Idag arrangerade jag ett frukostmöte för medlemmarna i Young Entrepreneurs of Sweden för att dels ge dem en bättre inblick i nyhetsbrev- och CRM system men även ett tillfälle att lära känna varandra. Dock verkade det som nästintill alla var sega så tidigt en kall måndag morgon i november, nästa gång får jag nog sätta ihop en senare frukost.

Vikten att ha ett kontinuerligt nyhetsbrev och ett CRM system som både är roligt men effektivt är nästintill ovärderligt för en företagare. Några av de slutsatser vi har dragit på Sverige-Norge.se är att lära känna sin målgrupp. Vilka dagar/tider är bäst att skicka nyhetsbrev på? Vilka rubriker/innehåll fungerar bäst? Selektera ut din målgrupp och anpassa nyhetsbrevet.

Det finns mängder av information kring nyhetsbrev och trender som kommer. Vi har själva använt Apsis under 2010 och är nöjda med deras system (även om det är dyrare än konkurrenterna). Jag kan rekommendera att skriva upp er på Apsis egna nyhetsbrev om ni vill lära er mer om ämnet.

Här är en bild på några av de 22 morgonpigga yeos-medlemmarna!

This is a guest post by Ola Rynge and was originally posted at The Rynge Blog.

This is the second article in a series about Creative Relationship Marketing – Customer focused traditional and social media marketing (the first post can be found here). Since the abbreviation CRM was already taken, I will use CRM² for Creative Relationship Marketing. I think the extra ² is suitable since the Creative Relationship Marketing approach takes CRM to a new level. And since it is on a higher level, you have to make sure that the right resources are in place.

To think marketing and being creative about it is not something that comes naturally to everyone, and even then corporate traditions and culture will make anyone losing their creativity if it is not stimulated. So how can you make sure if you have the right person for the job?

First I usually look for someone within the (marketing) organization that has an interest for new methods of spreading the message and are not afraid of trial-and-error, but at the same time have a keen ear to customer requests and reactions. The person should also have some experience or at least interest in the new social technologies. Even if a lot of the social relations tools available are free or cheap, there is a cost involved since every relationship needs nurturing and care, which consumes time. Time that the person and his manager must be willing to invest to make the effort worthwhile.

So what if there are no one with the right qualities and/or time? Then there are basically two options:

1. Find a new co-worker suitable to the task
Employing someone is always a big step, but the reward of having a dedicated CRM² officer can be immense if it is the right person.

2. Create a long term relation with a consultant
This is a faster and more flexible solution, but normally a more expensive one.

The advantage of a consultant is that he/she (hopefully) is an expert in the field, but the disadvantage is that he/she is not an expert in the industry and your company. In most cases the best solution is a mix of a consultant and a current or new employee, where the consultant is a part of creating strategies, routines and plan. If you have found a great partner to work with, the consultant can inspire and awaken the creativity of the employee(s) and coach them to learn how to think in a creative manner and hence develop new creative ways of marketing the company’s products and services.

So, look at your organization to see if you have the resources available to enter the world of CRM². When you have done that, let’s take a look at setting goals for your new marketing efforts.

- Ola Rynge (@rynge)

Ola Rynge is the CEO of The Rynge Group that focuses on market oriented small business and idea development. Please follow him on twitter or updates about how you can use Social Media and CRM² for your business.