veryone uses a Diary because we simply cannot remember everything.
So we’ve all learned to write things down – particularly appointments,
birthdays … in one place.
This is likely to be either a paper diary, (and most people still
have one), a personal organiser or we use a software product. Most
though are still individual to us so each person has their own diary.
Or there may be one Paper Diary for the whole office.
This is a big improvement as we now know what we’re doing today,
tomorrow, next week … Unfortunately no one else does – with certainty.
The obvious solution if your business has a computer network is to use
a Software Diary available to everyone on your office network.
Now you know what everyone is doing at any time. Who’s available
for a meeting on a particular day and at what time. Who’s out of the
office & who’s in. And if this is the sole diary for your business no
more double bookings.
So now we’ve made a major leap forward - We’re still not half way
though.
Our Network Diary is People Orientated & Inward Looking because
historically that’s what diaries are. Yes, it needs to meet this need
and also be Outward Looking so it’s Customer Orientated too.
The solution is to use a network diary that’s integrated with your
Customer Database. So every customer related event is linked to not
only the person in your office but also to the customer. Now your
Business Diary is Customer Centric too.
Just imagine you’re trying to find an appointment you’ve made with
a customer some weeks ahead or a meeting you attended some months
prior. Typically you’ll scroll through the pages of a paper diary or
electronic diary looking for the appointment. Now with your
Customer Centric Diary you still do this of course but you’ll save
time by simply viewing the Customer Folder and see past, current &
future events.
The Diary I’m describing is Rapport and it provides a host of
productivity benefits. I’ll list just a few …
You can make appointments on behalf of others. This could be
for one or more people or even a group such as Managers,
Directors, Accounts …
You can send messages inviting people to a meeting ensuring
that they’re available without using Email
You can set an Alarm to remind you & others some time prior to
a meeting, visit … So you avoid being late or even forgetting
altogether
You can set up Repeat Events such as a weekly management
meeting
You can Email a client to confirm a meeting directly you enter
details in the diary
You can view just your own appointments, those for another
person or group. Particularly useful if there are many entries in
the diary.
You can make private entries for your eyes only – typically for
birthdays, anniversaries …
You can Analyse the diary and produce reports on holidays,
sickness, staff training …
You can make Client Memos that pop up whenever you view the
client’s folder. Useful if the client’s On Stop or simply as a
reminder
And every client related entry can be viewed either from the
diary or from the client’s folder. So you get a Two Way View. You
choose whichever suits you at the time.
The Rapport Diary is just a part – an important part of the Rapport
package. For more information on Rapport click here.
To obtain a copy of a Free Report that discusses the benefits of a
Customer Centric database.
click here
