The implementation of a system change – how exhilarating does this sound? Believe me, it’s a whirlwind. I’m now about a month into changing all of my systems – email, automated marketing, shopping cart function, and my affiliate system – all at the same time, so you may be wondering how I’m doing? If you read my last two blogs, you know that my previous systems were holding me back, and I was forced to re-visit all of my systems and start from scratch. If you haven’t read the blogs, you can read it here; I’ve also included a summary for you:
- I experienced system limitations with my integrated systems – email, automated marketing, shopping cart, and affiliate and realized that my current systems were holding me back
- I determined that there was an opportunity cost associated with NOT finding new systems and it cost my business because of my reluctance to build my business due to my lack of confidence in my systems
- I decided that it was time to look for a new automated email system, shopping cart, and an affiliate system
- I created a wish list of my needs and my requirements and started researching all of the possible systems
- I contacted support departments, watched product demos, set up test accounts and crunched some numbers
The first system I tackled was my email system. Part of the process was finding a new email solution that integrated with my automated marketing, shopping cart, and affiliate system. Easy right? Well, not everything turned out the way I thought it should have. It took more time and money than I anticipated but it also provided me with new opportunities that I wasn’t even aware of, but it is a work in the process.
In this blog, I’m going to talk about the first step of the implementation process – deciding on the primary system – the email system.
My first step of the implementation process had to happen fast because email is, of course, a critical component of my business. It also has to integrate with two important aspects – LeadPages and my shopping cart. I decided to go with ActiveCampaign. I decided on ActiveCampaign because it provides me with new capabilities my old solution did not have, such as the ability to build out smart campaigns that include if/then functionality. This gives me the ability to send one nurture stream to people that opened my initial email and another to those who did not.
Active Campaign also has a great support and training platform – very important when you start with a new system. It also has a tiered pricing model that allows me to pay for the functionality I need rather than the functionality they offer, and it seems very user-friendly. Last, but for sure not least, it has solutions in place for most of the requirements on my wish list, such as the integration with LeadPages.
The first step of implementing this system was to rebuild the automation from my current solution and migrate it to the new solution, and of course also learn the new solution. The nice thing is that the new system was a lot easier to learn. It took me hours, weeks, and months to learn my previous system. ActiveCampaign was a breeze compared to my other system. This experience made me realize that ease of use is a vital component to consider when selecting a new system.
[Tweet “The ease of use is a vital component to consider when selecting a new system”]
Make a note – if you have to find a new system, find how easy it is to learn before you commit.
This experience made me realize that I was so dependent on my current systems that I wasn’t aware that there could be something else out there that was better. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that ActiveCampaign has more capabilities for designing my email marketing campaigns.
Of course, I don’t want my contacts on my list to receive emails from me that are not valuable to them, and now I don’t have to worry about list fatigue. Having an intelligent system like ActiveCampaign will allow me to learn about my clients in a way that I can serve them a lot better with my email than I was able in my previous system.
The next step was to build an enhanced shopping cart for my online products and install a plugin for my WordPress site. I’ve had to fine-tune my shopping cart to work with my programs and my merchant bank and payment service provider. Woocommerce is my shopping cart of choice. After some initial challenges, this now is all under control and allows for a good online shopping experience.
Check back here later to find out how I dealt with the last piece of the puzzle – my affiliate system.
In the meantime, if you have questions about how you can find a system that integrates all of the tools that you need for your online business, join my Freedom Seeker’s Mastermind Facebook Group. You can post questions and comments as well as join the Strategy Power Hour, my Business Hour that I make available through the Facebook Group.
