Growing demand by SMBs for CRM and SEO solutions

There is a growing demand among small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) for customer relationship management (CRM) and search engine optimisation (SEO) solutions, according to Smash Solutions.

In fact, recent research from Vocus shows 53.8% of SMBs have adopted SEO practices to drive traffic to websites, while 16.2% rate it as the most effective marketing protocol for their business.

Smash Solutions is targeting this underserved market with a new SEO product offering designed for SMBs.

According to Smash Solutions, SEO is much more than a buzzword. It enables businesses to rank higher in search engine results for certain keywords, generating web traffic without having to pay for advertising on programmes like Google AdWords, the company says.

According to Smash Solutions, its Booster Bar Search Optimisation tool is the only productised automatic SEO boosting technology in the market, and has a track record of increasing website visitors and helping to improve organic search results.

In August, the company announced its first partnership deal with Social5, a social media management company, to integrate the Smash Booster Bar with the Social5 Rank SEO tool.

The blended product will have specific value to SMBs by delivering an automatic increase in website visitors and higher visibility online, the company says.

In September, along with 4th Dimension Marketing, Smash Solutions announced its SEO Rocket Bar will be launched mid to late October to new and existing customers.

As the firm's second major OEM distribution deal, 4th Dimension Marketing will market the product to its clients around the world.

"4th Dimension Marketing has been serving the SMB market for many years. Today our client 'footprint' has expanded to more than 25 countries with over 10,000 current clients.

"The SEO Rocket Bar is so cost effective and will deliver a great value to the SMB market that has been virtually neglected for so many years," says Don Whitmore, 4th Dimension Marketing CEO.

CRM solutions have also becoming increasingly popular over the past several years, says Smash Solutions.

In fact, the CRM industry grew 13.3% in 2014 to reach $23.3 billion, according to Gartner.

Within the segment, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has grown to account for nearly half of the market, with on-premise software provided accounting for the other half.

On top of this, the CRM is the most widely adopted cloud application among SMBs, at more than 55%.

To capitalise on this market opportunity, Smash Solutions has developed an all-inclusive CRM suite to streamline and simplify operations for SMBs. The CRM platform features a one-click contact manager that automatically gathers public data (coming in version 2.0), tasks, events, appointment link calendars that allows contacts to pencil themselves in and a personal virtual assistant that reaches out to contacts regularly a company's behalf.

The technology makes it easy for small businesses to offer a 'personal touch' to all clients, automatically, and at scale, the company says.

In addition to these functions, the software includes features such as the Smash Buzz Wall that automatically keeps social media up-to-date, Smash Newsletters to keep clients up-to-date with the latest developments, and video e-mail functionality to keep clients engaged.

The company also provides a number of other hands-on solutions, such as social marketing and website design, to help clients reach their business goals.