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

CRM in Education – New Case Study from Concentrix

Concentrix has released a new case study on CRM in higher education. One of a series of CRM case studies, the new article focuses on Darlington College, one of the largest Further Education Colleges in the North of England. It explains how Darlington College deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM to help them engage more effectively with the local business community, streamline internal processes and increase competitiveness against other training providers.

Like many other colleges, Darlington College needed to maintain focus on their core student base. However, with increased competition from private training providers, the college also put great importance on engaging with the local business community to provide training for employees. The addition of a CRM system was an essential factor in Darlington College's drive to extend and improve business performance, primarily within Employer Engagement.

Commenting on the case study, John Odell, senior CRM consultant said “Concentrix has successfully deployed CRM systems in a variety of educational establishments. Darlington College is a great example – the CRM system helped them achieve excellent results in terms of employer engagement, and helping towards an outstanding Ofsted report”.

 

The Evolution of CRM - Part 1 of 3

In the past Customer Relationship Management was seen as a nice to have rather than a must have for the day to day running of a business. However this has changed significantly over the past few years as more and more businesses look for a ways to streamline their internal processes in an attempt to improve efficiency, effectiveness and ultimately profitability. What’s more, companies are seeing the business benefits of building relationships with existing customers and prospects. After all, it costs more to attract new customers than it does to retain existing clients and in the current economic climate the benefits of retaining existing customers are even more pronounced

So what is Customer Relationship Management?

Many organisations hold their customer and supplier information in a number of places including on spreadsheets, in people’s heads and on various pieces of paper. However, this often results in different departments working independently of each other.  Customer Relationship Management provides a new way to manage relationships within an organisation, as all customer and supplier data is held centrally within one database, therefore anyone within the organisation can access the customer data, providing they have an internet connection. Essentially CRM is all about building and retaining relationships with existing customers in order to keep them coming back. It also helps to build relationships with new clients.

However, the ‘Customer’ part of the term Customer Relationship Management is misleading as the strategy, software and processes apply equally to all relationships, not just those with customers. This can provide real advantages to many organisations as often they want to manage every relationship that they have, not just those with customers. This is a concept which Microsoft refer to as xRM where the ‘x’ can be replaced with anything.  The concept of xRM will deliver real business benefits including:

- Improved communication

- Automation – making it easier to perform administrative tasks

- Enhanced staff efficiency & effectiveness

The Future of CRM

The world of CRM is changing rapidly. It is moving from being a static source of information to a fully interactive business management tool.  This movement has occurred as a result of the explosion in the world of social networking. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Linked In have made the transition to the fully interactive world of CRM a must.

Social CRM provides marketers as well as sales people with a new medium through which they can communicate with customers. It also enables them to monitor conversations which occur across social networking sites and offer information and advice to organisations.

The popularity and success of social CRM is yet to be proven, but it certainly looks like it has the potential to be a popular medium through which organisations can communicate.

Concentrix is an independent CRM provider and supplies best in breed solutions including Sage CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and FrontRange’s GoldMine.

For more information about xRM or social CRM, please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email [email protected]

 

Sage CRM Business Partner of the Year 2009

Staff at Concentrix are feeling pretty pleased this morning. Last night (25th November), Sage held a gala dinner in Newcastle for its Business Partners. Concentrix was awarded 'Sage CRM Business Partner of the Year', as well as a place in the coveted Circle of Excellence (there are only 15 Sage Business Partners in the Circle of Excellence out of literally hundreds in the UK, so it's quite an achievement!).

Ian Dawkins, Concentrix Managing Director commented “Sage CRM is a key product for Concentrix with some outstanding features and powerful CRM functionality.  I’m really pleased that the wide range of skills, deep understanding of the software and dedication of Concentrix staff has been formally recognised”.

If you would like more details about the award, there’s a press release on the News section of the Concentrix website here.

Microsoft CRM Solutions – New Article in the Concentrix Knowledge Base

We’ve added some background information and overview of the Microsoft CRM solutions offered by Concentrix to the CRM knowledge base on the Concentrix website.  As well as providing general information about the products, the article, Microsoft CRM: Much More Than One Piece of Software – helps clarify the options available and avoid the confusion that occasionally arises about Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Hosted Microsoft CRM and the CRM functionality of Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

So to summarize, we basically offer three forms of Microsoft CRM solution:

- As Microsoft’s main CRM product, Microsoft Dynamics CRM

- As Hosted Microsoft CRM. This is the same product (Microsoft Dynamics CRM) but as a  Software as a Service (SaaS) or cloud computing solution. In other words, it is Microsoft Dynamics CRM held on secure, remote servers which Concentrix look after.

- As a CRM specific module within the business management suite Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

For clarification, the module within Microsoft Dynamics NAV is not the same product as Microsoft Dynamics CRM (it's also different again from the CRM module in Microsoft Dynamics AX). As part of Microsoft’s integrated business management solution, the CRM module in Microsoft Dynamics NAV provides good quality mid-market CRM functionality which delivers contact management and straightforward CRM functionality at a level suitable for a large number of businesses.

Occasionally organisations using Microsoft Dynamics NAV will want to use Microsoft Dynamics CRM (rather than the CRM module) and integrate the two. Concentrix can do this using specific data integration software applications. There is more than one applications we use – which one we choose depends on your business requirements and what you need from your overall system.

The article also looks at the history of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and choosing between hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM and on-premise.

If you get a chance to visit the knowledge base and have any feedback about the article, if there’s anything we’ve missed or you need more information about any of the products or services we provide, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Getting CRM Right Seminar

Thank you to those who attended our “Getting CRM Right Seminar” yesterday. The feedback we received was excellent. We hope you found the event informative.

To download the CRM presentation from yesterday, please click on the following link and enter the password you have been sent via email.

Download Getting CRM Right Seminar Slides Nov 09

Concentrix has helped hundreds of companies throughout the UK improve their business practices, efficiency and profits. We achieve this through close consultation during all stages of the system implementation process – from choosing the right software to configuration, training and support. We also supply hardware and IT infrastructure.

Concentrix supplies complete business solutions including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, Sage CRM, the Sage 200 suite and FrontRange's GoldMine.

If you have any questions about CRM, need help or information selecting the right solution for your organisation, or require a demonstration of any of the products we provide, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01509 410500 or email [email protected].

The rise of Business Management Suites

The traditional method of using a variety of systems to manage a business causes inaccuracies, islands of information and poor knowledge across a business, and this often impacts on profitability. However, the days of running several unconnected systems to manage a business are quickly becoming a thing of the past, due to the rise of ERP and this is not a bad thing.

ERP (now more often called Business Management Suites) have significantly increased in popularity over the past few years as more and more businesses realise that implementing a solution can streamline internal processes, enabling them to reduce their overall operating costs and subsequently enhance their profitability.

So what Business Management Solutions are available?

Concentrix is a Microsoft Gold Partner and Sage Accredited Business Partner and supplies ‘best in breed’ solutions including Sage 200 Suite and Microsoft Dynamics NAV.

Both Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are extremely popular solutions, and we have a comparison of Sage 200 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV on our website.

Sage 200 Suite

Sage 200 is a genuine business wide application, so rather than having to run separate, an unconnected piece of software to manage your business, Sage 200 enables you to do it from within one piece of software. What’s more, because Sage 200 is an integrated solution which connects with all the main functions of your business, it delivers massive gains in efficiency and effectiveness.

Sage 200 is a modular solution. However the two foundation modules are:

- Sage 200 Financials

- Sage 200 CRM

There are also a variety of industry and process specific modules available including:

- Sage 200 Commercials

- Sage 200 Project Accounting

- Sage 200 Construction

- Sage 200 Manufacturing

- Sage 200 Point of Sale

- Sage 200 Wholesale and Retail

- Sage 200 Business Analysis and Forecasting

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a cost effective, robust and highly flexible mid-market business management solution. It is a fully integrated solution which will bring your whole organisation together as it integrates all departments including, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing and Human Resources.

In addition Microsoft Dynamics NAV has extensive business intelligence and reporting facilities which will help you to uncover valuable nuggets of information, enabling you to make more informed business decisions.

By comparison to Sage 200, the design of Microsoft Dynamics NAV is based around people’s roles and the tasks they perform. Essentially Microsoft Dynamics works with people, the way they do their jobs, and the way they work in their departments.

The standard functionality of Microsoft Dynamics NAV includes financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, sales, marketing, human resource management, project management and service management. It also has a standalone accounting solution.

For more information about Sage 200 or Microsoft Dynamics NAV, or for more information about Business Management Solutions please contact Concentrix on 0509 410500 or email [email protected]

 

Concentrix Customer Surgery

The next Concentrix Customer Surgery is on Tuesday 8^th December.

The Customer Surgery gives existing customers the opportunity to spend an hour with one of our CRM, Accounts or Business Solutions Specialists completely free of charge, while enjoying some Christmas themed refreshments. You can ask our team about anything ranging from your existing system, to software upgrades, tips, advice and future developments.

Date: 8^th December 2009

Location: Concentrix Ltd, 20 Granite Way, Mountsorrel, Leicestershire LE12 7TZ

To book your place*, either email [email protected]or call 01509 410500 by Monday 30^th November.

*Please note to attend the surgery you have to book a place first

CRM Knowledge Base

Have you looked at the Concentrix CRM knowledge base recently? The latest post is the top ten do’s and don’ts for CRM success, and we’re adding articles of interest all the time.

All articles in the knowledge base are original – they’re written by experienced and qualified Concentrix consultants or our partners. CRM technology itself is rapidly developing and changing. The advent of ‘Social CRM’, the growth of hosted CRM, cloud computing, integrated solutions and ‘xRM’ (where the ‘x’ means ‘Anything’ - it’s not just about customers anymore) and increased computing power all mean CRM projects can become even more far-reaching and complex. That’s why the knowledge base is steadily growing. As well as this blog, we hope the knowledge base will help keep you up to date and informed about latest developments in CRM.

Concentrix also has a variety of whitepapers and pdf downloads. Most of these are available on request; however some are also available for download direct. For example, the CRM knowledge base includes Security for your Finance and CRM Software - A non-technical introduction on how to ensure your systems are protected from the ever prominent security threats, and Sage CRM – Standard and Advanced licences compared. The smaller accounts and ERP solutions knowledge base includesthe popular Concentrix whitepaper “Integrated Finance and CRM Software: How Sage 200 Improves Business Efficiency by combining Finance and CRM Solutions”.

If you have any suggestions or ideas for articles or whitepapers you would like Concentrix to develop, or any other questions or queries about CRM, accounting, business management or ERP solutions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Sage 200, much more than an accounting solution!

If you currently use Sage 200, you will be aware that it comes with two foundation modules:

- Sage 200 Financials

- Sage 200 CRM

The majority of companies are aware of the financial module and use it on a daily basis. However, the CRM is often not given a second thought. However, a CRM solution properly deployed will significantly improve a company’s efficiency, effectiveness and overall profitability.

- Sage 200 CRM will bring a number of benefits to your organisation including:

- Reduced duplication of effort through storing all data in a centralised location

- Decreased errors through reduced data import

- A more consistent customer service experience

- Improved management effectiveness through powerful measurement and reporting tools

Concentrix is currently offering existing Sage 200 customers half a day of free training on Sage 200 CRM, to get you up and running.

For more information about Sage 200 CRM, or to arrange your free training, please contact us on 01509 410500 or email [email protected]

Free Seminar: Getting CRM Right

Just a quick reminder about the free seminar 'Getting CRM Right' on 24th November. To register* please click here, email [email protected], or call 01509 410500.

Packed with tips and practical advice, the seminar is the ideal opportunity to find out how you can improve your organisation with the latest CRM technologies. The venue is easy to get to (just a few minutes from the M5 and M4 motorways), and refreshments and a buffet lunch will be included.

Seminar Title: Getting CRM Right

Date: 24^th November 2009

Time : 10.00 am to 13.00 pm (Registration 09.30)

Venue: Concentrix Ltd, 130 Aztec West, Bristol BS32 4UB

For more information about the event, please click here or don't hesitate to get in touch!