Should your small business get a CRM system? December 9, 2009
Posted by Kelly Brady in : Small Business Technology, Technology Solutions , comments closedCustomer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are now within the reach of medium and small businesses. Just a few years ago, these were 6 and 7 figure investments. But now, there are many choices that enable even a very small business to benefit from CRM.
I think CRM systems are great tools, perhaps essential to maximize profitability and success. But, I also believe that many businesses overlook the business process changes that a CRM system requires in order to justify the cost and produce a real return on investment.
Fundamentally, a comprehensive CRM system gathers everything you know about your customers and stores it in one place. Typically a central contact record links sales activities, services, responses to marketing campaigns, and all communication activities together. You can run reports to see what worked in the past, who fits a new marketing campaign, or who may need a followup contact.
Key Considerations for a CRM Implementation
1. Look at your business strategy first; do you already know exactly how you want to manage your relationships with your customers? If not, figure that out first before taking the plunge into a customer relationship management system.
2. Look at your staff; do they have the discipline to recognize the value of the system and be willing to use it? For instance, will they log nearly all customer contacts (phone & email) into the system?
3. Look at your business processes for marketing, sales, service requests and problem handling. Can you articulate them? The CRM system should help you standardize and create consistency in following your own business processes. If you can’t articulate what they should be, CRM won’t help you fulfill them.
4. Will you actually use the analytical capabilities of a CRM system to understand past customer activities, sales patterns, marketing campaign results to develop new strategies and tactics? This may provide the real value of CRM for most companies, but will managers use this tool or keep doing what they’ve always done before?
I have seen small and large businesses embrace the CRM concept, purchase and implement a system, but then fail to get everyone on board and use the system effectively. Simply buying a system will not improve your customer relationships or result in more sales or happier customers. It will only provide a framework upon which to manage the processes surrounding effective customer relationship management. If you know how you want to relate to your prospects and customers, and can commit to making the necessary process changes, a CRM system might be the best investment you ever made.
Information Security Hot Tips for PC’s & Small Business November 14, 2009
Posted by Kelly Brady in : Information Security, Small Business Technology , comments closedIn my experience, most information security breaches are not caused by lack of elaborate, expensive security software, hardware and consultants. More often than not, they are caused by a simple failure to create and maintain a basic (and nearly free) security foundation.
Get the latest software patches
Always download the latest critical and security related updates from Microsoft, Apple, Firefox, Adobe etc.; as well as seek updates for other major applications you use.
Use a (Commercial) Anti-Virus Solution
Use a commercial anti-virus solution and make sure it is receiving daily updates (I just don’t trust freebies). Make sure it is performing real-time scanning and periodic full PC/hard drive scanning. Many business editions of commercial anti-virus products allow employees to run a free copy of the product at home.
Separate Physical Firewall
Add a layer of defense with a separate physical firewall in addition to your PC’s built-in firewall. Example brands: Linksys, Netgear, Sonicwall (for small businesses). For most businesses, a $79 Linksys or Netgear router/firewall is really not sufficient, but still better than nothing.
Test your firewall for free
Visit GRC’s website and find Shield’s UP, a fast, free service that will perform some basic firewall tests from the outside world…see what a hacker sees.
Encrypt Sensitive and Portable Data
Encrypt sensitive data on laptops and portable/USB drives. Look into PGP, McAfee Safeboot, Checkpoint. Also look at Bitlocker/Bitlocker-To-Go which comes with Vista & Windows 7 Ultimate & Enterprise editions.
Don’t Warn Your Friends!
Don’t warn your friends about a “particularly dangerous” virus that they need to be careful about. They should always be vigilent. If you feel the need to do this, you are probably a victim of a virus hoax and are propagating it! Thousands of new viruses and hoaxes come out each month…your friends don’t want to receive an email from you for about each one.
Phishing and Email-based Trickery
Avoid “phishing attempts” and other email-based exploits; antivirus and firewalls may not protect you.
- Be suspicious of urgent emails requesting personal information
- Don’t click on links or fill in forms found in an email. Type the company’s known web address directly into the web browser
- don’t open or click on email attachments; if you are sure they are legit, save them to your computer first and scan them with your antivirus software before opening
- Microsoft (and other companies) will not send you an “important patch” via email. Delete these messages.
Seriously, Don’t Use Weak Passwords
Don’t use weak passwords – you’d be surprised how easy they are to guess or crack (remember Sarah Palin’s Yahoo Account?)
- Don’t write passwords on post-in notes
- Don’t use the word “password” as your password
- Don’t use a word from the dictionary
- Create long, complex passwords that include some mix of upper & lowercase letters, numbers & symbols
- Have nothing in your password that can be found out about you on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace etc.
- The best password is somewhat random but easy to remember. Example: 4phun*CALLme
Actively Test Your Security
How do you know you are secure, if you don’t test your security in some way? There are lots of tools out there; many are free. A good one for small businesses is the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA 2.1). There are also more comprehensive services out there, such as the Qualys vulnerability scanning service. These services can be pricy, but most will perform an initial or basic test for free as an incentive to sign up for their service.
Have “offline” backups of critical information
If you compute long enough, you will probably have a virus, malware or system failure that will cause loss of data. There just sin’t any excuse for making copies of important information. Keep it offline – on a powered of hard drive, DVD-R, USB etc so that it is protected from an outbreak.
Clever Microsoft Server Bundles for Small Businesses November 10, 2009
Posted by Kelly Brady in : Small Business Technology, Technology Solutions , comments closedMicrosoft has some lesser-known editions of their core Windows server offerings, packaged and priced for small businesses that range from 1 to 300 users. These products are less expensive than buying traditional full server editions, and come with additional administrative features that reduce the cost of ownership. These special offerings are either preinstalled or relatively easy to install, and are tightly integrated “out of the box”.
Windows Home Server is targeted to home users with multiple PCs in their home. However, many SOHO businesses with 10 or less PC’s find it a cost-effective way to have basic server technologies, with the bonus of a very effective backup solution for their PC’s.
Windows Server Foundation is an entry-level server for small businesses with up to 15 users. Foundation is inexpensive, easy-to-deploy and will allow small businesses to run most common business applications, as well as share information securely and access their data while traveling.
Windows Small Business Server 2008 (SBS) is an all-in-one server solution that provides many of the features typically available only in larger companies. These features include Microsoft Exchange email, internal websites, remote access, support for mobile devices, file & printer sharing and backup for up to 75 users. The Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium edition contains everything in the standard edition, plus the right to install a 2nd server running the Microsoft SQL database.
Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (EBS) is an integrated three-server solutions designed for mid-sized businesses of up to 300 users. Powered by Windows Server 2008 technology, Windows Essential Business Server 2008 combines software for management, messaging, and security into one integrated server solution that is designed to dramatically reduce IT complexity and improve efficiency across the business. The Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Premium edition contains everything in the standard edition, plus the right to install an additional server running the Microsoft SQL database.
Comparison of Microsoft Servers for Small Businesses
| Max. users | # of Servers | Database | Remote Access | Server Backup | ||
| Home | 10 | 1 | Y | |||
| Foundation | 15 | 1 | Y | Y | ||
| SBS Standard | 75 | 1 | Y | Y | Y | |
| SBS Premium | 75 | 2 | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| EBS Standard | 300 | 3 | Y | Y | Y | |
| EBS Premium | 300 | 4 | Y | Y | Y | Y |