CRM - October 2007 - (Page 20)

Are We There Yet? After years of false starts, wrong turns, and disruptive detours, SMBs can now steer themselves in the right direction: Marketing can finally get them where they want to go. BY JESSICA TSAI m arketers know the golden rule of their field: Keep the message timely, targeted, and relevant. Straightforward enough—and yet most businesses are still struggling to streamline and optimize their marketing strategies. The problem is particularly pressing for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). Compared to larger enterprises, SMBs face three core obstacles—lack of money, time, and resources. As a result, most are under the illusion that the solutions available are far beyond their reach. But the fact is that SMBs have the same ability to compete as the top players. All they have to do is take a step back, look around, and have the courage to brave a little risk. SMBs range in scope from individual entrepreneurs to corporations with up to 999 employees, according to industry research firm AMI-Partners. Many of these rising companies are strapped for more than just money, time, and resources—there’s a lack of awareness, as well: Many don’t even realize the technology exists to help them manage their marketing.“SMBs don’t really think about automating first,” says Laurie McCabe, vice president of SMB insights and business solutions at AMIPartners.“You’re doing a lot of this manually unless you’re really sophisticated.” SMBs, she adds, eventually reach a tipping point: “They’ve grown to the extent where they realize they don’t have the visibility into what they’re doing to do it well anymore.” With the rise of on-demand services, marketing solutions have become significantly more accessible both financially and technologically.“None of this is rocket science,” says Kraig Swensrud, senior director of marketing products at on-demand business services provider Salesforce.com. “It’s just a different way of thinking about how they need to do business in 2007.” Nevertheless, experts are finding that most SMBs are still relying on basic programs such as Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft Outlook to manage their customer databases and their email marketing campaigns. Swensrud says it’s not even a matter of dollars and cents: Businesses are scribbling essential notes on Post-Its and inputting mission-critical data into siloed Excel sheets—not because they think these are the best methods for achieving their goals, but simply because these tools are the ones they’re most familiar with. While these programs may suffice for a start-up, growing companies unwilling or unable to take the next step will, at best, plateau—and, at worst, will risk losing existing customers and potential new business. Because they have such limited resources, SMBs cannot afford reckless decisions. They need to know that putting money into something will bring back a positive result. Consequently, they are wary of launching marketing campaigns built on untested technologies for any number of fears: fear of a consumer backlash; fear of being blacklisted on spam lists; fear that their keywords on Google or Yahoo! will either not draw any clicks or have low conversion rates; fear of unintentionally sending the same individual multiple or even conflicting emails; fear of receiving negative feedback from the increasingly influential bloggers. In an attempt to avoid these situations, most SMBs don’t realize that the costs they accrue from playing it safe will eventually catch up to them. To effectively and efficiently utilize the solutions currently available, most SMBs need to face the fact that they are at a point in their development that requires a bit of risk. Many of them already embrace that level of “can-do” spirit. “Before I 20 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | OCTOBER 2007 www.destinationCRM.com http://Salesforce.com http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - October 2007

Contents Front Office Reality Check Customer Centricity Coupons Without the Clipping Something Special in the Air Oracle’s Name Game Market Focus: Sports & Entertainment: CRM Scores for Sports Franchises Statistically Speaking The Pulse Required Reading Are We There Yet? Help Them Help Themselves The Chain Gang Pay Day OutClick Media Gets a Second Opinion Best Kiteboarding Makes a Splash with NetSuite True-Blue Service Documentation Secret of My Success The Tipping Point Re:Tooling Pint of View

CRM - October 2007

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