HOW IS ACT DIFFERENT THAN AN INDUSTRY SPECIFIC CRM

Nearly every industry has an industry specific application that is developed for that type of business.  Many times that application has a “built in” CRM. While the idea of entering everything in a single application may be appealing, here are some questions to ask before committing.

Most industries have 2-3 main packages that at first glance, seem to be written with that specific work in mind….  At first glance.
In most scenarios the gaps are consistent and inerrant.
Portability – can you take the solution with you if you change companies, or change industries?
Customization – how much can you wrap that application around your specific way of doing things? I’ve gone to work for companies directly across the street from one another and in the same industry, but who did things drastically different from each other.  Most industry specific solutions make assumptions about how you run your business.  The more generic your business is, the more you will be unable to differentiate yourself in the marketplace.
We have chosen to work with Act! CRM because it has the flexibility for you to wrap the product around the way YOU work.  Also the option for On Premise, or Hosted or both is “Best of Class” in it’s niche.

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HOW TO BE MORE EFFICIENT – UTILIZING YOUR CRM TO ITS FULLEST EXTENT

People are constantly searching for the perfect CRM for their industry or specific company.  Which one is the best?  I believe Act! gives the best performance for most companies, although some organizations get everything set up, and then neglect to use the new system.  The problem doesn’t necessarily lie within the system, but more so because of the lack of knowledge on how to use the system properly.

You know what a CRM is, but just to be clear, it stands for Customer Relationship Management.  Some users simply use the system as a Rolodex and don’t utilize other tools.  While this is helpful, it doesn’t help you run your business to its full potential.  You should expect the following benefits from any good CRM.

You should notice a large chunk of time saved from receiving automatic notifications and being able to automate mundane tasks.  The more time that you keep from wasting on mundane details will help you expand business and generate more profit. Your email marketing should also be a smooth process with the right CRM. You should be able to easily evaluate your company’s growth based on individual employees performance.

Whichever CRM you choose, make sure that your employees are properly trained to use the database correctly and that everyone utilizes it to the fullest extent, efficiently. For more information call (866)710-4228 or email support@cloudtopoffice.com

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MOVING YOUR DATA TO THE CLOUD – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you are like many companies out there today, you are looking into the benefits of Cloud Hosting. There are a myriad of choices, between hosting companies, and choosing whether on not to move your whole IT infrastructure, or just your individual applications and databases.

Here is some helpful information to get you started on the right track, while you work on the details of hosting.

Back Up Your Data – A good hosting company will backup your data, and shouldn’t have any problems in the initial setup. However, it is always a good idea to play it safe and have a recent backup copy of all of your data. Here is a link to get you started on your backup.

Second Internet Connection – A strong internet connection is pertinent when using Cloud Hosting.  Internet failure is the main reason for not being able to access your hosted information.  If your company must have access at all times, then it might be a good idea to have a second internet connection service as a backup. If you currently use Comcast, you might consider a Verizon wireless account for a backup.  Don’t let this deter you from hosting.  If your internet connection is reliable, you shouldn’t experience any major downtime.

Re-Organize – You can easily copy your files as they are, when moving to the cloud, but why not capitalize on this opportunity to remove fluff and organize your data? Look into updating permission levels on files and archive old files and data that are cluttering up your server and costing you extra to store and backup.

Phase Your Move – Don’t migrate everything all at once.  Create a transition plan and implement it, piecemeal. Moving your files one piece at a time makes it easier for your clients, employees, partners and everyone else involved.  Transition should be smooth, but this approach leaves room for errors and won’t leave your whole system down if there happen to be any hiccups in the process.

Contact us to see if hosting with Tandem CloudTop is right for you!

Email – support@cloudtopoffice.com
Call – 866-710-4228

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EMAIL MARKETING WITH ACT! CRM

Using Act! CRM for email marketing is a simple and cost-effective way to grow your business. Take the guesswork out of email marketing and follow-up with your customers. The Act! CRM will help you create, send, and track professional email marketing campaigns that reach your customers and/or prospects at the right time, with the right message.

INTEGRATED EMAIL MARKETING

Integrated Email Marketing
– One-click access to segmenting lists and groups
– Easy-to-analyze graphs and detailed reports – including opens, clicks, bounces, opt-outs, and more
– Comprehensive contact history records

Intelligent Call Lists
– Intelligently prioritized lists of contacts to follow up with first
– Customizable for dynamic, up-to-date interaction information at any time
– Robust integration within Act! allows you to easily create Histories, Activities, Lookups, and more – right from the contact within the Call List.

Sleek Template Editor
– Dynamic online editing tool
– 100+ customizable templates – including mobile-friendly versions
– Host & Share images and documents
– Personalization options like dynamic data integration

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NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH

CLOUDTOP OFFICE IS LAUNCHED

Welcome to the new and improved CloudTop Office website. We’ve completely revamped this site in order to bring you the latest and great information about our all of our cloud hosting services and business solutions.

Make sure you visit our Cloud Hosting Services area to see what we’re offering for the 2014 business year and don’t forget to contact us if you have questions and/or comments.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this revamp/re-design! All in all, we’re thrilled to be able to offer our clients and prospective clients a better browsing experience.

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