Marketing shouldn't be a Luxury; it's not just about New Sales

A topic very true to my own heart having recently acquired the post as Marketing Coordinator for IIS and with a well established fascination and interest in all things marketing, I truly appreciate and advocate SMEs investing in marketing continuously and recognise it as a way they can turn the downturn into new business opportunities.

Bill Gates famously said that, if he was down to his last dollar, he would spend it on marketing. But, with the UK still stuck in a deep economic crisis, many companies are setting aside strategies for growth altogether and are intent solely on survival.

Global consultancy McKinsey & Co found companies that remained or emerged in the top quartile of their sample overspent their less successful peers by almost 10 per cent during recessions, while other studies have found that companies that increase their marketing spend in a recession recover three times faster when economic conditions normalise.

Marketing is not solely concerned with supporting sales objectives, it's about building and maintaining relationships and ensuring that your company and brand message remains consistent.

According to CIM there are six key reasons why committing to a marketing plan pays off in a downturn.
1.The alternative of heavy discounting could damage your company or brand reputation

2.Customers don’t stop buying, they just contemplate their purchases more than they might have and just need a little extra reassurance

3.Communication is vital, “out of sight” is potentially “out of mind”

4.Innovation is key; in order to survive shifting circumstances businesses need to adapt

5.Empathy is valued; incentivise and create loyalty schemes that demonstrate your understanding or your customers positions

6.Why not utilise the internet and the many free services and social networking platforms that are continually seeing rapid growth in their membership; gain insight, interact and promote your business on a large scale

Though it is claimed we are coming out of the recession, this advice stands whatever the weather. For the time being make the most of the quietness, retain your position and potentially gain competitive advantage!

Keeping Business Software Simple; Connect the pieces with SAP Business One!

Software doesn’t need to be complex. It’s been created to make your life simple, enhance and optimise your business functions and ultimately make your Business Better.

There definitely appears to be a growing understanding and recognition that SME’s require and should utilise ERP systems.

What is evident is that the employees within these companies, across the various diverse functions that exist, don’t want to know where the information is coming from or how it’s created. They just want to be able to access it, understand it, trust it and act on it - quickly and efficiently.

Integrated solutions offer freedom from old ways of working. An insightful post by Nick Thompson, Director of DCSL Software on the SME Web site outlined a few of the potential benefits.

“If their customer information/appointment system/sales records are now consolidated and stored centrally somewhere, they could consider employing people based on skills, rather than location or family commitments.

They could reduce office space. They could synchronise information more easily, avoiding duplication and the risk of different versions of content being out of date.

Retailers could blend in-store and online systems to produce live stock and sales information.

Secure, role-differentiated information access could be extended to different groups of employees – and even to customers, so that they can serve themselves when they want a status update on their account or transaction (just as online banking or courier customers can do already today).

In a browser-based, intelligent, information-ready environment like this, much more can happen too. Rules and workflow can be brought into play, so that automatic notifications are triggered, warning users that an action is overdue, a bill hasn’t been paid, or an appointment has been missed.”

Refine, streamline and make your business more efficient; SAP B1 has been designed specifically to meet the needs of SMEs operating in today's dynamic and turbulent environments. The new version, SAP B1 8.8 continues to surpass expectations as it's cultivated. It’s refined, simplified further and even faster!

To find out more visit www.beabetterbusiness.com

Think SAP is Too Big for You? Think Again!

Could Social Networking Really Be Bad for Business?

Could Social Networking Really Be Bad for Business?

My initial reaction when I saw this title was one of panic. Having just entered into the world of social media, and still feeling very much a novice in the field though excited by the prospects and marketing opportunities that are forthcoming the thought that it could potentially be bad for business was disquieting!

The whitepaper was brought to my attention via Messagelabs.com. Having had a read my initial worries where settled. The issues being highlighted were around control, security, potential web risks and taking employees with you. Not too make light of the issues but I decided to view them more as principal factors that should be considered, advice and tips when entering in to the world of social media for businesses.

View the full whitepaper at www.messagelabs.co.uk

Issues can be overcome when given due consideration and my own opinion is that the benefits far out way the risks.
The business opportunities are unprecedented. The use of blogs, forums and media portals have become important business tools and businesses are continually investing in and making use of the various social media sites which now exist. Benefits have been reaped including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business and higher revenues.

The challenge for businesses is how to embrace the new technologies while protecting their company’s reputation and defining a level of monitoring that fits in with the existing company ethos. Within an innovative, creative and flexible organisation, where core values and culture are deeply embedded and widely appreciated this really shouldn’t be an issue.

We need to be aware of the issues, as do all employees within the organisation. Advice and tips are continually being made available; we need to hasten and make use of it, or as much as we can assimilate!

49 Do’s and Don’ts and Customer Lessons for SAP Upgrades

49 Do’s and Don’ts and Customer Lessons for SAP Upgrades

With SAP Business One 8.8 now in unrestricted shipment though always valuable the tips provided by Jon Reed, Top Contributor for the SAP Community Network 2008-2009 are even more pertinent.
They’re extremely insightful, useful and conveniently laid out. Evidently a lot more is needed than the widely available common sense principles to complete a truly successful SAP upgrade.

The tips are based on a compilation of the advice he received from industry analysts, project advisors, upgrade consultants and SAP users who presented trade show sessions after upgrading.
Four key areas have been addressed:

Vendor Selection
Pre-Launch Planning
Technical Upgrade Considerations
Upgrade Skills and Training

The Customer Lessons that have been included where applicable bring the Do’s and Don’ts alive placing them in context for the guidance seeker!

Don’t: Make the mistake of assuming that a consulting firm with prior upgrade experience will be the right fit for your company’s upgrade.
Do: Choose a consulting partner that has experience and customer references in your particular industry and your version of SAP.
Customer lesson: Prior to beginning their upgrade, Kraft Foods asked implementation partners IBM and EDS to “own” the implementation with them and assume collective responsibility for its success.

With the right vendor the upgrade should be unproblematic. Ideally they will support you prior to, throughout and after the upgrade and impart advice to ensure the “Don’ts” don’t transpire.

The full 49 tips can be found in the whitepaper, “49 Do’s and Don’ts and Customer Lessons for SAP Upgrades” via ITToolbox.com; http://sap.ittoolbox.com/research/49-dos-donts-and-customer-lessons-for-sap-upgrades-20637?sp=kw

UK PLCs shift to Mobile and Cloud

According to a SAP Study organisations are moving towards cloud and mobile solution as they recognise the cost and business benefits of running applications on-demand and on-device. These findings are the findings of a new survey of CIOs in 250 UK PLCs with 1,000 employees or more which has been conducted by SAP.

The findings show that over the next five years UK companies will gradually shift towards a mixture of running their applications on-demand, on-device and on-premise.
On premise looks set to continue to be the primary software model, with 61% of new software investments being in on-premise over the next 12 months, and companies still favouring the benefit of total control it provides. However as companies gain confidence in cloud and users push for greater flexibility, investment in on-device and on-demand models will increase.

The shift in demand for on demand and cloud solutions has been driven primarily by scalability though security issues have decelerated the change.
On-device solutions are being commanded as a result of increased claim for flexibility. The primary devices being used are still the blackberry and laptop though the iPad is set have a significant impact.
Already after only 3 months in the UK 7% of mobile workers are using it for business.
The much anticipated release of the iPad in Ireland is this Friday and is set to be in as much demand as across the world with limited supply only made available initially.

Tim Noble, Managing Director of SAP in the UK and Ireland commented on SAPs consideration of the shift in demand for, and their investment in, OnDemand, OnDevice and OnPremise products.

“At SAP we are investing heavily to ensure we provide our customers with deployment choice and flexibility. In particular with on-device we are greatly extending the reach of SAP software to many more users and deliver applications for the business and technical user on many mobile devices. We believe that with SAP’s OnPremise, OnDemand, and OnDevice product strategy we are creating new opportunities for our customers to build value and capitalise on changing market conditions.”

Evidently the future is mobile and typically SAP is continually developing and investing in innovative solutions as well as insuring that existing solutions are maintained and constantly improved; determined to consistently meet customers’ needs!

SAP Mobility Trends - An SAP Community Podcast with SAP Mentors Benedict and Appleby
Check it out: http://www.jonerp.com/content/view/354/55/

SAP invest in the future of their partners

SAP have teamed up with Birmingham City University.
The aim being to strenghten the link between academia and industry.

They have created a new degree, an MSc in Enterprise Systems Management and the initiaitive also includes a scholarship and new SAP training facility.

The new degree is both full and part-time and will provide access to students to four SAP components -ERP, CRM, Business Objects and Business Intelligence. Each of these is incorporated one of eight degree modules using SAP as the common theme throughout to illustrate to students how interconnected modern organisational processes work. At the end of the degree students will then choose from thesis titles that have been proposed by local SAP customers including senior management of Birmingham Council – itself the largest local government user of SAP globally. Finally students will take the SAP ‘TERP10’ Certification giving the students a real SAP qualification to complement their degree.

SME’s the centre of attention

Small businesses have been cited as the backbone of the Irish economy, and the government are seemingly making every concerted effort to at least be seen to take an interest in their vitality and future prosperity.

Though we are seemingly out of the recession small businesses continue to struggle to survival the credit squeeze.

Four businesses went bust every day in April of this year according to a InsolvencyJournal.ie; a website run by Dublin insolvency firm, Kavanagh Fennell. Though there are more positive outlooks and turnarounds on the horizon figures are still similar to those recorded for the past two years.

The government is now urging banks to start lending to firms having come under criticism from Labour Party's Eamon Gilmore; though the sentiment is widely felt.

A survey from Isme, which represents small and medium sized enterprises, showed over half of their members were refused credit in the last three months.

The government has now signed off on a €12 billion plan with AIB and Bank of Ireland within which they have pledged to make €6 billion available by the end of 2011.

Minister for Enterprise, Batt O’Keeffe is now set to seek cabinat approval for a State backed loan guarantee scheme for small businesses before the summer recess of the Dail next month.
It’s aimed at getting credit flowing for small businesses who have been rejected by the main banks.

“I am particularly anxious that viable businesses in new high-growth sectors and markets have access to proper credit facilities so that they can generate jobs and compete on a level playing field with firms in other countries that have access to similar loan guarantee schemes,” the Minister said.

It’s about time the government made an effort to support what is seen as the backbone of the Irish economy. The Irish banking system got us in to a lot of difficulty, the government took on the worst of their loans and it’s now indisputably time they played their part in turning the economy around!

Small firms “reluctance to recruit” may also be tackled once they are given the finances to keep their businesses afloat.

As it was justly put by Eamon Gilmore, "Having got the commitment from the taxpayer, the Government should now in no uncertain terms be telling the banks that they have to lend to small and medium-sized businesses - that's why they got the money."

SAP is green certified!

Sustainability is taking precedence for all. SAP leads the way and sets the standard.

http://weblogs.sdn.sap.com/pub/wlg/20153?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20SAPNetworkWeblogs%20%28SAP%20Network%20Weblogs%29

Tips for Installation of Cockpit in SAP B1 8.8 PL 12

http://weblogs.sdn.sap.com/pub/wlg/20136?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20SAPNetworkWeblogs%20%28SAP%20Network%20Weblogs%29

Definitely worth a read!