Sage e-Marketing....

by Sinéad Hayes, Sales & Marketing Manager


Many businesses are looking for more creative ways of reaching their target audiences and connecting with their customers. They are looking to operate more efficiently and effectively with leaner resources to stay one step ahead of the competition.

During times of a slow down in the global economy, it is important to accelerate marketing activity to ensure your products and services are at the forefront of prospects' and customer's minds.

The attached whitepaper explores how marketing departments, in this age of cost consciousness and accountability, are increasingly turning towards e-marketing to help generate leads and drive sales. As one of the most cost effective forms of marketing, e-marketing enables businesses to communicate with customers and prospects around the world instantly, putting products and services at the forefront of customers' minds ensuring that as soon as a new purchase decision arises, that your offering is the first that springs to mind.

http://www.advent.ie/pdf/Sage CRM_White Paper_emarketing.pdf

What is CRM?

By Sinéad Hayes, Sales & Marketing Manager

I have to admit that the term "CRM" can be sometimes confusing and is used a lot within the IT industry. But what does it really mean?? What is Customer Relationship Management really all about? Why would your business need a CRM system?

I like to think of CRM as a useful tool that enables businesses to get things done much more efficiently. So, instead of having to call up the sales rep to find out what he has agreed with Customer XYZ, you can simply log onto the CRM software and you will see all of the recent communications, correspondence, opportunities and even customer queries. Now this all assumes that the sales team and all other teams using the software actually update what they have been doing, but with Sage CRM being web browser based and available for smart phones, updating the system should become second nature. The benefits all there for all to see.

Now I am going to ask a few simple questions which should help illustrate the real power that CRM can deliver...

• What is the value of sales opportunities for this month/quarter?



• What is your conversion rate of Leads to Opportunities?



• Which of your Sales Rep's is most productive?



• What are the top 5 sources of business opportunities and how does this compare to last year?
  


• What marketing campaigns yielded the best results?



• Can you tell which e-marketing campaigns created the highest click rates and what areas in the campaign were of particular interest?



• Can you get a quick overview of what's happening with a customer all from one place? From Sales & Marketing to Communications & Customer Service & Finance?
  


• What % of opportunities did you lose because of Price? Do you know why you are not winning business?
  

Without having a CRM system in place, I would suspect that some of this information could be gathered from various sources and compiled eventually. I would also suspect that some of this information is not stored anywhere and therefore it would suggest that we may not be as "on the ball" as we may need to be. We are all out there competing with one another - surely its about being smarter and sharper to gain the competitive advantage??

CRM is really about putting a better structure on how you do things. Instead of sending prospect letters out by post, create an e-marketing campaign and follow and track the results. Use the information you have gathered and put it to good use.

If you were going to host an event for example, in Kerry. Using a system like Sage CRM, you can pull up all the contacts you have in Kerry who you dealt with in the past, but who never bought from you. Without a CRM system, I would suspect that many people will take a note of the company, contact them and if it doesn't work out, then their details become lost somewhere along the way. Keeping this information for future use is exactly what we should all be doing - its a very small world and just because somebody doesn't buy now, it doesn't mean that you cannot do business again in the future.

So, I think you get the picture now. It's really not that revolutionary - it's just a simple way of getting things done more efficiently and with greater clarity & accuracy. Integration with your Accounts system really completes the circle and enables information to flow in a circle around the organisation. It goes without saying that having this information to hand means you can make those decisions that spark change where change is needed. Remember that campaign we ran in March 2010 and generated lots of interest and where we exceeded our budget for the Quarter as a result?....why don't we try to replicate this and run the same campaign in 2011??

CRM systems such as Sage CRM V7.1 also incorporate Twitter & LinkedIn components and Microsoft Exchange integration. I would see this as an important step of adapting our business tools to take on board the new ways that we communicatate with each other and with the world.

Here's a video which hopefully illustrates the value of CRM to a business. It can be used in pretty much any size business and is not necessarily just for sales organisations. Its practical uses know no bounds.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0xRlBp57Zw&feature=player_embedded


The easiest way to work out the value of CRM to a business is simply to ask any business this question.

"If we took away your CRM system tomorrow, what impact do you think this would have on your business"??

I would suspect you would get some very strange looks at the prospect of parting with CRM and the reaction might be along the same lines as asking if we could take away your mobile phone. Doing things the old way just doesn't cut it any more. It just becomes part of how you do business - in a structured and organised way.

Advent Runs-A-Muck

Go Team Advent!!!


I would like to say a huge Thank You to my colleagues who took part in the recent Run-a-muck challenge which took place on 14th of May. This act of sheer madness was all for a very good cause and helped to raise much needed funds for The Niall Mellon Township Trust.

We had a great day out and it was certainly a great test of phyiscal and mental strength.

Thanks also to Frank Kelly (from Sage Ireland) and Ray McSherry for joining us on the run and thanks also to everybody who sponsored us over the past few weeks!

The Niall Mellon Township Blitz takes place in South Africa in November, where I will be working with a group of Irish volunteers to build houses for families in the Townships. This will be a different sort of physical and mental challenge and I am looking forward to making a difference.

Sinéad

Award Nominations

By Sinéad Hayes, Sales & Marketing Manager

October has been a great month for Advent in terms of award nominations.....

We were delighted to have received a nomination from the D15 Chamber in the IT Innovation category. The event was held in the Castleknock Hotel & Country Club earlier this month. We are proud of the software applications that we have developed and were very pleased to receive recognition for our work.

Advent also received a Sage Business Partner of the Year award. We enjoyed a great night in Finnstown House with our colleagues from Sage and were delighted to be presented with our award.

Sage 50 Mobile - Something to Shout About!

By Arshad Abdul, Sage 50 Account Manager

I have been selling Sage 50 Accounting software for the past two years
and I can honestly say that the new Sage 50 Mobile is the most fantastic
new feature that I have seen. Now you can just download the Sage 50
Mobile App onto an iPhone, iPod Touch or Blackberry device and within
seconds you will have access to your Sage 50 system.

It's very handy for users who are not office based or directors who like to keep a close eye on the business while on the go. The new version in 2011 also allows users to process transactions.

It's not surprising that Sage 50 Mobile was a Silver Medal Winner for “Best in Mobile Innovation” at the Digital Media Awards 2010.

What you can achieve with Sage 50 Mobile while Mobile?

Dashboards for company performance

Access to real-time customers and supplier data

Create Invoices, Sales Orders and Quotations from your iPhone

View Invoices, Sales Orders and Quotations from your iPhone

View transactions on customers, suppliers and bank accounts

Check customer and supplier accounts and activity on the move

Rapid access to information through 'Favourites'

Straight-forward to set up and use

Remote access to important information

Make decisions quickly based on up-to-date information

Guess what?? You can avail of the above with no extra cost - just make sure you are running Sage 50 Accounts Version 2011 on your PC/network and that you have a compatible mobile device. It really is that simple and is definitely something to shout about!

Information Everywhere

by Sinéad Hayes, Sales & Marketing Manager

In today's world, we are all used to having information

readily available when we need it.

In business, information is critical, but it's not so much about the quantity of information but the quality of information. What do we need to know and how often do we need this information? How easy is it to get access to this information? How long does it take somebody to produce the required reports?

It's not just about having the best Accounting Software or the best Sales & Marketing system in place. There is little point in investing in software unless it brings new efficiencies to the business and enables the business adapt to the changing technologies.

It's about having a joined-up approach enabling information to flow from one place in the organisation to another. It's also about being able to readily access and analyse this data to enable businesses make important decisions.

Essentially, it all comes down to having the right tools. In this highly competitive world we live in, tools such as Business Intelligence, Software Integration & integrated CRM tools can make all the difference -helping to give your business the competitive edge.

It makes sense - why make life difficult when technology is there to help us be efficient and smart in our work?

For more information on how to use technology to give you better information, call us on

01-8223 200 or Email: sales@advent.ie

Being JLC Compliant is Simple

By Ray Ryan, Managing Director

What is a JLC?

While there is a legal minimum wage in Ireland, there are also other pay agreements in place which cover certain types of workers. These agreements on pay and conditions are made by Joint Labour Committees (JLC's) and are known as Employment Regulation Orders (ERO's).

It is the JLC that agrees the working conditions and rates of pay for workers in the JLC sector of employment for example RGAT (Retail, Grocery and Allied Trade). An Employment Regulation Order made by the Labour Court makes such a JLC legally binding and is actively enforced by NERA (National Employment Rights Authority).

Updating to MicroPay Professional V2011

Updating to the latest version of MicroPay will bring you the following key benefits:

- Compliance with NERA

- Reduction in time spent processing JLC rates of pay

- Potential cost savings in cases where you have been paying employees over the recommended JLC pay rate.

My advice is to become compliant sooner rather than later. Avoid the headache of inspection audits and get your payroll system in order - it will save you a lot of hassle that you could probably do without.

The CSNA have been working closely with Sage Ireland to ensure that the software provides the necessary functionality for JLC's.

Speak to us if you would like to find out more or click here to download further information.

If you would like to see a demonstration of Sage Micropay, please contact us on

01-8223 200 or Email:sales@advent.ie.