Don fired me yesterday.
I’d seen it coming. As hard-nosed as I can be I hadn’t
convinced him not to try a marketing strategy that I pretty much knew wouldn’t
meet his expectations.
But, so far as Contact Management was concerned, he had seen the light.
“Is there a free or low cost digital solution I can use until
we get some more contracts? I need something that will help me keep track of
all the contact data and follow up tasks. What do you recommend?” he asked.
My favorite system for the little guy. (A video Demo)
I told him, “I’m going to make you a poster child for the
rest of the franchisees with my favorite integrated system when you’re ready in
a month or two.
He had reviewed several options after I suggested that
system early on. He had looked at multiple free systems as well as some that
were for outbound e-mail only.
We agreed that in his current pinch the lowest price for
Contact management was what we should strive for. Later that evening, as
promised, I sent him an option that will meet his needs for the interim.
What should you use? My advice:
- Thereis no single system that is perfect for everyone
- Anintegrated system will work better for you for a longer time.
- Asingle database that allows you to send regular individual e-mail, e-mail
marketing campaigns with auto responders plus do all your scheduling of
tasks and keeps it all in sync is essential. - Cloud-based. The more mobile your computing needs and desires the more this makes sense.
- Ability to import data from forms on your web landing pages directly into your
data base. ( Not generally available in low-cost systems)
Dollar for Dollar, your best marketing investment.
Used properly, a simple Contact management system can double
your business whether you are in start up, growth or established. An integrated
system can generate leads and maintain connections to double it again. If
you know how to put It to work.
Contact Relationship Magic! tells you what to look for and how to use it. (It’s coming as soon as my store is finalized. Interested? Let me know in a comment please.)
Simple enough for granny.I could go on but the primary things are noted above. The
final essential is simplicity. It has to be so simple a grandma can do it. Too
often in the past people tried to build something with every bell and whistle
you can imagine. Unfortunately those of us that have to use these systems are
not programmers.
There are products available today that do all you need to
do easily and at reasonable cost.
Need help figuring out
what is right for your small business? Leave a note in the comments section
with contact info and we’ll talk.
Speaking: www.NetworkingNinja.com Consulting: www.JerryFletcher.com