Open Forum: Free Tools For Automating Your Small Business
Online tools reviewed include: Zoho CRM, Zopim (click-to-IM website tool), Hootsuite (social media management), Freshbooks (invoicing) and Spiceworks (IT management).
“The challenging economic climate has taught business owners that it’s absolutely imperative they embrace solutions that will help them work smarter and focus on generating revenue. Of course, limited budgets make business automation solutions that much more difficult to evaluate and implement. If your number one goal for 2011 is to bolster lead generation, customer acquisition, or customer retention, you must ask yourself this question: How am I going to create operational efficiencies that will free up my time, give me leverage, and allow me to grow my business? Here are some free tools that will help.
ZohoCRM
If you’re focused on increasing revenue, it makes sense to consider implementing a CRM (customer relationship management) solution. Qualified visitors to your website are like gold, and you want to create multiple touch points to extend the conversation/interaction, and convert them into customers. ZohoCRM is one of the most robust free offerings available to small business owners and allows you to formalize your sales process and manage the pipeline.”
