E-mail marketing far from kicking the bucket

It is no secret that each and every person in the marketing world has thought about which type of marketing campaign can give their business the most exposure. Sure there are a lot of strategies that can be followed and can possibly show some return on the time spent on these campaigns, but do they really work?

To try and explain this we should look at what has been done in the marketing world so far and what can be done for future generations.

Door to door

Now this just makes me giggle, to be honest. Door to door sales and marketing is probably one of the most archaic marketing tools.  These salesmen have the worst timing in the world. When I am relaxing at home with friends and family and these people take the time to interrupt or disturb me, they will probably get the door slammed in their face. Door to door marketing is (luckily) mostly dead. People do not take kindly to strange people at their doorstep.

Flyers

Everyone that drives around in Johannesburg or anywhere else in South Africa knows about flyers. I can’t help but feel sorry for those guys handing them out, people don’t actually give them the time of day. On the rare occasion that motorists do take a flyer it is purely out of desperation or preventing themselves from being harassed into taking a flyer. At one stage I had 20 flyers in my car and to be honest when I threw them out I could not remember a single advertisement on any of them. I think it is safe to say that this marketing tool is maybe the least successful, never mind the money that got spent on making these flyers and all the trees that had to make way for the paper to print them.

Bill boards

There are some seriously big, bold and wonderful bill board advertisements out there. Some even have flashy light displays, mechanical parts protruding or rotating. This is great, but honestly when I am speeding down the high way at 120km/h, I really don’t have the time to grab my phone to capture the telephone number of the company. All that you will remember is the pretty bill board somewhere close to the Grayston or Marlboro off-ramp.

Phone calls

This is definitely a far superior way of marketing, to an extent. It has its limitations though, for instance, if I am in a meeting, having dinner or watching television it is very difficult for me to give the person on the other side of the line my undivided attention. More often than not will I cut the person short and I bet you that he will be quite upset about that and won’t bother to phone me again.

SMS Marketing

SMS marketing, in my eyes is definitely almost at the top of my list on successful marketing strategies. It is effective, non-obtrusive, quick and easy. It is lower in cost than lengthy phone calls. It sparks a thought at the back of your mind, you will probably not delete the message and when the need arises the message is easily retrievable.

E-mail marketing  

And here it is the poster child of marketing. Absolutely everyone I know and most of the population in the world have access to the internet and have an e-mail account. It is the quickest, easiest way to get information across. It is also the most affordable way to get your name out there. People communicate over the internet constantly and regularly this ensures that your company’s information and information on specific campaigns can be easily distributed. These types of campaigns get the word out and thus create awareness of your business. People talk and word of mouth has been tried and tested in showing that it works. Studies have shown that in 2016, 80% of the world’s business will be done via the internet. Don’t you think that it’s beneficial to be doing e-mail marketing?   

A lot of professionals will disagree with me on this matter. For some time now it has been debated that e-mail marketing is a dying breed. They are of the point of view that e-mail marketing will make way for the new “in” thing; social media marketing. I beg to differ (my personal view). As earlier mentioned, e-mail remains the biggest means of communication for a lot of people and even more so for CEO’s and people in the business world.

Systems to ensure successful e-mail marketing and just all-round business success

There is a little, well quite big and wonderful thing called eCRM. A lot of businesses have been running successfully on this type of system because of its capabilities and what it can do for a business. Customer Relationship Management, plainly put, is what eCRM is all about. It is a complete business solution capable of handling all your customer related business processes. This includes all data capturing, customer and company records and all necessary details on marketing campaigns.

This is the beautiful part of this system. All the functions are at your disposal for running successful marketing campaigns. CRM systems consist of software that keeps records on your existing clients and prospective clients this allow for leads to get followed up on. Knowing which companies benefit from a specific marketing campaign makes it easier to determine what other marketing campaign to use for a different client base. And then, all that still needs to be done is set your e-mail marketing “tool” in place to reach your clients.

E-mail marketing will survive

To say that e-mail marketing will die out in the near future is very difficult for me to believe. As we said, e-mail is still an integral part of any business and the way these businesses communicate with each other. The future is still looking bright for e-mail marketing. Let’s go out there and spam (legally please – CPA is watching you!) to our heart’s content.

The last of the BIG three

Finally, we have come to the end of our informative articles on the three most important things for a CEO to look for when trying to find the perfect ERP system.

Let us refresh those memories a little. Firstly we had agility. We all know by now that agility is the ability to move with the times, being able to change your tactics and techniques as you realise that there is a change in your target market, or even when you want to explore a different target market completely.

Secondly we had productivity. Productivity is the driving force behind every successful business. It is all about reaching goals and targets within your business, ensuring returns on your investments. Money, money, money, that is what productivity is all about. At the same time remember to keep the company’s moral standards and the employees’ best interest at heart while striving for productivity.

Responsiveness

And here it is, better late than never, responsiveness.

According to Wikipedia responsiveness is the ability of a system or functional unit to complete assigned tasks within a given time. This would refer to a ‘sort of’ artificial intelligence. I love those words. What a brilliant reference to the ideal ERP system (artificial intelligence).

How can responsiveness help your business?

So responsiveness is the ability of a company to react fast and quick to any request or problem that can occur within your business. Let’s put it this way, a client phones enquiring about a certain product or service. What next? This is all fine and well and it means that the awareness of your company is present. But what happens if you don’t have a system in place to track the call, or log the client’s details into a system? Will you know to phone them back and do a follow up, or not? The post it will get lost amongst the rest of the clutter.

It all starts with a phone call

The ideal ERP system will have the functionality that makes it easy to track clients and functions to see what action needs to be taken next. Logging of calls, follow up calls, emergency calls and helpline calls can and will assure responsiveness. Why? You will be one step ahead the whole time and you will know what action needs to be taken next.

Keeping your existing clients

After all the hard work has been done to create sales and closing deals it is essential for businesses to keep their clients happy.  As mentioned in a previous article, the ideal ERP system will consist of a CRM system that is ideal for follow ups or drip marketing. This type of system will ensure that you keep all info on your existing customers and it is easier to evaluate what additional or other products or services will be beneficial to your clients. Responsiveness is pushed to another level, because you will always be one step ahead in knowing your clients’ specific needs.

Artificial Intelligence?

I think after all our articles on the ideal ERP system is it safe to say that it can be seen as an artificial intelligence. (Almost like having a resident Albert Einstein, except that you don’t have to pay for his medical.) These systems can do absolutely anything and in some cases even make coffee. (Really, it can – if we want to get technical, we can go into ERP for Process Manufacturing – but we’ll leave it for another day.)  When you are looking for a little more intelligence in your organisation, always look for an ERP system that promotes agility, productivity and responsiveness.   

E-R-Profitability....

A while back we wrote a blog on the three most important things for a CEO when looking for an ERP solution; Agility, Profitability and Responsiveness. We touched on agility, let’s look at profitability.

What is profitability?

Okay so plainly put, profitability is bringing in more money or value than it cost to make the goods or provide the service. Obviously, your income must be higher than your expenses.

Needless to say (but we will, anyway), this is the driving force for all for-profit companies worldwide. When profits are the only thing that will ensure your company’s survival, it is essential to have the right resources, being human or otherwise (alien?) within your business.

But what influences profitability?

Going about looking for the right ERP system

The heads of departments within your business should be a part of the decision making process when choosing an ERP system. Different views will give you a broader understanding of how to go about looking for that ideal ERP system. Let’s face it, your employees should approve on this system, they are in essence the people that will be working on that system.

A lot of aspects should be considered when choosing the right ERP system for your business. I’m going to keep it sweet and short and give only three examples of what I think should be the most important when choosing your ERP system

Return on investment

So, a lot of money has been spent on your ERP system and everybody is happy and confident in the system. But can this system be used to win back some of your money that you have spent on it? An ERP system should be able to generate time phased plans that can define when money will be needed and what this money will be needed for.

Seizing new opportunities

It is crucial for businesses to always seek out new prospects and business opportunities. This is where the proper ERP system will play a very important role. The ideal ERP system should include a CRM system that is ideal for marketing purposes. This system allows the user to generate different marketing campaigns. This will assist in researching the market and realizing what need there is for a specific product. If you are able to provide different products to different clients, new opportunities can be easily generated.

Activating different functions 

When starting a business you might only need an accounting package for year 1. As your business grows, you will need a manufacturing package as well. So you will scrap the first system and buy a completely new one. After year 3, for instance would you maybe require a system with manufacturing capabilities as well, so again the previous system would be scrapped and a whole new system implemented. This can turn into a vicious cycle where every so often a new system needs to be implemented. A lot of money can be wasted and you could have been able to retire after year 3 or 4. Look for a system where all these functions are included, but not necessarily activated. You can activate these functions as you see fit. Having this choice will save you a considerable amount of money in the long run.

You and your perfect ERP system

The perfect ERP system depends on your own specific needs and preferences. There are a lot of ERP’s out there. The secret is to do your research and get your employees involved. The key to your business’ success is all up to you and the right ERP system.  

Coffee in the clouds

The other day I could for the life of me not remember to spell a certain word I was looking for to finish an article. My colleague, bless her, was very quick in telling me to use Google. And it made perfect sense I was sitting in front of my laptop in any way. 10 seconds later, I found my word. How amazing has technology become that whatever you may need to know is literally a mouse click away?

Gone are the wonderful days of picking up the Encyclopaedia Britannica and exploring the world between a book’s two hard covers. And to think the first edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB) got published as early as 1768. And now EB is even available on-line.

That made me think how far technology has come in just under, I would estimate 20 years. When I was in school computers were only for the very fortunate and sometimes not even for anyone. As we grew older, so did technology. Every year something more exciting appeared and before I even knew it I owned a computer myself and spent most of my time searching for and researching all kinds of stuff.

I recently discovered that iPads are compulsory in certain private schools. Have you ever? I can actually see the positive side in this; at the rate technology is growing, these children will always be aware of what is happening around the world. What about all the hundreds of thousands of children that do not have the privilege of owning an iPad?  But that is a story for another day.

What is cloud computing?

Experts predict that in 2016, 80% of all of the world’s business will be done over the internet. When this happens, we will need a major infrastructure upgrade across the world. Reading up about it and not being the IT whisperer, I found out a lot of interesting facts about cloud computing. I will try and explain and not confuse the non-technical folk out there (including me).

Cloud computing can work for any business

If we think about the web, we think big; and it is big. Google and Yahoo are some of the biggest search engines around and a lot of information gets transferred on these sites. With big sites like these, where all this information gets generated from it is easy for information to get scrambled and lost. This is where cloud computing comes in. It does exactly what the name says. All the info gets hosted as a whole by a single system that gets maintained on site with its own power, storage capabilities and info management. It also means that any person with internet access can use any application without ever installing any programs. This makes for less money spent as businesses do not need to spend a fortune on servers and hardware, because all the hardware gets maintained by a single source.

The wonders of cloud computing

This is rapidly becoming the way forward as it is easier to maintain. Power failures, down time and everyday problems (IT related) that arise can be fixed quicker and more effectively, because of all the systems being managed by a single system. This also means that companies would be able to operate without borders. Global integration means that large resource pools around the world gets integrated into one and so make it easier for all information to be readily available when needed.

Cloud computing is already implemented

Even more interesting; some software enterprise applications for CRM, HR and accounting can be run and maintained through cloud computing.  Mobility is the key word when referring to cloud computing where Facebook and Twitter is a good example of this concept.

Who knows where this can lead

I’m very excited to see how cloud computing will advance in the next ten years, seeing that it only really kicked off about five years ago. Maybe one day we wouldn’t even have to meet up with each other for coffee or dinner. By that time we could probably have our coffee in a cloud.

Breakfast, ideas and integration all in a day's work for Synergy Group and K2

Normally when I think of breakfast meetings I think of cold coffee that is usually very weak.  Let’s face it, if I get dragged to a breakfast meeting in the early hours of the morning, I expect a good cup of coffee. The eggs are normally like rubber and the bacon soaked in oil. Well, luckily this was not the case when K2 and Synergy Group hosted a breakfast yesterday at the Microsoft head office. Ideas got shared, business cards got handed out and most importantly, the K2 and Sage ERP Accpac integration got the respect and attention that it deserved.

 The Synergy guys, as well as the K2 people were very happy with the outcome of this event. The event was mainly to showcase the integration of K2 and Sage ERP Accpac.

This integration between K2 and Sage ERP Accpac provides ground breaking solutions ensuring companies to perform at optimal performance levels. Putting these two solutions together guarantees a system that can be tailor made to your specific needs.

The delegates were treated to a first-hand demonstration of this process by Synergy Group’s technical Director, Duncan Campbell.  Duncan is the master mind who developed the integration of these two programs. Samuel Camacho, K2 Technical Specialist was also there to share his expertise. What made the meeting even more special was that Mike Gorrie, Managing Director of JKM Industrial Supplies shared his thoughts and experiences on what this integration has meant for his business.

With well-fed delegates leaving the event with fresh ideas running amok in their heads, we are confident that they will look at business process management and K2 synonymously. This integration is the ideal solution for making all business processes within a company run as smooth as a well-oiled machine. Sage ERP Accpac with K2 is definitely worth checking out.