Situation: A CEO is looking at customer relations management (CRM) systems. To date their marketing and sales has been in-house, but he wants to investigate alternatives. What CRM systems are available and what is the experience of others with these systems? Is do-it-yourself marketing advisable or should he work with a CRM system? Is do-it-yourself marketing or CRM right for you?
Advice from the CEOs:
- Marketing, whether Do-it-Yourself or working with a CRM system, must always be in line with the company’s brand and customer set.
- The solution selected and implemented should never confuse or dilute the brand.
- There are many CRM systems. Check out https://www.top10.com/crm for comparisons.
- Good systems will track both prospects and sales.
- Some can also help to create newsletters and other marketing materials.
- Use your resources wisely.
- Use clubs, affiliations or organizations to target the company’s market.
- Before securing a firm or individual to design or refresh your web presence, first know your brand and what you want to communicate. This helps to identify the right resource.
- Resources for free or low cost marketing:
- Focus on and work with distributors.
- Sell through key client audiences and pay them a commission on sales gained.
- Give key client audiences a reward that will appeal to them.
- Serve PDFs through your web site to deliver content in your preferred, branded format.
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