Regular and
frequent customer contact is effective--but it can be costly. Phone calls,
personal visits, and mailings add up in terms of cost and time. So how can
you keep your business in front of customers without breaking the bank?
Automation is the first step. By computerizing your customer
information, and then using inexpensive, effective technologies such as e-mail,
Internet-based "listservs", and broadcast fax, you can stay in touch and stay in
the black.
Where to start? Even the smallest company can build a customer
"database" that enables them to track dozens of pertinent details about
customers, including all contact information as well as what type of contact they are
(prospects, people to whom you send holiday cards, long-standing customers--take your
pick). Microsoft® Outlook™ messaging and collaboration client, part of both
Microsoft Office 2000 and Microsoft® BackOffice® Small Business Server
(for the networked contact list-more on this
later), manages all your contacts and integrates with e-mail to make staying in touch
simple.
On the desktop, Outlook™ manages all information from your
e-mail to your schedule to even the Office documents you use. Its easy to build and manage
your own personal contacts list so phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and other information
is instantly at hand.
However, the real power comes from the network. Consider how a
shared contacts list could make your employees more effective and boost per-customer
revenues. For example, Microsoft® BackOffice® Small Business Server includes a
network-based e-mail solution, Microsoft Exchange, which allows you to create shared
folders on a network. Just place an Outlook™ contact list in a public folder and all
employees have access to a centralized repository of valuable "business
intelligence" on customers. The BackOffice Small Business Server enables you to use
this data to easily keep customers informed of important developments about your business,
or offer value-added services.
Having a sale? Send a broadcast fax (and use BackOffice Small
Business Server to send it at night, when the phone rates are cheaper). Did your business
get a positive write-up in your local newspaper? Send e-mail to a relevant group of
customers with an abstract of the article, and point people to the Web to read the full
online version.
Of course, these solutions merge with more
"traditional" forms of communication such as form letters or creating labels to
place on a newsletter or postcard so you can reach all customers, not just those that are
online.
