How I Use CRM in My Business
In response to Jason’s comment on my last post, I have decided take you behind the scenes of one of my websites for a moment and give you an example of a Customer Relationship Management system in action.
With one of my online businesses, I receive orders daily which are dynamically displayed on a central web page as they come in. This web page is separate to our business website but is connected to it, in order receive the data that is being entered in by our customers. For example, we have a Call-back Request
button which is a simple icon on our home page that customers can click if they wish to speak with a ‘real person’. When a customer does click, a popup window asks them to enter their name, phone number and a convenient time to be called. Upon submission of that information, our website sends the data back to the other web page, where our staff who are logged in, are notified of the call-back request, as well as any
other issues, quote requests and emails - as they occur in real time.
The whole ‘sales and support’ side of the business is virtually run from this single website, which is running an Open Source (free) version of SugarCRM. All the data is stored online, which means that it can be accessed from anywhere in the world. I am able to travel anywhere and access all my business info with an Internet connection, at any time. We have common responses to emails set up as templates, to automate many of the replies to questions and ‘order progress notification’ emails. SugarCRM also gives us the ability to view a customer file to see their contact information and all the previous email correspondence they have had with our business over the years. This enables us to instantly recall who they are and what they have bought from us in the past.
We have many happy customers who order through this system, most of which we have never had contact with over the phone. Our customers generally order online through our website and correspond with us via email. The system works really well, and is by no means impersonal because we are able to insert first names and personalized comments into our emails. Of course, there are some customers who prefer to have phone contact, and we certainly accommodate for these types of people as well.
Integrated systems like the one I have described, can be extremely beneficial to your business. A lot of time and money can be saved, simply by taking the time to find and implement suitable technologies, which can make things a whole lot easier.
By implementing good processes and systems, your business is able to compete much more effectively. You will be working smarter, faster and with much less strain on your resources (money, staff and time). The ideal online business is a well-oiled machine, working hard to keep your customers happy.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:19 am
Very cool Heath! Thanks for the explanation, I’ll definitely be looking into sugar crm. So now I know how you can travel around and still do business!
July 19th, 2008 at 2:15 am
Exactly Jason! With a customized web-based CRM system and a wireless internet connection, there’s no reason why you can’t run a business from anywhere in the world with coverage.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:54 am
this information is usefull to us