It can be hard to keep track of all the moving parts of your art business–especially when it comes to the professional relationships you develop throughout your career. How many paintings did this client buy? Who did I share that inventory report with? Where the heck is that commission contract?

Artwork Archive has developed a fully integrated CRM tool that is intended to help you build new relationships, strengthen existing ones, and generally work smarter when it comes to making decisions in your art business.

Below, we’ve outlined specific ways to use CRM as an integral part of your day-to-day workflow.

Typically, CRM stands for ‘Customer Relationship Management.’ However, when you’re running an art business, ‘customers’ are not the only relationships that are important to maintain. At Artwork Archive, we prefer to think of CRM as ‘Contact Relationship Management’ where you don’t just manage customer relationships, but also collectors, gallerists, advisors, other artists, etc.

Let’s say you meet a collector at an art fair. They’re super interested in your body of work and would love to set up a time to chat about some of your pieces. This could be the start of a very profitable business relationship if you take the proper steps to foster that connection.

With Artwork Archive’s CRM, you’re able to create a contact record for the prospective collector. This contact record can contain general information, social media links, notes about how you met this person, and other distinguishing features.

In this example, the collector wants to set up a time to meet with you and discuss your body of work. With the CRM tool, you’re able to set reminders about a specific person directly from their contact record. Here’s how:

Click ‘Contacts’ in the left-hand menu. Then, click into the Contact Record that you want to set the reminder for.

Click ‘Add Reminder’ at the top of the Contact Record.

Enter both the date and the note you want to be associated with the reminder. Be sure to click ‘Save’.

Your reminder will be added to this contact record and is automatically integrated with your Schedule feature. You are also able to sync your reminders with your smartphone, Google calendar, or Outlook by clicking on the ‘Calendar’ icon to the right of your reminder.

While continuing to grow your customer base is important for ongoing success, we’ve found that strengthening relationships with your existing clients is one of the critical drivers of growth for artists.

With Artwork Archive, everything is relational and you’re able to track everything you have shared with a specific person. From various Reports to Private Rooms, everything you share with a contact will be recorded on their individual contact record.

Once you’ve generated a report in Artwork Archive, you will be redirected to the ‘Reports’ page.

Find the report you’d like to share. Click the blue arrow next to the report’s title, then click ‘Share’

Find the existing contact you’d like to send the report to. Write a brief message to explain what it is you’re sending, then click ‘Send’.

NOTE: You’re also able to share with a Contact Group. To do so, select the existing group from the ‘Groups’ drop-down menu. Once the report is shared with that group, a Share Record will be recorded on each individual’s contact record.

Every time you share a report, the Share Record will be notated on the 'Reports' page next to that report under 'Info.'

You will also see all Share Records associated with a specific contact. This includes all Reports and Private Rooms shared.

In addition to tracking shared reports and Private Rooms, you’re also able to see a specific contact’s Purchase/Acquisition History as well as any Additional Files (such as proposals, contracts, etc).

Keeping track and staying on top of this information doesn’t just help you stay organized, but also empowers you with the information you need to keep your existing customers feeling appreciated. This can ultimately drive more sales!

With Artwork Archive’s integrated CRM tool, you’re able to manage and organize your contacts efficiently. Contact Groups allow you to categorize the different relationships you have made throughout your art career and send groups customized communications.

Let’s say the collector you met at the art fair has become one of your best customers. It would benefit you to group her as such. For example, adding this contact to a group called ‘VIP Collectors’ will allow you to send this entire group new pieces, or exclusive deals that strengthen those relationships even further.

Click on the contact record. Then, click the ‘Edit’ icon. Once in the ‘Edit Contact’ window, select your desired group from the ‘Groups’ drop-down menu.

Be sure to click ‘Update Contact’

Now, every time you filter by ‘VIP Collectors,’ you’ll see all contacts who fall under that category.

NOTE: In addition to filtering by Groups, you’re also able to filter by Relation and Location.

Every time you register a sale, the system automatically classifies the buyer as a ‘Client’. This enables you to sort through your contacts by who has purchased your work.

Knowing which contacts have purchased work, and which have yet to, gives you important information about the next steps you need to take in order to make sales and become more efficient.

In addition to building new relationships and strengthening existing ones, having the right integrated CRM helps you work smarter and be more efficient.

That means spending less time tracking down vital information and more time in the studio doing what you love.