EPISODE B1.005 Research Marketing & Sales Platforms (CRM) ​

RESULTS RADIO..."Let's Grow Together"

Introduction
Over the next three (3) weeks on the show, we're going to explore concepts central to researching and selecting the right platforms to get your business infrastructure on the right footing.
Today we're going to be discussing the platforms that support your customer life cycle and empower early stage businesses to increase customer lifetime value by being adaptable, affordable, scalable, and most importantly useful. 
We're also going to dive into some overlooked aspects of software research – the gotcha's that will help you look past the flashy sales pitch or the super compelling price tag. 
As you already know, we’re all about helping you keep it lean and mean and get the most bang for your emerging business dollars.
Have a great business week.
🎙 Listen→Apply→Engage

Show Objectives
​The objective of today's show is not to pick a platform for you, but to give you guidance and help you avoid pitfalls that could stunt your future growth as your business really begins to take shape. So while we may discuss some actual software, we’re definitely going to dive right into concepts to fuel your research!

Key Issues - Owner Perspective:

1. Understanding your current and future business needs, will this system continue to be useful as your business grows?
   
2. Does this system integrate with other components in your technological stack – accounting, production, etc.?
   
3. Can the system be customized to suit your unique business needs?
   
4. Is this platform affordable and will it continue to be so?
   

What You Need to Know

• Your stakeholders will need to have a prioritized list of features that align with your business needs and current resources in terms of people, technical ability, and processes. Common priorities include but aren’t limited to:
  
  • Workflow automation
    
  • Website landing pages, marketing engagement, & content scheduling
    
  • Create and host live and recorded video for webinars and meetings
    
  • Capture the complete customer relationship for better sales insight, customer service intelligence, and re-marketing abilities
    
    • Contact information management
      
    • Engagement history (marketing and sales inquiries and demo's all the way up to support requests)
      
    • Purchase history
      
    • Document management and delivery (if applicable)
      
  • Tracking of key performance metrics and objective analytical data
    
  • Sales performance and business insights
    
• A corporate culture that encourages user feedback and engagement and makes incremental and tested product improvements is the gold standard for companies that should be entrusted with your time and money.
  

What You Need to Do​​
Adopt a research template to give stakeholders a better snapshot of each tool that you're considering.

• Decide beforehand on activities that each role needs to conduct daily and give these products a testing window.
  
• During the research phase include taking a look at the company's practices when it comes to user feedback and customer service.
  
• Include customer reviews and corporate reputation.
  
• Request information on how often they release new features.
  

Shows

• Previous: Episode C1.004 Current and Future Trends in Potential Markets
  
• Next: Episode C1.006 Potential of Becoming 1 or 2 in Micro-segments ​
  

Written by: RJ Lewis

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