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

Sage CRM Seminar Update

Sage ‘Fit for Business’ CRM seminar, Donnington Park Grand Prix Circuit, UK, 30^th April 2008

Thanks to everyone who has requested more information about this CRM event. Sage is running several seminars around the country, but as Sage Business Partners in the East Midlands, Concentrix will only be at the Donnington Park event.

Sage has two main CRM products: Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix, which this event will focus on. However Sage is running other seminars around the UK – some will focus on CRM solutions, others on Sage 1000.

Here’s the Agenda for the Fit for Business CRM Seminar at Donnington Park:

    09:30 Registration and coffee

    10:00 Welcome & Introduction to Sage

    10:15 Fit For Business - Managing strategic opportunities

    11:15 Coffee

    11:30 Fit For Business - Resolving operational challenges

    12:00 Sage Partnerships

    12:15 Questions and close

    12:30 Lunch

More information about this seminar is on the Concentrix website here or from Sage here.

Upgrading from GoldMine Corporate Edition to GoldMine Premium Edition

This April, Concentrix is able to pass on some serious discounts to anyone looking at upgrading from GoldMine Corporate Edition to GoldMine Premium Edition.

With a minimum of five users, we can offer existing GoldMine Corporate Edition customers upgrade and additional licences of GoldMine Premium Edition with savings of between £100 and £215 per licence.

What's more, you can order a combination of upgrades and new licences, each with big price reductions. This makes a significant difference to the total cost of upgrading and makes April 2008 a great time to move up to GoldMine Premium Edition and bring real benefits to your business. And don’t forget you can access a free, fully interactive online demo version of GoldMine Premium Edition. Alternatively if you would like a one-to-one demonstration of GoldMine Premium Edition software call us on 01509 410 500 or email Concentrix.

We can only provide these prices for a month: if you're interested you must place your order before 30^th April 2008. Maintenance remains at the usual cost per user.

We hope you can take advantage of these discounts, and if you need any further information about this offer, please contact us.

Sage CRM event Donnington Park, Derby, 30th April

With a number of serious sporting events on the horizon, Sage is running a ‘Fit for Business’ campaign to demonstrate how their products, particularly their CRM software (Sage CRM and Sage SalesLogix) can dramatically improve the health of businesses. As part of the campaign, they are presenting a number of seminars around the country with accredited Sage Business Partners.

One of the main Sage Fit for Business events for Sage CRM solutions will be held at Donnington Park Grand Prix Circuit, near Derby on Wednesday, April 30th 2008. As a key Sage Business Partner in the midlands, Concentrix will also be attending. 

The event will show Sage CRM software in action how it can achieve real-world business solutions. As well as demonstrations, presentations and a chance to talk directly to experts from Sage, Concentrix will also be inviting at least one of our customers who use Sage CRM or SalesLogix so you can talk to them and hear about their experiences directly.

For more info about the event is here, or visit Sage’s Fit for Business Microsite. To book a place please click here.

GoldMine Standard Support, GoldMine Premium Price offer.

FrontRange Solutions, the producers of the GoldMine suite of CRM solutions, will no longer support GoldMine Standard Edition after the end of April 2008.   

If you're a Concentrix customer still using GoldMine Standard Edition, we will of course endeavour to provide the best possible service to you. However, please bear in mind Concentrix will no longer receive software updates, patches or direct support for the product from FrontRange Solutions. 

FrontRange announced over a year ago that they would withdraw support for GoldMine Standard Edition in April 2008. To coincide with this we’re offering GoldMine Premium Edition licenses at a reduced cost, so maybe now would be a good time to upgrade?

If you’re interested in upgrading from GoldMine Standard Edition to GoldMine Premium Edition, we are offering GoldMine Premium licenses at the reduced price until the end of April. The discounted price of GoldMine Premium Edition is for a minimum of five users but can be a combination of upgrades and new licences.

If you have any questions about the termination of FrontRange's support for GoldMine Standard Edition, need more details on our April offer price of GoldMine Premium Edition or would like to discuss further please get in touch (April's reduced cost offer is open to anyone, not just Concentrix customers). Meanwhile if you'd like a preview, here's an online demo of GoldMine Premium Edition.

Don't forget, our next Customer Surgery on Friday 4th April 2008 will provide a good opportunity to discuss the issues around GoldMine Standard Edition in depth. As well as considering upgrading to GoldMine Premium Edition, you may also wish to discuss alternatives such as Sage CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Please contact [email protected] to book a place on the customer surgery.

Sage CRM Online Tour

Sage has produced an online tour of Sage CRM. Complete with voiceover, it is a self-paced film which provides an overview of the product, its features and benefits.

For those not familiar with the product, Sage CRM 6.1 (the latest version of the product) is a fully featured Customer Relationship Management System from one of the UK’s leading business solutions providers. As an accredited Sage Business Partner, Concentrix has helped deploy Sage CRM to deliver significant and measurable benefits to companies throughout the UK.

The online tour introduces the key features of Sage CRM, including screenshots and animations. It will be most suited to people new to the product or CRM systems generally, or looking to compare it to other CRM software.

Recruitment Evening 23rd April 2008

Since the company was founded in 1999, Concentrix has steadily and strategically expanded to become one of the leading providers of business solutions and CRM software in the Midlands. Over the years we’ve grown from just two people to nearly 50.

Because of this expansion, we’re actively seeking more people to join our dedicated team of professionals. Positions include:

·         Sales Executives

·         Marketing Assistants

·         Telesales Personnel

·         Support Desk Advisors

·         Software developers

If you’re interested in any of these roles, we’re holding a recruitment evening on Wednesday, 23^rd April. We hope the recruitment evening will give potential employees the opportunity to find out about the jobs, have a look around the company and talk to existing staff. Most of these jobs are new positions created in line with the expansion plans of the company. 

You’ll need to book an appointment first, but the recruitment evening will be less formal than an interview. One of the reasons we’re inviting people here is so we can meet people in a more relaxed manner than a traditional interview. Also Concentrix is a highly professional environment to work in, and holding a recruitment evening gives us the chance to show potential employees how we work. 

If you’re interested in booking a place on the recruitment evening or need more information, there’s further details (including a press release) on the Concentrix website here or contact [email protected].

Got Issues with CRM?

Due to the success of our first Customer CRM Surgery in February, we’ve decided to make it a regular, monthly event. So, we’re inviting Concentrix customers to book an hour’s one-to-one consultancy at our offices on Friday March 7^th 2008  - for free!

If there’s something you would like to talk to Concentrix about, please get in touch and reserve your place. Remember, we’re keen to discuss any topic related to CRM: support, training, technical queries, software, upgrades, CRM technology, accounts, marketing – anything. We’ll be covering all the products we supply including Sage CRM, SalesLogix, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and FrontRange GoldMine.

All we ask is that you book in advance (before Tuesday March 4th), let us know what time you would like to come and if there’s a particular topic you want to talk about or someone you’d like to meet.

So, if you’ve got issues with CRM, come and visit us on March 7th! Just email us or call 01509 410 500 to book

We look forward to seeing you!

GoldMine Premium Evaluation

Ever since it was first released, we've frequently been asked to supply demonstration versions of GoldMine Premium Edition. So, we've signed up to an initiative from FrontRange (the makers of GoldMine) called TestDrive.

GoldMine Premium Edition TestDrive is a real time, online demonstration of the software. You can access it from your web browser and it doesn't require any licence or unlock codes. You do have to supply some details about yourself however.

The demonstration is populated with data so you can evaluate the software fully and realistically. There's also an interactive guide to take you through or for you to refer to if necessary. So, if you're interested in trying the software for yourself, just click on the banner below to get started!

CRM Podcasts

We’ve put a couple of podcasts on the Downloads section of the Concentrix website that will make interesting listening for anyone considering a CRM system. The podcasts were produced by Sage, however the content is useful whether you’re considering Sage CRM, SalesLogix, or a completely non-related CRM system like Microsoft Dynamics CRM or FrontRange GoldMine.

The podcast ‘Maximising the benefits from CRM’ suggests that businesses should select CRM systems using a return on investment (ROI) basis. Among the many real and potential benefits new CRM systems can bring a company, it’s important to get it right. There’s a worrying statistic from Gartner research that suggests that up to 60% of all implementations of CRM systems fail. CRM systems only deliver benefits when they have been implemented properly and match the business needs of the organisation. It’s not all about software either. Areas such as business process analysis, effective change management, internal marketing and an appropriate training strategy are just as important as getting the software running on your system. That’s why working with an experienced business partner is essential to the success of a CRM project. 

‘Maximising the benefits from CRM’ discusses how to establish return on investment and derive genuine value from a CRM system. It also states however that companies that use a strategic framework to estimate, plan and promote their CRM initiatives, are twice as likely to achieve success, and discusses the current CRM landscape and how to ensure your CRM system is deployed correctly.

The podcast 'Customers favouring Goliath – How can David fight back?' looks at how larger companies can often have superior customer service due to the CRM systems they have in place. The podcast discusses how CRM systems in small and medium businesses can help level the playing field. It also includes expert advice and a case study.

Case Studies on CRM

As examples of how CRM systems are implemented in practice, Concentrix has developed a number of CRM case studies. Each case study has background about the company implementing the CRM solution, their objectives, the CRM software chosen, their reasons behind choosing it and the deployment of the system.

We've recently added a new case study about ISS Damage Control.  ISS Damage Control provide a damage limitation, restoration and renovation service to victims, loss-adjusters and insurers. Their services range from full disaster recovery, restoration of electronics and IT equipment to contamination analysis and testing. The case study details how Concentrix implemented Sage CRM and tailored it specifically around ISS Damage Control's business needs.

The ISS Damage Control case study discusses how implementing Sage CRM fundamentally improved the way their business operates in a number of areas. The primary objectives of the CRM system were to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the company by reducing claim lifecycle and lowering costs. As well as achieving these objectives, Concentrix also configured Sage CRM to produce transparent audit trails, and provide ISS staff with regular access to specific, comprehensive and accurate management information. Sage CRM also proved easy for ISS staff to use, as well as being ideal for them to access remotely.

Sage CRM was extremely well received by ISS Damage Control and their new CRM system added value throughout the business. Initially for use by 35 staff, the solution proved so successful it was soon in use by well over 50 staff, and ISS Damage Control expect the user base to grow even further.

CRM Case Study – ISS Damage Control (PDF)

CRM Case Studies

Sage CRM

ISS Damage Control website