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

Latest Whitepaper from Tableau Software - ‘Designing Great Visualisations’

Designing Great Visualisations’ is the latest whitepaper from the developers of the popular data visualisation and analysis tool, Tableau software.

‘Designing Great Visualisations’ is well worth a read, providing a fascinating insight into how graphical representations have developed over the years and how you can use this information to improve the way you work. Written by Jock D. Mackinlay (Director of Visual Analysis at Tableau Software) and Kevin Winslow, the whitepaper paper traces the history of visual representation, from early cave drawings through the computer revolution and the launch of Tableau. It discusses some of the pioneers in data research and show how their work helped to revolutionise visualisation techniques. It includes useful information and guidelines from examining the different styles of data visuals, looking at some of the barriers to making effective visuals and the methods used to overcome those barriers. It also discusses the power (and limits) of human perception and how it’s possible to use data to tell stories – much like those of the earliest cave drawings.

Whether you’re a Tableau software user or not, the concluding section of the whitepaper in particular gives some valuable tips, concisely summarising the lessons learned to help you present your data by taking into account design issues and make the best use of visuals.

Tableau software is distributed in the UK by Concentrix Ltd. You can find out more by visiting the Tableau software section of our website, or Tableau Software's own website www.tableausoftware.com

You can also download the whitepaper from the Concentrix website here.

Sage 200 User Group

We are pleased to inform you that we have relaunched our Sage 200 User Groups for existing Concentrix customers. The next User Group will be held at our head office in Mountsorrel, Loughborough on Wednesday 24^th June.

The User Group will include special guest Dave Parker from Sage (UK) Ltd, as well as staff from Concentrix.

The User Group will give you the perfect opportunity to:

·         Ask questions about any aspect of Sage 200

·         Meet and network with other Sage users and Concentrix Customers

·         Find out about plans for Sage 200 2010

·        Discuss with Dave Parker how to process the Period End and Year End for proposed changes in Sage 200 2010

We will also include a free buffet lunch.

To register* or for further information, please email [email protected] or call 01509 410500.

 

Date: Wednesday 24^th June

Time: 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. (Registration 9.30 a.m.)        

Venue: 20 Granite Way Mountsorrel, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 7TZ

 

And of course if you need any further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!

 

GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5 Tips and Tricks

Following on from our GoldMine Premium Edition Seminar on 19^th May, we now have the Tips and Tricks for the latest version available for download. Please click the link below and enter the password which you will have been sent via email to open the file.

Download Tips and Tricks

If you need further information about GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5 or require a demonstration, please do not hesitate to contact us on 01509 410500 or email [email protected]

Microsoft remains committed to the development of the Dynamics Product Range

Microsoft has been committed to the business applications category since 2001. They first became involved in this category when they acquired industry leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions in a multi-billion dollar deal. This was followed by significant investment in the development of a Customer Relationship Management solution (CRM). However, Microsoft has come a long way from this initial commitment and their business applications are now at the center of many businesses.

Over the last seven years, Microsoft has achieved its mission of enabling people and businesses to realise their full potential, this is something they are extremely proud of and for good reason. Together with their partners, Microsoft has built a global business which spans multiple countries, continents and industries.

The Microsoft Dynamics community is now 300,000 members strong and this number is growing at a rate which is larger than the overall market growth. However, in spite of their achievements, Microsoft has not become complacent and  is still committed to investing in their products. Therefore, irrespective of whether you are an existing Microsoft Dynamics customer or a prospective customer you can be assured that Microsoft are committed to product development and this is evident  by the fact that Microsoft is now delivering additional connections to Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft SQL Server reporting services.  Additionally, greater scalability new internet applications, increased integration with web services and more reporting capabilities are reflected in the latest releases.  In essence the Microsoft solutions now facilitate improved individual productivity, better business insights across the organisation and great potential for enhanced performance. 

Microsoft’s continued commitment to the Dynamics product range means that there has never been a better time to become a member of the Microsoft community. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics CRM (including both on-premise and hosted Microsoft CRM), please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email [email protected].

New Concentrix Whitepaper on AccountingWEB

AccountingWEB.co.uk is the one of the UK's main online information sources and community for accountants in business and practice.

This week, Concentrix customers that subscribe to AccountingWEB's IT newsletter may have noticed that one of the latest whitepapers from Concentrix, "Improving effectivenes with integrated Finance and CRM software" is available for download from AccountingWEB.co.uk.

Whether or not you're a subscriber to AccountingWEB's weekly e-bulletins (which are free), you can download the whitepaper from their website here. Alternatively, email [email protected].

New Features of GoldMine Premium 8.5

Following on from the recent Concentrix GoldMine seminar, we’ve put details of the main features of GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5, the latest version of the software, on the Concentrix website.

Remember that it’s a really good time to upgrade to GoldMine Premium 8.5 and take advantage of the new features of the software - if you're a Concentrix customer already using GoldMine Premium Edition and you've kept up annual maintenance, the cost to upgrade to version 8.5 is free. Even if you're using a different version of GoldMine, purchased the software from somewhere else or you're unsure about where you stand with maintenance, please get in touch - we can still help with upgrades. And if you do need to buy the software, we’ll quickly give you licensing and price details (Concentrix offers highly competitive prices for all versions of GoldMine software!).

During the seminar there was interest in all the new features covered. Some of the features that generated most interest included Goldmine Premium Edition 8.5 support of Microsoft Server 2008, SQL 2008, as well as 64-bit Server O.S, plus the email centre and user interface enhancements and the preview panes and extra details field. However, probably the new feature that impressed people most was the universal search; it immediately demonstrates real benefits to GoldMine Premium Edition users.

If you have any questions about GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5, the new features, or need further information, please don’t hesitate to contact Concentrix.

Concentrix listed on the UK IT Directory

The UKIT Directory lists leading software providers for businesses in the UK.  These providers include Concentrix Ltd. Concentrix is listed on the site because we provide a wide range of business software including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software such as Microsoft CRM, Sage CRM, GoldMine, and well as the popular business management software Sage 200 and the data visualisation and analytics programme Tableau.  The UKIT Directory is a popular site which allows you to search for the right software for your IT project in line with your budget, so if you have a moment, please take a look at Concentrix listing by clicking here.

And on the subject of directory listings, if you use the Yahoo directory, you may have thought Concentrix was conspicuous by its absence. But Concentrix now has a listing in the Yahoo directory here.

BDE Group, Sage Business Partner, news

This week, Sage Business Partner BDE International (also known as the BDE Group) unfortunately went into administration.  The circumstances behind this are still unclear, but in the current economic climate this is obviously bad news for BDE staff, suppliers, customers and stakeholders. We realise this news is also likely to be of great concern to clients and businesses that have previously worked with BDE.

If you’ve previously relied on BDE for Sage support, products or training and are looking for a new  Sage Business Partner to keep your software, systems and IT up and running, please don’t hesitate to contact Concentrix.

Concentrix has been a fully accredited Sage business partner since 2004, and we’ve developed a close working relationship with the company. As well as being a key supplier of Sage software offering the full range of mid-market Sage products, our  Sage Business Partner status means we also pass on a wide range of benefits to our customers. These include:

- Expert operational support of Sage software

- High levels of training and education in Sage products

- Access to the latest product information and development news

- A dedicated account management team

Concentrix is much more than a just a Sage software reseller - we also offer Sage Software Development services producing bespoke and complementary applications for Sage products, plus a system implementation, configuration, training, project management, business analysis, upgrades, IT infrastructure and a whole raft of other services.   

So, if you’re a BDE customer concerned about keeping you’re software supported, running and up to date, think about making Concentrix your new Sage Business Partner. We’ll put your mind at rest!

Contact Concentrix on:

E: [email protected]

T: 01509 410 500

W: www.concentrix.co.uk

GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5 Seminar

Thank you to all those who attended our GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5 Seminar yesterday.  The feedback we received was excellent and there’s a great deal of interest in the new features. We hope you found the event informative.

If you have any questions about GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5, need further information, or require a demonstration of the software, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01509 410500.

To download any of the presentations from yesterday, please click on the following links and enter the password which you will have been sent via email:

Download GMPE presentation

Download GM Mobile

Download GM roadmap

 

 

Thank you to all those who attended our GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5 Seminar yesterday.  The feedback we received was excellent and there’s a great deal of interest in the new features. We hope you found the event informative.

If you have any questions about GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5, need further information, or require a demonstration of the software, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01509 410500.

To download any of the presentations from yesterday, please click on the following links and enter the password which you will have been sent via email:

Download GMPE presentation

Download GM Mobile

Download GM roadmap

Survival of the Smartest? Part 2: Focus on Your Products

It’s not just a recession, it’s an opportunity. There is a lot to be said for being in the right place at the right time and having the right product. But how much do you know about your product, who buys it and even who sells it?

For the purpose of this blog where I say “product” read “product / service / membership type / subscription” - whatever you sell.

A decent Customer Relationship Management system will provide you with the tools to track and manage sales leads and opportunities from a customer and sales person-centric point of view. By carefully configuring the CRM you should also be able to take a product-centric view of your business, reporting and forecasting by product.

This might not sound terribly exciting, but ask yourself how well you can analyse why you win and why you lose sales for your product – do you know?

• If you are winning every deal with Product X and people are saying it is down to price then could you make it £1 more expensive? What impact would that have had on lasts year’s sales figures?

• If you are losing a lot of deals for Product Z then why? You might get some answers you don’t like, but loss analysis (and taking positive steps to combat reasons for losses) can make a massive difference to most sales-led organisations. There’s obviously a link here to competitor analysis, which we’ll talk about some other time.

• Are some salespeople only selling one or two products when they could or should be selling a wider range? Perhaps they need some training, or shouting at? Despite being “product agnostic” at Concentrix I think it’s fair to say some of us have our favourites. Our CRM system certainly shows trends in the products I sell and the type of organisations I sell them too...

How about cross selling? It’s so obvious, but many companies overlook it:

• How many people who bought Product X also bought Product Z in the last twelve months?

• How many didn’t? Who are they? Shall I send them an email marketing campaign about Product Z, assign them to the telesales team or invite them to a showcase event?

• How many Product Z#1 customers would benefit from an upgrade to the all new Z2009-Super+ ?

None of this is rocket science, but neither is it possible unless you have a reliable, company-wide system in which you record the information in a standardised form where it is easy to keep up to date and interrogate.

CRM can help

None of these concepts are ground-breaking, but if they are not things your business is used to doing it can be a big step to put them in place.

A well-thought-out, properly designed Customer Relationship Management system can help you with this, putting processes in place and giving you the tools to explore and exploit your data.

Which CRM is right for you and how much it will cost is hard to say without talking to you about it, but if you would like to find out more please contact me and I will be happy to help.

More?

I’ll be blogging shortly on other tips and ideas I pick up on my travels. In the meantime, check out Survival of the Smartest? Part 1: Focus on Customer Retention

You can also see if you can answer a couple of question about Counting the Cost of Sales Leads.

John Odell - CRM Consultant