The Mobile CRM Video Everyone's Talking About
Maximizer Executive Explains Why “Laptops are Old School”
Earlier this month, Maximizer CRM submitted a video on YouTube, called “Laptops are Old School”, to promote their mobile CRM product. I found this video to be clever, hilarious, and a “must-see” – and apparently, thousands of other viewers had the same response. I interviewed Angie Hirata, Worldwide Director of Marketing and Business Development for Maximizer, about the popular video and Maximizer’s mobile CRM product. Here’s what she had to say…
Angie, many companies have had trouble garnering attention with video ads online, and thousands of videos are submitted on YouTube each day. How did you promote your ad to gain exposure?
AH: We linked to it from our homepage, and we promoted it as a YouTube video; we also did an email campaign. As soon as you say something’s featured on You Tube, people want to watch it. Some of the staff put [links to it] in their signature as well. We encouraged the staff to post links on their Linked in and Facebook pages. It’s a bold yet funny and entertaining way to promote mobile CRM for the future.
Your YouTube ad has gotten over 3,000 views in the last week and has received a 5 star rating from viewers. What kind of response have you seen at Maximizer?
AH: We’ve definitely had a lot of people click through. It gets our message out there and plants the seed in people’s mind. We’ve gotten great feedback from customers.
Who produced the video? Was it done in-house or through an agency?
AH: The video was produced by a company in Vancouver called On-Demand Production Network. All of the planning was done in-house.
What inspired the video?
AH: As a company, we decided to put our focus on mobile CRM. We [determined that we] need to do something bold and different on a smaller budget, to try something a little more guerilla. We brainstormed on concepts that would be humorous. Everyone was really excited that I said, “let’s do something bold and something fun”. Even the video company said they had never done something like this for a company.
There’s no doubt that mobile CRM solutions are adding great convenience and efficiency to companies’ operations. What makes Maximizer’s mobile CRM solution unique?
AH: We do have a multi-platform strategy, which includes solutions for iPhone, Blackberry, and other Windows Mobile devices. We build all the solutions in-house, and we have different options… [the mobile solution] gives the salesperson resident data on their device, so even if they’re on a plane, the information is still there. The salesperson has online connectivity to the entire corporate system. Also, a lot of vendors in our space have other mobile add-ons. We position the mobile as the front end, not just the “add on” to CRM.
Your products seem to be specifically tailored to fit the needs of SMB’s. What advantages does a mobile CRM solution have for the small business, in particular?
AH: We are at a point [with mobile CRM] where we are moving from the early adopter to the early majority, and we’ve see that from the fact that Windows Mobile and Blackberry sales have exploded in recent months. [Maximizer Mobile CRM] helps you improve your customer relationships and improve your sales. SMB’s really like the ease of use; we strive to make it an easy-to-use solution. Our software mimics the Blackberry ease of use and we don’t try to cram too much functionality into it… just what the client really needs. All those critical things you need when you’re in the field.
[Photo courtesy of akamaized.]
