SugarCRM® For Dummies®

Chapter 13. Campaigning Doesn't Just Occur in an Election Year

In This Chapter

• Using the wizard to create a campaign

• Keeping your eye on the target

• Creating a Leads form

• Creating templates and newsletters

• Diagnosing campaign issues

On the simplest level, you can use SugarCRM as a glorified Rolodex and be quite happy with a place to find basic contact information. However, if you're at all interested in growing — or maintaining — the size of your business, you'll want to make use of the Campaigns module. You start by creating a Target List of the folks who will be the recipients of the campaign. Next, you decide exactly the type of collateral you'll be sending them. You test the campaign process — and figure out ways to measure the ROI (return on investment). Finally, should you find that your campaign stalls at the time of blast-off, you need a way to figure out exactly what's wrong.

Campaigns Module

Quite simply, a campaign is an activity — or series of activities — designed to accomplish a purpose. Just as a candidate campaigns to get elected, a sales manager campaigns to get products purchased. You measure the success of a political campaign by whether the candidate is elected; you measure the success of an advertising campaign by whether you see an increase in sales. And, to continue the analogy, should your campaign not attain the desired outcome, there's nothing to prevent you from trying again!

Typically, a mass marketing campaign targets a specific group of individuals or businesses. ...