Woodworking Business

You are not logged in. [ Login ] Why log in
(NOTE: Login is not required to post)

CRM choices

1/19/17       
the google

like most of you, i have a full page of new year's resolutions and getting a better grip on crm is at the top of the list. there seem to be way too many choices out there and i just wanted to get some feedback from those of you that use a program/system.

i'm looking to be able to -

have an automatic follow up email sent 2-3 weeks after initial contact. i'd hope this would be as easy as checking a box to do this after first receiving their contact.

have a section for notes. i'd like to take notes and have them available to reference in future communications.

send some sort of email to those contacts that haven't emailed in some set amount of time (6-9 months, for example).

lastly, and i'm not sure if a crm system would incorporate this or not, but i'd like the ability to send a follow up email with a short survey. i'd like to send these to people we have recently completed an order for, and for those whom decided not to purchase from us.

i'm sure there are other features i'll decide are indispensable after getting into a program, but these are my priority for now.

any suggestions?

1/19/17       #2: CRM choices ...
Jim Conklin  Member

Website: http://www.jhconklin.net

Are you looking for desktop or cloud?

Roughly, how many contacts in your list?

1/20/17       #4: CRM choices ...
the google

jim,

desktop.

probably a few hundred. we get requests everyday and most of my crm thoughts revolve around following up and gaining feedback from these requests. the follow up would be on going, but the feedback would probably be a once per contact email.

thanks.

1/20/17       #5: CRM choices ...
Jim Conklin  Member

Website: http://www.jhconklin.net

That narrows it down.

We use Intellect by Chaos Software. Very affordable with lots under the hood except the 'automatic email if no activity' thing you listed.

Integrated email. Email/activity series you can structure and add contacts to the queue. Notes. Tasks. Projects. Contacts in nested/overlapping categories/types.

We have 2 user licenses and cloud hosting for everything but email so we can look stuff up from iPhones. Supporting about 2,000 contacts/prospects and handling about 3,000 inbound emails a year.

I wrote an article about the CRM migration:

CRM for An Upholstery Business?

1/22/17       #6: CRM choices ...
chipbored

You could use podio for that. It's a cloud based project management program that you build yourself via apps. It's quick to get up and running but would take a bit of time to fine tune. It could certainly do everything you are requiring as above and then some.

If you look into it you will probably wan't an add on called globiflow that does all the emailing stuff. Combined it will probably cost you about $35 a month.

1/24/17       #7: CRM choices ...
the google

jim,

i'm messing around with chaos intellect, but have run into so pretty buggy issues. the spell check and auto-capitalization don't work. bill, with customer support, listed a lot of different reasons as to why and suggested i upgrade to windows 10 to solve this. i've got issues with windows 10 on another computer so i'm not planning to do this. i can live without spell check. however, when i reply to messages, the spacing jumps to three or fours times what it is in the original email. this looks terrible and will likely be a deal killer, if bill cannot talk me through a patch.

i'm on the newest version. are you experiencing any of these? it looks like a great program, and i like the tutorials, but the bugs are not impressive.

1/24/17       #8: CRM choices ...
Jim Conklin  Member

Website: http://www.jhconklin.net

The spell check for us only does the jagged red line, but no replace option. Meh.

One of our two computers had the line-jump issue some while back. Suddenly appeared. I seem to recall a computer restart fixed it, but not 100% certain.

We've been running it on Windows 7,8 and now 10 laptops for almost 5 years without major issues. Hope you get a fix!

1/24/17       #9: CRM choices ...
the google

jim,

thanks for your help. i hadn't considered a restart and just did it without any luck. funny, the email (in my reply) spacing looks fine/normal when the reply email is first opening up, then it adds in the extra spacing (within a second or two). i'm under the impression version 10 is pretty new?

when you are sending out follow emails - how do you do it? i just reply immediately and schedule the email to send in the future. i used the f8 (snippets) function to create a follow-up email that i can quickly send. i'm sure there are other ways. are you adding emails to the tasks to remind you to follow in the future? i would think i would need to do either of these pretty much immediately to be able to remember to have the program remind me about these follow ups.

1/25/17       #10: CRM choices ...
Jim Conklin  Member

Website: http://www.jhconklin.net

For structured follow-up, we use an activity series for email, sending templated messages for the series. I think the training video #410 shows that. We click the contacts on and off the series as needed.

It takes a little while to get the tool usage integrated into your daily workflows. We find a consistent trigger point and make it part of the workflow to minimize having to remember to do it.

One of our common ones is post-delivery. When we download and archive the delivery photos, part of the wrap-up is to click the contacts onto the 'Delivered' email series. Done!

1/27/17       #11: CRM choices ...
Matt Krig

Nutshell

Easy set up, fairly intuitive, fantastic support
does way more than you need and it's cheap monthly subscription.
There are a ton of similar app based CRM's out there - highrise, salesforce, chose this one because it integrates with Google and I can scale growth with it. Others play better with Outlook. All of them can monitor my employees metrics as well as maintain a dashboard of leading indicators, rather than be reacting to historical data.
Try a free trial, or hire someone to set you up with it. The set up is not hard, but you'll need to map out a sales process and create some milestones and whatnot. It can be a powerful business tool if done properly and consistently.

10/29/21       #12: CRM choices ...
Hostyr  Member

Website: https://blog.wishpond.com/post/115675438210/call-t...


I can recommend you Phonexa CRM system that can track customer calls and emails. Our company is small and started using it not so long ago, but it turned out to be a useful tool. It has statistics and business data anlytics on top of other features.

If you follow the link I left above you can learn more about it. You can also contact them at any time for advice, we have done this more than once and they were quite helpful.


Post a Response
  • Notify me of responses to this thread
  • Subscribe to email updates on this Forum
  • To receive email notification of additions to this forum thread,
    enter your name and email address, and then click the
    "Keep Me Posted" button below.

    Please Note: If you have posted a message or response,
    do not submit this request ... you are already signed up
    to receive notification!

    Your Name:
    E-Mail Address:
    Enter the correct numbers into the field below:
     

    Date of your Birth:



    Return to top of page

    Buy & Sell Exchanges | Forums | Galleries | Site Map

    FORUM GUIDELINES: Please review the guidelines below before posting at WOODWEB's Interactive Message Boards (return to top)

  • WOODWEB is a professional industrial woodworking site. Hobbyist and homeowner woodworking questions are inappropriate.
  • Messages should be kept reasonably short and on topic, relating to the focus of the forum. Responses should relate to the original question.
  • A valid email return address must be included with each message.
  • Advertising is inappropriate. The only exceptions are the Classified Ads Exchange, Machinery Exchange, Lumber Exchange, and Job Opportunities and Services Exchange. When posting listings in these areas, review the posting instructions carefully.
  • Subject lines may be edited for length and clarity.
  • "Cross posting" is not permitted. Choose the best forum for your question, and post your question at one forum only.
  • Messages requesting private responses will be removed - Forums are designed to provide information and assistance for all of our visitors. Private response requests are appropriate at WOODWEB's Exchanges and Job Opportunities and Services.
  • Messages that accuse businesses or individuals of alleged negative actions or behavior are inappropriate since WOODWEB is unable to verify or substantiate the claims.
  • Posts with the intent of soliciting answers to surveys are not appropriate. Contact WOODWEB for more information on initiating a survey.
  • Excessive forum participation by an individual upsets the balance of a healthy forum atmosphere. Individuals who excessively post responses containing marginal content will be considered repeat forum abusers.
  • Responses that initiate or support inappropriate and off-topic discussion of general politics detract from the professional woodworking focus of WOODWEB, and will be removed.
  • Participants are encouraged to use their real name when posting. Intentionally using another persons name is prohibited, and posts of this nature will be removed at WOODWEB's discretion.
  • Comments, questions, or criticisms regarding Forum policies should be directed to WOODWEB's Systems Administrator
    (return to top).

    Carefully review your message before clicking on the "Send Message" button - you will not be able to revise the message once it has been sent.

    You will be notified of responses to the message(s) you posted via email. Be sure to enter your email address correctly.

    WOODWEB's forums are a highly regarded resource for professional woodworkers. Messages and responses that are crafted in a professional and civil manner strengthen this resource. Messages that do not reflect a professional tone reduce the value of our forums.

    Messages are inappropriate when their content: is deemed libelous in nature or is based on rumor, fails to meet basic standards of decorum, contains blatant advertising or inappropriate emphasis on self promotion (return to top).

    Libel:   Posts which defame an individual or organization, or employ a tone which can be viewed as malicious in nature. Words, pictures, or cartoons which expose a person or organization to public hatred, shame, disgrace, or ridicule, or induce an ill opinion of a person or organization, are libelous.

    Improper Decorum:   Posts which are profane, inciting, disrespectful or uncivil in tone, or maliciously worded. This also includes the venting of unsubstantiated opinions. Such messages do little to illuminate a given topic, and often have the opposite effect. Constructive criticism is acceptable (return to top).

    Advertising:   The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not an advertising venue. Companies participating in a Forum discussion should provide specific answers to posted questions. WOODWEB suggests that businesses include an appropriately crafted signature in order to identify their company. A well meaning post that seems to be on-topic but contains a product reference may do your business more harm than good in the Forum environment. Forum users may perceive your references to specific products as unsolicited advertising (spam) and consciously avoid your web site or services. A well-crafted signature is an appropriate way to advertise your services that will not offend potential customers. Signatures should be limited to 4-6 lines, and may contain information that identifies the type of business you're in, your URL and email address (return to top).

    Repeated Forum Abuse: Forum participants who repeatedly fail to follow WOODWEB's Forum Guidelines may encounter difficulty when attempting to post messages.

    There are often situations when the original message asks for opinions: "What is the best widget for my type of shop?". To a certain extent, the person posting the message is responsible for including specific questions within the message. An open ended question (like the one above) invites responses that may read as sales pitches. WOODWEB suggests that companies responding to such a question provide detailed and substantive replies rather than responses that read as a one-sided product promotion. It has been WOODWEB's experience that substantive responses are held in higher regard by our readers (return to top).

    The staff of WOODWEB assume no responsibility for the accuracy, content, or outcome of any posting transmitted at WOODWEB's Message Boards. Participants should undertake the use of machinery, materials and methods discussed at WOODWEB's Message Boards after considerate evaluation, and at their own risk. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages it deems inappropriate. (return to top)


  • Forum Posting Help
    Your Name The name you enter in this field will be the name that appears with your post or response (return to form).
    Your Website Personal or business website links must point to the author's website. Inappropriate links will be removed without notice, and at WOODWEB's sole discretion. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    E-Mail Address Your e-mail address will not be publicly viewable. Forum participants will be able to contact you using a contact link (included with your post) that is substituted for your actual address. You must include a valid email address in this field. (return to form)
    Subject Subject may be edited for length and clarity. Subject lines should provide an indication of the content of your post. (return to form)
    Thread Related Link and Image Guidelines Thread Related Links posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should point to locations that provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related Link that directs visitors to an area with inappropriate content will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    Thread Related File Uploads Thread Related Files posted at WOODWEB's Forums and Exchanges should provide supporting information for the topic being discussed in the current message thread. Video Files: acceptable video formats are: .MOV .AVI .WMV .MPEG .MPG .MP4 (Image Upload Tips)   If you encounter any difficulty when uploading video files, E-mail WOODWEB for assistance. The purpose of WOODWEB Forums is to provide answers, not to serve as an advertising venue. A Thread Related File that contains inappropriate content will be removed, and uploaded files that are not directly related to the message thread will be removed. WOODWEB reserves the right to delete any messages with links, files, or images it deems inappropriate. (return to form)
    Sponsors
    • Rangate
      Woodworking Machinery, Supplies and Knowledge
    • Air Handling Systems
      Your Best Source for Dust and Fume Collection
    • WoodJobs.com Search Consultants
      Free Employment Service for Woodworking Related Job Seekers
    • Impact Search and Placement
      Professional Employment Recruiting Specialists
    • Machine Bid
      Online auction site for buying and selling high-quality machinery. We offer a secure, online bidding platform, featuring CNC routers, Edgebanders, Sanders, and much more; new equipment added daily
    • TradeJobPlacement.com
      Individualized Placement Services, Specializing in Millwork Design Engineers
    • OMEC/Macoser Inc
      Exclusive Importer of European Woodworking Machinery Since 1988
    • Parts Cutter CNC
      CNC Cabinetry and Closet Parts
    • Better Vacuum Cups, Inc.
      Vacuum Cups for All CNC Routers As Well As Many After Market Parts for Your CNC
    • TradeSoft
      Seamless Management Software to Improve Estimating, Job Costing, Scheduling, Purchasing, Shipping, and Shop Floor Data Collection
    • ULTI-BOARD
      The Ultimate Spoilboard - ULTI-BOARD - Specifically Engineered and Formulated for the Ultimate in Spoilboard Performance - Not Your Ordinary Sheet of MDF.
    • Cabinetshop Maestro
      Web-Based Project Management Software for Custom Cabinet Shops - Manage Jobs from Prospect to Punchlist Through Scheduling, Task Management, Time Tracking and Communication
    • INNERGY
      INNERGY is the ERP for woodworkers, by woodworkers. We are birth to death millwork.

    Become a Sponsor today!