Posted by Melanie Howell on Thu, Jan 26, 2012
The MarketingProfs website recently published an article, "The Email Marketer's Success Kit: Five Trends for 2012". We found this article very helpful and wanted to share these five trends and tips with you as you gear up for this year's marketing and sales plans for your business.
Keep It Relevant: What are you doing to make sure your content is relevant to your customer base? Newsletters no longer have to be marked as spam to disappear from one's inbox. Does your email marketing plan cater to your email recipients preferences? If not, you might be in the danger of losing conversions and getting on the 'do not contact' list.
Personalization is key: Hello (first name) doesn't equal personalization anymore. What are you doing to take email personalization to the next level? Look no further than your CRM system when collecting and incorporating relevant customer data (their preferences, last purchases etc) for email personalization.
Automate Emails Based on Customer Actions: According to MarketingProfs, "Event messages reportedly have nearly 71% higher open-rates, and they can generate five times higher return on investment (ROI) than a standard weekly newsletter." What customer touch-points could you automate and incorporate in your email marketing strategy for 2012?
Be Wherever Your Customers Will Be: With social media and the use of smart-phones on the rise it's important to make sure your emails are readable on these devices. Social Media is increasingly become relevant to marketing communications and ignoring it will not make it go away. The more effective your marketing communications are across different channels, the more effective your marketing will be. How have you incorporated social media in your email marketing strategy?
It's Here to Stay: Email marketing is here to stay. What will you do to optimize your email communications to closely match your customers preferences this year?
Read complete article: Email Marketer's Success Kit: Five Trends for 2012.
For more information on integrating social media in your marketing programs, crm software and marketing automation tools please contact WAC Consulting Group today!
Leave a Comment on Our Blog: In your opinion, what other email-marketing trends will affect your sales and marketing plans in 2012?
Posted by Melanie Howell on Thu, Jan 19, 2012
Are you familiar with Sage CRM? Listen to our interview with Sherman Dixon, National Customer Account manager in the Sage CRM division to discover if Sage CRM can help you improve management of your sales, marketing and customers service departments at your business. (Duration 5 min: 54 sec)
For more information on Sage CRM, join us on January 25th at 2pm ET at our upcoming Sage CRM webinar, 'Improve Management of Your Sales and Customer Service Departments with Sage CRM.'
WACCG TEC Talk - Sage CRM Interview with Sherman Dixon, National Customer Account Manager at Sage Software's CRM division
For businesses that are not familiar with Sage and Sage CRM, tell us a little bit about Sage and the small business to mid-market solutions you offer?
Sage is a leading supplier of business management solutions to small and medium businesses. Overall we have 6 million customers worldwide. More than 12 thousand companies in 70 countries use Sage CRM software to manage their critical sales, marketing and customer activities every day! Solutions specifically offered by the Sage CRM division are Professional and Advanced Sage CRM on premise as well as Sage CRM on cloud.
Tell us about Sage CRM’s target market.
The target market for Sage CRM is small to mid-market business. So this could be any company ranging from one (1) user to (100’s) hundreds of users.
What are some of the business challenges/ needs you see in the market today and how does Sage CRM address these challenges in a proactive manner ?
Some of the challenges that we are seeing with customers and potential customers are that they are facing additional cost pressures, buyers have less disposable income, businesses have fewer lines of credit, so it is more difficult to attract and retain some of the customers in the customer base. Over all that is forcing companies to do more with less. Really become more opportunistic - it places a huge emphasis on pricing and discounting as well as doing more with less employees and smaller workforce.
Now as far as we are addressing those needs are: With Sage CRM itself some of the reporting dashboards that Sage CRM provides allow instant insight into business and employee performance facilitating informed business decision-making during this downturn that we have gone through. It also provides management with real-time analysis of current situations, that allow them to monitor and take action on change and performance indicators. Sage also empowers organizations to sell more effectively and efficiently by maximizing their ability to sell during this time.
What makes Sage CRM stand out from the competition?
There are many differences between Sage and some of our main competitors, whether it be the out-of-box integration with ERP, total cost of ownership, easy to use dashboards, easy to use workflow capabilities, flexibility that you also have with the solution. The primary difference is that Sage has been exclusively dedicated to focusing on small and medium-sized businesses for the past 20 plus years.
What are some industries where you have seen Sage CRM be most successful?
A couple of the industries where we have seen Sage CRM really shine are construction where we have some companies who integrate Sage CRM with our CRE solutions, which really allows them to stay ahead of whatever project they have been working on, whether it is strictly related to construction or if it is real estate. I have also seen where it has really helped financial institutions and healthcare providers.
For our listeners who have not heard of the CRE product, could you explain that a little bit more.
The CRE product is construction and real-estate, so it allows you to get a view into everything that has strictly to do with construction, whether it be pricing, placing bids on jobs that you want to obtain, following up on those jobs. The integration with CRM allows you to stay on task, keep those activities in-line by having a raw view of what may be going on with any given project.
What ERP solutions does Sage CRM already interface with?
Just out of the box we currently integrate with Accpac ERP and MAS 90 and 200, which are both Sage products. These are other ERPs that we integrate with, some customization is required for those solutions.
What words of advice do you have for businesses evaluating CRM solutions?
My advice would be to first determine how will you be using the CRM solution, what and if you are looking to integrate the solution with, what departments will be using it, and how will they use it. That will give you an idea of which CRM system may be better suited for your needs. Basically come up with a clear strategy of what you want from your CRM system and then following through with it, is the best course of action. It really is an investment and should be treated as such.
Please subscribe to the WACCG Blog to get notified of similar TEC Talks.
Posted by Kari-Ann Ryan on Tue, Jan 10, 2012
Is your sales team swamped with urgent requests, an ever-growing to-do list, and constantly striving for Bigger, Better and Faster Results? With the never ending list of demands including improving sales pipeline management, maximizing lead management, enhancing the lead follow-up process, revitalizing the sales methodology, increasing the volume of daily sales calls, how does your sales team manage and prioritize their day? Are they able to focus and accomplish the high-priority tasks at-hand?
Discover how a CRM system can help you prioritize and easily accomplish your sales efforts. Download our whitepaper – ‘52 Questions You Must Ask When Evaluating a CRM System.’
Successfully completing a list of daily activities makes up the sales day. Prioritizing and accomplishing daily sales tasks while collectively managing the ever-growing sales to-do list equates to the effective use of a Customer Relationship Management System or CRM to help focus your Sales Team. A CRM system is a single source for all your customer management needs including leads, prospects, and general contacts. A good CRM system will classify your prospects and help identify your best customers. With detailed information about your customers, you can focus your sales efforts by accurately projecting and responding to your customers buying needs through the sales cycle.
Communication is the central focus for all that takes place in a CRM system. A CRM system should provide users with a complete diary solution providing daily, weekly, monthly and yearly views complete with on-screen reminders and alerts. This organizational transparency enhances quality and retention of information available to your sales team. With instant access to calendars, accounts, reports, pipelines, contacts and call lists, your sales team will be able to accurately focus on the complete customer snapshot and improve customer satisfaction.
To focus your sales team join WAC Consulting Group’s CRM webinar, “Improve Management Of Your Sales and Customer Service Departments and Grow Customer Satisfaction Rates With Sage CRM” on January 25, 2012 at 2pm ET.
We also recommend Chalene Johnson’s 30 Day Challenge to learn more about time-management skills and accomplishing goals and priorities this year.
Posted by Melanie Howell on Fri, Dec 02, 2011
The holiday season is here! Is your business geared up to finish strong this year with these three must-have business management software applications?
1) Ecommerce solution (Online Storefront)- Did your business capture a slice of the $1.25 billion dollar e-commerce pie on Cyber Monday this year? Statistics show that the total sales on Cyber Monday increased by 22% in sales this year versus a year ago, the total number of online shoppers increased 11 percent over last year, and the average amount spent per buyer increased 9 percent to $124.82 [comScore]. With a significant amount of market share being captured online, can you afford not have an online storefront? Webstores give you the option to provide your visitors/customers convenient access to your business 24-7-365. Do your competitors have an online storefront?
When selecting an ecommerce system, make sure it is integrated to your accounting system. An ecommerce system that integrates with your ERP software will save you time by providing real-time or regular synchronization of customer, inventory, vendor and order data.
For more information on selecting an ecommerce system - watch video: “How to Build a Profitable, Reliable, Automated, Sales Generating Ecommerce Engine” (Duration:53 minutes)
2) CRM System - Do you have a system in place to manage your customers and prospects? The more you know about your customers and their buying habits, the better prepared you'll be when they're ready to make a purchase. A good CRM system will classify your prospects and help identify your best customers. Make every customer or prospect interaction count this holiday season, by eliminating guesswork and getting the right message to the right people at the right time!
The benefits of choosing a CRM system that is integrated to your accounting system are: Customer information does not have to be entered multiple times anymore, just one click of a button allows for the automatic population of the customer information in your accounting system where the orders are invoiced.
To discover the questions you should ask when evaluating a CRM system, download free publication: 52 Questions You Should Ask When Evaluating CRM Software.
3) Warehouse Management System - Is your warehouse equipped to manage the holiday rush this year? Do you need to ramp up warehouse staffing for increased order-fulfillment activity this holiday season? 
Without a warehouse management system in place, when the orders come flooding in, the risk of errors during picking, packing and shipping orders increase. A rise in inaccurate inventory counts and EDI chargebacks could also start eating up your profits! The benefits of a warehouse management system include greater shipping capacity, improved picking accuracy, elimination of bottlenecks in the warehouse, a view of real-time metrics on warehouse workers and more!
Integration of your warehouse management system with your accounting database is critical to ensure that appropriate company departments and your warehouse staff can more effectively track inventory and fulfill orders. Automatic updates of inventory and shipping information to your back-office systems can reduce transcription errors, lower the staffing requirements for data entry, and improve access to up-to-date information throughout your organization.
Discover three important considerations to keep in mind when evaluating warehouse management software. Download free publication: How to Choose Warehouse Management Software.
We wish you a happy and profitable holiday season! For questions on how to best leverage business management software to meet your business requirements please contact WAC Consulting Group at 877-909-2224. Are there any other must-have software applications you would add to this list?
Posted by Melanie Howell on Tue, Nov 22, 2011
Demmer Corporation serves defense, aerospace, automotive, energy, and transportation customers via multiple plants across the mid Michigan region. Recently, over a one and a half year period, Demmer Corporation grew from 250 to 1500 employees. Many manual processes that had been working well for the organization were suddenly not scalable to support Demmer Corporation’s growing business requirements. “We needed an automated HRMS system to keep up with our extreme growth,” says Rebecca Stone, HR Manager.
Based on a previous work engagement, Donna Graham, HR Director at Demmer Corporation contacted Arlie Skory, WAC Consulting Group Partner, to discuss the businesses requirements to automate and streamline their employee tracking and reporting processes. Upon Arlie’s recommendation and after reviewing several HRMS systems, Demmer Corporation selected Sage HRMS (formerly Sage Abra HRMS) and add-on OrgPlus Professional because of HR system’s outstanding flexibility, scalability and ease of use.
Prior to the Sage HRMS implementation, Demmer Corporation did not have any electronically stored data on employee history for seven business units. They were spending approximately 10 hours per week just maintaining, retrieving and managing those files. If an employee was transferred to another department or got a job promotion within the organization, Demmer Corporation did not have a system to capture that information.
“When trying to retrieve employee information we had to pull an employee file, locate the change of status paper forms, their pay rate etc. Now our HRMS system allows us to see all that information using a simple report!”, says Rebecca Stone.
Sage HRMS has also helped Demmer Corporation keep better track of employee training records and gain greater compliancy during audits. “In the past when we were audited by different registrars to review our employee training, we couldn’t just run a report; we had to pull files and show certificates. Sage HRMS has proven to be a huge time saver for Demmer Corporation!” testifies Rebecca Stone.
OrgPlus Professional, Sage HRMS add-on, has proven to be another great investment for Demmer Corporation. Before using Sage HRMS, Demmer Corporation managed their Organizational Chart in Visio. If the HR Department received payroll change of status paper forms, they would make the changes in ADP. “It wasn’t really an HR system. After making the changes in ADP, we updated the Org chart in Visio. We were essentially managing two systems, without a checks and balances system in place” says Rebecca Stone.
Now, with OrgPlus Professional an add-on to Sage HRMS, everything is tied together. When changes are made in the HRMS system, the Org Chart, is automatically populated with the updated information. If the information is wrong in the Org Chart, it is easy to locate the error in the HR system, and that allows Demmer Corporation to easily keep the data in their system error-free!
Rebecca Stone says, “We would definitely recommend Arlie Skory and Sage HRMS to other businesses, especially if they don’t currently have an HRMS system. Sage HRMS has proven to be a huge time saver! The HR system has saved us 15 hours per week in reporting and tracking employee information! Not only that, we find something new every couple of weeks that we can now start tracking that we did not have the bandwidth to track before.”
CHALLENGE
Demmer Corporation experienced extreme growth and went from 250 to 1500 employees over one and a half year period. Suddenly the manual processes that were working well for 250 employees were not scalable to support 1500 employees.
SOLUTION
Upon Arlie’s recommendation and after reviewing several HRMS systems, Demmer Corporation selected Sage Abra HRMS and add-on OrgPlus Professional because of HR system’s outstanding flexibility, scalability and ease of use.
RESULTS
Sage Abra HRMS has saved Demmer Corporation 15 hours per week in reporting procedures and tracking employee information!
ABOUT ARLIE SKORY
A Recovering HR Director on a Mission to Help Other HR Directors!
Arlie is a certified Business Partner for all Sage HRMS products and is also a certified Sage HRMS Trainer. Arlie is passionate about helping and supporting HR Directors as they overcome the internal (IT issues, management issues, reporting issues, payroll issues) and external challenges (changing laws) they face every day!
Download Sage HRMS success story here. For more information on HR systems or automating HR processes, please contact WAC Consulting Group at 508-393-7731.
Posted by Melanie Howell on Thu, Oct 27, 2011
Is your business currently accepting credit cards? Is your existing credit card processing merchant integrated with your ERP solution? Are you paying non-PCI compliancy fees every month? Discover how you can increase customer retention, get paid faster and become PCI Compliant by offering your customers the opportunity to pay automatically. 
Join us at our next 30 minute webinar on November 10, 2011 @ 2pm ET, when guest speaker Scott Longacre from Sage Payment Solutions will share key considerations you should keep in mind when selecting merchant credit card processing services.
When you attend our webinar, you will learn more about:
- Why accept credit cards?
- Sage Payment Solutions/Account review
- Integration Value
- Sage ERP Payment Processing
- Value of Becoming PCI Compliant
Find out how giving your customers the convenience of using credit cards to pay their bills can reduce your errors in cash collection and increase customer retention. Give your customers the convenience of using credit cards and get paid faster! Register for our webinar to find out if Sage Payment Solutions makes sense for your business today.
Don't miss these helpful Sage Payment Solutions and PCI-DSS Compliance Resources
PCI-DSS Compliance Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
PCI-DSS Compliance Resource Center
Forced PCI-DSS Compliance and Sage Payment Solutions Nets WACCG Customer 33% More Business In Credit Card Payments (WACCG Customer Success Story)
Posted by Melanie Howell on Thu, Oct 13, 2011
CNN Money reports that according to a new report from CTIA wireless industry association, connected devices with wireless subscriptions rose to 327.6 million (9% increase from last year) and now outnumber the US population. While it is hard to believe that the wireless subscriptions in the US outnumber the US population, with Sprint becoming a confirmed carrier of the IPhone to the awaited release of the Kindle Fire in November 2011, there is no doubt that these wireless subscriptions will only continue to go up.
How else are businesses leveraging the latest technology?
From Home Depot executives testifying to use social media to provide better customer service, a growing demand for remote sales-force connectivity to their corporate CRM system, and businesses adopting cloud computing options, there is no question that our customers and competitors are using the latest technology to improve their customer service, marketing and sales operations.
Business Takeaway
Are you leveraging business technology to support your business processes, and meet the growing and changing demands of your customers and vendors? From improved customer satisfaction to greater profitability for the business, there are numerous benefits to adopting the latest technology at your business. Contact WAC Consulting Group to get a complete business ERP technology assessment for your business today!
Discover how WACCG customers are utilizing business technology to automate their business process, cut costs, maximize productivity and increase profitability in their accounting department, sales and marketing department, HR department, warehouse and more.
How are you leveraging the latest technology at your business today?
Posted by Melanie Howell on Tue, Oct 11, 2011
93% of Americans self identify themselves as shy in certain situations, says Susan Roane. Recently I attended a workshop on networking, where Susan Roane, Mingling Maven was the guest speaker. She started out by saying that 93% of Americans self-identify themselves as shy in certain situations. She went on to say that these statistics have gone up since 1990 because of people's greater dependence on technology (Facebook, email, texting) to communicate with each other.
The secret to successful communication in today's digital age is to be able to effectively communicate face-to-face and while using technology.
Six Mingling Maven Secrets to Successful Communication
It takes 7-9 seconds for a stare to become a glare - Do you have an elevator speech? Is it 30 seconds long? The Mingling Maven recommends that we keep our elevator speech to 7-9 seconds. She said the best elevator speech she ever heard was, "Hi my name is ______ and I help rich people sleep at night!" She asked him if he was a pharmacist, he went on to say that he was a financial advisor. Be creative! Instead of introducing yourself with your name and title, share a benefit of what you do, to start a conversation.
Redefine a stranger - Did your parents teach you not to talk to strangers when you were little? Many of us heard that growing up, and are still operating under that assumption. The way to redefine a stranger is to be prepared ahead of time when you are attending an event (know who is going to be there, think of 3 talking points, determine what you have in common with the people at the event). Instead of being wary of strangers, get excited about who you will meet at the event!
Be approachable - Make eye contact and smile when attending an event. When attending the workshop, Susan RoAne asked us to introduce ourselves to three people we did not know before attending the workshop. The consensus after the exercise was that we gravitated towards people who seemed approachable (welcoming body language, warm smile and eye contact).
Stay up to date on news, sports and current events - In order to be able to make small talk we need to stay up-to-date on current events, sports, and what is happening around us. Knowing a little bit about everything will help us relate to a larger group of people and feel confident when meeting a new group of people.
Act like a host- If we act as a host at an event, we will focus more on making the people comfortable around us, and less on our discomfort. Be nice to everyone and go talk to the person who is standing alone. People may not remember what you say, but they will remember how you make them feel at an event.
Learn from shy people - Shy people always come early to events to avoid having to walk in to a room full of people. If you come early to an event, then you will not have to break into a group of people already engaged in a conversation. If you do arrive late to an event, smile and make eye contact. Stand outside the group and when there is a break in the conversation, and ask if you can join the conversation.
Do you have any secrets for successful communication?
Posted by Melanie Howell on Thu, Oct 06, 2011
If you have ever taken a Pilates class, and kept up with it for a few weeks, you have probably noticed a significant difference in core strength, flexibility and muscle tone. Apart from training and strengthening the body as a whole there are numerous other health benefits from doing pilates. This article outlines a few business lessons we can learn from Pilates.
Three Business Lessons From Pilates
Strengthen Your Core - The first business lesson we can learn from Pilates is to focus on core strength. What is the core strength of your business? What makes you stand out from your competitors? By building your business around your core competencies, you will stay focused and make greater strides towards acheiving your business vision. If you're able to offer something uniquely good, customers will want to choose your products and will be willing to pay more for them.
Mindtools.com outlines a few simple steps to effectively focus on your core:
- Brainstorm the factors that are important to your clients.
- Identify the factors that influence people's purchase decisions when they're buying products or services like yours.
- Brainstorm your existing competences and the things you do well and then screen them against the tests of Relevance, Difficulty of Imitation and Breadth of Application, and see if any of the competences you've listed are core competences.
- For the list of factors that are important to clients, screen them using these tests to see if you could develop these as core competences.
- Think of the most time-consuming and costly things that you do. If any of these things do not contribute to a core competence, ask yourself if you can outsource them effectively. Read the complete article here.
Develop Muscle Without the Bulk - Running a 'lean enterprise' is all about maximizing value and minimizing waste. Choosing business technology to automate your business processes, cut costs and maximize profitability, doesn't have to be bulky! When making an investment in business technology, consult with your business management software provider to make sure your ERP software is scalable to support your present and future business needs. View our webinar: Cloud computing vs On-premise ERP systems, to discover key points to keep in mind when evaluating business technolgoy solutions for your business.
Improve Flexibility - According to a Survey on Workplace Flexibility released by WorldatWork, a nonprofit organization that studies HR issues, 98 percent of U.S. employers currently offer at least one workplace flexibility program. The blog article, 'Is Your Workplace Flexible? If Not, You’re Being Left Behind', highlights that a stronger culture of flexibility was correlated with a lower rate of voluntary turnover, and companies reported that flexibility had positive impacts on their employees’ motivation, satisfaction and engagement. Does your workplace provide flexible options for employees? If not, how can you improve flexibility at your workplace?
To build muscle without the bulk, get your business needs analysis scheduled today! Contact WAC Consulting Group to get started!
What has Pilates taught you about business?
Posted by Guest Blogger on Fri, Sep 02, 2011
As a former Board Treasurer for a medium sized non-profit organization, I have first-hand experience with Grant Management. During my term as the non-profit’s Board Treasurer, a major portion of the non-profit organization’s funding was based on a few annual grants. At one of our Board meetings the Executive Director told us that we were losing our largest grant source, because the appropriate paperwork had not been filed on-time with the funding agency.
This filing error was a costly mistake the non-profit could have avoided, with a low-cost grant management system in place. Thankfully after five trying years the non-profit is still in business today.
How Does Sage Grant Management Maximize Funding Potential for Non-Profits?
Sage Grant Management is a web based solution which combines development, contact, and financial data to improve grant pipeline oversight while optimizing success tracking. The software helps nonprofit and government organizations provide transparency at the organization, program, and grant levels. Efficient reporting and trend analysis results in organizations and agencies that are better equipped to serve their missions, constituents, and communities.
What Does Sage Grant Management Do?
- Manages the Grant Pipeline – This functionality ensures that the grant pipeline is flowing at maximum capacity with the highest level of efficiency.
- Does More With Less – A full array of tools are offered to build efficiencies, increase visibility, strengthen collaboration, and leverage time.
- Manages Contacts and Communication – Take advantage of an integrated contact management system to capture event details, track next steps, and provide users with an easy-to-understand flow of communications.
- Tracks Data and Providing Accurate Reports – Integrated or standalone financial management captures all critical data for improved reporting and balance tracking. Grant and program-specific reporting on budgets, success and performance.
- Measures Success – Integrated scoreboards, built-in outcome performance, success measures that will keep development staff and program managers focused on their top priorities.
- Delivers Management Efficiency – Customized collaboration tools deliver management efficiency, visibility, and shared access for key areas of responsibility.
- Creates Effective Grant Applications – Applications will have a greater impact on funders with better defined success measurement plans, comprehensive item- and financial based budgets.
- Integrates With Accounting- Sage Grant Management has seamless integration to Sage Fund Accounting, but also will work with other accounting systems.
This is just a nutshell description of some of the benefits of the new Sage Grant Management solution. To get a more detailed description of Sage Grant Management visit our website at: http://www.caserv.com/grant_management_nonprofits.asp
The Grant Professionals Association (GPA), a premier membership organization of grant professionals, has endorsed the new Sage Grant Management solution. A detail copy of the press release can be found on the web at: http://www.caserv.com/pdfs/sage-grant-management-gpa-endorsement.pdf
This article was written by Mike Renner, WAC Consulting Group partner and Non-Profit Business Technology Solutions Consultant based in Palm Springs, California.