CRM ~ What Next

We currently have several ideas of where to take this next:

1. A contact form that auto adds details to the CRM.
2. User level and content viewing. Basically we allocate a user a level when they get an account. WordPress has 4 user levels – subscriber, editor, contributor and administrator. What I would like to do is add an option to the plugin to allocated additional user levels such as Bronze, Silver, Gold. These levels then get access to certain content that nobody else gets access to. Allowing a membership site to be set up.
3. Open up data so when a client logs in they see their own data. Useful for reviewing history, passing documents, etc.
4. A small shop or e-commerce system including room management or a booking system

Any other ideas please?

WordPress and the iPhone

I make no bones about my love for all things Mac. And I love my iPhone. It is brilliant as a work tool, as a ebook reader, study aid and games machine. Brilliant.

But it gets better there is an iPhone app for WordPress bloggers. In their own words:

Introducing the only iPhone app that lets you write posts, upload photos, edit pages, and manage comments on your blog from your iPhone or iPod touch. With support for both WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress (2.7 or higher), users of all experience levels can get going in seconds.

CRM

Customer relationship management (CRM) consists of the processes a company uses to track and organize its contacts with its current and prospective customers. CRM software is used to support these processes; information about customers and customer interactions can be entered, stored and accessed by employees in different company departments. Typical CRM goals are to improve services provided to customers, and to use customer contact information for targeted marketing.

While the term CRM generally refers to a software-based approach to handling customer relationships, most CRM software vendors stress that a successful CRM effort requires a holistic approach.[1] CRM initiatives often fail because implementation was limited to software installation, without providing the context, support and understanding for employees to learn, and take full advantage of the information systems.[2] CRM tools should be implemented “only after a well-devised strategy and operational plan are put in place”.[3] CRM can be implemented without major investments in software, but software is often necessary to explore the full benefits of a CRM strategy.

To read the full article visit Customer relationship management at Wikipedia

How to show single post content in sidebar

Find the post you want and the id of the post and then add this code to your sidebar.

<?php query_posts('p=1'); if(have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
<?php the_content(); ?>
<?php endif; ?>

Couldn’t be simpler!

Initial Download

The initial download is now available from CRM Basic Package.

The crm will be available in three different options, basic, standard and premium. Currently we are asking for a donation for the standard package.

Initial release of the CRM plugin

WordPress CRM is a simple customer management tool. It allows businesses who have a wordpress powered website to use the admin area to manage their clients, suppliers and opportunities. In this first release it has a two-fold role:
1. Act as a contact manager
2. Act as a reminder tool

After entering your client’s details you can then add a note and categorise that note (telephone, email, letter, visit) or add a reminder note. The reminder note will send an email to the blog administrator.
Over time the notes will grow to provide a relational reference.

The plugin will be released shortly on a GPL shortly but I firstly need to honour my commitment to my sponsors and give them first use. This will be true of future releases.

Future Development

My intention when I started developing this plugin was to provide a resource for small businesses and also to help my manage the hosting side of my business. In future developments this will start to evolve into a full customer relational tool.

And so our progress over time will be:

• Sort by client, supplier, opportunity
• Weighting of opportunities to allow chasing more productive sales
• Export of email addresses
• Email templates
• Emails sending to allow invoicing, reminders, etc
• Product management
• Accounting

I am sure that other elements will creep in but in terms of my own business my intention is to be able to set a date alongside a client. On arrival an invoice will be sent to both the client and myself asking them to pay hosting charges. Product management will allow me to set-up different values of cost.

Please feel free to join the debate on future developments.