Earlier this week there was an article on SmallBizTechnology.com about how the biggest problem small businesses have in using technology is lack of education.  I absolutely agree with the sentiment – who has time to learn about technology when they have a business to run?  In the article Ramon Ray recommended spending an hour or two a week learning about technology.  From there, however, he talked a lot about technology that boosts a businesses online presence – Facebook, blogging, Twitter and local search.  These are all important but there is so much more!

So what else should a small business owner educate themselves about?  There are so many topics that it can seem like a maze but if you take a look at this list you can concentrate on a few topics at a time:

• How can you make things easier for your customer?  (easy online access to content and services)
• How can you make things easier for your staff? (remote access, simple processes, collaboration tools)
• How can you touch more prospects, close more sales and increase revenue? (CRM, email newsletters)
• How can you streamline your internal processes and maybe save money? (better integration, fewer but more powerful systems, remote hosting, cloud services)
• How can you get a better handle on your business? (reporting, analytics)

So here is a short round-up of good sources for technology information – these are examples but they should give you somewhere to start:

• online technology magazines and blogs like smallbiztechnology.com and smallbusinesscomputing.com.  I also like Laurie McCabe’s blog.
• industry specific online sources like the Law Technology News section of Law.com or Techtips on TheProgressiveAccountant.com
• online communities like American Express Open and Biznik.com
• local blogs like atlantasmall.biz

What technology topics would you like to know more about?  Where do you go to get your technical education?



For the first time I’m going to do a book review. I read a lot of books and articles but usually don’t do reviews – someone out there has usually already said what I have to say so I don’t bother. Not this time. And not because I’m the first to say anything – I am not by a long shot. No, I’m writing an book review because if I could I would buy this book for every business owner I’ve met in the past few years, regardless of the size of the company.  Writing this review is my second best choice.

About The New Small

The book is The New Small by Phil Simon. Phil has managed to articulate in a small, easily digestible book, what I have been trying to tell folks, as a technology consultant myself, for years. In today’s world technology can allow a company of any size to operate like a large company. In the first section he talks about the “what” of business technology – what the major technology trends are and which are the current technology enablers. He also starts to address why there is so much technology available that most small business users aren’t using:

“It seems to me that many small business owners are awash in a sea of technology they aren’t using. Most haven’t explored mobility, cloud computing, social technologies, and so on. They aren’t keeping up with many of the changes that could significantly help them on so many levels. I began to wonder about why so many small business owners seem to be unaware of the profound technological changes currently taking place.

Reasons include:

• Some are just overwhelmed by the rate of change.
• Some just don’t care–they don’t plan to change anything if they can avoid it.
• Some are probably intimidated by these new technologies.
• Some just aren’t aware. Their attention is elsewhere.
• Some subscribe to the view “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I suppose that this would make sense if these emerging technologies offered only marginal improvements to John Q. Business Owner. But that’s just not the case. These days, many small companies ignore technologies that, at a minimum, can help them significantly:
• Grow their businesses
• Attract talented employees
• Improve access to key information
• Increase employee communication and collaboration
• Reduce costs of recruiting, IT, and marketing
• Compete with larger companies

Some small businesses are using emerging technologies in creative and interesting ways to achieve these benefits. These are the New Small.”

In the second part he discusses the several examples of  the New Small . I consider this the “why” portion of the book – exciting, compelling examples should give any small business a reason to look at new technologies.  There are a lot of examples in this section and I found it helpful to pick and choose the examples I was interested in – but by all means read them all if you can.

My favorite part  is the third part where he talks about the “how” – how a company can become part of The New Small by not only applying technology but by making sure their organization has the right culture, people and mindset to do it successfully. Here is the crux of the discussion and where things get hard or easy – as he says in the book “We see how New Small companies carefully and intelligently select the tools, people and partners that make sense – and quickly get away from those that no longer fit the bill. They don’t immediately and unilaterally embrace very technology that comes along. What’s more, they balance immediate short-term needs with long-term prospects for growth.”  Wow.  Wish I had said that.

Bottom line on The New Small

Like I said, if I could reasonably do so I’d give this book to every business owner I’ve met.  In addition to the book, Phil is coming out with a new mobile app that provides, to business owners and others interested in new technology, exclusive tips and advice to help clear up concepts and discuss new technology trends.  You can find out more about the app here.

As Phil says at the end, none of this is magic and it may be that you need help figuring out how to integrate the technologies that make sense for your business.  As always, find a technology advisor you trust to help you put together a reasonable road map and your business will be on its way to being on of the New Small.

by  Erin!

I have written a few posts about CRM applications in the past but I’ve come to realize that folks are still confused about what CRM is.  I think that is part of the reason there are so many failed CRM implementations – too many people don’t realize how broad the term is and when they choose a tool they do it without evaluating what they need and comparing it to what is available.  Believe me, sometimes more is NOT better.  Worse, CRM is as much a business strategy as a technology – you need both to be successful.
 

So what is CRM then?

According to Wikipedia CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a broad term referring to “a widely-implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service, and technical support.”.  Wow, that is a lot of stuff.

In an attempt to further simplify I’ve come up with an overly simple graphic (so you knowledgeable folks don’t need to tell me what I left out – sock puppet simple, remember?) to help illustrate.

If you think of the three major functions of CRM in a Venn diagram as above you can see that sales, marketing and customer service share a major function which is simply called Contact Management here but is really the information about your customers.  Therein lies the problem.  Some companies want the sales functions and contact management, some want the marketing functions and contact management.  Some companies just want contact management.  Regardless of what you want, if you don’t choose the right application you are likely to get one with all of the functionality.  Anytime you get more than you want to use you are asking for trouble.

So how do you get the right tool?

It pays to think about your strategy first, even a simplified one.  What are you trying to accomplish for your business?  Then, with a bullet list of requirements, look at the functionality of the available tools.  Don’t restrict yourself to the big names or the one your buddy uses – look at all of them.  Make sure you are getting what you really need, not a whole lot else.  Picking something that has just what you need will make installation, training and adoption immeasurably easier.

But what if I need more functionality later?

If you are absolutely, positively certain you will want, say, sales force automation in the next 6-12 months then add it to your requirements.  Otherwise, add a requirement that speaks to the ease of moving data in and out to your list.  Who knows what applications will be available a year from now – make sure you can easily get your data out and worry about what the next right tool is when you are ready.

Get help if you need it

Remember, unless you are an IT professional or CRM expert, choosing a tool and implementing it correctly can be a daunting proposition.  If you had a tax or legal issue you’d get help from your accountant or attorney, right?  Don’t hesitate to get help from your technical advisor if you need it.

Bottom line

There are a lot of CRM applications and most of them are pretty good.  It is a pretty mature technology and there are many happy customers using each and every one.  Unfortunately they almost all have unhappy customers too and many times it is because the wrong tool was chosen.  Take your time, do it right and get help if you need it.