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Batchbook Gets It

I recently signed up for Batchbook. It’s is an amazing service and I’ve only scratched the surface (ok, to be honest, I’ve hardly used it the way I could. In time I will though.). There are seven reasons I Batchbook, the product and the company rocks (these are ordered from nice to have to awesome):

1. It goes with me whereever I am, regardless of what computer I’m on.

2. It integrates with Gmail and syncs my contacts.

3. It integrates with the worlds best email newsletter service - MailChimp.

4. It integrates with the worlds best billing software - Freshbooks.

5. They have a page for new customers to learn how to get the most out of their service.

6. They have webinars to learn how to use their product every other Thursday.

7. Pamela followed up with me:

Hi Bob,

Pamela O’Hara, owner of BatchBlue Software here.  You recently signed up for a BatchBook contact management system account.
Just checking in to see if you have had a chance to try it out and how things are going.

A reminder on your account info:
Your account: http://…
Username: bob…
(if you have forgotten your password, use the “Forgot your password?” link at the bottom of the page)

We’ve just posted some great info in the Customer On-Boarding Guide on our site in case you missed anything when setting up the account.

Customer On-Boarding Guide:
http://www.batchblue.com/new-customers.html

Part 1: Adding Contacts & Communications
* Importing
* Adding new contacts
* Setting up Outlook
Part 2: Customizing Your Contact Data
* Categorizing contacts
* Adding custom fields
* Affiliating contacts
Part 3: Viewing Contact Data
* Lists
* Reports
* Mailing labels
* Mailing lists

Also, for the latest and greatest on BatchBook features as they roll out,
check in on the Product Updates section of our blog at http://blog.batchblue.com/?cat=40

Please let me know if you have any questions, feedback or interesting BatchBook stories. We especially like the stories!

Keep in touch,

Pamela

——-

Pamela O’Hara
President, BatchBlue Software
http://BatchBlue.com

Organize Your Business.  Live Your Life.

Ok, so those are 7 great features, but here is why Batchbook gets it:

  1. They made it dead simple to do the most important task of any business/business owner - KEEP IN TOUCH WITH MY CONTACTS!
  2. But they took it a step further and made it dead simple to utilize other awesome applications I use everyday/week/month.
  3. They do not leave me in the dark. Too often I sign up for a service and I just don’t “get it” or have the time to dig in like I want to. MAKE IT EASY FOR US!
  4. Pamela followed up with me. I know it is most likely an autoresponder, but it is from her personal business email account. She made herself accessible.
  5. Bonus: They do everything else right - blog, twitter, web videos, etc. Again, they are accessible.

To companies offering a service or product, here is my advice. Do these five steps and you’ll be my hero.

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Friendbar Overload

I just downloaded Friendbar, the Firefox extension that continuously updates me on my Twitter and Facebook friend statuses/updates. It is a constant stream of changing information. I don’t see how anyone could get anything done with it constantly drawing our eyes away from the work we get paid to do!

Good bye Friendbar.

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I just got off the phone with Apple. If there is one thing you can learn from Apple (and there are tons of things they do right), it is good word-of-mouth worthy customer service. (See, I’m telling you right now!) I called to find out if iMovie has a feature and was dissapointed to find out it doesn’t have what I need. So I asked if there was a place I could request a feature and the specialist said, “Yes, just go to www.apple.com/feedback and the marketing and product development team will recieve it.” I think back to the businesses I’ve worked with and none of them have anything like this setup. It’s just simple.

I just got off the phone with Apple. If there is one thing you can learn from Apple (and there are tons of things they do right), it is good word-of-mouth worthy customer service. (See, I’m telling you right now!)

I called to find out if iMovie has a feature and was dissapointed to find out it doesn’t have what I need. So I asked if there was a place I could request a feature and the specialist said, “Yes, just go to www.apple.com/feedback and the marketing and product development team will recieve it.”

I think back to the businesses I’ve worked with and none of them have anything like this setup. It’s just simple.

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Define Professional

Many of you are in positions where you aren’t looking for a career change. Nevertheless, imagine for one moment that you are looking for a new job. You find some possible positions you believe you’ll be perfect for, spend hours honing your resume and cover letter, and secure an interview. You walk into the interview wearing scrubby blue jeans, a t-shirt, and your favorite sneakers.

Now can stop imagining. Would you take that prospect seriously? Most likely not. And neither would a lot of people.

At a recent chamber of commerce event I asked members how the appearance of a site influenced their purchasing decision. The consensus was that they would leave the site and look for another company to purchase products from if a website did not look professional. This is not just limited to my small focus group. One study put out by eMarketer found that 68% of U.S. online shoppers distrust a site that does not have a professional appearance. Another study found that 75% of consumers make judgments about a company’s credibility based on the website’s design.
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Listen To The Buzz

Monitoring conversations around your product, service, or company are well worth your time. Here’s some more proof.

I searched for people talking about Sotar, a raft company in Grants Pass Oregon, and found this post in a forum within the last five days:
Ok, still looking at catarafts. Someone responded to my last quest for knowledge that Sotar makes good rafts. Anybody have/recommend/not recommend the SL Sotar 14 foot cataraft?

Thanks for any information
Lee

This is a golden opportunity to not only connect with Lee, but everyone who reads that forum (and make a sale). If I were the owner of Sotar, I’d post a response to Lee in the forum saying something like:

Hi Lee,
I’m the owner of Sotar and saw that you are considering the SL cataraft. We think it’s a great raft because of X, Y, and Z (list benefits) and want to give you the opportunity see it in person and take it out for the day. Go ahead and email me and I’ll put you in contact with the nearest distributor. If you are passing through Southern Oregon, stop by and I’ll personally take you out in one.
Best regards,
Glenn

I’d bet Lee would email Glenn and take him up on his offer. Even if Lee didn’t, the three minutes it takes you to write this would show the rest of people in that forum that you are listening to them. This makes your company more personable, which builds more trust, which leads to more sales.
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Your Customers Are Talking. Are You Listening?

If you’re not listening or not sure how or where to start listening, here’s how you can start today (for free):

  • Google your name, company, and product or service name.
  • Use Technorati to search what bloggers are saying about you.
  • Find a forum where there may be users of your product or service.
  • Look for sites that allow users to review, such as Google Maps, Yelp, or ones more specific to your industry. If someone can review your product or service, then chances are someone has.

Can’t find anything mentioned about your business or organization? Send me an email and I’ll give you some ideas on where you can start listening.

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Proof That Listening Is Important To Your Success

A frustrated Gorillapod customer left a comment on a blog one day talking about how his Gorillapod broke…again. The owner of Gorillapod left a comment on the same blog apologizing for the bad experience and told the customer to contact him so they can send a new one, this time the “beefier” model to guarantee it wouldn’t break again.

Jim Noble wrote a review on eBags.com after the zipper on a bag he purchased broke. The review simply noted he liked the bag, but the zipper’s design was weak. Since eBags tracks reviews, they sent Jim a new bag. But they went one step further by writing and thanking Jim for making them aware of the flaw, and notified him that his advise was being passed on to the manufacturers so future bags wouldn’t have weak zippers.

The M.D. Anderson Cancer Treatment Center thought the reason cancer patients chose them was because of their reputation of staying on top of technology and medical advancements. As it turns out, they were wrong. Through an online community where cancer patients could share their stories and support other patients, M.D. Anderson learned a number of valuable insights. One being that patients were consistently waiting one to four hours before at their appointment before they finally saw their doctor. With this and other insights, M.D. Anderson could focus their marketing message on what the customers really valued, not what they thought the customers valued.

I could tell you many more stories just like these, but these three should help you understand why listening to your customers online is valuable to the success of your business and why you need to be listening.
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7 High ROI Web Design Priorities

I know your time is limited (but I want to share this for your benefit), so here are seven high return redesign investments:

  1. Make it simple for you to listen to and talk with your customers. This could be a blog or discussion forum.
  2. Professional, appropriate, and attractive design. This includes high quality images.
  3. Well thought out and easy-to-use navigation. If your prospects can’t find what they are looking for, they’ll go to your competition.
  4. Add search to your site. Mandatory for sites with 100 or more pages.
  5. Add an e-newsletter. This adds value for your customers.
  6. Persuasive content. Write informative product/service descriptions that give your customer the info they need and entices them to contact you.
  7. Search engine friendly. Make it easy for search engines to find you and rank higher (I will be covering this in a future newsletter as well).

What changes have you made to your site lately that increased your sites value in the eyes of your customer or prospect that could be added to this list?

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What Are Your Visitors' First Impressions Of Your Website?

When a prospect visits your website, what are their impressions? Do they find the information they need? Do they leave your site quickly? Do they take your desired action and contact you?

If you don’t know the answer to these questions, there are two ways to find out.

The first way is to study your website usage findings (using an analytics program). This will show you not only the number of visitors coming to your site, but more important data revealing the length of time visitors spend on a page, what page they click to, how they came to your site, and much more. The second and perhaps best way is to simply ask.

Let six of your best customers know you are redesigning your site and ask for their honest advice on the following questions:
  1. “What is your ‘initial’ impression (re: design, content, ease-of-use)?” You could ask them to rate it on a scale of 1-5.
  2. “What parts of the website are confusing, mis-leading, or lacking?”
  3. “If we (your company) could add a new feature that would bring value to you, what would it be? (e.g. blog, support forum, video tutorials, etc.)”
  4. “What do you like about our competitor’s website?”
  5. “In general, how can we improve our website?”

After you look over their advice, do you see similar comments? I.e. perhaps multiple customers noted that adding product training videos would be beneficial.

With this information in hand, you are now ready to put your money where it will have the greatest benefit. That’s something any business can appreciate. ;)

How are you planning to achieve a better web presence that meets your customers’ needs that includes the greatest benefit for the remainder of this year?

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The Most Intimate Way To Reach Your Customers And Prospects

Developing relationships with your customers and prospects is the most effective way to promote the growth of your business. While face-to-face interactions are best for meetings and closing deals, it is impossible to meet with all of your customers and prospects weekly just to build these relationships. This is why it is vital to have a consistent and thoughtful way to communicate with them on an ongoing basis.

The most intimate way to communicate with your customers and prospects is through an email newsletter. I say “intimate” because:

  1. It is personal. Your customers have given you permission to email them on an ongoing basis (permission to build a relationship).
  2. You promise to provide value. In exchange for your customer’s email address, you promise to provide value they can use to better their business or themself.
  3. It is consistent. You promise to deliver it to their inbox on a consistent basis (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly).
  4. It keeps them in touch with you. It answers a different customer need than your website does; that is to keep in touch with your company (versus product or service information).
  5. It helps you become transparent. It allows for the opportunity to give your customers insight into you and your business, thus being more open and leading to trust.

What do you think? If you already have a newsletter, how is it working for you? If not, what is stopping your from starting one?