(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
An Example of Business Automation - eCards with pizazz
The last time I spoke and went into a bit of detail on business automation. Today I would like to give you some details of how I actually used it personally so you get to see first-hand what I wanted, how I went about doing it and finally executing it. Last month was Christmas. Of course, having a lot of customers, friends, family and associates I wanted to send Christmas greetings and/or Holiday wishes. So I thought about this and came up with the following criteria. 1. I wanted to send greetings to approximately 130 people. These people are in my email list. Armed with these requirements I went about searching the Internet for a suitable application (of course, why reinvent the wheel?). Guess what? I didn't find any. Yes, there are a lot of e-card places out there but tell me which one will match my criteria above? So, I decided to write a little "system" for myself. The "system" took me 3 hours of development and 1 hour of tweaking. When it was done and tested, I launched it. It took me 5 minutes to send the 130+ cards out. Here's what it did: 1. Allowed me to select groups of contacts based on criteria I provided. Not bad for four hours of work. I was happy to say that from all the emails that my contacts received (some did not because of Hotmail accounts - lesson learned), 100% clicked on the link, visited my web site and sent me thank you's, reciprocal greetings or just general comments. Needless to say I was happy because it saved me hours in going out, getting cards, personalizing it, mailing it etc. etc.. With this "system" I not only saved hours but will continue to save them every time I use it. Can this system be extended? You bet. My plans are to extend it to start creating gentle reminders to me on special "anniversary" dates of my clients, friends, family. This way, I will let the system do the work from my "working" list. The ultimate idea would be to create a system that would automatically allow me to stay in constant contact with my contacts. Something every business should be doing anyways. talk about a win-win situation. Would you like to take advantage of my handy "system"? Send me an email and I can see how we can set you up. Elvin Picardo
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Small-business owners see changes headed their way under health care reform Plastyc Makes Debit Cards a Small Biz Reality - TheStreet.com What's up with small-biz non-hiring? - OCRegister Small business scams Small biz carries the workload - New York Post Small business seminar set Small business notes: Seminar to offer advice |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Prioritize key audiences - which one is of immediate concern? Yes, that IS security when nobody can downsize you because you OWN that small business of yours! But preserving that special advantage is a never-ending job. In fact, do you know what needs to be preserved more than anything else?Well, since they hold the future of your business in their hands, I believe that an outside group of people whose behaviors can effect your business' survival more than any other, deserves your rapt attention. Do You Need the Help of a Virtual Assistant? Running a business, whether large, small or in your home, is full of challenges. Getting the day-to-day tasks completed, e-mail, faxes and telephones answered, bills and statements sent out, reports run, schedule updated, travel arrangements made, marketing pieces and website updated, as well as a plethora of other tasks, can be downright daunting. How Disabled Veterans Can Win Government Contracts The Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB) is a program that allows small businesses to self-certify as service-disabled veteran-owned businesses providing them increased opportunities to win government contracts. Significantly and permanently impaired veterans may be assisted in the daily business operations by a spouse or permanent caregiver. Treat everything you do as a project Do you operate your business as a series of projects, using project management tools and skills to advance your projects from conception to completion? Or perhaps you're new to project management tools and skills and haven't considered applying them to your own business? Most of us fall somewhere in between.Running a productive and efficient business, whether for one person or for 500, is a series of projects of various sizes and complexity. Serious About Writing A Business Plan... Start A Business Plan Library Tap these treasures of ideas. The best money you can spend is money invested in your business plan education. The 5 Habits of Highly Successful Small-Business Owners Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a business that consistently grows and another that struggles just to make ends meet? Or why a business that was started in a basement of a home can outperform some of the best-run "big" companies in sales and profits?Two businesses, operating in the same marketing arena and selling the same products or services, can have extraordinarily different results. How can one business continually grow and prosper, while the other struggles? How can one business owner run a highly successful business while still spending a good portion of his or her time away from the business on trips and vacations with the family, and another owner work day and night only to see his business fail?Such questions have always intrigued me. Marketing a New or Small Business on a Budget There are almost as many opinions and views on marketing as there are companies to market. The big names and multinationals will have an extraordinary amount of funding set aside in which to convey their marketing message to the masses. Is Multimedia too expensive for your business? Maybe not. Multimedia is everywhere on the Internet, whether in the form of floating ads at major websites, streaming video or animated presentations. Of course, there is a good reason why multimedia has become such an integral part of the web experience: it's an effective tool for capturing attention or provoking visitors to buy or contact the site owner. Are You a Small Business Casualty? When a person knows and knows not that he knows. Teach him. Every move you make must reinforce previous and future moves Until the day I learned to play chess I loved playing checkers. Both games require a strategy that maximizes a player's ability to capture her opponents pieces without first losing her own. What to expect with a Home Business All legitimate home business entrepreneurs insist and announce loud and clear that a successful home business is not about an overnight thing. And that you cannot get rich overnight and so on. Franchise Buyers from Hell I ran a franchise company for many years, a car wash franchise, and we use to get the most ridiculous franchise buyers who thought they wanted a franchise. It seems we had to deal with these Kookoo birds because they have consumer rights and the Federal Trade Commission, which looks over franchising goes out of their way to let these consumers get away with these tall tales. The Key to a Successful Business Where would a business be without a business plan? A business plan sets the course for the future of the business. It gives the business owner or manager a sense of direction, listing the objectives and goals of the business from the outset. 1 Overlooked Key to Small Business Success Is this you?You dreamed of owning your own business, doing what you love and enjoying unlimited earning potential. You researched. How To Select a Franchise Here are some useful tips on how to select a franchise. When selecting a franchise, carefully consider a number of factors, such as the demand for the products or services, likely competition, the franchisor's background, and the level of support you will receive because like any other investment, purchasing a franchise is a risk. Grab Your Consumers Attention in a Cluttered World of Marketing Communications A cluttered world of marketing communications diminishes the ordinary. The consumer can no longer be bother with the dull, trite and a boring hodgepodge of marketing communications that are pandered in front of them every day. Self-Confidence doesn't happen - it is acquired At first blush this idea might be difficult to wrap your brain around. That's because you've been taught that self-confidence is achieved through mastery of knowledge or skills. 11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer 1. Everyone Makes A Difference - Despite not letting him play in their games, the other reindeer came to understand Rudolph's importance. Home Based Franchise Case Study Here is an interesting case study of a company, which franchised mobile car wash units. It started with the humblest of beginnings indeed. Surviving in a tumultuous economy Contrary to popular belief, small businesses can survive a crazy economy by taking some proactive steps. Provide spectacular customer service -- every time.
|
| home | site map | articles |
| © 2006 |