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Kendra Von Achen

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President, DB Pros

116 points

Kendra Von Achen serves as President of DB Pros. Kendra has over ten years of marketing experience, alongside eight years of database experience. While her educational and work background is primarily in marketing, her career took a turn towards database ...

Kendra Von Achen serves as President of DB Pros. Kendra has over ten years of marketing experience, alongside eight years of database experience. While her educational and work background is primarily in marketing, her career took a turn towards database management, which is what she currently practices. The two concentrations provide a unique perspective on both messaging and targeting, which are both necessary in the multi-channel marketing arena.

Prior to starting DB Pros, Kendra served as a Marketing Manager for a regional accounting firm for over 4 years. She currently serves as a board member for the Business Impact Group, a local networking organization, and a Board of Trustees member for Child & Family Resources, a non-profit organization.

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WEB: DB Pros Blog

May 24, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 7 other people answered this question

What would you do if a direct competitor requests to add you to their Linked In network?

Kerri - for me, most of my competitors have such differentiating factors from me and vice versa, so I'm not worried about sharing my connections with them. There's a big enough market for us all to play nice in the sandbox together! But I could ... more

Information Technology

May 21, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 1 other person answered this question

What is the best free tool I can use to manage my sales pipeline?

Robert - I'd agree with Deniz. Zoho CRM is a great CRM tool and for the basics is free for up to 3 users. If you need something super-basic, then just create an Excel spreadsheet with the information (this is not usually my suggested method, ... more

May 14, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 3 other people answered this question

Is a PMP certification relevent to a career in supply chain management?

I can't answer directly, but my husband is in supply chain management at a management level and he does NOT have a PMP certification and it has not affected his career path. I think it's more important to have excellent Excel/Access skills, as well as ... more

Information Technology

PMP Certification

May 10, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 5 other people answered this question

Can you recommend a Voip solution for my small business?

If it's just for a few people (or just you), I just switched to Vonage when I moved offices and so far it's working great. If you have more than a couple of people, you may want to look into the phone systems, etc. that ... more

Information Technology

May 8, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 4 other people answered this question

How do I create a very basic business intelligence environment?

Adam:
What size company and what types of BI are you looking to track/analyze? This will make a difference in answers to help you. I agree with David, in that you can use Excel to map out what you're trying to accomplish. Depending on the ... more

Information Technology

Business Intelligence

May 7, 2012

Kendra Von Achen recommends this answer by Mel Kleiman

What tips do you have to grow your business on a tight budget?

Here is a little different approach. If you have a message that would be interesting to specific group of people such as an association, rotary group, are an educational message to your clients. Develop a presentation that does not sell your product as much as ... more

May 7, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 7 other people answered this question

We're nearly halfway through 2012. What are the biggest marketing challenges you are seeing?

Michael - I see the same challenge as your 2nd bullet (emphasis on technology and not strategy/tactic/execution) as well. In my world of software implementations (specifically CRM), it is a great challenge, one that I try to consult my clients out of so they can ... more

Demand Generation

Marketing Automation

May 1, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 8 other people answered this question

What are some tips to making the most of my commute into work?

listen to audiobooks

April 25, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 2 other people answered this question

What ideas or things do you do make Outlook more efficient?

Mel - Outlook is merely a tool. The bigger question you might want to ask yourself is how can I gain better control over my email/calendar/contacts/tasks to be more efficient. There are a 1000 ways under the sun to customize Outlook to make it work ... more

Information Technology

Personal Productivity

Time Management

April 24, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 3 other people answered this question

Productivity: What tools or strategies have you successfully implemented to create an extra hour in your day?

I can't say that I've necessarily created an extra hour each time, but I have recently created several strategies, that when layered, save me a lot of time.
First, I moved to a better task management system that syncs across computers/devices, and allows me to ... more

Productivity Tools

Time Management

April 19, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Defining Cloud Computing [2/23 @ 11 am]

Is cloud computing a technology or an IT service or both?

While I am not an IT services professional, I am using cloud software (Saas) to run my business, and if it were in my budget, I would have my entire infrastructure in the cloud. I see it as both...it's a technology, because without the technology ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

Enterprise Computing

April 13, 2012

Kendra Von Achen answered this question

Do you think code should be considered physical property?

If you're asking should you own the code yu hire someone to write for you, then absolutely! I include that in my subcontractor agreements so they can't go off and sell that same code or concept to someone else. more

Information Technology

Intellectual Property

April 11, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 4 other people answered this question

What are the best Android Apps for business productivity?

I use Toodledo for task management, and it has a web app, android app and can sync with Outlook, google and many other tools. I also use SugarSync (an alternative to DropBox, etc.) that has a desktop app, web app, and android app to keep ... more

Information Technology

Android Application

April 9, 2012

Kendra Von Achen recommends this answer by Najeem Illyas

What is Focus Research?

Focus research submission is not available these days. I have submitted few papers, but now not able to post research writings. Now only post option. So not sure how I can make a post as research brief.
I was able to submit documents of works I ... more

Information Technology

April 9, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 7 other people answered this question

What are the best practices regarding firms that have implemented tools or initiatives to make processes more efficient?

Can you please clarify your question? What exactly are you looking for here?

Information Technology

Business Process

Process Efficiency

March 30, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Manage Organizational Change and Drive Your ERP Project to Success [4/9 @ 11 am]

What do you think about NetSuite?

I agree with most of the above. I have implemented NetSuite for several clients, but am a vendor-neutral CRM consultant. I don't do much on the ERP side but do have some clients with the full suite.
I find the reporting to be quite robust, ... more

Information Technology

Enterprise Software

March 22, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 8 other people answered this question

What are your recommendations for a CRM system?

Amy:
One key aspect of this decision that you haven't shared with us is your budget. All of the products already mentioned/suggested, along with the rest out in the marketplace, have varying costs associated to them, both to utilize/purchase the software, and to implement.
And ... more

Information Technology

CRM Requirements

March 19, 2012

Kendra Von Achen and 4 other people answered this question

Did you start a business rather than peruse graduate school? What advice do you have for recent college grads/young entrepreneurs.

I have to disagree with John McCoy. I am a current business owner, and many of those topics you mention are not REQUIRED for every business owner to know themselves. It really depends on the industry of the business. I sell a service, so product-based ... more

Entrepreneurship

July 14, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 5 other people answered this question

Is social media bringing an increase in business to you?

My answer is yes, but not because people are blatantly reading what my company posts and rushing to call/email me. It's about proactive and reactive when it comes to social media. Yes, I'm trying to put relevant content out there so people will find me ... more

June 28, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 3 other people answered this question

What is the best way to get rid of duplicate CRM data?

Because there are so many CRM solutions out there, and each have their own toolset to deal with duplicates, this is not a straightforward answer. I agree with previous posts that part of the issue needs to be resolved during the data entry process -- ... more

Information Technology

June 27, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 12 other people answered this question

What is a good web-based CRM for a small business?

Kelly, there are many event management systems that have a lot of the functionality of CRM but without the sales funnel areas that it sounds like you don't need/require.
Here are some suggestions, all different price points, and none of which I sell/directly use but do ... more

Information Technology

Cloud Computing

May 23, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 2 other people answered this question

Best online shared database application?

Wendy - this type of thing is what my company, DB Pros, does for clients. We work with small businesses to help them identify the right solution to use to manage the business [better]. We are vendor neutral, so can recommend any solution that is ... more

Information Technology

April 4, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 12 other people answered this question

How do you market to 'Influencers'?

Chris:
First off, good luck with the roundtable! I'm a consultant, and I'd define influencers as those that I can 1) build a strategic relationship with; 2) those that refer business to me; and/or 3) those that I network closely with.
I'd say there are several tiers ... more

Influencer Marketing

March 17, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 25 other people answered this question

What is one mistake that you would caution a new entrepreneur to avoid?

Ditto to the answers above...and I would add that as a start-up, you may think you can outrun the "norm" and build a profit quicker than what they say (which is 3-5 years). But know that starting up a company is a lot of hard ... more

Entrepreneuership

Jan. 30, 2011

Kendra Von Achen and 36 other people answered this question

Do you add everyone that wants to connect on LinkedIn?

While I don't discriminate to only those people I've met before/already know, I am selective in the connections I will accept for people that randomly connect with me. I too see LinkedIn as an extension of my reputation and my company's reputation (as a business ... more

Social Netowrking

Dec. 9, 2010

Kendra Von Achen and 1 other person answered this question

Why is Salesforce considered the cloud CRM 'gold standard?'

I agree with Ray. Salesforce.com has the marketing budget to splash national and global attention and make themselves the leader. As a CRM consultant, I would NOT say that Salesforce.com is the best CRM product out there. But I also couldn't answer the questions of ... more

Customer Service

Cloud Based Applications

Dec. 9, 2010

Kendra Von Achen and 1 other person answered this question

What are some good online backup services?

I use iDrive and LOVE it! I can access my files anytime I want through a web browser, my files are constantly updated and backed up based on the folder structure I've asked it to pull from. They have redundant backups, continuous backups, and are ... more

Information Technology

Backup and Recovery Software

Nov. 22, 2010

Kendra Von Achen and 7 other people answered this question

How long does it take to implement a 20-user CRM system?

I agree with all of the posters except for Brad (sorry!). No good implementation can be done in a day. Sure, you can purchase/subscribe to the software, turn it on, and start using it. But the huge pieces of the puzzle that allow success for ... more

Customer Service

Information Technology

Nov. 17, 2010

Kendra Von Achen and 28 other people answered this question

Should a small business use a Facebook Page instead of a Web Site?

I agree with most of the previous posts -- NO! You need a website to look professional and an official company these days. You can then add a Facebook page that enhances the messaging in your website and draws people to more traffic for you.
If ... more

Following 17 Topics

Data Management

Information Technology

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Small Business Strategies

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