Infusionsoft has unveiled a new marketing platform with a lower price, free trial and revamped CRM that’s geared to enticing smaller enterprises to tackle the marketing job themselves. Small Business Trends spoke with Infusionsoft CEO Clate Mask about changes and new direction for the powerful marketing tool.
Infusionsoft for Small Business
The company set out on the new leg of its decade long mission to help small businesses with a revamped focus aptly named to suit its lofty goals.
Mars Mission
“We started out on what we call our Mars mission at the beginning of 2017,”Mask said, adding Infusionsoft did extensive research beforehand that brought several specific insights to light.
“First we found that most small businesses aren’t marketers and don’t want to become marketers,” he said, pointing out the fact most just want to deliver goods and services to their customers so they can grow their businesses through referrals.
Personalized Service
Another insight had to do with the “chaos” created for small businesses when the desire to create a more personalized service butts up against all the different technologies available.
The last insight setting the stage for the revamp is the increased expectations and demands from consumers. Mask said it was clear from the compay’s research the small business landscape has shifted.
Consumer Interaction
“There’s a number of things that have changed in the way that consumers interact with businesses,” he said.
These have led Infusionsoft to shift it’s focus accordingly with a revamped strategy and product. The new version is dramatically simplified so you don’t need to be a marketing expert to get the word out on your goods and services. For example, it includes 50 industry-specific templates that small business owners can use as a starting point.
Central Role For CRM
While the power Infusionsoft has become known for is still behind the scenes, the new version is dramatically simpler. One of the other big differences small businesses will notice is that CRM plays a much more central role.
There are other features geared toward a more seamless experience like the drag and drop pipeline management tool that tracks deals visually. The new version in also much more mobile friendly.
Funnel Efforts
Overall, the strategy behind this latest version is to allow small businesses to funnel their efforts into the industry and toward the target market that suits them best by automating workflows. Mask explains what was behind this new impetus.
“’Personalized’ just popped again and again in the research,” he says. “It was the calling card for our customers and noncustomers as they attempted to differentiate themselves from bigger businesses.”
Single List of Contacts
Industry experts are taking notice. Ivana Taylor, Publisher atDIYMarketers.com added her thoughts in a Skype interview. Taylor noted Infusionsoft’s focus on having a single list of contacts with tags for segmentation is important so you don’t wind up paying for duplicate emails.
“I can say that it’s definitely accessible to more small business owners because they’ve dropped the price and with the new platform have included the features small business owners use most,” Taylor said. “It will make it easier for businesses who are starting out with a marketing automation platform and CRM to start small and scale their marketing platform along with their business.”
Image: Infusionsoft