CRM UK - the official blog of the CRM specialists at TSG

Are you a Sage line 50 customer whose business is growing?

As a company grows, software which used to be a perfect fit, may not be so perfect anymore.

Concentrix knows that it is natural for your total number of employees and products to increase proportionally as your company goes from strength to strength and expands. It is changes like these which often highlight problems with existing processes and enhance the need for businesses to reassess how things are done.

The Sage 50 suite is ideal for smaller businesses who may typically (although not exclusively) have only a single site and perhaps one to ten accounts staff. But what about if your business has grown beyond this?

Concentrix is one of the largest providers of business management software and IT solutions, located in the heart of the Midlands in Loughborough, Leicestershire. Founded in 1999, Concentrix has helped many companies increase their competitiveness, profitability and customer satisfaction by improving business processes, systems and IT.

The 21st Century has brought significant technology developments which have allowed companies such as Sage to apply their knowledge of financial and trade requirements to create a software package which is capable of meeting all customers’ needs for the foreseeable future. Sage know that as companies grow there is an increased need to enhance communications between all individuals in order to prevent employees and departments alike from working in silos. Through improved communication the efficiency and effectiveness of the company is substantially increased.

The Sage 200 suite is a package which embraces all of these functionalities. Sage 200 has the ability to incorporate information from all the departments within your organisation. The suite is made up of a number of different modules from which you can select the options which apply to your organisation. What’s more, you have the ability to add modules to the package as you progress, meaning that you can develop the software as your organisation grows.

As a fully accredited Sage Business Partner, Concentrix can deploy Sage 200 rapidly, with precise levels of configuration or customisation to meet the exact needs of your business.

For more information about the Sage 200 suite, please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email [email protected]

Free CRM software selection tool

Need help choosing CRM software? If so, Concentrix has developed a free CRM software selection tool. The online tool is a useful guide to help you decide which is the most appropriate CRM software for your business needs.

The CRM selection tool helps you choose the right software by taking you through a number of straightforward questions. These cover your business requirements, the level of CRM functionality you require, access, add-on applications and so on. The questions will take only a few minutes to complete, after which the CRM selection tool,  based on the answers you give, will recommend a suitable CRM software package to meet your needs.

No registration, details or log-ins are required to use the CRM selection tool. It’s also free to use, by anyone, at any time. And to help support your decision further, we’ve also included a CRM software comparison table.

The CRM software comparison table provides an overview of the key features of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage CRM and GoldMine Premium Edition. Each of these products are proven, multifunctional, 'best-in-breed' CRM solutions which Concentrix will configure to meet your business requirements, and the comparison table helps you distinguish between them – at a glance.

Please remember, the CRM selection tool and software comparison table are for guidance only. For more detailed technical or functional product specifications and before making a final decision, we strongly recommend you discuss your requirements in detail with a Concentrix CRM expert.

CRM Case Study: Sage SalesLogix

Over recent months Concentrix has been developing a variety of new CRM case studies. The aim of the case studies are to demonstrate how CRM work implementations work in practice, what’s involved, and to provide real-life examples of different CRM system implementations.

One of the CRM case studies describes how a precision engineering business, Multi-Wing,  successfully deployed Sage SalesLogix.

 

Based in Leicester, UK, Multi-Wing designs and manufactures high-quality impellers. As part of a multinational company, Multi-Wing offers one of the most comprehensive range of impellers in the world, all of which are made with the finest quality materials.

Sage SalesLogix is one of the UK's leading Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Before implementing SalesLogix, Multi-Wing relied on various spreadsheets and an ageing database to manage its sales and customer service processes. However, the convoluted system was slow, difficult to use and prone to inaccuracies and error. Multi-Wing is firmly committed to providing unprecedented levels of customer service. However, the system of spreadsheets made this difficult and didn’t support their commitment.

Concentrix takes a product agnostic approach to supplying CRM solutions, and is formally accredited to supply CRM solutions from a variety of vendors. As a result, when Multi-Wing approached Concentrix, they were able to consider several CRM solutions and choose the most suitable software for their business needs. As well as SalesLogix, these included Sage CRM, GoldMine Premium Edition and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Staff from Multi-Wing discussed their requirements with experts from Concentrix and after examining Multi-Wing’s specific business objectives, bith companies decided the best fit solution would be Sage SalesLogix.

Sage SalesLogix is specifically designed as a CRM solution for small and medium sized businesses. There are many features of Sage SalesLogix which appealed to Multi-Wing. However, one benefit in particular was the ability of SalesLogix to help deliver outstanding customer service, significantly building and strengthening relationships which subsequently increase customer loyalty.

In summary, SalesLogix helped Multi-Wing to:

·                     Consolidate information from across the company

·                     Reduce call preparation time by at least 30%

·                     Improve communications internally as well as externally

·                     Efficiently manage its sales pipeline, quotation tracking and content management

·                     Deliver highly professional customer service, resolving issues quickly and effectively

·                     Improve time-management

·                     Achieve 100% user uptake  - the system is highly valued by staff

For more information about Sage SalesLogix, CRM case studies or Concentrix, please visit our website or contact us.

 

Sage ACT! Demo Now Available

Want to try Sage ACT! 2009? Concentrix, in association with Sage and Runaware, has produced a free online Sage ACT demo.

The Sage ACT! 2009 demo is fully interactive, so you can get a full understanding of all the software’s tools and features. What’s more, no installations or downloads are required, so you can be up and running in minutes.

The demo includes a full set of data, so you can fully assess and evaluate the product.  Full Help facilities, feature tours and online manuals are also included.

More information about the demo is on the Concentrix website, or you can access it directly here.

 

Internet Explorer Security Patch

Because many customers use Internet Explorer to access their CRM applications, (particularly Sage CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM), Concentrix strongly recommends installing the recent IE security patch issued by Microsoft. This patch will fix the ‘zero day’ critical vulnerability in Internet Explorer browser which has attacked over 2m Windows users.

If you have IE’s automatic updates turned on, you should receive the patch shortly. Alternatively you can download from Microsoft here   

For background information there’s a BBC news story "Microsoft issues patch to fix IE"

Hints from Concentrix Support

Before making a call to our support team, it would be helpful if you could answer the following questions in order to help us assess the problem further:

1) Is the problem machine or user specific? To test this, try logging in as a different user or go to a different machine and logon as yourself.

 

2) Try rebooting your machine (you’ll be surprised how often this actually works!)

 

3) Note down the steps taken to reproduce the problem.

 

4) Take screenshots of any errors that appear by pressing the “Print Screen” key on your keyboard. Although it will appear as though nothing has happened, when you open a Microsoft word document and press CTL and V.

Following these steps, may enable us to resolve your problem within a shorter time frame.

CRM: where it is, where it’s going and how to get it right

CXO Europe is a popular business management journal written by executives for executives. It has an extensive circulation, and is published on-line as well as in traditional hardcopy magazine format. Read by senior management across Europe, the aim of the publication is to deliver a well balanced educational resource that serves as an essential tool for decision makers in the alignment of IT and business.

 

As leading UK independent CRM specialists, Concentrix is pleased to have been asked to contribute an article for the December edition of the on-line publication. The article, “CRM: where it is, where it’s going and how to get it right” discusses current CRM technology, the market, developments and trends. It’s an in-depth article and as well as discussing the current CRM market, it looks at how CRM technology is evolving. This includes integrated business management software, visual data analysis and whether the ‘one-size fits all’ CRM model will continue.

 

Please take a look at the article and feel free to post your comments and feedback here. Or if you would like to discuss CRM direct with a specialist, please contact Concentrix.

Concentrix have published a new case study

The latest CRM case study from Concentrix considers Omnichem’s implementation of GoldMine Premium Edition.

Omnichem is one of the leading chemical distributors in the UK, supplying a wide variety of chemicals to a range of different sectors. Omnichem source chemical products from reputable UK and International manufacturers. They also blend chemicals to meet customer’s specific requirements.

Before implementing GoldMine, Omnichem relied on a paper based system which meant that staff often had to carry around copious amounts of paper. Not only was this system inconvenient, it was inefficient and significantly increased the likelihood of error.

Through implementing GoldMine Premium Edition Omnichem have been able to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their operation. Amongst other things, Omnichem have been able to eliminate their reliance on the paper-based reports, quickly, accurately and efficiently respond to customer enquiries and also manage their sales process more effectively.

To view this CRM Case Study in full; please visit the Concentrix website.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year from Concentrix!!

Rather than sending Christmas Cards, we have decided to donate money to charity again this year. The charity we have chosen this year is Niemann-Pick Disease Group (UK).

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and look forward to working with you in 2009!

From All at Concentrix

Concentrix Support Christmas Opening Hours

With Christmas fast approaching we want to make you aware of our support desk opening times for the festive season:

·         Wednesday 24th December:           08.00 – 14.00

·         Thursday 25th December :             CLOSED

·         Friday 26th December:                  CLOSED

·         Monday 29th December :               09.00 – 17.30

·         Tuesday 30th December:               09.00 – 17.30

·         Wednesday 31st December :          09.00 – 14.00

·         Thursday 1st January                    CLOSED

·         Friday 2nd January                        08.00 – 18.00

From Friday 2nd January, we will be operating as usual.