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ERP mistakes and their impact on business
ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning systems are large and elaborate systems which handle large volumes of data and serve a number of different purposes for an organization. It is an extremely important part of an organization, and is also expensive to set up properly. Mistakes while implementing ERP will not only set your back financially, but also disturb operational efficiencies, productivity, databases and workforce management systems.
For these reasons, companies cannot afford to make mistakes while implementing ERP without sustaining a lot of damage. To avoid such lapses, it is best to know about where companies usually falter in implementing a sturdy ERP system within their organizations.
Lack of planning – The first step towards fruitful ERP implementation is proper planning and a sound ERP implementation strategy. A number of companies have suffered a loss of performance after a poorly planned ERP implementation.
As an organization, you need to ascertain exactly what you need from an ERP system, perform research and tests, carry out extensive internal audits and plan the implementation based on these factors. Implementing ERP is a huge step and should not be taken lightly. Proper planning of each and every facet of the choice of ERP platform and its implementation is necessary to make a success out of it.
Lack of trained personnel – Both implementation and use of ERP systems take a lot of specific training. Companies need to employ specialists both to implement ERP systems, and to manage them post-implementation to get best results.
In-house training is fine; provided adequate in-depth training is given to personnel who will go on to manage the framework. In case in-house training does not prove adequate, the company must hire experts to ensure that the ERP system yields satisfactory results and is maintained properly. Failure to do so would be nothing more than a waste of valuable resource.
Too much or too little customization – ERP systems are largely customizable, and the sole purpose of this is to make sure that businesses can customize these systems to fit their exact needs. One rule of thumb here is that the more the customization, the more the implementation costs.
Companies must first decide exactly what changes need to be made, and make only those changes. Both too much and too little customization can cause severe adverse effects to the productive functioning of an ERP system.
Tips to choose the right CRM software
Why you need the right CRM software!!!!
With more and more businesses opting to use CRM solutions to create, maintain and upgrade their customer pool, a large number of CRM softwares has been developed. For businesses that have recently decided to implement CRM software, it might be a problem choosing one from so many.
Different CRM softwares have different features, strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to choose the right software which fits well into your business and its existing structure, while also keeping avenues of expansion in the future if you plan to scale up. These key points will help while choosing the right CRM software for your business.
1. Get what you need – With so many different packaged CRM software solutions, the first step is to ascertain exactly what your business needs from CRM software. You might not need anything more than contact management, or you might need complicated features such as lead generation and automation of sales force.
You have to practically assess your business and decide exactly what features you need from CRM software before deciding which software to get. This makes sure that you get the right CRM which does an efficient job for you, while also being cost-effective.
2. Training and making the switch – Another important aspect to consider before making the final decision regarding CRM software is training and transfer. One may need to make a sound assessment of the type and amount of training it would require your personnel to effectively use the CRM software and get desired results out of it.
CRM solutions which are simpler to implement and learn should be easier to switch to. Another important factor in this regard is choosing whether to go for locally hosted CRM software, or an online, remotely hosted solution. All these factors need to be taken into account while choosing CRM software.
3. Future ramp up – The most important factor in your choice of CRM software should be scalability. Your organization will grow larger over time, handle more complicated operations, and generate more volume of leads and customers. If you invest in CRM software at present, you should choose the kind of software that would keep pace with your development and grow alongside the growth of your organization. Shifting from one CRM framework to another is not a pleasant prospect, so choosing the kind of CRM software with room for expansion is the best option.
Ways to build a strong software team
The basis of a strong software team
For high-quality and effective software development, the pillar is the establishment of a strong, seasoned and highly capable software team that handles its responsibilities in a timely and competent manner. Essentially, a software team is a group of like-minded developers who bear the following unique characteristics:-
- They are comfortable working in a team,
- They can handle individual responsibilities and still keep in sight of the team goal,
- They have superior and relevant technical skills and knowhow
- They are a good fit for the culture and work ethics of your organization.
It takes aggressive scouting and a fair amount of filtering down to get exactly the right people for your software team. These pointers can help you put together a strong software team that serves its purpose right way-
1. Education and experience – When it comes to software development, there is no alternative for good education and quality experience. A well-developed set of technical skills is a bare minimum requirement, and employers should seek out only those developers who have had very good academic track records while learning the discipline.
Similarly, fruitful experience working in the same field is also a strong point. If you can assimilate a team of developers who have good core education and extensive experience, you already have on your hands the perfect starting point for building a strong software team.
2. Be sure of what you need – There are different kinds of software developers. Some developers engage themselves in software framework development, while some engage in application development. Some developers have spread-out skill set enabling them to do a little bit of many different things, while some isolate a specific area of development to specialize in.
When you are looking for development talent, it is important to establish what kind of developers you need at the very outset, especially with the tech competencies that aligns to your organization’s IT offerings. Search and recruit exactly those people with the kind of competency you need in your work and you cannot go wrong.
3. Making a team at home – You have to provide your carefully recruited software team a work environment which is conducive to good, productive work. Make sure they are a perfect fit with the work ethics and culture of your organization. It is also a good idea to keep your software team involved in important decision-making, which instills a feeling of self-worth and can go miles in enhancing the level of work.
The use of Google webmaster tools in SEO
Why Google Webmaster tools are important
The role of SEO has always been to maximize relevance of targeted keywords and phrases, and achieve better ranking in SERP’s. With Google being the most used search engine in the world, it is obvious that a majority of SEO efforts are geared towards getting a better position and rank in the Google system.
This makes Google’s Webmaster tools a potent set of tools in the hands of experienced SEO experts. Not only does it give webmasters Google’s own perspective on their website, it also provides essential insight on tuning and fine-tuning the site to make it more suited for being indexed and ranked with precision by Google. These are a few applications of Google Webmaster tools in SEO-
1. Know the phrases used in search queries and its frequencies – Google Webmaster provides a breakdown of search queries which volumes for targeted keywords in your website. This list is of great value, containing not just empirical data about which keywords your website is ranked for currently, but also other data like number of impressions, ranking position and click-through rate.
This information is crucial to know how keywords are performing on the website, and which keywords are performing better than others. SEO experts can further improve existing keywords, or add new ones if needed based on these findings.
2. Individual keywords and trends – Another great feature of Google Webmaster tools is that it lets you view individual keyword performances in depth, and shows overall changes with time so that you can understand search trends and what visitors are looking for.
Individual keyword options include relevant information of the performance of the keyword with respect to the content and the website, and it enables you to understand whether the content is serving its purpose. Knowing about trends can also put SEO experts in a good position for developing further strategies to capitalize on those trends.
3. Fine-tuning page by page SEO strategies – With Google Webmaster tools it becomes very easy to implement and actively monitor a page-by-page strategy for a website. You can view a list of the top performing pages relative to your keywords, figure out how much keyword competition exists in similar sites, and also optimize keywords for specific pages so as to make them perform better. Improvement in individual page performance in turn brings better SEO for the whole website.
Tips to gain attention from your viewers on Social Media
Digital marketing and social media
For those that drive client engagement through digital marketing, the power of social media is something that cannot be ignored. Social networks present a veritable treasure trove for digital marketers, with millions of people using it to interact, form opinions and make purchasing decisions. In this scenario, digital marketers should definitely incorporate social media strategies to take their marketing campaigns to the next level. These tips will come in helpful.
1. Be Consistent – To develop a social network presence, it is most important to be consistent. Make sure you are consistently posting important and relevant information in an engaging way. Too little posting is considered unenthusiastic, and too much is considered spamming. It is critical to reach the perfect balance to be interesting and invite more viewers.
It is also important to be consistent when replying to people’s comments, responding to their queries and thanking them for suggestions. Establishing a more personal, intimate bond individually with social media users is the best way to build trust and further your digital marketing endeavors. On the other hand, lack of consistency creates doubt and ultimately makes for loss in viewership.
2. Understand the People – The most important aspect of social media is understanding the pulse of the people that use social media. They form the base of all digital marketing efforts, and marketers should understand how mass opinion works. It is important to level with viewers, as no one likes a condescending approach.
Marketers should also be careful not to seem biased towards a particular group or type of viewers, as that can negatively impact public reputation on a general forum. Try to develop an approach that makes sense to the most number of people. Open conversation and communication without bias will take a digital marketing campaign a long way.
3. Patience is Key – It is important for digital marketers to understand that while social media marketing yields great results, it often takes time for the fruits of the marketing effort to show. This is largely due to the fact that it takes time for people to develop trust and loyalty. Trying to rush things will almost always have the detrimental effect of making people unsure and even suspicious. The right degree of patience and perseverance in approach and marketing efforts is what makes social media marketing click.
Social Media Tips for Content Marketers
Why content marketers need social media!!!
Content marketers employ good quality and engaging content to reach out to a target group of people so as to generate leads and convert customers in the long run. This action-reaction approach, coupled with the fact that content marketers need access to a large number of potential customers across all demographics, make social media the perfect companion to content marketing.
Here is a platform that is used by millions of people worldwide on a daily basis, and employs textual and audiovisual content as its main line of communication. It is obvious that content marketers would want to exploit fully a platform such a social media, and these tips can help to get it right.
1. Facebook – It is very important here to be brief and effective at the same time. Social network users have very little patience, and the first few lines of content will make or break the situation most of the times. It is also a good idea to use statistical data and targeted research to ascertain which section of social network users might for an ideal target group for content marketing drives. This ensures efficiency and a better lead generation ratio. Being clear and concise is most important. Make sure every post has some relevant and useful information about your product or service, and make judicial use of call-to-action to generate and retain interest.
2. Twitter – With just 140 characters available for content, marketers have to be smart and very precise. Marketers need to generate tweets that are compelling, interesting, and have inherent quality of applicability to readers. Using relevant hash tags can also go a long way in making sure that targeted users can access your tweets easily. A good ploy for content marketers on Twitter is providing live, blow-by-blow Twitter coverage of events or incidents that may be of particular interest to the target group.
3. YouTube – Audiovisual media provides greater penetration and arouse more interest. It is best to use these sparingly, and smartly. Embedding videos can go a long way in increasing overall interest, but marketers have to make sure that the videos are short and sweet. Take care not to overly reveal important information; just hinting at things is better. It is also better to combine small snippets of information in quick succession, rather than focusing on one or two long, detailed video subjects.