The Business Software Advisor

You ask the questions, and our resident software guru shares her wisdom.

This week’s question: My company’s business travel expenses are out of control. What can I do to reduce costs?

A: These days, travel isn’t cheap. Facing the climbing costs of sending employees out into the field, companies are tightening the reigns, placing restrictions on all business activities that impact travel budgets. Yet, travel is a necessity in today’s dynamic marketplace, and severe restrictions can hinder critical business operations.

What’s the solution? Many companies are finding that Web conferencing is the answer. According to a market study done in April by Scottsdale-based In-Stat, about 20 percent of U.S. businesses use Web conferencing to some extent, and 13 percent plan to add it in 2008. Small and medium-sized businesses are especially gravitating towards the new technology: Frost & Sullivan, a leading research firm, reports that 64% of SMB’s use Web conferencing regularly in their business. Read more »

Are you looking to streamline your human resources and talent management processes? Today’s human capital management and talent management systems offer advanced software solutions to fit your company’s unique needs. To help you in your purchasing decision, the editors at Business-Software.com have compiled a list of the best vendors in the industry. Just released, the Top 10 Human Capital Management Vendors and Top 10 Talent Management Vendors reports are designed to help you build your short list and make an informed purchasing decision. Read more »

An Interview with Entellium CEO, Paul “PJ” Johnston
By: Mandy Kemp

Q: How does Entellium endeavor to better meet the needs of salespersons with the new Rave CRM solutions suite?

  Our goal with Rave CRM is to provide smaller businesses a suite of products that help their sales teams spend more time and be more successful doing what they love – selling!

With Rave, we’ve built in a variety of features – such as pre-built activity sets and sales processes, and ‘leader board’ dashboards that give salespeople instant insight into the activities that will help them close the most business. We’ve also taken an innovative approach to the user interface by giving salespeople the ability to radically personalize Rave so that information is presented in a style that works best for them. Read more »

Salesforce.com’s success in offering on-demand, SaaS applications changed expectations for software delivery. ERP buyers find many aspects of SaaS attractive – low startup costs, fast deployment, and predictable monthly fees. To address this market several new ERP SaaS offerings have emerged. Learn more about ERP SaaS below. Read more »

According to a recent Forrester Research study, nearly half of all businesses in North America and Europe have already deployed – or are planning to deploy – mobile workforce applications.  Watch the upcoming webinars detailed here and learn how you can keep your your mobile employees connected to client data while on the road.  Read more »

IRVINE, Calif., June 30, 2008  press release excerpt — Epicor Software Corporation (NASDAQ: EPIC) today announced a collaborative agreement with IBM to deliver a comprehensive, integrated retail system management product for specialty and department store retailers. As part of the expanded relationship, the two companies will develop and market a total offering to centrally manage and support point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software via IBM’s Remote Management Agent (RMA). Read more »

Many businesses outgrow their CRM system. But, before you consider purchasing a new one, make sure you’ve gotten as much value as possible out of your existing investment. Read more »

Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Jason Kort, Director of Marketing, SoftVu

Jason Kort addresses this month’s round table topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive this Economic Crunch”. Jason points out that aged leads have a lot of value that can be tapped in adverse economic situations.

A recent study of 100,000 aged lead survey responses across 38 different lending clients, reveals that 60-70% of aged leads remain viable after the second contact—some beyond even six months after applying online.  The typical practice of not following up with leads after one or two contacts—not nurturing leads effectively—means you’re throwing away 60-70% of your total investment in leads. Read more »

Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Hoyt Mann, President of Phaseware, responds to our round table topic “Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive this Economic Crunch.” Hoyt’s recommendation to focus on retaining existing customers in sage advice for any business.

Contributed by: Hoyt Mann, President, Phaseware, Inc.

Much attention has been given to the ways in which CRM can help generate new customers. In an economic downturn, your company must also focus on retaining existing customers. In the course of retaining these customers by keeping them completely satisfied with their interactions with the company, new customers may emerge through referrals. But those existing customers must be taken care of first. Read more »

Round Table Topic: Expert Advice on Leveraging Your CRM System to Survive This Economic Crunch

Contributed by: Tom Millay, General Manager, Consona CRM

The customer retention component of your CRM system will keep companies competitive during this economic crunch.  Who can afford to lose customers as discernment is exercised when money becomes tight?  Never before is providing the right products/services, to the right customer, at the right time been more important.  

Read more »