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Visual DataFlex puts your web inquiries directly to database
by Peter
Donovan
Author's Home Page
Visual DataFlex Solves Web Collection Of Prospects Manual Input
Many Companies Collect Prospect Data in Email or CSV Format from web inquiries, but a new techology thru a product called Visual DataFlex WebApp solves the problem of making inquiries flow LIVE directly into your customer/prospect database with rapid deployment/low cost technology.
(client: A Major Player In The Sports Ticketing And Travel Industry: Sports Travel And Tours, home of "Any Game Any Time Any Place" at www.SportsTravelAndTours.Com) A Success Story
In a first meeting with a prospective customer who was receiving about 16 email inquiries per day, they suddenly hit a windfall business arrangement and received thousands of emails within a two week period of Spring Training of Major League Baseball in the USA.
Problem 1:
Is the inquiry already in the prospect database?
Problem 2:
How to avoid manually entering only the new information in the customer's profile (favorite teams, etc) automatically without manual input and decision.
Since the client was too large to depend on a "one man band" company, I introduced them to my associates who have formed the Northeast DataFlex Consortium, NeDataFlex.Com who had the skills together to perform a badly needed database solution to incoming emails along with web interface.
We proposed that all incoming mail flow directly to an intermediary "web inquiry database" which could serve 3 purposes:
1. Eliminate obviously bogus entries with a click prior to merging with the prospect database.
2. Save the web inquiries to show trends throughout the sports seasons.
3. Be linked to the prospect database to show the closing ratio of inquiries by source of inquiry and in total.
The unique solution was to take a regular PC running XP pro, souped up with RAM, and make it the web server running under IIS (Internet Information Services) from Microsoft. (Static IP) - No expense to maintain server and a workstation too. This was possible using a tool from Data Access Corp of Miami DataAccess.Com called Visual DataFlex WebApp.
The agreement (sold) called for 40/30/30 terms, where the last 30% was upon customer satisfaction, and the last check arrived UNBILLED FOR due to extreme satisfaction by the customer.
This system now works this way: they continue their 24/7/365 presence, and upon an inquiry being SAVED (not submitted) an email goes back to the prospect outlining the information saved with a thank you. The sales manager also receives a copy instantly. Then, in the morning, the clerk prints a report of incoming inquiries, deletes the bad ones, and hits a button which runs a batch process bringing the data into the prospect database and logic is used to automatically transfer the information to the prospect database, matching duplicates that already exist, and writing new records for new prospects. The prospects are assigned to CSR's by the sales manager, the 3 reports from the webserver provide a list daily of incoming leads, a trend by month (Crystal Report/Business Objects Inc.) and a closing ratio by lead source and in total.
The final cost of this system to the customer was highly reasonable: less than $8,000 total delivered including license fees.
The system is now humming!
We did this all without replacing the webmaster, and a simple link from the website (plus communication as to which associate website had provided the inquiry) accomplished all.
This is a pretty amazing story and I invite other developers of web interface software to check out Visual DataFlex WebApp from www.DataAccess.Com. 30 day trial free! This was our toolset. Windows programs with Visual DataFlex v11.1 and Visual DataFlex WebApp.
This article is submitted primarily for the small or mid size business because it doesn't require the investment for a Linux or Unix server, simply a dedicated PC running XP PRO with IIS loaded to host the Web Application. The NEDC does not want to compete with your webmaster: a simple link from your website accomplishes all.
|READ THE DETAILS|: From Applause Software on the Web Database Menu Choice which includes two live site links running this technology.
Article Source: http://www.article-host.com/
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