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

How to get started with CRM – a guide for small to medium sized businesses – Free Download

Having a CRM system is no longer something which is elitist and confined to large corporations.  They are now becoming increasingly popular with small to medium sized businesses and this is not by coincidence.

It has been known for some years now that it costs more to win new custom than it does to retain existing custom, but this fact has become ever more prominent especially in the current economic climate where companies have been curbing their spending. What’s more, implementing a CRM system no longer needs to take copious amounts of time or capital. CRM systems can now be implemented quickly and with minimal inconvenience to your everyday operation.

Concentrix has created a whitepaper which is now available for download. The whitepaper – “How to get started with CRM” is a guide for small to medium sized businesses considering implementing a CRM system and tells you everything you need to know in order to get started with CRM. To download the whitepaper, please click here.

Concentrix is a leading UK business management software, customer relationship management (CRM) software and IT solutions provider. Based in Leicestershire in the heart of the Midlands, Concentrix provides the best in breed CRM software including Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Sage CRM and FrontRange GoldMine. What’s more Concentrix will ensure that you get the software which suits your business requirements as they take a product agnostic approach to implementing the software.

For more information about Concentrix or to discuss you requirements in more detail, please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email info@concentrix. co.uk

Jobs at Concentrix

Concentrix is a successful, independent UK business management software, customer relationship management (CRM) software and IT solutions provider based in the heart of the Midlands in Leicestershire.

Concentrix is currently looking for high-calibre candidates to fill the following job vacancies:

• Support Analyst
• Sage 200 Consultant
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM Consultant

Concentrix is an equal opportunities employer with an excellent reputation and strong working relationships with key suppliers including Microsoft, Sage and FrontRange. The company combines a friendly working environment with strong career development opportunities and a competitive salary. In addition, the successful candidates will be eligible for the company pension scheme and bonus, once they have been in their job for six months.

For all of these vacancies, Concentrix are looking for highly motivated and enthusiastic team players, who have experience in using the software relevant to the job. In addition they will be work well under pressure.

For more information about any of these vacancies please click here, alternatively Contact us on 01509 410500 or email [email protected]

Upgrade to GoldMine Premium Edition

FrontRange Solutions will shortly be releasing GoldMine Premium version 8.5. The new version is packed with a whole host of new features which will make a great product, even better. The GoldMine Premium 8.5 release will include themes which will give users access to information which completes their customer view, boosting end user productivity. And all of this is in addition to improved administrative capabilities and overall performance of the GoldMine application.

FrontRange is currently running a promotion which entitles existing GoldMine Corporate and GoldMine Standard Edition Customers who upgrade to GoldMine Premium Edition by 30th April 2009 to significant savings when a minimum of 5 seats are purchased. However all existing GoldMine Premium Edition customers can upgrade to the latest version of the software completely free of charge.

Features improvements and product additions in GoldMine Premium 8.5 include:
• Universal Search
• Preview Panes
• Case Management
• Opportunity & Project Manager
• Email Centre
• Activity Management
• Details Information
• Contact Search Centre

For more information about the FrontRange promotion, or any other aspect of GoldMine Premium 8.5 please contact Concentrix on 01509 410500 or email [email protected].

 

Survival of the Smartest? Part 1: Focus on Customer Retention

Here at Concentrix we’ve not been allowing ourselves to indulge in moaning about how "times are hard"; we’ve been knuckling down and getting on with it, which is what all smart businesses are doing.

OK, so things aren't ideal, but it isn't the end of the world and neither is it about to get better overnight. So what to do? As I spend the majority of my time talking to business about just this I thought I would share some (of their) ideas on how to be smart and stay ahead.

Focusing on your existing customer base is essential, but is overlooked surprisingly often by sales-driven companies.  

It's a well used cliché that it is about 4 times more expensive to land a new customer than to do business with an existing one. Regardless of how accurate this is, you need to keep your customers and keep them happy. Here are a few examples of how and why.

Keep your customers happy

Improve customer services

Simple things like giving people a "ticket" number and sending them updates on service cases can have a big positive impact and make you look pro-active and caring. You should aim for the customer to only contact you once (to report an issue / raise a question) and then your people (and your system) to do the rest. CRM will help you standardise and automate your service processes, empower your customer service people and also allow you to report on performance.

Improve marketing and communications

- You don’t market to your existing customers? Why not? 

- How many customers know the full extent of the services or products you offer?

- Would your customers respond to something like a "thank you for your order last quarter, here’s a special loyalty offer" email from time to time.

- Are you haplessly "spamming" your customers with unwanted or poorly targeted material and driving them away?

Once they are happy, make some sales!

Cross-selling and Up-selling

- Let’s say you sell 3 products. Do you know how many of your customers who buy product 1 even know you sell product 3? Can you identify these companies? 

- How easily could you communicate to them that "over 100 other customers who bought product 1 also found product 3 delivered excellent results"? It works for Amazon.com.

- If they bought product 2.1 a year ago can you try and upgrade them to product 2.2? Do they even know it’s been released?

Referrals and Recommendations

As we all know, sales leads are best served hot. And there is no better lead than a good solid referral from one of your existing (happy) customers. Keep them happy and they will tell their friends.

- Track and report on who has referred who. If a particular customer is already referring people then a little "thank you" might be appreciated and incentivising them might bring in even more business.

- References and case studies can play a major part in closing deals. Manage your relationships better, keep customers happy and let them be cheerleaders for you.

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 and implemented Customer Relationship Management system can help you with this, putting processes in place and giving you the tools to explore and exploit your data and, utlimately, make yours a more profitable business.

Which CRM is right for you and how much it will cost is hard to say without talking to you about it. There's a guide in the CRM knowledge base on the Concentrix website called How much does a CRM system cost? which will get you started, and 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, including focussing on your products and on your competitors. Also, see if you can answer a couple of questions about Counting the Cost of Sales Leads.

John Odell - CRM Consultant

Sage 200-2009 Seminar Update

As well as contributing to the networking, discussions and questions raised on the day, thanks to everyone who has contacted us with further feedback and enquiries following the Concentrix Sage 200 – 2009 seminar on Friday 6^th March 2009. There’s a great deal of genuine interest in this new release of the product, and we’re working on a questions and answers document following your comments both at the event and following it.

Don’t forget that anyone who attended the seminar is welcome to a free copy of the slides from any of the sessions (Sage 200 overview, Sage 200 and CRM, or the Customer Service session). Please drop an email to [email protected].

Here are some of the Sage 200 2009 seminar photos:

         

Access to support services 24/7

Through taking out a support contract with Concentrix you automatically receive access to 24 hour support services, 7 days a week through our Self-Service tool.

As a web based solution, Self-Service is a convenient and fast way of reporting any issues which you may experience. The Self-Service application also has a knowledge base of useful reference information, this gives you the ability to search for keywords and phrases.  In addition, the tool will keep you up to date with the latest support news, product versions and updates available.

All Concentrix support customers can access Self-Service through our main website: www.concentrix.co.uk

In addition Self-Service enables you to track the status of any current or historic issues logged with Concentrix.

To find out more about the Support services provided by Concentrix, please contact us on 01509 410500. Alternatively, for more information about how to use the Self-Service tool, please click here.

Sage 200 – 2009 Launch

Thank you to all those who attended our Sage 200 2009 Launch last week.  The feedback we received was excellent and there’s a great deal of interest in this exciting new product. We hope you found the event informative.

At Concentrix we believe that Sage 200 provides the perfect opportunity for a fresh start.  The front and back office integration and the suite philosophy presents new modules, new features and a new future for many organisations.

If you have any questions about Sage 200, need further information about how Sage 200 can improve your organisation, or require a demonstration of the software, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01509 410500.

GoldMine Premium Edition Training

As a premier partner who have supplied GoldMine software for almost ten years, Concentrix have a wealth of experience in supplying and implementing  GoldMine Software as well as training delegates on how to use it.

Concentrix is holding a GoldMine Premium Edition training day at their head office in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire on 1st April 2009.  If you are an existing GoldMine user this is the ideal opportunity to spend the day with one of our experts to increase your knowledge of the software. What’s more the training session is an open event so you do not have to be a Concentrix customer to attend.

The course will commence at 9.30am and will finish at 4.30pm. The agenda for the training session is as follows:
• Introduction
• The Database Structure
• Data Subsets - Filters
• Data Subsets – Groups
• Creating Document Templates
• Creating new word Templates
• Mailshots
• Maintaining the Database
• Information Centre
• Reporting

The day will conclude with questions/test scenarios to ensure that all attendees have fully understood all aspects of training.

If you require any more information about the course, or wish to register, please do not hesitate to contact Concentrix on 01509 410500.

Moving from Sage Line 100 to Sage 200

For many years, Sage Line 100 was the most highly rated accounts and finance system available. However, the system and technology behind Sage Line 100 is outdated and the software fast becoming obsolete.

Sage 200 - 2009 is a new, powerful suite of business management software. The natural progression from Sage Line 100, Sage 200 - 2009 incorporates state-of-the-art financial and accounting modules.

Built on the latest ‘.net’ platform and using the latest Windows technology, Sage 200-2009 presents new modules, new features and a new future.

The price of Sage 200, and the cost of the Sage 200 modules are highly competitive for a mid-market ERP application (and of course the costs are kept down because you only need to buy the modules you will use to suit your business requirements). However, for a limited time, Concentrix is offering 20% discount on Sage 200-2009 licences to customers upgrading from Sage Line 100. What’s more, we’ve developed some easy upgrade packages. These include SQL licences, training, conversion, server hardware and installation: all at significant discounts!

If you need more information, we have a free, detailed Sage Line 100 to Sage 200 upgrade guide - please email us to request a copy. Or of course to discuss your requirements in more detail, please don't hesitate to get in touch. There’s never been a better time to move up from Sage Line 100!

Sage 200 2009 – Complete Front and Back office integration

Most businesses constantly strive to improve efficiency, competitiveness and customer service.  Historically, one of the key obstacles has been different departments working independently and not communicating with each other.

Often companies find it difficult to improve their efficiency due to lack of communication and this can often results in poor customer service.  However, Sage 200 2009 provides the ideal opportunity for a fresh start for forward-thinking businesses.

Bringing together the key processes within your business

Sage 200 is an extremely powerful piece of software which brings together and automates every aspect of your business, from Marketing and Sales right through to Finance, Operations and a whole range of other activities. With Sage 200 you can control all of your business processes through one integrated suite of software, which therefore facilitates complete front and back office integration. And because Sage 200 works throughout your business it, will provide any data, from any area, to anyone who needs it, therefore significantly improving communication throughout your business.

Technologically Sound

Written from the ground up using.NET software, Sage 200 ensure there is no cumbersome migration of old code. In addition it uses the industry Standard Microsoft SQL database which provides a more stable and robust environment for the software.  The product can be integrated with 3^rd party products, resulting in endless reporting possibilities.

A flexible Solution

The Sage 200 suite is a highly flexible and modular solution which provides businesses with a completely new way to look at things. The modular suite philosophy means that you don’t pay for the feature which you don’t need. However, there are two core modules which form the cornerstone of the product

·         Sage 200 Financials

·         Sage 200 CRM

In addition there are a variety of other modules which are also available from Concentrix, Including:

·         Sage 200 Commercials

·         Sage 200 Project Accounting

·         Sage 200 Construction

·         Sage 200 Manufacturing

·         Sage 200 Point of Sale

·         Sage 200 Wholesale & Retail

·         Sage 200 Business Analysis & Forecasting

For more information about Sage 200 Suite, please contact Concentrix.