S3 Blog

During a recession things get tough for everyone – businesses have to make changes if they are to survive it and come out of the other side intact. Consumer’s behaviour also changes quite significantly during a recession as people don’t have as much disposable income as they previously enjoyed. It is quite easy to think, especially with so many businesses closing down during a recession that it is all doom and gloom, but creativity actually thrives during a recession and many businesses do incredibly well.

It can be too easy to assume that a recession means the end for most small and medium sized businesses (and quite a few larger ones) but it can be an ideal time to start new a business, if you are creative enough. Many businesses are now taking advantage of the fact that people have to tighten their belts and online discount shops are thriving right now. Before the recession excessive spending was seen as something to be proud of and was even akin to a status symbol – paying over the odds for items that could be bought cheaper elsewhere. Now however everyone is looking for a better deal on the goods that they regularly buy and smart entrepreneurs have realised that to thrive in a recession they need to follow consumer trends – which during a recession is saving money.

With this in mind the number of businesses that are providing goods and services at greatly reduced prices are doing fantastically. Price comparison sites are being inundated with customers all looking for the cheapest electrical goods, holidays, insurance, groceries – and more. What business owners need to realise is that even though a recession makes people more aware of what they are spending their money on, they will not stop spending altogether. Consumers still need to buy goods and services; the only difference is that during a recession they will actively shop around for the best deal they can find rather than sticking with their regular retailers.

Creativity is always essential in business, but often it is easy to leave it on the sidelines when business is good, with many business owners not wanting to change their ‘winning formula’. Unfortunately it can be exactly this sort of attitude that leaves many businesses struggling when times change. Recessions force everyone in business to think differently and be more creative otherwise it is virtually impossible to stay afloat. Today those business owners that faced the recession head on are the ones that are reaping the benefits, as are the people who were creative and saw the business potential of the recession. Online there are now hundreds of shops which are selling off bankrupt stock from bigger retailers and there is no shame in looking for cheap products. Creativity really does thrive in a recession and anyone who buys products online can see this for themselves with the smart businesses listening to and taking note of consumer spending habits and altering their prices accordingly.

Hi,
Tonight we will be rolling out great new functionality.

Our new email dropbox functionality, which is available under “My Account” allows you to forward emails from customers, contacts, suppliers and new contacts to your S3 CRM account.

Basically the application generates a “fake” email address for your account, you then forward emails to this address. The emails get logged as comments against existing contact entry however if the email is from a new contact a new entry is automatically created.

The functionality will be rolled out tonight - please try it and let me know what you think.

Thanks
Sarah

CRM or Customer Relationship Management is the name for the various systems that businesses use to track customer contacts, store customer details, identify customer trends, create invoices and quotes, creating marketing campaigns and so on. In short any business that wants to provide a customer experience that is second to none, generate and increase profitability and stay ahead of the pack should use CRM. As all good CRM software packages can be accessed online so there is no reason why businesses all over the world can’t take advantage of this type of tool.

Globally there are different types of customer relationship management software being created all the time, so businesses have a lot of choice when looking for a CRM solution. There are so many positive reasons that a business should use this type of software that the future of CRM looks set to be very positive. Such reasons include:

Accessibility – as customer relationship management software can be easily accessed from anywhere in the world with a PC and an internet connection, business owners can see what is happening in their business and stay in contact. This makes business trips a breeze as business owners do not have to take their laptops to meetings, they can simply go to a meeting and log straight into their account and have their own dashboard at their fingertips.

Flexibility – good CRM software solutions such as S3 CRM offer users the flexibility to create their own dashboard with the tools and features that they use most frequently which improves the user experience. Any features which are not needed or not used as frequently do not need to be added to the dashboard.

Features – as CRM software has so many different features it makes running a business so much easier.

Ease of use – good CRM solutions are easy to use and this will make them popular globally. Time in any business is precious and users simply do not have the time to spend working out how to access and use tricky systems.

Reasonably priced – as businesses globally are all feeling the effects of the recessions that have hit the UK and USA saving money is very much the order of the day. Due to this CRM solutions, like S3 CRM are set to become even bigger globally as the majority of small to medium sized businesses can’t afford to run several different types of software to complete various functions. Having one CRM software application that users are able to perform a multitude of tasks on is obviously preferable to having one for each task.

These are just a few of the reasons why the future of CRM globally looks set to be even bigger and better as time goes on. Business owners are looking for flexible, accessible, straightforward and cost effective ways to manage their customer contacts and more and CRM solutions like S3 CRM meet all of these needs and more.

Finding a software solution that you can virtually run your business from can seem like an uphill struggle and that is why a great deal of businesses wind up using several different software applications. This is not only hard to work with (no one likes to have to have four or more applications open at one time and have to flick between them constantly) it is also very expensive. Due to this many small to medium sized businesses find that they have to cut corners or decide which software solutions they can afford to run at the expense of others. If you are the owner of a small to medium sized business that wants an amazing all round CRM solution S3 CRM really is a one stop shop. Here is what you can expect from S3 CRM the most flexible, accessible, comprehensive, cost effective and user friendly CRM solution available:

- Customer contact and employee contact information storage – here users can store all customer and employee contact details in different categories for easy retrieval.

- Storage features – quickly and easily store all information relating to a customer with their contact details so no information will ever go missing again.

- Quoting and invoicing tools – create quotes in moments on multiple lines and with VAT added as standard. When a customer accepts a quote users can easily turn these into invoices to be sent at a later date.

- Employee calendars – this feature allows a business owner to see which employees are available, on holiday or away sick.

- Project tools – use this feature to plan and implement projects, assign projects to users and see which users are in charge of which projects. Using this means that no project deadline should ever be missed, even if the user in charge of a project is absent.

- Email marketing – create email marketing campaigns in minutes and send them to your email marketing list.

- Reporting tools – see which invoices are outstanding, who has replied to email marketing, which customer has the most repeat orders and much more.

- Easy to use dashboard – users can create their own dashboard with all their regularly used features and tools on it. Business owners can tailor theirs so that they can see their business at a glance.

- Accessibility – as S3 CRM is web based users can log into their account from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection which means that business owners can stay in touch with the office even when they are not in the country.

- Easy to use – S3 CRM is so easy to use that anyone can learn how to access and it’s features in just a few hours – so say goodbye to long and expensive training days for employees. Just sign up a new user and they can be using S3 CRM in well under one day – without any intensive training.Cost effective – S3 CRM costs £4.99 / $9.99 per month which makes it one of the most reasonably priced CRM solutions on the market.

In addition to these features S3 CRM also offers – document storage, meeting planning tools, route optimisation tools, recycle bin – the list is endless, proving that S3 CRM really is a one stop shop.

An ISP or Internet service provider is the name that is given to a company that gives its customers access to the Internet. Some of the ISPs will also offer e-mail accounts as standard as part of their pricing plan and some may offer other services such as data storage. Choosing an ISP for your business can be quite tricky, obviously businesses want to have the best deal from their Internet service provider which is both cost-effective yet gives the business the Internet access they require.

One good way of choosing an ISP business is to take a look at some of the ISPs that are around on the Internet. BT offers a very good packages for business which can include broadband Internet connections and phone lines for one very reasonable price. In addition to this businesses can also have support from business broadband experts at any time of the day night - something which a business may need if they run into difficulties online which need to be sorted out immediately. BT also offers business e-mailing, a data backup service web hosting and even VoIP so that making and taking calls from all over the world is a breeze. You might even want to take advantage of the web hosted conference calls and video options that BT offer its business customers.

Smaller businesses who are wanting to choose an Internet service provider should look towards a provider such as PlusNet who are an excellent ISP for small to medium-sized businesses. Many of the packages which this provider offers are tailored towards a smaller business, which is perfect if you only have a handful of employees yet still want your business to be connected to the Internet and to have all the advantages and features that are larger business would have online.

It may be a wise idea to note down what your business needs are when you are looking to choose an ISP to your business. Doing this will enable you to see which of the ISP providers are unable to best meet the needs of your business. There is nothing worse than choosing an Internet service provider and then a month or so down the line of realising that they are not providing exactly what your business needs for its Internet connection.

When you have chosen your ISP for your business you to get in contact with them and arrange to set up an account with them. By speaking to one of the online advisers you might even be able to arrange for a package which will meet your needs exactly which is a mixture of two or more different plans. Internet service providers want to go the extra mile so you may find that speaking to provider directly is more beneficial than just using the information that is contained on their website. So choose your Internet service provider and start to make the most of using the Internet to your business and branch out into new markets.

Business directories are massive databases which contain business information and contact details, very much like a regular telephone directory. Having your business listed in the right directions online can increase custom dramatically, but it can take some time to get your business listed in the right directions online. Any business owner who is looking to have their business listed in an online directory should be aware of the following points:

• Many of the bigger online business directories such as Yahoo! will require a payment of $299 for Yahoo! to first of all review your business website and then further annual payments of $299 to keep your business listed in this particular directory. One of the advantages of being listed in the Yahoo! directory is that millions of people use it every single day and it continually achieves hit for business websites worldwide.

• When you submit your website to an online directory it can take some time for that directory to complete a review of your website. These reviews are done to ensure that your business is listed in the right category so that anyone using the directory will be able to find your details quickly and easily. So don’t worry take some time your business to get its listing, just be patient and it will happen. Many of the directories will give you an indication of how long it will take to get your listing on their site.

• It is always wise to get your business listed in the bigger directories first, then the smaller directories can be included later on. You must be aware however, that as the majority of the bigger directories require payment to be listed it can be quite costly to have your business listed in several lives directed at any one time. Smaller directories require smaller payment and some will even offer free listings to some businesses - so take a look at the various rates and decide which of the business directories is right for your business.

• Do research and compile a list of all the business directories that you can find which are online. From this you can then make a short list of the business directories which are most applicable your business. For example some business directories only cater for a certain type of business, so it is pointless to try and get a listing in a directory that has nothing to do with your particular business.

• You might consider asking your customers, when they contact you as to which, if any of the online business directories they use. Doing this will give you a clear indication of which are the best online directory that your customers use, then you can get a listing in them if you haven’t already done so.

Getting your business listed in the right directions online may be quite costly and quite time consuming. But the benefits that you stand to receive when you are listed in the right directories online should outweigh these two factors.

Hi all,

We want to you to share in our good news! This week we have been informed that Tierlinear with S3CRM has been shortlisted as a finalist by the Insider Yorkshire Digital awards for Yorkshire’s Best Digital Start-up.

This is an award for Yorkshire’s best digital start-up that has been running less than 3 years.

The digital community in Yorkshire contributes £1.2bn to the economy, the industry continues to grow and we are delighted to be part of it at S3 CRM

The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 7th May 2009 in Leeds and we are privileged to be shortlisted.

Thanks

Sarah

Internet security is the name given to the various steps individuals and businesses can take to ensure that they are protected when they are using the internet. For individuals this takes the form of having an anti-virus installed on their PC – this will the protect the PC against any attacks from virus’s, Trojan horses, malware, adware and spyware – although these can still sometimes get in to a PC and do damage and steal information from your PC. In fact if you have anti-virus software installed it is a good idea to regularly scan your PC as this should quarantine any suspect files and applications and wipe them from your computer.

Internet security can also be part of your online email as many providers have an anti-virus scan inbuilt when you download attachments from emails. To be totally safe however it is wise never to open any attachments that are not sent from a trusted sender. By opening an attachment from an unknown sender you can unwittingly and unknowingly install programs on your PC which can gather information about you or cause damage.

For businesses internet security is just an important if not more so, particularly if you are taking payments via the internet. You must ensure that you use a system that protects all payments made by your customers as you need to be seen as a trusted trader, one which uses encryption services to receive payments from debit and credit cards. There are many payment options that are available to businesses, so take the time to check through some of them and see which one you would like to go for then sign up. This will then give your customers the peace of mind of knowing that any payments they make to you are safe and secure. Without this kind of security many customers will feel insecure about paying for goods online, and it is quite easy to see why as there are so many people out there trying to obtain personal details of bank accounts, credit cards and so on.

Businesses should also be aware that every time one of the computers in the business connects to the Internet there will be an Internet security risk. Due to this it is vitally important that each computer within a business has the appropriate Internet security installed on it. Even if just one computer becomes infected with a virus, adware, spyware or any other malicious threat it poses a huge security risk to the rest of the computers within the business network. Internet security may seem like quite an expense to purchase and run, but it will more than pay for itself to ensure that the business’s data and customer information is kept safe and secure and whenever employees are online. Now that you know the importance of Internet security you will know why it is crucial that anyone who goes online (not just businesses) should protect themselves with the appropriate Internet security package.

As a business grows it is often the next logical step to expand into new markets, and this can sometimes mean doing business internationally. This is a big step for any business and it requires quite a lot of work to ensure that all international business is conducted in the correct manner and is not in breech of any foreign laws or regulations. So if you are thinking of doing business internationally – what do you need to know

• Is the product or service you trade in legal? This could seem like a strange question as you have been trading for X amount of years in your own country and not broken any laws, but these are the laws of your country. Make sure that you will not be breaking laws of specific countries you are considering trading in otherwise you could end up with fines or worse.

• Make sure that you are paying the correct amount of tax and check the import and export laws and abide by them. Failure to do this can result in fines and a business not being able to trade in other countries, something which must be avoided at all costs.

• Would it be worth forming a strategic alliance with the company in another country? Often this is a great way of breaking into new markets, and the company that you form an alliance with can help your business in its home country and vice versa. Having the backing of a company in the country you wish to move into can be a massive boost to a business.

• Would it be beneficial if someone in your business spoke the language of the country or countries that you are considering trading with? This can make business communication so much easier and it will also show that your business is dedicated to making international trading easier for both parties.

• Do a little research in the countries that you plan on trading in - this will enable you to get a good idea at the customs, culture and politics of the country that you are moving into. I understand more about the country business will be able to be much more successful in their transactions.

• If you are selling a product that needs to be assembled, does it travel well? If not you might like to consider setting up a factory in another country in order to assemble the product for delivery within that country. Doing this can cut down on customer complaints from broken or damaged products and it can also work out to be cheaper than manufacturing and shipping goods from another country.

• Do a little research about the country you are shipping into, there are so many different laws regarding exporting which are all different in different countries. So do your research first and make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork in order to do business internationally.