6 tips for express digitization
Recommendations for the digitization process: give continuity to the business activity and the relationship with contacts. In situations where decisions are postponed, projects are delayed and there is uncertainty, it is necessary for society to become aware that it must continue with its working life, contributing so that the economy does not suffer too much. Especially in service companies, teleworking is a viable option, which requires certain conditions, especially the digitization of processes and the use of tools. We provide these recommendations and tools to make working at home more productive and maintain healthy relationships with colleagues and clients.
1. Maintain your work habit
Following schedules, the usual preparation, helps to become aware that the activity should be as close to normal as possible. Management tools help to keep information organized, especially CRMs that have management functions for Marketing, Sales and Service:
- Hubspot CRM (free)
- Salesforce (SMB solution)
- Zoho CRM
The shared use of a management system in the company makes it possible to delegate tasks and monitor the progress of projects.
2. Prepare the day's tasks
Both yours and your team's; set individual goals and help your teammates to set theirs, to keep track of what is being done and what remains to be done. The agenda is a fundamental element to confirm what you want to do and what has been done during the day. It is necessary for the whole team to use the same tool, to share the status of projects and to allow follow-up with contacts.
- Google Task - Keep, for individual use.
- Trelloto manage lists of tasks and their status: to do, in progress, done.
- Slackfor team projects and sales management.
- Asana, for project management, centralizing information from spreadsheets, emails,...
3. Review contacts in the CRM
Prioritizing the most important and most urgently needed information. Create lists of contacts based on characteristics and needs, response times. Work first with the list of people who have a process in place, leaving time for contacting existing leads and prospecting for new contacts. This is the time to follow up more exhaustively on contacts, to enrich the files of each one, with information that we usually do not have time to record.
4. Prepare for meetings
a) Telephone. b) Videocalls, to provide more proximity; it is advisable to test your equipment first, evaluate possible problems and prepare a guide so that customers know how to use it. For more than 2 people, videoconferencing tools are available:
- Zoom Meetings (also for Webinars-trainings)
- Hangout
- Whereby
- Be.live for live streaming with Youtube or Facebook
c)Emailings and messaging. Instant messaging helps to launch short messages, for notifications. WhatsApp has broadcast groups to broadcast messages to multiple people and a web application, which allows you to create messages more quickly than with your cell phone. To automate mail communications based on user actions:
- Mailchimp
- Active Campaigning
- Sendinblue (sequence automation)
- HubSpot
- Clientify
d) Social networks, scheduling tips on a regular basis.
- Hootsuite (free up to 3 profiles)
- Metricool, for social network analysis and measurement
It is very useful to send in the communications a link to a meeting, so that the contact can choose the appropriate date and time, according to availability (yours and/or the team's).
- Google Calendar
- Calendy for work teams
- HubSpot CRM & Sales free for SMBs
5. Formalization of agreements
Any decision must be documented. If a conversation is held with the customer, record the adapted agreement and have it communicated in writing and copied to the parties concerned, to set the terms and conditions.
6. Social Responsibility
It is time to show solidarity to the extent that we can. On the one hand, emotionally: Supporting, backing and encouraging. On the other hand, offering facilities, providing services without immediate consideration, deferring invoicing, advising ways of acting in unusual situations... Now, more than ever, generosity is valued: Give before receiving.
