DISQUS

Heath Flicker · 1 year ago

BZ, great job with the post and the series. While the post/series is directed at startups I think many established small business can benefit as well. Current economic enviroment has many small business looking to reinvent themselves and this is good info for that process

Kite board · 8 months ago

I completely agree with you on this, there is a great scope for established small businesses.

admin · 1 year ago

Heath, thanks for the comment. i think your tweet pointed something else out as well. When a say "No CRM" i am really saying this to startups only. Startups have very immature processes and CRM is geared towards automating mature processes. If you get past the point of immaturity and need to implement CRM then it means your are growing. this is a good thing. This is where Sugar, Salesforce.com and MScrm (to name a few) come into play. On that same note, just don't implement technology for sake of implementing technology. Make sure you find an expert like Heath so they can understand your processes, make recommendations and implement CRM on top of it. Thanks, Heath!

Aithne · 1 year ago

New reader here, even though we've had each other added on plurk for sometime now. I just wanted to say this is well wrote. Even for someone such as myself who is currently a stay at home mom on medical bedrest 'till surgery - I found myself sucked into the article and making notes for the future.

brandon zeuner · 1 year ago

Hey Aithne, thanks for reading and commenting. I bet you do a lot of reading on bed rest. Best of luck with your surgery. I'll be thinking of you. I am glad I was able to help you pass some time. see you on plurk!

Ryan Zuk · 1 year ago

Z, the Startup Series is a nice read and your marketing and PR suggestions fit given the new rules for (and evolving characteristics of) startups you've been sharing. Communications is a build that needs to be in lockstep with a start's true objectives (and budget realities). These functions can ramp rapidly when you have experienced folks on board. Hybrid incentives also seem a fit for attracting, qualifying and motivating the right practitioners too.

brandon zeuner · 1 year ago

Hey Ryan, thanks for reading and commenting. It's great to have someone of your stature and PR experience validating these points. Also, good to know that PR mindsets are shifting on go-to-market and hybrid cash/equity deals. Thanks, Brandon

Sean Gross · 1 year ago

Z, been here for a while but part three really hit home for me. I almost whole heartedly agree with every single point. Great article and keep it up.

Eamon · 12 months ago

I agree, in particular, about your point about CRM. I used to work for a large IT multinational. CRM worked well there because of the processes. But in a small organization you don't have the same kind of processes (which in a way is a good thing, as you can be more entrepreneurial / flexible). Useful / interesting post.

brandon zeuner · 12 months ago

Eamon, you are exactly right. startups are not mature enough for full blown CRM. CRM is around to optimize processes and every startup that i have seen is lacking in this area. Thanks for commenting.

Robert Stanley · 11 months ago

@eamon / brandon, What about the whole PPC, landing page, mailing list concept? That is a valid process for finding and marketing to customers. Some CRMs have this capability within.

P.S. Tend to make use of advice regarding Advisors / Mentors in your post.

brandon zeuner · 11 months ago

Hey Robert,

I am not totally opposed to a sound PPC campaign. I believe it needs to be supported with quality conversion in place. Landing pages and microsites, even PURLs, that are constantly being A/B tested. It does get costly for startups though.

Robert Stanley · 11 months ago

@ Brandon Costly from a PPC perspective I assume? Landing pages are easy enough to create and fusestats.com has free heat maps. I suppose it would depend upon how much testing you do and how unique (long tail) your niche is.

Perhaps your talking larger scale than what I have experienced? I have personally spent a couple hundred bucks testing and such but I am unsure about what a "real" PPC campaign looks like.

This debate might include using CRM to replace Aweber or Icontact, Zoho.com for example (cheap). At some point, isn't your client list a valuable asset?

brandon zeuner · 11 months ago

actually, icontact and aweber are email marketing tools. I am not suggesting to use these exclusively from CRM, but in conjuction. I am saying use a cheaper contact manager like HighRise with an email marketing tool like icontact or aweber. I come from the over-packaged CRM and contact management space (ACT! & Saleslogix). The mid-market CRM apps are too bulky and too expensive for startup. You don't need it. Yes, at some point your list does get valuable, but you are probably a more mature company with mature processes. My opinion, but hey, you know what they say about opinions. :)

Robert Stanley · 11 months ago

What I hear you saying is... A light-weight CRM like HighRise is ok but don't go overboard on expensive software, process and tricky work flows. Use Aweber to compliment but not replace CRM and vice versa.

Sarunas · 11 months ago

Loved your post on cash spending, your ideas should be implemented by existing businesses as well.

Tracy Lucas · 8 months ago

Added you in return on Twitter, and wound up here via morbid curiosity. :)

Great tips... I actually emailed a link to this article to my former business partners, just because some of these ring so true, and I personally KNOW the guy from numero four.

I'm still laughing...

bzkicks · 8 months ago

Yeah, four is my fav. Every startup has one. For that matter, every org has one or a few.

Live Lead Transfer · 7 months ago

I absolutely love your post! Especially the part wherein it focuses in cash spending. Kudos!

boston moving help · 6 months ago

You know what, because I am spending too much cash because of buying things that are non sense, I was forced to move to a smaller house just to pay my debts.

Discount Sunglasses · 4 months ago

I read the post and agree with you on every single point what you are saying in it. yes there is a scope to run a small business

massagers · 4 months ago

You suppose to start blogging! I think the excitement has lessened now, Right!

Robert

New York Limousine · 4 months ago

This is great post . I have got some nice example from this article. Basically I use PPC but it is not profitable . Thanks