JoshSweeney

Levels of Social CRM are as Vast as CRM Itself

For the second CRM Atlanta Meetup of the year I decided to present Real World Social CRM Use Cases. I wanted to get down to the grit and present scenarios on how social networks could be leveraged and integrated into an existing CRM to make it more social. In marketing CRM Atlanta we attracted a contact at a Social CRM vendor. This person contacted me to find out more about my topic and exactly what level of Social CRM would be discussed.

The fairly short phone discussion that we had gave me good insight into the battle lines that were already being drawn in the Social CRM space. It was clear that the Social CRM that I would be speaking about and the Social CRM that the vendors offers were very different.  Neither version is wrong in implementation or approach. They are just fundamentally different.

So what did I take away from this?

1. I decided that I should preface my slides a little more than usual for an emerging technology.
2. It helped me identify a solution and marketing angle that I really hadn’t thought of before.
3. I made a new contact and discovered new Social CRM technology that can provide proven ROI for customers looking for Social CRM solutions.
4. This engagement gave me good insight into the various approaches to Social CRM and made me wonder just how many more I am going to see over the next few years.

Tags: crm, Social CRM

Factors for Choosing a CRM

As a SugarCRM consultant ( for SugarCRM partners ) and avid Twitter user I find that there is a common question that all companies ask when looking for a CRM. That question is, what CRM is right for my company?

Being a SugarCRM consultant I would love to tell you that you should pick SugarCRM every time but that is just not the case.  Each CRM on the market has many similarities and differences that should be thoroughly assessed before choosing. Below are a points that need to be taken into consideration before making a decision. They are in no particular order.

Determine your budget:

Analyzing your budget will quickly knock out many vendors. If your company has less than 20 employees and a low CRM budget then you can probably dismiss going with certain solutions.

Look at vendor minimums:

Some vendors have minimums on the number of seats that have to be purchased for certain solutions or product features levels. It is important to cross check the number of seats your are purchasing with the product feature level that your company needs.

On-Site or Off-Site:

Determining if your CRM will be hosted on or off site is a very important factor for both budgeting reasons and in planning for the future. Keep in mind that on-site does not have to actually mean at your physical location, it simply means that you have access to the software and can install it wherever you like.

Certain CRM vendors are Saas only solutions which means that if they don’t have a robust API then you could have trouble doing any integrations or automation in the future.

Some vendors offer both deployment options but their on-demand ( Saas ) option is crippled and doesn’t provide root level access to make changes. For you this means that you need to ask about access permissions and module loading permissions when making an on-site, on-demand decision.

Technical Ability:

Whether or not you have a full time technical resource can be a big factor in choosing a CRM. Having a technical resource to correct issues and implement light or even heavy customizations means that you have the potential to fully leverage your purchase.

If you don’t have a technical resource then looking at a more basic Saas CRM solution may be a better choice. Another opiton is to hire consultants that can provide these services if your budget allows.

Integrations:

Integrations into other systems enable CRM software to automate processes saving precious time and money. However, if you do not have the budget or are not planning an integration for the foreseeable future then your company may be able to pick a less expensive CRM option.

There is myriad of other questions that I ask when helping a customer choose a CRM package that is right for them. The goal is to take all possible factors into account before choosing, do your research, and when possible run pilot programs before going with a solution.

Custom Logo: 99Designs or A Graphic Designer

When you are not a graphic designer, coming up with a logo or logo ideas for a product can be a grueling process. First you start off sketching out ideas on paper which depending on your skills may or may not come close to what you need. If it does then you still need to hire a designer to transfer it to a digital format which will cost an hourly rate.

I have been through the scenario of needing a logo a few times now. Up until this latest time I had always used a graphic designer and paid either an hourly rate or went with their “logo package” of a few logo ideas and a few revisions based on a set fee. In the end this usually ended up costing me more than anticipated for multiple reasons such as:

• I wasn’t 100% sure what I was looking for in a logo.
• The designer didn’t seem to understand what I was looking for
• I just didn’t like the 3-5 ideas that were presented.

Most of these are pretty common reasons for spending more than anticipated for a logo. There are also multiple ways to get around these issues such as:

• Have a very good idea of what you want before hiring a designer.
• Pick a designer that spends time understanding before  starting.
• Provide the designer logos and design themes that you have seen elsewhere that you like.

The fact is that once you have found a designer that you work well with, understands what is appealing to you, and has rates you can live with you will no longer have these issues. But until then, there is 99Designs.com.

99Designs.com is a crowd sourcing site that allows you to request a graphical design of almost anything and have hundreds of people submit ideas.  This is extremely helpful when you are not sure what you are looking for and only have a color scheme or vague idea. It also saves you the time involved with trying to come up with multiple ideas yourself when you may not be graphically enabled.

Here is how it works:

1. Choose what you want designed ( Ex: Logo, Brochure, Site Mockup, etc )
2. Set the price that you will pay to the winner.
3. Set your criteria such as colors, size, fonts, and ideas.
4. Launch the contest

What will happen is that designers will find your contest and start submitting ideas for you to comment and vote on. I recommend staying very involved in this process through the duration of the contest. When commenting and voting you can tell them what you do and don’t like and many designers will tweak their ideas based off of that information.

End the end you could potentially have hundreds of submissions to pick from which means that instead of having to settle on a logo or design you now have multiple quality designs and have to narrow it down to the winner.

Now that you know about 99Designs I have a few recommendations for when you try it out for the first time.

• The amount you give to the winner is not the total cost. As one would guess, 99Designs.com has to get paid also. On my $175 logo 99Deisgns.com charged a fee of $56 for a total of $231. So be aware of this before you start filling out the design brief.

• Get the logo on both a white background and another color background. Most effects on logos can look really good on white backgrounds but when moved to a different color loose their effect or meaning. This will help you visualize what your logo could look like on other mediums.

• Use the tools that 99Designs provides to thank designers for submissions and to provide immediate feedback after posting.

• Once you have a few submissions that you really like and will potentially pick, click the Guarantee button. By clicking this button you guarantee a payout which usually doubles the number of submissions.

At the end of my first use of 99Designs I was out $231 but I had over 175 submissions with about 10 logos that made it a very tough decision to choose. I also had about 50 more on top of that which were professional grade and could have done the job.

Tags: 99designs, custom graphics, graphic design, logos

Open Source: Contribution Based Upgrades

After being heavily involved in the SugarCRM community and the communities of other open source software over the years, there is one thing that has started to really bother me. In the BitTorrent world we call them leechers. These are the people who take and never seem to give back to the cause.

The problem that I have with this is that people are continuously leveraging others hard work while many times refusing to pay for anything attached to it. After download the platform they get the free modules, then they want consulting and haggle about the rates trying to make a point that the software was free stating “why would I spend so much on consulting when the platform came at such a little cost”. Lets face it, peoples time deserves compensation.

In building WapSnap and GetSocial Twitter Pro I thought long and hard on how to give to the community without rewarding the leechers. This leads to the idea presented in the title, “Contribution Based Upgrades.”

The concept is that the software is open source but to get the upgrade packages you need to contribute. This concept isn’t without it’s hurdles but we will get to that next.

Here is how it works. First off the software creator will require the user to sign up to download ( Even though I hate this concept ). During that process they will be told that they will not receive upgrades without contributions. The software provider will maintain a portal with a forum, documents area, and any other content sections needed to support the software which can take contributions from users. When a user posts any content, they will get points from the system or other community members with minimum and maximum points allowed based on the type of contribution.

The catch is that they must maintain a certain level of contribution averaged over time to have access to the upgrade packages. The level doesn’t have to be high but the fact that they have to contribute in some way is a step in the right direction. Maybe they could even get extra points for external blogs posts, who knows.

Now for the problems.

1. First is that current licensing of open source software will allow one person to download and distribute the upgrade packages without any recourse. Not that you want to go after users but you do need a “leg to stand on” if needed. To fix this you will have to draft your own license agreement.

2. Since the system is points based you will have to make sure that people aren’t gaming the system. This will probably be a constant battle for an active project but as long as your cover the majority of issues it shouldn’t be a huge problem.

3. People posting garbage. If people continuously post garbage to maintain there status the community will usually report it. If not, the moderator can troll for garbage and take it to the curb.

I’m am sure that there are dozens of other issues that could arise but at least the list is started.

In theory, this would greatly enhance the project quality and allow users to give time back to those who so graciously gave to them. I am interested in your thoughts on contribution based upgrades so send them to me or make a comment.

Tags: bittorrent, contributions, open source

Don’t Forget, You are the Candidate and the Interviewer

One thing that has always fascinated me is how many people seem to treat companies and customers as the interviewer and automatically put themselves in the candidate role. A role which means that one party inherently does the most work to please the other when it should actually go both ways. I believe that this stems from the “customer is always right” mantra and that many people believe that they need the company more than the company needs them.

Both of these ideals have their place, especially when someone is hurting for customers or hurting for income. Current economic conditions aside, most people interview for jobs while holding a position at another employer. They are interviewing for reasons based on wants and not necessarily needs. Such as they want more money, flexibility or both. The same goes for companies courting new opportunities. They may have enough work coming in but have to find new business to keep business moving forward and growing. Where businesses get into trouble is when they go after every opportunity without first playing the interviewer.

The fact of the matter is that this process needs to entail a mutual understanding that both parties are providing services or goods that each are in need of. For me this means that I need to do as much due diligence on a lead as they are doing on my product or service.

For example: It is common for a potential client to ask for referrals as which they should. But if I am doing my due diligence then I need to also ask for referrals from other contractors that they have worked with. The potential client asked because they want to know that you have done prior work and that the referred customer was satisfied with the work. As a potential service provider I want referrals to make sure that your company is fair, easy to work with, and pays your bills. When both parties don’t request equal information in certain areas it leads to one party taking on more risk.

The same goes with searching out permanent positions. You sit across the table from someone interviewing that needs a candidate. Many times they will enhance data just like a candidate to make the position more appealing. The real test is when you ask to speak to a random employee that isn’t internally pre-screened to tell you all the right things. These people are more open and can give the most accurate picture of what they deal with daily. If you can’t access these random people you still have the opportunity to ask many questions in order to interview the company just like they are interviewing you.

By becoming the interviewer and not just the candidate you will save time and money. The time you will save will be by not taking potentially unsatisfactory positions or hard to work with customers. Keep this in mind the next time you interview a company for a position or speak with a new lead.

Tags: candidates, interviewing, jobs, leads, referrals

An Introduction to WapSnap

I have been actively Tweeting about WapSnap and speaking to various individuals about what it does. Today I determined that it was time for a proper introduction.

WapSnap meet world, world meet WapSnap.

Many of the intricacies about  WapSnap’s product positioning are still in limbo. For now all that I can say is that it is a web based snaphsot and comparison utility that will compare both files, and databases to detect changes. Most peoples first response has been,  “doesn’t Git and SVN do that already?” My answer is, yes but only for the files.

The file comparison will be similar to a WinMerge and other comparison utilities like those built into Git. Where I would really like to differentiate is in the database comparison and manipulation area.   WapSnap will be able to compare databases all the way down to the field level in order to detect changes in applications. This leads to why I started building WapSnap.

Although others and myself attempt to use best practices when developing applications, sometimes developers end up working on the production box instead of doing an update from their favorite repository. This increases the risk of error and possibility of breaking production applications. The first response to this is to restore backups and risk losing data entered since the last backup. The alternative to backups is to track down the issue and try to fix it as quickly as possible. If you try to fix it the question will become, what all was changed? This is where WapSnap comes in. If you snapshot both the files and database before the changes are implemented then you narrow the search area to check for errors.

This becomes even more helpful for those using open source applications like Joomla and SugarCRM. Through many discussions I have found that users of open source applications commonly work on production instances because it is easier, cheaper, faster, and the applications take plugins or modules that most think work out of the box and won’t break their system. Yet another example of WapSnap’s handiness is when someone installs a module, it breaks their app, then they uninstall and the app is still broken. WapSnap will easily let you detect the crumbs left behind in the file system and database so that they can be removed in less time that of what is needed to do a large restoration from backup.

Another huge benefit is that you learn more about the application. Take SugarCRM for instance, does anyone really know everything that happens behind the the scene we you use the Module Builder to build and deploy a custom module? Most people on the SugarCRM forums don’t and neither do I, most just speculate and build on past knowledge to guess what it is doing. The same goes for deploying 3rd party modules in any application.

Last but not least, where in the world does WapSnap comes from. I needed a name for a project that I was working on that took snapshots of web applications so I decided on W-Web, AP-Application, SNAP – Snapshot. Nothing special but it is staying until I come up with something better or decide to stick with it.

If you know of other tools that are helpful that have similar functionality please comment and let me know.

Tags: dev tools, open source, snapshot, WapSnap

Ease of Wordpress, Documentation of CodeIgniter, and Support of NuSphere

Although I have yet to formally introduce WapSnap and release a Beta version, I have been thinking fairly in depth about how I would like a software company to be run if I decided to push WapSnap or any other project into the main stream. I have worked for multiple software companies and used enough products to believe that I can at a minimum spot what should and shouldn’t be done. Anything I miss will be an educational ride.

Ease of Use

When it comes to web based applications I do not know of any application that is as easy to use as WordPress. Wordpress has always been well known for a straight forward installation that can get you blogging quickly. Although I cannot speak for myself, I have friends that have switched from developing websites and applications in Joomla and Drupal over to WordPress because it is said to be very logical and easy to customize. With the introduction of the one click upgrade I can see how that would be so. One of the biggest problems I have seen in using open source solutions is that the script kiddies get the security updates when you do and usually they can write an exploit script before you can upgrade and test an application along with all of it’s 3rd party components.

With this information in hand I have decided that when my application rolls out that I would like it to have the ease of use of Wordpress.

Documentation

Having to work on a poorly documented project or application has to be one of the biggest time waisters. When something isn’t documented well you spend most of your time debugging and chasing down answers in a forum instead of moving forward with what needs to get completed.

This is why I want documentation like CodeIgniter. When I started searching for a PHP framework to pick up, I started by looking in the documentation section of each. First stop, the getting started guide, then to the full docs, and then to the forums to see the amount of threads that go without a response. When I got to CodeIgniter I started with the first video tutorial which actually worked and was easy to follow. Wow what a concept, I say this sarcastically because this was not the case with many other frameworks that I tried.

Another positive of the CodeIgniter documentation is that it is easy to follow. Everything is separated out and named logically, this way if you do a search you are likely to find what you are looking for. I also enjoy that it doesn’t read like a 500 page manual and it isn’t a huge PDF that has to be churned through page by page. The CodeIgniter guide makes use of simple elements like line separators, code boxing, and bolding that makes the entire guide easy to read and follow.

With this information in hand I have decided that when my application rolls out that I would like it to have the documentation of CodeIgniter.

Support

I think that anyone who has been in the IT arena for any length of time understands what I mean by poor support.

This is when every time to call with a problem you only get a message machine.

This is when your SLA’s are never met and nobody seems to care.

This is when you post to a forum and nobody answers.

These all constitute poor support.

Nusphere is one company that I have dealt with recently that has fantastic support. To start with, even before I bought PHPed I posted to the forum and quickly had a response. This has been the case for every forum post that I have added to the Nusphere site. Nobody ever asked if I was a customer,how many licenses I had, or did the tiered support two step. Another honorable mention from a recent voyage is Slicehost. Slicehost provided multiple support routes where I didn’t even need to open a ticket. I went to their chat channel and had a solution within minutes.

With this information in hand I have decided that when my application rolls out that I would like it to have support like NuSphere.

Tags: codeigniter, documentation, ease of use, Nusphere, support, WapSnap, wordpress

Speak Therefore you Meet

There is an enormous amount of information available about networking with people. You can do a simple search on “business networking” and receive 28 million plus results to churn through. They all give great tips on proper networking techniques and how to find groups and meetings that can grow your network. Most of the advise is fantastic to newcomers but I have not found a list that includes presenting and giving speeches.

Without giving speeches, presenting, or sitting on panels you can automatically limit the number of people that you can get to know per event. One common tip for networking is to be genuine. I completely agree that if you are not genuinely interested in what others do then your networking adventure will not be near as successful. In being genuinely interested you must commit time to speak with people at various events and gatherings. Although it is time well spent it limits the number of people that you can meet per event. On top of that, many people attend similar events and cluster together to say hello and discuss the latest happenings. This common clustering effect also narrows the number of people not engaged in conversation that you can get to know.

Although the standard networking ritual is a requirement there is one way to increase the number of people that you meet per event. The solution is to speak, present, or sit on a panel. With presenting you still get to network before and after the event but you also get to immediately put yourself in front of people that are interested in what you know. Once you present information you are seen as a resource for anyone who did not already know the information that you provided. At the end they will approach you with more questions and most likely give you a card or request more of your time.

In conclusion I would like to add that you should not present with this as your soul purpose. Presentations need to be genuine and for the main purpose of spreading knowledge and information. If you truly want to help others and spread knowledge then good contacts and people will find you.

Tags: business networking, presenting, speaking

Driving New User Adoption

As a technology consultant of small to medium businesses I am always presented with challenges that require me to learn new software or technology. In learning these new systems I have come to have a more intimate understanding about the challenges with adopting technology solutions.

The common theme that I have found is that the easier software is to learn, the more likely someone is to adopt a solution. This doesn’t mean that the UI has to be 100% dummy proof or it has to be #1 in its market. There has been a many times that I have passed on what was considered to be the best software in its space because the documentation just didn’t get me to where I needed to be.

While learning all of these new solutions I have found three areas that make the biggest difference when someone is a new user. These are the documentation, step-by-step hows to’s ( video/written ), and the forum thread response rate.

The first place that most people start is with the documentation. They want to know how to install, if it has dependencies, what it runs on, and every other piece of information they need to get moving forward. I have made it through many installations only because of prior knowledge in other areas. I have also had the experience to work with customers that did not have the prior experience nor adequate documentation. This is even more important in the open source software world. In open source the user may not have a salesperson or sales engineer which means that if they hit a roadblock and cannot find an answer in a timely manner then they go elsewhere.

Step-by-step tutorials are the next step after full documentation. Documentation is normally “the manual” that goes over product sections and provides explanations into what each section does. The tutorials are what really gets the user moving forward in figuring out exactly what to do in the areas of the product that they need. The most effective structure for tutorials that I have found is to keep them short and problem or area specific. For videos short would mean about 5 minutes. It is also helpful to new users to have tutorials in two sections. The first being tutorials that build on each other and the second being tutorials that stand alone. This way if someone wants to sit down and go through the getting started scenario just learn about the solution then they can. If they already have an understanding of the solution then they can pick tutorials that fill an immediate need to learn a specific area.

The last area that supports new user inquiries is the forum. After a user has been given good documentation and tutorials, the only place that is left for them to find answers is in the forum. Many companies show that they have a forum for assistance but I have found that the true indicator is activity. If I am trying out new software and end up looking in the forum and seeing that a large portion of threads have zero replies then I can assume that when I post, I have a high probability of leaving empty handed. For the sake of user adoption, I would say that you need to get those threads answered.

For new users to adopt software they need answers as quickly as possible. When they get answers quickly and efficiently they are more likely to move forward with adoption and they have less of a reason to search for other solutions.

Tags: documentation, forums, new users, tutorials, user adoption

Send People On Site

Understanding customers and their needs can sometimes be a complicated process. Most software companies today seem to develop and deploy in a bubble only taking customer requests through a narrow channel of managers, product managers, and sales. This channel is in place to help keep focus in the R&D department but can lead to drastic problems on site with customers.

The standard in a majority of software companies is that only certain people deal with the customers. As I stated before, the positions with this “privilege” are sales, management, product managers, and support.  The problem that companies run into with this structure is that the people developing and testing the software never get a good understanding of the headaches that their software causes. They are so shielded by the internal information channel that even if the software is considerably hard to support, use, or customize, they may never get a full understanding on just how bad it is.

This is the case in many places except with the Mercury/HP group. Once SPI Dynamics was bought by HP I was able to get a front row seat on the impact that going on site would have. The Mercury/HP group was extremely adamant about sending engineers on site to fully and thoroughly understand customer issues. I have to say that this was one of the best and most logical ideas I had witnessed in a long time.

Sending developers and QA engineers on site proved to be one of the best learning experiences that one could get. The developers quickly gain an understanding of why customers are having trouble with a piece of software. The QA engineers are able to understand first hand how each customer is using the software which enables them to create more “real life” testing scenarios.

With today’s economic climate not every company can really afford to send developers and engineers on site. Although face to face communication and working on site with a customer allows for the best customer experience there are many alternatives.

The first is a forum. I don’t mean your standard community forum where the company politely asks if everyone can monitor the forum as they get time. Most of the time this does not work and many posts go unanswered leaving a bad experience for large groups of users. What I suggest is holding people accountable. Make it mandatory that each developer/engineer monitor the forum for a certain period of time and assist users in order to better understand their pain points. With this monitoring there should be metrics such as how many people they helped, how many problems were solved, and what problems are reoccurring.

Another alternative is web meetings. A web meeting where users and engineers can remotely share monitors and speak on the phone is a low cost solution that opens the lines of communication.

Lastly is to give them the time to sit with support and help them solve issues. Support is the main channel in which software issues come in, especially when no forum is available. Allowing this time will give developers/engineers first hand knowledge of the frustrations that not only customers run into but also the frustrations of support engineers.

The overall theme is to not shelter the people who have the most impact on the software. Help them understand the problem that customers run into so that they can have more of an understanding of their pain. Many times it is easy to sit back and dismiss software issues when your in the bubble. Working with someone directly who is having a problem helps both parties create an understanding and be more willing to help each other over time. In addition, multiple departments working together promotes cross training and understanding.

Tags: forums, on site, support, web meeting