Year: 2015

One of the best ways of communicating with customers is through email. That’s precisely why 67 percent of businesses are investing in standalone email marketing systems to execute email campaigns.

But are they really gaining the desired success out of it?

Experts suggest that businesses investing in standalone email marketing systems do not generate the expected success rate. What we’ve kept hearing from customers is that majority of standalone email marketing platforms do not integrate well with the business process. Synchronization between the email marketing platform and business process is a real pain.

Also, with a separate email marketing system, team suffers from data getting dispersed in multiple repositories. In moments of urgency, it takes double effort for the team to gather the information and present it in a concise way to get a 360-degree data view.

ConvergeHub has focused on all these issues and removed the loopholes with an easy and effective integration of email marketing functionality within its CRM platform. ConvergeHub, now, has all the bells-and-whistles to function as an email marketing software for small businesses.

Beyond customer service and sales force automation – this is one of the new crucial features that have been integrated within the CRM.

Using it, you can create and schedule mass emails to reach and engage your customers and prospects at large. Right from monthly product updates, newsletters, special offers, or personalized follow-up emails – you can send it all. While sending mass emails to customers, you can choose from a set of predefined templates or use the editor to customize the email templates specific to your requirement.

Not just this, reports and real-time analytics is an added advantage that helps you understand the performance of your campaign better. Using this feature, you can track:

• Number of recipients
• Number of people who have opened the e-mail
• Number of people who have opted out
• Number of people who have clicked on the link
• Number of invalid e-mail id (if any).

Steps to ConvergeHub Email Campaign

ConvergeHub lets you create and run an Email Campaign in SEVEN simple steps:

1. Go to Campaign under Marketing module. Fill the Name, Campaign Type and Start and End Date. Describe the Campaign Nature and fill fields in relation to Response %, Budget, Revenue and Cost.

2. Choose Email as the selected Broadcast medium. Also fill in the Name, Cost and Expected Response % of the Broadcast.

3. Create new lists who will be the target audience for the email campaign. Or else select an existing list used for other marketing campaigns. Modify the list by adding more segments to it.

4. Choose from the pre-designed templates and layouts. Customize them to suit your need. Add personalized elements by changing images, fonts and the background color.

5. Preview the entire e-mail before you send it. Choose the type of template preview by clicking on either HTML or Plain Text View. Send a test mail before you deliver the e-mail to the targeted recipients.

6. Choose to send campaigns immediately or schedule your email campaigns in advance. Select the future date and time from the calendar.

7. Track, Report & Compare the performance of your email campaigns. Get precise information on Total Mail Opens, Bounces or Click-through-rates.

Benefits of running an Email Campaign through ConvergeHub

• Sending emails at once to the entire customer base from the CRM itself
• Creating new mailing lists based on specific requirements
• Scheduling email campaigns at the most profitable times to gain the optimum benefit
• Providing complete flexibility to customers with ‘unsubscribe’ option default in the email template.

And most importantly – the benefit of ONE integrated system at large.

The entire hassle of hopping between two platforms will get obsolete. This will not just be time-saving but also help you streamline campaigns with other tasks. Running email campaigns within ConvergeHub will provide everyone in your team complete visibility to the campaign information, while they carry out other crucial activities. For instance, your team can quickly see emails sent to a particular customer and the kind of response those emails have got.

Equipped with the up-to-date campaign information at their fingertips; your team will be quicker at identifying marketing opportunities and responding to leads and customers.

So try ConvergeHub Email Marketing CRM today and send us your thoughts on how it has improved your marketing strategy. In the meanwhile, keep glued to this space – more good stuff to come in the pipeline!!!

Data importing into the CRM is not a one-time affair. On regular intervals, you will require feeding data into the CRM repository from multiple sources. Do you agree spending hours on simply transferring data from your CSV file to CRM?

Data import into the CRM is a crucial point – that needs to be heard and addressed before selecting the CRM. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 20 person small firm or a 1,000 person global organization: time spent on importing the data into the CRM can be detrimental to your team’s productivity.

FIVE Step Data Import with ConvergeHub

Leading CRM for small business – ConvergeHub (CRM Idol 2014 Semi-Finalist) understands the importance of quick data import and thus has come forward with an easy process. In five simple steps, you can import your leads, contacts, accounts and deals to ConvergeHub database.

That’s not all. Some of the additional features include:

• Duplicate checking intelligence to eliminate duplicate entries and ensure data quality
• Sharing of the imported data across the organization
• Customization of the imported lists
• Assignment of the imported contacts to marketing campaigns.

Steps to Import Data to ConvergeHub

You can easily import data from multiple sources to ConvergeHub repository. The steps below illustrate importing data from a CSV file stored in your local drive.

Step 1

Choose the field where you want to import the contacts to. Browse & load the file directly from your local drive. Select an existing list to which you want to import the file or else create a new list.

In case of multiple headers in your file, click on the ‘My File has a Header’ checkbox to ensure that the CRM maps the data according to the headers in the file.

Use the duplicate checking intelligence option and select the fields for which you want to use this feature. Notify whether you want the system to ignore the duplicate contacts or update them with the information from the list.

Step 2

Select the user to whom you want to assign the imported contacts.

Assignment of imported contacts to multiple users

ConvergeHub provides the option of automatically assigning the imported contacts to different agents. To avail this benefit, select the second option that is:

• Data file contains Assigned User.

Create an ‘Assigned To’ column in the CSV file that mentions the agent name for each contact. Mention this column in the CRM. Based upon the data given in the column, ConvergeHub will automatically direct the contacts to the associated agents.

Step 3

Select the ConvergeHub field where you want the imported data to get merged into. Also set the default value for every field.

Step 4

Click on ‘Remember Field Matching’ option. This will ensure that ConvergeHub remembers the field matching during the data import process.

Step 5

In the last step, ConvergeHub will show the duplicate checking result. You can either ignore the errors and continue or cancel the file import process altogether.

Step 6

Once the records are imported, you can view them or even undo the import if required.

Step 7

Click on My Import File to see all the files imported till date in ConvergeHub.

Try ConvergeHub Data Import Feature and send us your feedback on the same. We will take in your suggestions and try improving the process further.

New to ConvergeHub? Join our network today.

Sign up for a FREE TRIAL and experience the benefit yourself.

Mr. Jason Taylor has one of the best CRM applications implemented for his business. But while he smoothly carries out all his business activities, one thing that annoys him is frequent hopping between Microsoft Outlook to check emails, contacts, tasks and calendars and then update them in the CRM application. Doing this takes up his time and acts as a brake to his workflow.

That leaves us wondering is there a way to resolve his problem?

With Outlook and CRM both crucial to a business – can both these two stellar applications meet to result into a winning combination? (Your answer lies below)

ConvergeHub (CRM Idol 2014 semi-finalist) is one of the best CRM software for small business. It provides Microsoft Outlook Plug-in in its Apps Store which functions as a business productivity improvement tool where owners use the plug-in to easily integrate all their Outlook emails, contacts, tasks and calendars within ConvergeHub database.

What happens then?

In minutes – ConvergeHub users access and manage all their Outlook records from the CRM platform. In addition to this, Outlook displays ConvergeHub as a folder within the Navigation Pane. Users get all the ConvergeHub data in one area of Outlook.

How does it benefit the businesses?

Businesses get to execute an array of vital functions that includes:

• Synchronizing the Outlook emails and contacts with ConvergeHub using Active Duplicate Checking Intelligence to ensure no mismatch of the information
• Synchronizing calendars, tasks and events (calls and meetings) between Outlook and ConvergeHub calendar
• Adding Outlook inbound and outbound emails under the sub-panel of Contacts stored in ConvergeHub
• Sharing the Outlook data across the organization and keeping the entire team always up to date
• Tracking Outlook conversation history happened with contacts, from any location and time
• Maintaining automatic data consistency across ConvergeHub and Outlook by making changes in one platform and getting it automatically updated in the other

ConvergeHub + Outlook integration make businesses gain a competitive advantage in the following ways:

1. Flexible Working Practices: Centralized information provides complete flexibility to the users regarding whichever application (CRM (ConvergeHub) or Outlook) they choose to work on.
2. Quick CRM adoption: Users work on CRM (ConvergeHub) from within the more familiar Outlook platform. This makes it easy for the users to understand the CRM and adopt it completely in less time.
3. Data Flow: No need to copy and paste events and tasks from Outlook to CRM (ConvergeHub) calendar or vice versa. Users easily merge Outlook and CRM tasks and calendar to track all correspondence data in one system.
4. Better Customer Management: All emails are synced and cross-referenced between Outlook and CRM (ConvergeHub). From the CRM, users track emails along with all related records to understand the history of communication and cater to customers better.
5. Quick Access to Information: Outlook and CRM integration breaks down information silo. It fosters quick knowledge sharing that makes the team equipped enough to cater to customers promptly.

In short – the best of two worlds (CRM & Outlook) accessible from one unified platform!

Without a change of application or workflow, businesses execute both their Outlook and CRM activities from a single area. Truly – a great way to improve business efficiency!

Setting up Microsoft Outlook Integration

1. Download the Zip containing the Outlook_Integrator.exe

2. Click Setup to extract it.

Note: Before running this setup make sure your system has Internet connection and .NET Framework 3.5

3. If .NET Framework 3.5 is not installed in the machine then it will prompt the window to download it. Click the Accept button to download and install.

4. When all the prerequisites are successfully installed in the machine, ConvergeHub Outlook Add-in setup wizard will open like the below image.

5. Complete the Installation process and open Outlook. Outlook will have the ConvergeHub menu added under the Add-Ins tab as shown below.

b. If the outlook version is 10 then ConvergeHub Menu will be available before the Help menu in the command menu bar.

6. Before starting to work with ConvergeHub and Outlook together, a few settings needs to be done.

Click on the settings sub menu, a pop-up will appear where you need to require submitting your ConvergeHub credentials for logging in and doing the general setting.

Finish that and you are all set now to gain advantage from the combined strength of ConvergeHub and Outlook.

Unlike other CRMs, ConvergeHub offers FULL integration with Outlook to provide optimum benefit to the users.

Know more about ConvergeHub Outlook integration from our support consultants.

New to ConvergeHub? Sign Up for our FREE TRIAL and get the power of CRM software for your small business NOW!!!

How many times have you come across the phone number in your CRM and had the urge to call directly from it? Or an ability to send a SMSto your Leads from the CRM?

We all have been suffering the hassle of switching in between CRM and telecom systems to call or message a contact. If measured, hopping in between these systems has taken up to 33 percent of our time. But finally an end to this!

ConvergeHub (CRM Idol 2014 Semi-Finalist) nowallows you to make phone calls, text messages and IP voice communications from its own platform. It has integrated with none other than the world’s most preferred Twilio App that offers telephony infrastructure web service in the cloud.

Thousands of businesses are already using Twilio within ConvergeHub to save expenses spent otherwise on installing telecom systems. They are performing tasks of call and messages from the Cloud CRM platform itself.

The benefits of doing it are as follows:

Click to Call

Effortlessly making calls in relation to sales, marketing and customer support activities

Accessing customer records from ConvergeHub during the call

Adding call details to the contacts for easy follow-up

Text Messaging

Sending messages with up to 1600 characters to local, toll-free, and short-code numbers

Configuring Twilio Account

Setup and configuration of Twiliowithin ConvergeHub happens in few easy steps:

Twilio (Click to Call) integration:

1. Go to Apps Store

• ConvergeHub has a comprehensive apps store that allows users to shop for third-party apps.
• App integration solution is available for – Quickbooks, DocuSign, Google Apps, GoToMeeting, Outlook and many more.

2. Read details about Twilio App

• Click on ‘Details’ to learn the exact functionality that Twilio app integration will provide you in the Cloud CRM platform.

3. Click on Get App option to include the Twilio app

4. Click on Settings to open a pop up section. Fill in the Phone Number, Account SID and Auth Token fields there.

5. Get the Twilio Call option for all contacts (provided you have put in their phone numbers into the CRM software).

6. Click on the Call option. A pop up window will appear from where you can make the call to the respective contact.

Twilio (SMS) integration:

1. Go to Apps Store

• ConvergeHub has a comprehensive apps store that allows users to shop for third-party apps.
• App integration solution is available for – Quickbooks, DocuSign, Google Apps, GoToMeeting, Outlook and many more.

2. Read details about Twilio SMS App

• Click on ‘Details’ to learn the exact functionality that TwilioSMS app integration will provide you in the Cloud CRM platform.

3. Click on Get App option to include the app

4. Click on settings to open a pop up section. Fill in the Phone Number, Account SID and Auth Token fields there.

5. Get the Twilio SMS option for all contacts(provided you have put in their phone numbers into the CRM software).

6. Click on the SMS option. A pop up window will appear from where you can message to the respective contact.

Use ConvergeHub – Best Customer Relationship Management Software for Small Business

Be one of the many thousands of businesses already using ConvergeHub. Easy and effective – the best part is you do not need any expensive consultants or developers to install it.

Signup below and start now!

Looking at the common challenges faced by the sales reps, ConvergeHub has specially designed its sales module to provide maximum convenience to the sales agents.

Read further and see how your sales reps can get things done better and faster with the CRM application ConvergeHub –

1. All information in one page

Using ConvergeHub, your sales people do not have to juggle between different modules to get a complete view of any lead. Under the Leads Details section, they get to view all the data associated to the parent record. So it is one page to track everything that is related with the lead.

Other than leads’ general details, address and sales process; there is the related list in the sub panel too. From the total broadcasts done for the lead – to the products, activities and lists related to it – your reps get one place for a wholesome view to track everything that is happening with the lead. That means easy Lead Management.

Most importantly, sales reps get to add custom fields to include any other extra information in the Details section.

Example:

2. Easy entry of related records

Dealing with leads, your sales rep might most often want to associate a contact or add a task to the lead. Instead of navigating back and forth between different modules – ConvergeHub lets you perform all subsequent activities from the Leads Details Page itself.

option allows your sales reps to add Partner, Contacts, Documents, Notes, Lists, Products and Activities in 1-2 clicks. So for instance, your sales reps want to attach a document to the lead, he can instantly do it by clicking on Library under the Add Sub-Panel option.

3. Quick Form Filling

No one likes to fill in endless forms. Now imagine your sales reps who have to do it each time they get in a new lead for your business. Certainly this excessive manual data entry might make them feel irritated. Also, the chunk of time taken to fill in the forms decreases their productivity and diverts them from hardcore selling.

What do we come up with?

Short Lead Creation: On-the-go or in the middle of a trade show where there are chances to meet up with multiple leads – your sales reps can add leads into ConvergeHub database in split seconds.

Create Lead in Quick View provides a miniature version of the Add Lead form.

It keeps form fields to the minimum such as Lead Name, Account Name, Lead Source, Contact Number, Email and Budget. In this way your sales reps fill-in only the required information and your CRM software database looks complete too.

4. Lead Import

Do you still maintain a portion of your leads data in spreadsheets? How many times have you asked your sales reps to transfer that data into your CRM? Many times we believe!

Ever wondered why your salespeople avoid doing so? Is maintaining spreadsheets really that convenient? Nah…They actually dread the fact of manually entering the piles of information into the CRM!

ConvergeHub provides Fast Data Import option. And it is not just about leads but for each module in ConvergeHub that has an Import feature. Just click on Import, choose a file from the computer and there you go – you have all information at once in the CRM system.

Worried about data duplicity? Don’t be. Sales reps can use ConvergeHub smart duplicate checking intelligence to eliminate duplicate entries during data import. Plus, they can share the imported data with the team; customize the imported lists and assign the imported database to existing campaigns.

5. Reports

Let us face it: sales reps always hate creating reports. You know it but still you ask them to do it. Further, even when the reports are created, you really cannot guarantee the authenticity of the facts. All-in-all, report creation is a headache for you and your sales team.

But with ConvergeHub, creating and generating reports becomes a breeze! With the Reports module built in the CRM system, all the information from your CRM database gets precisely reflected in the reports.

Reports Result

Reports Chart

And creating reports in ConvergeHub does not involve any complexity too! All that your sales reps are required to do is select:

• Module
• Related module
• Report format (Tabular, Summary and Matrix).
• Columns
• Order (Ascending or Descending)
• Column Summary
• Criteria.

Plus, sales reps can schedule and send reports periodically via Email.