Do you use Customer Relationship Management software, like Salesforce.com?

When I was a cubicle dweller, of course, I used Outlook, but as a solo Web designer and copywriter, it seemed like overkill.

Besides, although I own Outlook (and the rest of the MS Office suite) I prefer web-based and preferably open source solutions. Because I use multiple computers and multiple operating systems (Windows, Linux), a Web-based solution seemed ideal.

I’ve long used Highrise from 37Signals, and it’s fine — for what it is. But it’s not really CRM, and I’ve never been able to make it an intrinsic part of my workflow. It doesnt have an inbox, and I often forget to BCC client emails to my dropbox, so I end up without records of what I’ve done or said to a client. So what’s the point?

This weekend, I spent hours scouring search engines, small-biz websites and dozens of reviews looking for a better CRM solution.

I eliminated lots of them for lots of reasons, then spent hours torture-testing what seemed to be the best Web-based CRM solutions for small and solo businesses like mine.

The surviving candidates include Relenta, Capsule CRM, and Tactile CRM. I signed up for free trial accounts for all three. I’m still testing them, but so far my favorite is Relenta.

Email-oriented CRM

It’s not perfect by any means, but I think they’re on the right track. Or at least, their orientation (prejudices?) match mine.

First, Relenta is email-oriented. I live in my Inbox, and often use it as a de facto to-do list, flagging and starring messages as reminders. So far, it doesn’t appear Relenta lets me color-code or flag messages, although there’s something called “Filters” that I still haven’t explored which might do the trick.

But it might not matter, because Relenta puts my to-do list (“Activities”) just one click away. In fact, their whole ethos is for everything to be just one click away: Inbox, Contacts, Activities (To-dos) and files (both email attachments and uploads).

Activities can be viewed as a complete list by date, today’s only, or on a monthly calendar. The calendar design won’t keep Google’s people awake at night, but at least Relenta has one — unlike a lot of so-called CRMs.

Also one click away is your contact list. Like all CRMs, Relenta makes it easy to import existing lists as CSV files.

But here’s a real treat:

Every time an email arrives, it offers to create a new contact using info from the email (left). Very slick! If the email is from someone already in your address book, it can automatically assign it to that contact.

When you click on a contact, that person’s entire “activity stream” appears: emails, notes, to-dos,file attachments, everything. Excellent!

As the screenshot also shows, you can also create an activity (i.e., a to-do) right from the guts of the email — another very handy feature.

Another benefit: it integrates beautifully with Google Apps email.

Too expensive?

This isn’t a full review, of course — just a first impression. But so far I’m really pleased to have found a streamlined CRM that works the way I do, with (almost) everything I need, and boats an attractive interface, too.

On the down side, Relenta is more expensive than Capsule or Tactile CRM. At $25/month it costs less a Highrise solo account, but does much, much more. You could even cancel your AWeber or Constant Contact account and use Relenta to send out your e-newsletters (although I wouldn’t advise it, for fear of getting your personal email address blacklisted).

Besides, if your business can’t afford $25/month, you don’t really have a business.

Well, that’s my take so far. If you’re a small or solo biz, what’s your choice for CRM? Tell me in the comments.

Update:

After almost three full days of use, I’m giving up on Relenta.

The main culprit, imho, is Relenta’s email client. It’s OK for the basics, but not for business use. You can’t create bullet lists, even in the rich text/html version? Seriously? Also no threaded conversations.

My conclusion: if Relenta’s email client is so limited that I can’t use it for my client communications, then for me its overall usefulness falls apart. So for now I’m back to switching back and forth between Gmail and Nirvana for my to-dos.

That’s my take. Your mileage may vary. Hey, you may find it perfect.

A sign-up form is the first step toward building your own in-house mailing list. Without one, you have no way of getting back in touch with people who were interested enough to visit your website in the first place.

It’s like owning a retail store, watching customers come and go, and having no way to get in touch with them in the future. Which, come to think of it, is exactly what happens in most stores. That’s another advantage a business website has over a costly bricks-and-mortar location.

Provide valuable content and they’ll want more

If your website content is strong and original, and optimized to attract search engines (SEO), you should see traffic arriving from Google, Yahoo, Bing and the others. If your visitors stick around long enough to visit a few pages of your content, or read a few blog posts, chances are they’re interested in whatever you’re selling. They’re probably not ready to buy, but they are interested.

So why let them leave without at least asking for their e-mail address?

Starting your own in-house mailing list is the beginning of what’s known as permission marketing or relationship marketing. The idea is to establish a relationship with prospective customers, and let them get to know, like, and trust you enough to do business with you. Then you ask for their e-mail address, and permission to contact them again in the future.

After all, it’s much easier to sell something to an existing customer than to a complete stranger. So get to know your customers, and let them get to know you.

May I call you again sometime?

A sign-up form is the quickest and easiest way to obtain their contact information. you can write the code yourself, but e-mail service providers like AWeber, Constant Contact and Mailchimp not only manage your mailing list, automatically adding new subscribers and removing old ones, but they even make it easy to create a sign-up form you can add to your website.

If you hate messing around with technical stuff and need help adding a sign-up form to your small-business website, contact me and I’ll be glad to help.

Then what?

The next challenge is making them want to join your mailing list. How do you accomplish that? We’ll cover that next time.

PS:

A few seats are still available for my E-mail Marketing for Small Businesses and Non-profits class beginning next Tuesday (Sept 28) in Sanford Maine. Click here for info and (if you’re in the area) to enroll.

This is one of those “old-fashioned” kinds of classes. You know — in-person, in a classroom, not online. So there will be plenty of time for questions and discussions.

I’ll cover why email is still an affordable, effective marketing tool for businesses and non-profits. You’ll develop a better understand of its benefits, and discover exactly where and how to begin.

Topics covered will include:

• Setting up and growing your own in-house mailing list
• Mail list service providers
• Opt-in vs. double opt-in signups: which and why
• How to eliminate spam problems
• Ways to use email: e-newsletters, email blasts, special offers, courses, auto-responders
• Writing emails that get response
• Landing pages: what and why

Drop me a note if you have any questions. Enroll here. I’d love to see you there!

For the past day or so, I put a scaffolding around this old blog and started making some long-needed repairs and and improvements. Have you noticed? Let’s see…

• I finally got around to putting rounded corners on the top image. Now it matches the graphic below it.
• A drop cap (i.e., an oversized first character) has been added to the first word in each post, thanks to a nifty plugin by Rodney Campbell (Remorhaz). Elegant, no? Like a magazine… (Update: Hey, it didn’t show up in this post!) (Update #2: Got it!)
• I changed the body font to Calibri and bumped up the size one click. I liked the font that came with the theme, but this one is much easier to read. And hey, this blog is all about your comfort!
• I finally got the Photo Dropper plug-in working. This is a terrific blogging tool that lets you to search for Creative Commons-licensed photos on Flickr by keyword, right from your WordPress post page. Highly recommended!
• Technorati tags now grace the footer of this and all future posts, via Will Garcia‘s plugin. (I installed and auditioned about five others before finding this one. Nice work, Will!)
• Finally, I added a Share this button so you can email my posts, or send them to any of the big social networking sites. Ahem. Of course, that’s assuming I ever write something worth sharing.

And that’s coming, too. Buckle your seat belt. I’ve got big plans for this old blog home!

Photo by… me!

“… Even people who follow the rules and do not send unwanted e-mail can find themselves in a jam. (One) company shared its server with some clients, and one of them sent out e-mail that was flagged as spam. (The innocent) company was guilty by association, as are many companies that use outside e-mail service providers that offer shared servers.”

Certain precautions can reduce your chances of landing on some blacklist. First, make sure your e-mail service provider is a reputable one, committed to eliminating spam.

“The company should use outbound spam filters, have stringent antispam policies in place and be willing to enforce them. The company should also have some sort of deliverability reporting in place so it can tell you how many of your messages get through and are opened by end users. Finally, if you can afford it, try to send e-mail from your own server. Using a shared e-mail server… can be risky.”

See article here.