you run your business better. If you’re ready to get started looking at these solutions right away, feel free to browse our directories for a software solution that fits your needs. - Content Management Software
- Cusomter Relationship Management Software (CRM)
- Email Marketing Software
- Social Networking Software
DreamSimplicity delivers information on affordable, web-based software into the hands of small business software buyers. Our founding team comes with experience from a range of software-as-a-service (SaaS) start-ups, specializing in sales, marketing, product development, and professional services. Our experience with small businesses like yours has led us to organize and combine our knowledge about SaaS and share with you five solutions that will not only help you build your business, but save you money immediately as well.
Visit us at www.dreamsimplicity.com!
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