Welcome to Turn It Up Tuesday, where we bring you 3 weekly tips—a tip on using Insightly CRM, a tip on running your business, and a tip on improving your life. With the opportunity for spring cleaning coming to a close, let’s clean up import files and your business’ online reputation. Enjoy this week’s tips!
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A Little Spreadsheet Clean-Up Will Make Importing Easier |
| It’s common to import lists of contacts to your CRM and other systems using spreadsheets or CSV files. If you’ve been maintaining your contacts in a spreadsheet, you’ll need to make sure the information is organized in a way that Insightly will be able to read it when you perform the import. Each row (reading left to right) must represent the information for a single contact, and each column (reading top to bottom) must represent one field—like first name, last name, phone number, and so on. Your columns for fields with special formats, like dates or numbers, must match the format in Insightly; for example, a date field must be formatted as a date (“09/15/2015”) and not some other value (“Next Monday”).
If you’ve had your own system for keeping track of contacts in a spreadsheet, the best method to organize it properly is by copying and pasting into a new file. Insightly’s Customer Success team has put together some sample files you can download that will make the process easier. We’ve also got a support article on importing with more helpful links and details. |
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Respond to Your Online Reviews for a Good Reputation |
| Last week, I wrote about the importance of keeping your online listings up to date in order to attract new business. Keeping track of customer feedback and responding appropriately is the next major piece of projecting an online presence that will keep them coming in the door. With the majority of consumers turning to online reviews, make sure you’re actively reading and responding to customer feedback on Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and any other site where your business is active. You’ll learn about your customers and their preferences from both good and bad reviews, and the interaction will only add to your business knowledge and ideas. In that way, it’s a whole new kind of market research for you to tap.
When a comment or review is positive, thank the client for the praise and tell them you’re looking forward to serving them again. Negative feedback can be trickier, but always keep your response brief and appropriate. If there’s an issue that needs further discussion or seems to be a bit heated, take it offline and try to make things right; misunderstandings or mistakes are better resolved away from a public forum. By keeping your online reputation clean, you’re keeping your door open to new business. |
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Time is Running Out for Spring Cleaning! |
| Summer is fast approaching here in the U.S., and spring is that wet-to-sunny transition that many see as a signal to clean the house, top to bottom. Even if you keep the house tidy regularly, this is a good time of year to really look around and see what might need an occasional scrubbing. Bedding like mattress pads and pillows deserve a thorough cleaning to get the dust mites that escape your regular laundry habits. The carpets might have some stains that you’ve become used to looking at, so get them deep cleaned and slide the furniture over to make sure you’re getting the normally-untouched spots. As with any major project, pick a few smaller tasks and get them done well. Then throw open the windows and take in the scent of fresh air and a clean place. |
Your CRM should be able to keep information from your customer’s reviews to your tasks lists—even household chores. If you haven’t tried the best CRM around, check out Insightly’s features and plans on our pricing page or sign up for a free trial today.
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About the author: Tony Roma is Insightly’s Content Manager. He’s been helping businesses implement software solutions and improve their work processes for over ten years.
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
