With Dreamforce 2011 around the corner, I thought I’d take the opportunity to blog about our ability to integrate our data into the mega Salesforce platform.  For those who aren’t familiar with Salesforce, it is best known for its CRM products, but has expanded to allow for external applications to be added onto the Salesforce.com platform.   Dreamforce is the biggest conference of the year dedicated to cloud computing. 

A year ago we partnered with Forseva, a ‘Top 40 Innovator’ on the Force.com platform to allow for our clients to manage credit, collections and sales information on the Salesforce platform.  Being able to integrate our robust business data into the Salesforce platform enables clients to help their sales organization better aligned with credit and finance organization within a business. 

Some key features are

-          Business verification-real time business verification to better qualify sales opportunities

-          Credit management -automate business decisions such as sales terms and credit limits based on credit data set through credit policies

-          Collections management – Create collections cases to track and manage resolution of payment issues and disputes. Automatically assign and notify dispute resolvers to expedite resolution. Track and escalate issues based on configurable workflow rules. 

If you are using Salesforce, let us know.  We can help you close the loop on the credit and collections process in your Salesforce CRM.  Here’s how to contact us for more info.

By the way, we’re sharing a booth at Dreamforce with Forseva this week!  Stop by booth#1518 and get a demo!

In the past month there have been two  Google services that I’ve been keeping an eye on. 

First was Google+.  I’m happy to say that I’m one of the 18 million users on the newest social media network.  The first week it came out, I was asking everyone I knew for an invite!  I was so jealous of people who got to play around with the “circles” I had been hearing  about.  Now that I’ve been on the network for about a month, I’m intrigued by what the service can do for the SMB sector.  I’m not saying it’s better than FaceBook, or any other network, but it’s getting more and more popular every day – you don’t want to miss the wave.  The G+ team has asked business owners to not create profiles yet, as the full program for businesses will be launching later this year. However, I would suggest you sign up, create a profile, test out the circles by adding friends, join conversations, and try promoting your business with G+.   If you need an invite, let me know.  Leave a comment and I’ll make sure you get one.

The second service was Google Sites’ for mobile sites.  It’s a new tool that allows any business to easily create mobile-friendly websites!  This allows the small business who may not have the resources to have a mobile presence the ability to provide valuable info to potential and existing customers.  Give it a shot, you may be surprised at how well it works.

Have you seen them?  They look like a square graphical maze that you see at restaurants, on print marketing materials, at retail stores, and I’ve even heard they’re being used for headstones!  So what are they?

Well, they’re really barcodes that contain information you want to share.  Whether you choose to direct people to your twitter page, menu, marketing promotional page, contact info, lead generation form, etc.,  QR codes are another avenue for your products and services to be marketed and seen by consumers. 

Simply, the codes brings your customers to your online marketplace.  How do you get started?  Do a search on Google for ‘QR code generator’ and you’ll find a multiple sites and software available for you create your own code.  Once you’ve created your code, put it everywhere where you do offline marketing (such as business cards, envelopes, all print ads, and even email campaigns).

Check out the one we co-created with Rieva Lesonsky just for our free eBook on understanding commercial credit.  Put your phone up to the screen with a QR decoder, capture the image, and see how we’re using our QR code!                                

Recently I read an informative article on Open Forum regarding common mistakes websites make and thought I’d summarize and share the knowledge.  By now, most business own and operate via a website.  Some have spent thousands in building out the site and some have utilized sites like Yahoo Shopping templates to start their business.  Whichever way you have created your site, here are some common mistakes to avoid. 

• Failure to differentiate – You have less than 10 seconds to capture your visitor’s attention and keep them on your site.  Most businesses do not provide a clear value proposition to their customers on their site.  Whatever differentiates you from the hundreds of other sites on the web should be presented clearly and visibly to your visitors. 
• Failure to monitor – Do you want your customers to stay and browse or turn right out the door after they come in?  You need to know exactly what they are doing when they are on your site.  Free tools such as Google analytics provide statistics such as bounce rates, page views, traffic sources, conversion rates, and much more.  These insights will enable you to understand how visitors are interacting with your site, allowing you to make appropriate changes, and ultimately generate more revenue with higher conversions.
• Failure to convert – If your visitor does not take any action on your site, then it has failed its purpose.  As you come to understanding your site analysis, you’ll know what your visitors are interested in when they are at your storefront.  You’ll be able to get them engaged in your products and services, resulting in higher conversions.  Your call to action (‘Buy Now’ or ‘Submit’ buttons) should be displayed prominently and clearly, and preferably towards the top of the page.
• Failure to generate repeat traffic – Don’t forget to get your customers to come back and visit.  You’ll need a reason to engage your visitors with new valuable and useable content.  Whether you use email, blog, video or any other social medium to create the loyalty among your visitors, make sure you allow for them to share your content with others. 

Hopefully you’re not making any of these mistakes on your website.  Here’s to higher conversions and increased revenues!

Cheers,

Julia

Social media.  You hear it all over the place.  What is it, and are you taking advantage of it for your business? 

The nature of social media is to share.  It is a place where conversations take place.  It is a place where a community is built.  It is a place where people try to influence others.  These activities are what marketers try to create, and it’s all happening within social media.

So which tools and sites are the most popular for businesses?  I’d say YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all sites where you can easily create a presence.   With the influx of information available online, creating these social channels will help your business stand out among the rest.  The advantages of using social media is to increase exposure (of your business and brand), traffic (a source for leads/customers), and search rankings (ultimately lowering marketing costs).  So no matter what you do with your business in 2011, integrate these cost effective (if not free) methods of social media into your marketing plan.

Cheers!

Julia 

PS.  With all of the social sites out there, make sure your online reputation is accurate by monitoring your business credit score.  Sorry, I couldn’t resist plugging our product!