Market Wise Inc.

Online CRM Programs Boost Sales

You have just completed a marketing program (or tradeshow) and generated a large number of qualified leads. How quickly can your sales team respond? If your team does not promptly contact the most qualified prospects, the leads' value rapidly fades. Highly qualified prospects are in a ready-to-buy state. Individuals who respond to a marketing campaign are seeking information or a solution to a problem right away.

You can use a Web-based CRM, customer (or contact) relationship management program to connect marketing and sales. CRM programs have been around for more than a decade (with programs such as Goldmine, Saleslogix, and Maximizer). Recently, companies have launched new hosted CRM programs. These hosted programs can integrate an online CRM process with your Web site. The CRM-Web site integration works this way:

A marketing campaign drives qualified prospects to your Web site.
Your Web site presents a strong incentive for the visitor to register or request information.
Your visitors provide key contact information (by completing an online form) to get the valuable incentive.
Your Web site links the online form with an online CRM database, which your sales team can access immediately.

Your marketing campaigns can direct interested individuals to a specific page on your Web site (or to a microsite). For complex products, use a two-step process. In a two-step system, your Web site's response page enables prospects to get valuable information in exchange for their contact information (step-one). For step two, your sale team (or inside sales department) follows up on each lead. Since you know which marketing campaign generated the lead, you can get better campaign metrics. To gauge the ROI of your marketing effort, you can track final sales directly back to the marketing programs.

If you want assistance in integrating a Web-based CRM with your Web site, please contact us. Our experienced team and strategic partners includes professionals in Internet lead generation, Web-based CRM development and building pre-qualified prospect databases.