MAS blogs from 2014 on Slideshare

2014 MAS Blogs from 2014
A quick reference to our
the Sales and Marketing
Technology blogs
©Marketing Answers and Solutions Limited
2015

Introduction
This ebook is intended to give you a quick reference
guide to all the blogs published in 2014.
The MAS Blog focussed on current CRM Topics
together with Sales and Marketing Technology
subjects of interest.
In our view, our 2014 Blogs covered a wide range of
topics, although the focus this last year was on CRM
issue and implementation advice.
Her we publish the initial introduction of each blog to
give you a better idea, together of course with a
hyperlink direct to that blog.
2015

Should you create your own CRM system?
Introduction
Or to put it another way, is it worthwhile
designing and developing your own CRM
system?
Why this question from a CRM
consultancy?
Recently, I had an enquiry from a large
financial services company looking to
purchase a large CRM system to act as
their core platform.
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/shoul
d-you-create-your-own-crm-system
Published 17/1/14 ©Marketing Answers and Solutions Limited
2015

Should you Upgrade Your GoldMine now?
Introduction
GoldMine has now been around for 25
years! Incredible as it seems it was, with
ACT! , one of the first contact managers,
arriving in 1989 as a networkable or in
those days 'Workgroup’ contact manager…
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/shoul
d-you-upgrade-goldmine-now
Published: 20/2/14
2015

Moving from a Legacy System …Part 1
Introduction
Recently, I encountered a case of a legacy CRM
system client who needed to move to a new
CRM system. This was a typical case of a
company that had embraced the concept of a
managed CRM system 10 years ago and had
developed a system themselves using internal
resources.
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/moving-
from-a-legacy-system-to-new-crm…examples-
part-1
Published :08/02/14
2015

Moving from a Legacy System…Part 2
Introduction
In my previous article, I gave an example of
what had prompted a client to move from two
different systems; a pure Sales and Marketing
system and a Service and Equipment Tracking
system driven by then need for a single
centralised CRM.
Link:
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/moving-
from-a-legacy-system-to-new-crm…the-
challenges-part-2
Published:08/03/14
2015

How to Search for a new CRM
Consultancy & Consultants Search
Introduction
After 18 years in the Customer Relationship Management
software industry. In that time, I have come across many
of the best CRM systems and since I started out as
GoldMine's Channel Manager way back in 1996, this has
meant that I have developed strong connections with
many of the UK's leading CRM partners, enabling MAS to
offer and advise many clients selecting a system, so
whether they choose from our portfolio or not, I like to
believe that we can help to find a consultant to fit!
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/how-to-search-for-a-
crm-consultancy
Published: 26/04/14
2015

CRM KPI’s – What’s good to measure in
CRM and why
Introduction
When implementing any CRM system, many clients
often find that all of sudden they now have the ability
to measure a whole set of data which sometimes was
not possible before. Since 2005, we have maintained
these core metrics, with some additions and minor
deletions as priorities have changed, for example the
addition of Social Media!
link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/crm-kpis-whats-
good-to-measure-in-a-crm-system-and-why
Published: 17/05/14
2015

Why Use CRM and Not a Spread-sheet
Introduction
Everyone has MS Excel and it’s easy to use
and easy to read, right? A Case Study (my
own)!
I found out this is not the case whilst doing
work for my Father helping with an
exhibition and then making follow-up
calls. Initially, I thought it would be easier
to load 40+ leads into MS Excel...How
wrong I was!
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/why-
use-crm-and-not-a-spread-sheet
Published : 05/06/14
2015

Customer Service KPI’s from your CRM
system you should Measure
Introduction
When implementing any Customer
Relationship Management software system,
clients find that they now have the ability to
measure a whole set of data which may not
have been easy or possible before. My last
article was about “sales and marketing”
metrics, but now I want to talk about which
metrics can help to support your Customer
Service activities and initiatives...
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/customer
-service-kpis-your-crm-system-should-
measure
Published: 09/07/14 ©Marketing Answers and Solutions Limited
2015

Are you Using a CRM Discovery Process
Introduction
As independent consultants specialising in advising
and helping clients when choosing and selecting
CRM software for their needs and dealing with sales
and marketing people, we are frequently asked about
our own sales processes and how many touches we
make.
Over the last 18 years, we have evolved our system for
the gathering of a client’s needs and requirements:
we call this process "CRM Discovery". This could work
for you as well...
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/are-you-using-a-
crm-discovery-process
Published:11/08/14
2015

Using KPI’s from your CRM you should
measure?
2015
Introduction
Measuring your Users engagement is a key
metric for any business. Too often we come
across companies where CRM has had a
lukewarm response and whilst there are
methods we have covered such as “on-boarding
processes”, what can you use to help to measure
the uptake and users performance their new
software?
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/user-crm-
kpis-what-should-you-measure
Published:01/09/14

12 Tips on delivering a On-Boarding
Process
Introduction
How to do an on-boarding process when you
have decided to embrace Customer Relationship
Management can be a critical component in the
effective adoption of your system. On-Boarding,
whilst a US term, does accurately describe the
process where your Users are brought alongside
the system and start to use it on a day to day
basis, but still need to be monitored and
encouraged, typically in my experience over the
first critical 90 days. So, this blog focusses on our
top 5 tips, together with a further 7 tips available
as part of a download ebook.
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/5-tips-on-
how-to-do-deliver-a-crm-on-boarding-process
Published: 16/09/14
2015

Top 8 CRM Implementation Challenges
Introduction
Reviewing some recent questions from clients, I
thought it would be useful to briefly summarise
what I see as some of the main challenges in any
CRM implementation.
In my view, there are probably eight main
challenges in implementing a fully embraced
Customer Relationship Management system.
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/top-8-crm-
implementation-challenges
Published: 01/10/14
2015

12 Reasons to Use a Sales Pipeline …
Introduction
The power of the Sales Pipeline is often
underestimated. I still come across organisations
with sales teams that either don’t use a sales
pipeline at all or don’t use this key functionality
within their CRM system.
“Without a Sales Pipeline, companies do not
know where they are going or what they need to
do. This is a fundamental requirement for all
businesses with paying customers.”
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/12-reasons-
to-use-a-sales-pipeline-found-in-all-crm-systems
Published:14/10/14
2015

Extending Your CRM or xCRM
Introduction
Whilst the core function of any Customer
Relationship Management system is the day to
day Contact and Opportunity management
mentioned in previous blogs, having a CRM
system, and especially one of the most modern
systems means with some imagination it can
be used for other things, sometimes this can
be called xCRM or “Extending your CRM”
system by using its core capabilities in more
creative areas. So, what are these core
capabilities?
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/extending
-your-crm-system-or-xcrm
Published:28/10/14
2015

Why SOPs are the secret to CRM success
Introduction
Recently my posts have focused on the challenges
faced when introducing Customer Relationship
Management systems such as the need for gaining
User Adoption with the use of On-Boarding
Techniques.
One item which was mentioned was the need to
have clear and documented SOP’s or Standard
Operating Procedures.
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/why-sops-are-
the-secret-to-crm-adoption-success
Published:14/11/14
2015

Is the Cloud the Future for CRM
Introduction
Over the last few years, it has become very
apparent that nearly all the CRM vendors seem
to have become obsessed with the Cloud or
Software as a Service (SaaS) as it is still
sometimes referred to, indeed, nearly all new
systems coming to market are Cloud based.
However, my view is that the Cloud is not a
universal panacea, and with apologies to Mark
Twain, for On-Premise Customer Relationship
Management software, “the rumours of my
death are greatly exaggerated” ...
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/is-the-
cloud-the-future-for-crm
Published:24/11/14
2015

Sales Team Resistance to CRM
Introduction
And what you can do about it!
There are often times when we are asked why
people should use a system and turning this
on its head, there are a few reasons we
encounter as to why people Don't use a CRM
system or don’t want to!
There are usually a number of core reasons…
This blogs focusses on the number one issue
we encounter...Sales Team Resistance!
Link
http://blog.marketinganswers.co.uk/salestea
m-resistance-to-crm-and-what-you-can-do
Published:04/12/14
2015

What Should I Do Next?
MAS have spent many years managing CRM implementations
and have gained a wealth of experience and ideas to support
our processes.
The MAS Blog is intended for us to be able to share our
thoughts and experience in dealing with CRM and introducing
sales and marketing technology to help business become more
effective and efficient in their sales and marketing processes.
So, if you are looking into how a CRM system can be used more
effectively or if you are looking at how you can improve your
existing CRM functionality and user adoption, then speak to a
MAS consultant to see how we can help on 01905 380920
Or visit this page to learn more about either our CRM Audit
and Review or our CRM Discovery Review.
More
Questions?
2015

MAS blogs from 2014 on Slideshare

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MAS blogs from 2014 on Slideshare