With v21, Act by Swiftpage released a new product called Act Marketing Automation (called AMA for short). Ok, cool. Now what? Here's why you care. Martech. Martech, what is that you say. It's the cool new buzz word for something we all want - a way to automate our marketing processes so we can go do what we do best - our business. It stands for Marketing Technology and it's basically anything you use to reach your customers - using technology. It could be as simple as an email marketing tool

Was building a marketing plan one of your New Year’s resolutions but you just can’t seem to get started? Setting up a marketing plan or even a single campaign is not something to be taken lightly. There are many moving parts that need to be addressed. But let’s talk about a few basics that should help you keep it as simple as possible and get you started.   You know you receive messages that have nothing remotely to do with you or your interests. Don’t you often wonder how and why

It seems that the practice of sending cards to customers may be coming back into the norm. I know the holidays are upon us when I start getting calls and emails asking how to print labels or envelopes for holiday cards. The calls often start with the question like, “I want to send out cards, but I don’t want to have to type the labels/envelopes individually. Is there an easier way to create the labels?” So I thought this might be a perfect time to revisit the process.

Our newsletter theme this month is giving thanks (appropriate with November right around the corner). Each of us was challenged to create an article about gratitude, thankfulness, and how to say we appreciate our customers. Since I love social media, I decided to focus on that and how it can help you engage your customers and provide a way to say thanks. Companies talk all the time about maintaining loyalty from their customers but I think they tend to forget it's a two-way street.  Yes,

Successful businesses have figured out how to use their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to foster relationships with prospects and clients. Building these meaningful relationships starts with: Learning about your clients – professionally and personally through dialogue and on social media Adding pertinent data to your CRM And, finally, taking action Here are six ideas for using Act! to add a personal touch to your client interactions and show gratitude to them for their

Earlier this month our PEC newsletter publisher, Anne Johnson, suggested that the theme for this month's newsletter should be Giving Thanks. So I thought about this trying to find a tip or trick that would tie my monthly article to this topic. I finally found that link! My work-related tasks in September led me to the content for this article. That is, giving thanks to my clients for sharing your personal life and interests with me AND for continuing to show an interest in my life

I recently worked with a client who had a CRM at their organization but they were using it as a glorified rolodex.  When I asked them why they had not taken the product to the next level, they asked me why should they? They wanted to know the benefits. Keeping track of your customers is one way to guarantee more sales. It's such a simple thing. Understand what they want, advise them on what's available, offer them good pricing and support, and you make sales. However that assumes you've

Patricia Egen Consulting Acquires CRMAddons Product Suite from Northwoods Software. Press release date: June 30, 2015 Chattanooga, TN, and Nashua, NH, June 30, 2015 – Patricia Egen Consulting (PEC) today announced the acquisition of CRMAddons from Northwoods Software Corporation.  CRMAddons is a suite of automation tools compatible with the Act! Contact Manager, owned by Swiftpage Act! LLC. The CRMaddons suite includes Sales Automation Manager, Mail Merge and Web Prospect. Every