3 tech strategies to power your marketing muscle and dollars

Don't miss out on affordable tech tools that can help boost sales and lower operational costs.

Can you customize offers for your top-tier customers? Or personalize discounts for those who buy a specific product? Do you know whether your biggest customer was satisfied by her last interaction with your service agent?

Do your sales and marketing people have the right information on pricing and inventory when they need it? Can you tell if your Web site traffic spikes after offline advertising?

If the answers are no, you need to evaluate how today's technology can improve your business.

To see the whole picture and then respond as immediately as customers now demand, you need electronic access to trustworthy information. What kinds of information and what sort of technology will depend on the data you want and the business you're in.

Here's a rundown of affordable, easily installed, results-oriented business tools—including telephony, software, online services and third-party offerings—that apply to a range of businesses.

1. Make phones work harder. Options for telephonic solutions keep proliferating – and also keep getting cheaper. You can get an idea of the options from these cost-effective offerings.

Launched in 1992 and based in Piscataway N.J., COA Network provides virtual PBX phone systems for small businesses. The service includes the usual phone features, such as automated answering and greetings, individual extensions, audio conferencing, call forwarding, caller ID and voicemail, which can be retrieved via a toll-free number or as e-mail messages in Outlook.

Since COA hosts the services, you don't need special phones or telecom updates or installation. So costs drop to typically $10 to $50 a month, including the toll-free number, several extensions and certain in-bound calls.

Such systems can be used to market in several ways. As an example, says COA Network founder Paul Champaneria, "Many of our home realtor customers record value-added messages, such as '7 Things to Do before Selling Your House.' Realtors advertise the free information, listing a special extension clients can call. The information gets prospective clients in the door."

Other ideas for virtual PBX phone systems include:

For more established businesses, other telephony services offer sophisticated recording and monitoring functions to give you real-time information about customer preferences.

NICE Systems, a worldwide company with U.S. headquarters in Rutherford, N.J., can capture, store, retrieve and analyze all your customer interactions, whether for retail or call center operations or for financial or professional services. The NICE software tracks certain keywords that you choose. So whenever a caller mentions those words, the system flags it, instantly.

"Our technology can help small businesses manage the customer experience," says Eyal Danon, vice president of global marketing. "It can make sure that agents or customer service reps take calls appropriately, follow scripts and then follow up so the customer is satisfied." Services can be implemented for $20,000 to $30,000 and up, depending on the package, says Danon. To make the NICE system cost-effective, he suggests you need a minimum of 20 service reps.

Most of the latest phone tools also can scale up, becoming more sophisticated as you expand and need more coverage.

2. Network information so you can actually use it. If your staffers are still unconnected to company resources and customers, it's time to update. Consider installing a server, like the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003.

A server permits employees—as well as the outside vendors, suppliers, investors or contractors you select—to access, store, post and retrieve the information and reports that keep you competitive. A server can:

To learn more, find a Microsoft partner in your area.

Once your company and data is networked, you can begin leveraging your customer information and contacts in very affordable ways. For example, you can host monthly Web casts, using Microsoft Live Meeting, to keep your clients up-to-speed.

You can also install a customer relationship management system, like Microsoft Dynamics CRM and start offering specialized offers to different groups of customers. What's more, the efficiency gained by centralizing all customer data in one robust management tool can improve your bottom line.

3. Get more bounce from direct-response campaigns. New tech tools and document management services can now analyze customer preferences, niche markets, regional buying habits and more to help small businesses focus efforts and resources.

Active Data Services, for example, located in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is an integrated document management solutions provider, handling scanning, imaging and document management, as well as data storage, printing and mailing. The company can generate and manage such material as personalized mailings, enrollment forms or kits and customer service correspondence.

"We also do marketing programs for businesses and startups," says Steve Jones, director of technology solutions. The company will review your business or marketing plan and then develop material that targets the specific customers likely to respond.

For instance, says Jones, "We designed a program for a new, upscale, large-engine pleasure boat being designed and built for clients in North Carolina and the Southeast. We bought marketing databases and utilized a set of criteria that created a mailer concept of text and images that went out to unique customers based on demographics, likes and dislikes, previous purchases of existing pleasure craft and more."

When a consumer gets that mailer, says Jones, "it's something he will open and read."

Once the stepchild of marketing efforts, direct-response media campaigns are growing in popularity and impact, especially when used to drive customers to promotional or company Web sites.

"Direct response TV ads, such as infomercials, or short-form commercials of 60 or 120 seconds, generally cost 30% to 70% less than general advertising," says Peter Koeppel, who runs Koeppel Direct, a direct-response media buyer based in Dallas.

"There's a lot of convergence between the Internet and TV now," says Koeppel. "Some marketers aren't even using 800 numbers anymore. They just list a Web site for customers to visit." He points to eHarmony as an example of an online marketer that has dramatically boosted business by using cable TV outlets to drive its online traffic.

According to Koeppel, other digital buying efforts can take advantage of the inexpensive reach of the Internet. Ads on satellite TV that allow viewers to click on a link with the remote, which then loads a Web page with more information or offers. For instance, a car ad can lead to a page that lists local dealers.

Mobile phone ads, with GPS and location-based, one-to-one offers, are a hot new area. As are video-on-demand, or VOD, services on PCs and TV, which are being used for short commercials that allow consumers to click links for more information. Similarly, digital and interactive signage in retail shops, including flat-screen TVs and kiosks, give in-store customers information or special details.

With the wealth of new offerings out there, it's likely you'll find an appropriate, affordable solution that can boost your business. Maybe it's time to chat with your IT director or consultant.