If you’re a small business owner, you’re likely managing everything from your financials to your marketing activities–and you’re doing it all on a limited budget. While you know that you need a better way to manage your sales prospects, especially during periods of growth, you just aren’t ready to pay for a customer relationship management system to keep in touch with potential and existing customers.

At the Software Advice website, I help review and compare most of the major CRM (customer relationship management) systems on the market. But the truth of the matter is that many of the popular systems on the market can be too expensive for many small business owners. For these small businesses, it may be more effective to take the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach and build your own CRM system.

Building your own CRM system can provide several benefits:

• It’s affordable (read: free)
• It’s flexible
• It’s easy to use and customize

A great tool for building a CRM system on your own is Google Docs. If you have a Gmail account, you already have access to an easy way to build your own CRM software. Already widely used as a management tool, it’s fairly easy to extend the power of these applications to help with customer management. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to do it.

Decide Who Gets Access–And What Information to Include
Google Docs allows all users to collaborate across any document thanks to their sharing and editing features. So, if one person changes a contact’s information, it automatically syncs across the system. This allows all document collaborators to see the change immediately. Beyond that, you can monitor user privileges to ensure that all users have access to the right information.

Once you decide who will be able to access and update data in your CRM system, you’ll need to create a Google Spreadsheet. After that, it’s time to determine what information you want to track about sales prospects in your spreadsheet. A few pieces of information that are a good idea to track include:

• Demographics – company name, contact name, email, phone number, etc.
• Prospect source – how the prospect found out about your company
• Next actions – a code that determine how you’ll follow (e.g. phone call or email)
• Contact log – notes from every contact you make with the prospect
• Estimated opportunity size – an estimate of the size of the sale
• Lead nurturing stage – a numbered system that shows how close the prospect is to purchasing (1 = aware but not interested; 4 = has purchased)

Keep in mind that this is just a starter list and you’ll likely want to record other information that’s specific to your business. So feel free to add any field that’s relevant to your company. If after a while you realize that you want to track more information, it’s fairly easy to add a new field.

Learn How to Manipulate the Data with Spreadsheet Functions
One nice thing about using a Google Spreadsheet is that there are easy sort features that allows you to sort by any field you like. If you only want to look at contacts with the biggest opportunity size, just sort by “estimating opportunity size” and you can view your most largest sales prospects from the largest potential sales to smallest.

Or, maybe you’re interested in the looking at the number of companies that are in the very beginning of the lead nurturing stage. You’ve already coded all entries that are in this stage of the buying process with a 1 but you don’t know how many of your contacts are at that phase. To figure this out, you can use a simple function known as a “countif()”. It works like this:

Determine the cell range you want to count sales prospects for (let’s say it’s cells C2 to C100)
Decide the criteria for counting each cell (in this case it’s a “1”)

To count all your prospects that are the beginning of the sales cycle, you can use the formula in cell C101: ‘=countif(C2:C100, “1”)’. This will give you the total number of contacts that are at phase one in the buying process. Of course there are a whole host of other functions that you can use to manipulate that data, but you get the idea. For a comprehensive list of spreadsheet functions that will work in a Google Spreadsheet check out Google’s help page.

With this method, you can start tracking their sales prospects in an efficient and paperless manner. And you can do it for free. As a bonus, you’ll also be able to access this data from anywhere with an Internet connection because information in Google Docs is stored in the Cloud.

Do you have any other DIY tips on creating a CRM system? Leave us a comment below.

If you have a website or use a search engine on a regular basis, it’s likely that you’ve heard of SEO Sydney or PPC. These two common acronyms are mentioned and preached every day. However, does everyone really know what they mean, or how they work? If you don’t, you’re not alone.

Let’s answer any lingering questions, settle myths, and clear the air of this Edmonton SEO madness! I’ve compiled the most common myths, most important facts, and the most exciting secrets in this post! I know what you’re thinking, “Whew! it’s about time!”

So let’s start from the top…

Define:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – An algorithm designed to impact visibility of web content (pages) through organic search results. Commonly used as a free alternative to PPC (pay per click) advertising.

Facts:

• Organic search results is a natural method for locating a webpage. This process will match search terms with relevant content on competing webpages. The stepbrother of organic search results is “non-organic”, or paying per click. “Paying per click” are ads that allow a company to blindly bid on highly competitive key search terms.

• New content is the maintenance that will keep your page ranked. The most effective way is blogging and tagging with search terms. Google, and other leading search engines will reward your website for publishing relevant information. Since you know your business, show off and show off often!

• Content is king. Keep relevant and new content flowing like a river! Adding content is important for your ongoing ranking; the most effective way is with a blog attached to your website. All blog content should follow the relevancy rules while it gives you space to display content that your website does not have room for.

• Play to win. Similar to Monopoly night with your Grandmother, according to the company from Search-consulting.com. Compete, and compete often to maintain and most importantly to increase your ranking.

• Duplicate and be dumped. Search engines (especially Google) are smart enough to detect fluff and manipulation; so think of these algorithms as more of an art than a science.

• By the numbers. If you’re more of a numbers person; you can make SEO a science project by using the KEI (keyword effectiveness index) equation. This will give specific words a rating based on the number of times a word is searched over the number of webpages displaying the word or phrase, for those in the SEO game is never ending. Using this approach will show you what words and phrases can give you the best chance of winning the keyword game.

The internet can be the most rewarding source of marketing if used properly. Website optimization best practices are ever evolving and will only become more competitive as time passes. Adopting this process now can completely change the way your business operates in a positive way for years to come. Check out the following and read more if you wish to find ways on how you can save money while using internet marketing for your business.

It seems that iPads, Nooks and Tablets are all the rage now-a-days and many are tossing out those big, clunky books. So unless you run a publishing company or a newspaper, you may be wondering what that has to do with your business. As e-books have become more popular, a whole new world of self-publishing has opened up for authors and companies alike.

If you have not already taken advantage of the possibilities for publishing your own e-book, here are a few reasons why you should:

A Published Book Builds Your Authority
Say your company offers consulting services to small businesses. You can build your reputation and establish your authority as an expert in your field by getting testimonials from clients, writing articles, or even speaking in your community. Or you could publish a book. A published book — whether it is an e-book or a print book — instantly establishes your authority on a subject.

The more e-books you have to your name, the more impressive it will be for customers. Publish books in your niche and display them prominently on your site. Market the book to get positive reviews from reputable sources and you will build even more clout with customers.

Creating a Comprehensive Guide Better Serves Your Customers
Your products and services help your customers to solve a problem or to meet a need. You can serve your customers even more by creating a comprehensive guide that provides insights or solutions for a large problem or need. If you run a financial advising company, you can create a guide about investing in mutual funds or how to retire before 50. If you offer weight-loss products, you can write a book about how to get in shape after a baby or what kinds of foods you can eat to lose weight fast.

Offering e-books is another way to serve your customers, and the medium allows you to offer more in-depth answers and solutions.

An E-book is a Great Incentive to Build Your E-mail List
Your opt-in email list is an important way to build relationships with customers and to drive repeat sales. Offering an incentive is a great way to grow your e-mail list faster.  A free e-book that offers a solution for your customers needs will help you to grow your e-mail list quickly. You can write a book especially to give away to subscribers, or you can make your paid e-book free to those who subscribe.

Just be sure that whatever e-book you offer, it provides useful and actionable information for your customers. If the e-book is the first thing that your customers see from your company, you want to make sure it is indicative of the quality they can come to expect from you.

You Can Sell an E-book to Generate Extra Revenue
Of course, one of the most immediate benefits an e-book can have for your business is to give you another way to generate some extra income. The more books you offer and the more popular they are, the more money you can make. If you develop a popular line, your e-books can become a whole other product offering.  Consider how your e-books can compliment your current products offerings or can create an additional focus for your business.

Publishing an e-book or a series of e-books can offer a number of benefits to your business, including helping you to establish your authority in your niche, encouraging growth of your e-mail list, offering your customers more value, and even generating additional income. If you aren’t already offering e-books, it might be time to consider doing so.

Does your company offer e-books? Share how it has benefited your company in the comments!

Everybody loves a good contest, right? For the customer, the contest is all about the prize; for your business, it’s all about the new contacts you make and future marketing opportunities. Let’s take a look at five steps to hitting the sweet spot for both parties.

Determine Your Goal
When the contest is over, what will you have to show for it? Potential goals might include growing your fan or follower base, increasing click-throughs to your website, boosting conversion rates, creating awareness of a new product, getting customer testimonials, and encouraging likes and shares on your Facebook page. Social media makes it possible to accomplish goals far beyond the contact-gathering efforts of the business-card-in-a-fishbowl, so think outside the box (bowl).Start with something new and check .

Create a Plan
Best Instagram photos, video testimonials, creative pictures of a product in use, and content creation for your website all make great social media contest ideas. If you’re looking to grow your contact list, a simple click-and-share contest may help you accomplish your goal. Make sure your idea will actually help you reach the goal you determined in Step One.

Make the Prize Desirable
The quality of the prize should be relative to the amount of effort participants had to exert. A musician I know is currently running a Facebook contest in which participants send in recordings of themselves and compete for a chance to win a CD recording session. That’s a great incentive designed to reach out to serious musicians. If he wanted to merely increase the number of likes on his Facebook page, he could run a contest with one of his own CDs as the prize. Smaller effort, smaller incentive.

Spread the Word
Social media creates the opportunity for your contest to go viral if you package it right. Offer the right prize and the right level of engagement, and people will want to share the chance to win with their friends. You can also include an option to share your link as part of the entry process. Promote the contest on as many social channels as possible, targeting your existing fans first.

Announce the Winner
Don’t forget to showcase the winner at the end of the contest. It’s not only a feather in the winner’s cap, but also another chance for you to interact with all those new contacts.

Social media contests should be easy to enter and easy to share. In order for your contest to go viral, you need a solid plan, a desirable incentive, and a plan for getting the word out. Oh, and if you’re giving away an iPad, be sure and send me an invite.

This is typical verbatim around this time of year. And like many of you, we at HMG had a very busy and productive 2012.

Rewind

We began 2012 in unchartered territory- Austin, Texas. Although we had built a solid presence in San Diego over the past 8 years, the opening of a new office in Austin came with just as many unknowns as certainties. We knew Austin was an up-and-coming city with a savvy talent pool. We knew it had some of the best music festivals and startup-related conferences (SXSW). And we knew that we’d be gaining some weight from the scrumptious Mexican food and finger-licking BBQ.

What we didn’t know was just as daunting. Would Austin accept us? Could we be as (or more) successful than we had been in San Diego? But in late 2011 we decided to make the move. Challenge accepted.

Fast Forward

As we look back at 2012 and our move to Austin we can’t help but think of how great the year and the city has been to us. We embarked on a journey that has brought us great reward both personally and as a company. We’ve acquired some unique additions to our team and have worked with some of Austin’s finest businesses.

In honor of the wonderful events that have taken place over the course of 2012, we’ve accumulated a list of our favorite 12. We hope you like them just as much as we do!

Hit Play

January– We kicked off the year with the opening of our Austin location; we cheered to good fortune, friends and rockin’ clients!

February– Founded in 1922, Taylor Linens produces quilts that are made of 100% cotton fabric and batting that are often hand quilted with fine, close stitches.  We provided Taylor Linens with: Custom Email Templates, Printing & Collateral, and Web Development.

March– A good month for several reasons, SXSW and Spontuneous. The first is obvious; SXSW is a 9-day music, film and interactive festival showcasing the nation’s hidden gems. The latter is one of our most eclectic and entertaining clients, Spontuneous. Makers of an award-winning board-game that brings your favorite song lyrics to life.

April– RetailMeNot rates every single coupon and then orders it by its usefulness.  Every store is then categorized and ordered by its popularity within that category.  Their users ensure that the best deals quickly rise to the top, and expired or superseded coupons quickly drop down the list.  We provided RetailMeNot with Web Development.

May– OneStar Foundation supports the nonprofit sector of Texas and its stakeholders through initiatives that increase civic engagement, research, rigorous evaluation, and nonprofit organizational excellence.  We have provided OneStar with: Branding, Website Redesign and Press Releases.

June– Quick Fix Stock Charts is an online resource that provides insightful and annotated stock charts while enabling you to make time-sensitive, decisive, money management decisions. We provided QFSC with Branding, Custom Email Templates, Press Release, Printing and Web Design and Development.

July– PrimoDish is a group of developers that love food and thought there needed to be a place where you can easily find the best food around.  We provided PrimoDish with a Website Redesign/UX. (Check out the new website we’re currently building them!)

August– After several months of steady growth we decided to begin a hunt for a stellar Business Development Consultant. We wanted someone who knew the industry and also knew how to build rapport and relationships with the right people. Enter Daniel Alvarez. With over 7 years of experience in sales and marketing, Daniel is our go-to guy for Biz Dev and Social Media Management.

September– There aren’t enough (good) adjectives in the dictionary to describe Stacey Donelan. She is assiduous, determined, creative and absolutely brilliant when it comes to her role as our Social Media Intern. Thanks to her we have built a solid following on our social networks and even created a fun-filled Christmas marketing campaign (see December). Stacey, you’re the best!

October– Every once in a while you stumble upon something so good you just can’t pass it up. In our case, Nick Welp was that hidden gem. His expertise in back-end web development is unparalleled and his knack for perfection paired quite well with HMG’s standards. Nick has helped in creating many custom applications and continues to lead our team of developers into the New Year.

November– As our stomachs prepared for the turkey and dressing coma from a hearty Thanksgiving meal, our developers prepared for an influx of new clients. But from what you say? Not what, who! John Wagner– ultimate selling machine. Hailing from Denver, John touched down in Austin hungry and ready to network. His over 6-year tenure in several managerial sales positions has given John a refined knowledge of B2B sales and project management. We look forward to see what else John has up his sleeve in 2013.

December– In honor of the Holidays and filled with the Christmas spirit, we decided to embark on an HMG-inspired 12 Days of Christmas campaign. Twelve days of absolute holiday giddiness and fun- if you follow us then you saw it. If not, click here for the recap.

The Holidays weren’t the only thing happening at HMG in December. As business demand grew and our list of clients expanded, we were in dire need of a savvy Front-End Designer. And we found just that in Jenn Buch– a West Virginia native, Jenn came to us with a portfolio rivaling our very own. She is not only talented but extremely creative, and our clients LOVE her work. Jenn, thank you for bringing your talents to Austin and more specifically to HMG!

HMG Creative is thrilled to announce the launch of Quick Fix Stock Charts, a financial site that educates members on the market about pay day loans and stocks by providing daily stock charts, complete with analysis and comparisons.

Continue…

The Holidays bring a lot of people to the shopping cart both virtually and through retail stores. There is no time like December to ramp up social media marketing and attract new subscribers and well… “Likes!”  So let’s unwrap Eight tips on attracting more Facebook Likes to your company’s page for Christmas!

1.  Leverage the store-front advantage! Incentivize your customers to check-in for discounts; if they’re willing to drive to your store, they’re willing to check-in!

2.  Post exclusive information or offers that will spark excitement and encourage subscribers to share the offerings.

3.  Words are great; however fans and prospective fans are twice as likely to engage with pictures, links and video content over text.

4.  Everyone likes cheap and free however, people like one thing a little bit more, competition! If the radio station can do it, so can your business. Create unique and engaging competitions every once in a while to attract new customers and more importantly, generate repeat visits to your page and website.

5.  Respond to posts and feedback though sentences that sound like they actually came from a real person, not a robot. Remember, there should always be time to communicate with your followers and clients, they are the first priority.

6.  Use links and keywords to help optimize your content so it’s seen by more friends of existing subscribers.

7.  Don’t just post, sponsor and promote the message.  Organic Facebook page visits are only a measurement of the contact with existing followers, so go viral and make money with videos!  About 80 percent of consumers say they are more likely to try a new product or service based on a suggestion from a friend through social media.

8.  Witty, funny and fresh content wins!  Don’t be shy when posting; get those creative juices flowing to maintain existing subscribers and draw new fan interest.

So just remember to engage, promote and respond to your fans quickly and your business will see the the “Likes” a-flowing this Holiday season!

Certain businesses have become overnight starlets in the world of social media. Somehow, things just clicked right from the start, and they “get it.” As it turns out, these social media divas all have some essential practices in common. With just a little effort, you too can enter the social media stratosphere.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for fans.
  Let your email subscribers know about your social media efforts by including “Follow Us” buttons in each message you send, including customer service messages. You can also create a special campaign to request followers. Templates are free and easy to integrate into your newsletter format.

• Incentivize subscriptions.
  One-time incentives such as a coupon or discount for liking a Facebook page can be excellent tools to acquire likes. You can also tempt would-be followers with promises of regular Twitter-only specials, sale previews, or VIP access to sales events.

• Integrate your promotion efforts.
  Email marketing is a great way to spread the word about your social media efforts, but don’t ignore other promotion opportunities. Include a link on your website, solicit followers in your print advertisements, and pin your emails to your Pinterest board with keyword-enriched descriptions so your business shows up in a search.

• Encourage your fans to interact.
  Engagement is one of the keys to succeeding with Facebook’s Edgerank algorithm. In order to show up in a fan’s newsfeed, you need to establish a pattern of interaction. Think outside the box and make it fun with ideas like:
  • Post photos of recent community events you’ve worked with.
  • Run a video contest.
  • Ask questions.
  • Invite fans to post their pictures to your page.
  • Link your blog posts to your Facebook page.

• Tailor content to the strengths of each venue.
  Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube—each social media venue you choose interact with will exhibit various strengths and weaknesses. Don’t try to shove all of your content into one mold. Create conversations on Facebook, provide how-to ideas and inspirations for Pinterest, and tweet about your online sales. While it’s important to integrate your marketing efforts, it is also important to recognize that your fans have different expectations from each venue.

Proactively building your fan list, providing great content and incentives, encouraging interaction, and capitalizing on the strengths of your various social media endeavors will give you all the know-how, popularity, and success you need to catapult you to rock star status.

A quick trip to the mall this morning revealed that stores are already gearing up for Thanksgiving and—yikes!—Christmas shopping. 10 percent of retailers have already sent a Christmas email to their subscriber list, but don’t feel bad if you haven’t yet. There’s still plenty of time to get your jingle on. Check out what worked and what didn’t during the 2011 holiday season:

What Worked: Sending Emails During the Week of Black Friday

While email opens were average on Black Friday itself, the week leading up to it was a good week for email marketers. Nearly 16 percent of email subscribers made a purchase in response to an email that was sent during the week of Black Friday.

What Didn’t: Relying on Gimmicks to Earn Better Open Rates (like certain words in the subject line)

Popular subject line word choices for 2011 included “free,” “sale,” and “shipping.” Surprisingly, these words did not result in higher open rates. However, the word “coupon” did entice more people to open an email, although it wasn’t used as often.

Take away: Tried and true subject line methods of stating clearly what your email contains, piquing interest, and promising value earn more opens than gimmicks.

What Worked: Sending Emails to Subscribers on Christmas Day

Surprisingly, 6 percent of the emails sent on Christmas Day were opened, despite the many festivities of Christmas morning and dinner with the in-laws. That’s just 3 percent less than average. Also, people spent over 170 percent more on their mobile devices this year than they did on Christmas Day 2010.

What Didn’t: Expecting Better Response Leading Up to Christmas But Ignoring Christmas Day

Actual customer behavior showed that click-throughs increased on Christmas Day, meaning that the savvy marketers who sent a Christmas Day email were rewarded for their efforts with a spike in sales.

Takeaway: People are already looking for sales and after-Christmas deals even before the wrapping paper has made it into the trash can, so give them plenty of shopping options.

What Worked: Using Social Media to Promote Specials and Sales

Promoting sales and specials on Facebook and Twitter creates buzz as your fans share with their friends, giving you a much broader reach than just your subscriber list.

What Didn’t: Failing to Link Social Media Campaigns With Other Marketing Efforts

Of course, Facebook and Twitter can be limiting in their own way, so don’t expect them to do all your marketing for you. People need commonality across marketing venues to keep them oriented.

Takeaway: Coordinate your social media marketing plans with other marketing campaigns to create a unified strategy that reaches as many people as possible.

The 2012 holiday season is upon us. By reflecting on what did and did not drive sales last year, you can create an effective marketing strategy that will keep shoppers merrily clicking away, even when the weather outside is frightful.

Statistics Source: Epsilon 2012 Holiday Trend Report