Hi

What wonderfully sunny days we have had since the beginning of March! All this spring-like weather certainly blows the cobwebs away and boosts our energy levels for the coming months.

For our March meeting we will have Jon Williams of Perceptive Online who will be giving a talk called ‘CRM for Numpties', (CRM is a strategy for managing and nurturing a company's interactions with customers and sales prospects, in case you didn't already know).

So if you're intrigued to learn more, come to the next meeting on 9 March at 6.30pm at the George Hotel, Wallingford – and bring your inspired energy with you!

The Next Meeting - Tuesday 9 March 2010

CRM for Numpties

Computer systems have improved the way processes have been managed across organisations. Over the last fifteen years more companies have focused their operations around their customers to help improve their customer retention and profitability, but this has traditionally been a fairly expensive process, often requiring a large degree of customization (or cost) to obtain benefits. These days there are multiple options available to help improve your processes, improve customer relationships, and aid your sales efforts. There are also more options than ever on how solutions are implemented.

Jon Williams of Perceptive Online talks through what CRM is generally understood to be, different types of options available, and the benefits. Jon also discusses different implementation approaches and where they are most appropriate. Although traditionally a larger organisation solution there are direct benefits available for even small organisations, particularly sales or sales and service based.

• CRM – what is it?
• Benefits and potential downsides
• Example applications and solutions
• Live Demo (Hotel internet permitting!)

Perceptive Online whilst biased towards hosted solutions is agnostic to what solutions are hosted. In addition Perceptive supply a hosted top tier solution – Microsoft Dynamics CRM which is cost effective right down to one or two users and available at a low cost per user per month.

Tel: 07785 317477

Website Makeover

Have you visited the Tuesday Business Club website recently? If you have, you will have noticed its new cleaner, fresher look. Once everything's been completed, the look of the members' list will be improved and facilities for members and visitors to book and pay online will be incorporated.

Are you listening to your customers?

By Chantal Cornelius

I recently went to a presentation on social media. The introduction was given by the local mayor who was full of negativity about the dismal start of the economic outlook. He gave lots of figures about the amount of debt the area is in and the number of companies going out of business. He also said he thinks that social media is a waste of time. Fortunately this didn't put off the presenters, who went on to give very positive talks about different aspects of social media and how we can use them to promote our businesses.

If you listen to the news, the economists and the business analysts, you might as well pack up your business and bury your head in the sand. On the other hand, if you listen to what other small businesses are saying and listen to your customers, you'll realise there's a very different world out there. We are all open for business and many of us are actually growing our companies. One of the most effective ways of promoting your business is by talking and listening to your customers.

How do you do this? Talk to your customers about what they want from you – in terms of products, services, support, amount of contact and customer service. Use their feedback to create new and better versions of what you do. If a number of your clients want a different service from you, develop it for them. If they want you to keep in touch with them on a more regular basis, look at ways in which you can do that. If they want better customer service, find ways of giving it to them. It's easier to sell more to an existing customer than it is to recruit a new one, so listen to what your customers want and then let them have it. Don't listen to what's being said by people who don't run their own businesses. Think, act and be positive and your customers will help you to grow your business, no matter what the ‘economy' is doing.

At Appletree we carry out a survey of our clients every couple of years, to find out what they think of us and what they'd like us to change. How do you talk and listen to your clients?