Elias Interactive

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Implementing Zoho to Manage Client Relationships

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This weekend we switched to a new CRM system here at Elias.  I evaluated several different options including Salesforce.com and Highrise before ultimately selecing ZohoCRM.  It seemed like every system I looked at either was too simple or too expensive.  Geez. I sound like stinkin’ Goldie Locks.

Since we are small, every penny counts and every minute saved is valuable to us.  Our objective was to create a form on our website where new potential clients can submit a request for more information.  We have been slammed lately with currect clients (a good thing), but feel like we are not able to be as responsive as we would like to be with people who are trying to make a decision on who to use for their Magento ecommerce installation and Magento customization (a bad thing).  A CRM tool was desperately needed in order to collect the new contacts, file them in on-demand software, trigger an immediate email to let them know we will follow up soon, and send a notification email to me with the info that they filled out on the form.  Turns out this was harder to find than I expected.  Enter Zoho.

Other companies out there do this sort of thing, Zoho just does it for $25/month/user.  So far I have customized the lead fields, mapped them to a form, and pasted the HTML to our “Request a Quote” landing page.  Also, the software is set to automatically send me an email with the completed fields and create a follow up task due the next day (screenshot of admin below).  Next week I plan to set up the triggered email response to the interested client.

Hopefully this is helpful to you if you are looking for a CRM application.  It would be interesting to know what everyone else is using to manage their client relationships and why they selected it.  Anyone have a better find than Zoho?

How to be more direct with your marketing efforts using Magento

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As consumers tighten their budgets and reevaluate spending during the Christmas season, it is important to sharpen your online marketing efforts.

Citations are used by search engines to calculate your ranking in listings when users search for products and services that are related to your niche. If your business lacks proper citations, your ranking and traffic would not reach their highest potential compared to using seo services melbourne to make it popular online.

In order to keep your business in the eye of potential customers, you should search the internet for citations, which list your business and information about it.

Citations are used to show that your business is valid, making them an important part of the algorithm Google uses to calculate your ranking. It’s easy to make a website and call yourself an expert in something, but citations are solid proof that your business is valuable and real.

If you’re a business in a small niche, Google is an excellent tool when there are valid citations of your business on the internet. If you’re in a niche with very little competition, it’s easier for your company to outrank others and show up in search results for users all over the world and within your community. A local business listing could greatly improve your visibility. You can check out some of these great citations building tools here.

By showing up on local blogs and listings, your business becomes more involved in the community. This improves local search engine rankings, essentially validating your authenticity to Google. When you show up on legitimate sites, such as in a local paper, it is difficult to dispute your validity. It also puts your name more into the mix and exposes your business to the community, which is great in the eyes of Google.

Consistency is one of your greatest assets when it comes to Google. If your business is consistent, such as keeping contact information the same, both Google and users that are searching for information will appreciate this. By staying consistent, you solidify your company’s standing and it’s easier for others to find you.

If the manpower that it takes to optimize the citations for your business seems like too much, you can count on a quality citation building service to improve SEO for your business and improve the visibility of your brand. To get more details about the SEO, visit seonexus. Search rankings rely on citations as well as other information on the internet to determine the legitimacy of your business, making it important to keep track of and manage your local business listing on a number of sites on the web, including places like the Chamber of Commerce.

Here are a few suggestions courtesy of John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing:

Direct Offers – Create offers that involve low-cost trials, free samples and valuable education-based information. Make an immediate response to these offers the sole reason your advertising exists.

Website – One of the most important things nowadays is having a good website for your business, because everything spread faster on the internet. Now, to write a interesting article is not always easy, you’ll need to learn how to paraphrase effectively with this amazing tool that will improve your writing skills.

Repackaging – Re-introduce your products with added features or services of value or do the same with your service offerings by packaging them in new and innovative ways. Increase the value of your products and services and spell the value out in terms that mean something to the prospect.

Referrals – Get out to your customers and start [talking] with them about ways to partner for referrals. Your customers know times are tough, too. [Communicate] with them and honestly explore ways to help them help you.

Strategic Partners – Now is the time to build your network of strategic referral partners. Start by referring business to trusted partners and make it a point to sit down with at least one current or potential strategic partner each week with the sole purpose of directly discussing ways to help each other grow.

Creative Thinking – Give your customers and vendors “reason why” thinking to encourage larger orders, better terms, guaranteed purchases, and loyalty clubs.

Magento offers native functionality that allows you to execute on many of John’s strategies:

  • Flexible Coupons: create offers to get customers back in your store
  • Email Newsletter Management: deliver the coupon via email
  • Multi-tier pricing for quantity discounts: increase order size by encouraging larger quantity purchases
  • Bundled Products: repackage how you offer your products by bundling
  • New Items Promotional Tool: highlight new products
  • Up-sells in Shopping Cart: increase order size at time of purchase
  • Cross-sells on Product Page: increase order size during shopping experience
  • Send to a Friend: make it easy for a visitor to forward their wishlist to mom in time for Christmas

What was the main factor in the growth or downfall of companies during the depression?

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The media says that the economy is in a recession. Ok. So now what?



Someone told me the other day that Jewish people have a concept of “backing into the future.” No one can fully predict what will happen next, but we can look at history to learn what might happen. If we are in a recession, then wouldn’t it make sense to look at how companies survived and grew during the Great Depression?



I found someone who asked a similar question. Check out this quote from Google Answers:

Both anecdotal and empirical evidence support the case that advertising was the main factor in the growth or downfall of companies during [the Great Depression]. To put it bluntly, the companies which demonstrated the most growth and which rang up the most sales were those which advertised heavily.

The article goes on to talk about the growth in two new forms of advertising during the Great Depression: radio and direct mail.  So what are you doing to take advantage of said recession?  Whatever you do, cutting marketing is not the answer.