CloudContacts Blog

One of our most popular features continues to be the Contact Updater service. I’ve had a few chats with our customers over the past month and all of them mentioned that they use the business card contact updater service. One of the biggest issues with business cards is that the data will eventually be out-of-date and/or the card data isn’t complete. After we provide our business card scanning and transcription service, you should definitely use the Contact Updater service before exporting/transferring your business card contact data.

The Contact Updater is awesome because now your contacts can fill-in the empty pieces of their contact record. They can update their company, title, email, phone numbers, chat networks and most importantly…their social networks! It’s a great way to be able to connect with your contacts on the social networks they use and also make sure that their contact data is current.

A huge side benefit of the Contact Updater is that you get a chance to touch base with your contacts. You can include a custom message and it’s a great way to say hello, tell your contacts what you are up to, etc. Many of our customers use the Contact Updater straight away because the point-of-contact is still fresh. And if you combine the Contact Updater with our categorization feature, you can customize the message per event to make the emails even more personal.

The Contact Updater is available inside your CloudContacts account – if you aren’t a CloudContacts customer yet, join us today!

You can watch a one-minute demo video about the Contact Updater below – make sure you select the HD viewing option. (and you can subscribe to our Youtube channel for more videos):

There’s  nothing like coming into the office and finding some more awesome feedback received from one of our customers!

“Kudos! Superb offering.  My greatest compliment to you and your company…I will be purchasing more credits and sending through more cards. A well delivered, worthwhile service.”  — Robert D.

Thanks Robert for your kind words about CloudContacts, the business card scanning and transcription service. If you aren’t a customer yet, signup today!

One of our awesome customers just sent in this feedback – nothing like arriving to the office and seeing more happy customers!

Thanks for the fantastic service – have just checked the system and I’m amazed at how much time you have saved me!

Kind regards
Gareth Hope

You can check out more customer feedback on our Buzz page – and if you aren’t a CloudContacts customer, what are you waiting for? Sign up today!

Many of our customers use the very popular social enterprise CRM service Salesforce. Occasionally we get a question from a current or potential customer about how to move their business card contacts from CloudContacts into Salesforce. The process is totally easy and is one of our most popular export options.

First, we need to scan and transcribe your business cards to get the new contact data into your CloudContacts account. If you don’t yet have a CloudContacts account, what are you waiting for?! Sign up today!

Once we’ve processed your business cards and the new contact data is in your CloudContacts, there are two options to move the contact data into Salesforce. Both options take mere moments so just select the option that works best for your situation.

Option 1: Direct Connector

When you login to your CloudContacts account, click “Direct Connections” on the top menu and select Salesforce Leads from the menu. Then select the contacts you want to transfer and click the check mark on the right side of the contact selection menu. You will then be prompted to login to Salesforce so that the transfer can begin. Note: we do not see or store your Salesforce login information. This method will transfer the contacts into your Salesforce account as Leads.

Option 2: Export/Import

If you prefer to import the contacts manually into Salesforce or if you want to add the contacts to your Salesforce account as something other than Leads, this is the option for you. Just login to your CloudContacts account, and select Salesforce from the Download All dropdown menu on the top of the page. Save the file and then import the file into your Salesforce account.

If you have any questions about the importing process or questions about how CloudContacts can help you maximize your networking, send us an inquiry. We are happy to help!

I’ve written about QR codes for years now and still have hopes that they will take off here in the U.S. as they have in Japan. A QR code (displayed on the left) is a 2-D barcode that is similar to the UPC barcodes found on merchandise except that it is a much smarter barcode. There are lots of Internet startups focused around helping companies push these barcodes into marketing literature.

What’s really awesome about these new codes is that today more and more of the smartphones come with readers pre-installed which was something that wasn’t so readily available when I started posting about these codes in 2007/2008. Once Apple includes a code reader in the iPhone, the usage of these codes by marketers will explode.

This week I noticed that the US Postal Service is now pushing the value of adding a QR code (they refer to it as a 2-D barcode) to direct mail. And they are offering a discount on direct mail that features a 2-D barcode. Called the, “Mobile Commerce & Personalization Promotion”, you can save 2% by just simply adding a 2-D barcode. It looks like someone at the post office will be reviewing the codes and they need to point to either:

• A mobile optimized web page that allows the recipient to purchase an advertised product or service on the mobile device. The entire purchase and checkout experience must be mobile optimized.
• A mobile optimized and personalized web page/URL that is tailored to an individual recipient. The web address and content of the web page must be unique to eachrecipient.

Here’s the simple program overview, “Thanks to mobile marketing technologies, the concept of direct mail is changing. The 2012 Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion provides business mailers with an upfront 2 percent postage discount on qualifying Standard Mail and First-Class Mail letters, flats, and cards with a 2-D barcode that can be read or scanned by with mobile device.”

Please make sure to read all of the documentation to make sure that you receive the discount. On the postal service webpage, you need to register for the promotion and also read the faq, program requirements and user guide documents.