ERP for small business

Small business ERP can help you run a better business

Every hour in your Company, you and your team are busy managing different activities like serving prospects and customers, following up leads, handling the sales paperwork, booking time to projects and tracking stock. Every activity in your business has some financial impact so you’ve got to keep your accounts up to date, keep a close eye on what money is being generated and used….and predict your sales and cash flow. Every customer purchase, every expenditure you make and every job or project you work on creates a trail of paperwork.

And from the moment you follow up an enquiry to the minute your business receives the cash, you have to be able to record and view detailed information about every action in these processes. You and your team need real time views of this data from wherever they work. And you, your managers and team leaders have to have an accurate and complete view of every key task and the ability to quickly drill down on any number or task to view, understand and follow what is happening where, when and why it’s happening and if these activities are being managed smoothly.

Small business ERP benefits

What gets measured gets improved so it’s essential the activities in every critical process in your organisation can be tracked and measured as they occur so you and your employees can take advantage of opportunities, spot and get to grips with problems before they become disasters and manage your company’s processes effectively.

To get all this right and continually have a concise picture you don’t need an accounting system, you don’t need a CRM system, you don’t need a time sheet and tracking system, an expense claim tracking system or an inventory management system. You need a unified system that has all of this in a single environment and lets you connect everyone in your business where ever they they want to work. A single system  that gives a complete picture of your business, so you consistently know what’s happening and lets you manage your business in the way that works best for you and your managers.

You need small business ERP

If you write a blog and want to expand your audience, or a business that needs more customers (who doesn’t want that?) you really need to be creating videos and uploading them for people to view!

Your competition is taking customers from you that have no idea you exist if they are uploading video and you are not. If they aren’t producing video for YouTube or their own sites then you need to make sure you get those customers they are missing.

Compete.com lists YouTube with 85 million unique visits in July of 2009! Just imagine what it could do for your site if you happened to create a viral video that got 100,000 views… 200,000 views…. 1 million views! A certain percentage of those people would visit your site and a percentage of those would sign up for your newsletter or buy something from you.

Now if my math is right, and you get 1 million views for a video and only 3% of those viewers visit your site that is 30 thousand visitors! If 3% of those signed up or bought something, that is 900 signups or sales! Sound good to you?

I know it’s very difficult to get a video with 1 million views, but take a look at YouTube and see what videos are that popular. Why do they become popular? What is great about them? It’s not the production value, it’s not because they have celebrities or cost a large amount of money to create.

These videos are crazy popular because they are extremely funny, or cool, or amazing for some reason. The videos can be planned out, but wildly popular vidoes are not outwardly selling anything, there is no pitch. If you want to create a viral video you cannot be selling in the video, let the video sell for you!

There’s an old saying from my door-to-door sales days “Sell the sizzle not the steak”. Well what does this mean to you? If I’m selling plant food for gardeners, do I tell them how wonderful the fertilizer is and how many nutrients are in it? NO! I am not selling them fertilizer, I am selling them BIG TOMATOES, that’s the sizzle!

Give for free something of value in your video. We are a camera repair shop and can’t make videos about how to repair every camera, but your customers are looking for something regarding your business, so find out what it is and give it to them!

Teach them something, give them information they are looking for, entertain them. [If you become an authority on your subject your customers will happily tell others about you].

No need to spend thousands on professional video production, but they must be easy to watch and understand.

• Make sure your camcorder or digital camera records good quality video, and no it doesn’t have to be HD quality for YouTube!
• Use a quality microphone. Poor audio will drive away most viewers, guaranteed.
• Use a solid backdrop, don’t show your cluttered basement or office or bedroom unless this is part of your presentation
• Write a script or at least notes regarding what you want to say
• Practice and view your results before publishing it. Ask others for opinions and feedback!
• Yes, you will hate the sound of your own voice, but that is how you sound to the rest of us so don’t worry about it.

Just go for it, things will get better as you go!

Now I’m off to try and figure out what my customers are looking for regarding digital camera repair for their Sony, Canon and Nikon cameras and then just give it to them.

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We know that joint ventures are a great strategy to join forces with a partner and form a win-win business deal. But are all JVs winners? And what are the risks involved if you do become part of a JV with another business owner?

Risks are present in all aspects of business. Forming a strategic alliance in the form of a JV is no different. However, with all success in life and business, controlling the risk is the important task. What can you do to control your risk as part of a JV and make it a success?

First, you need to identify the potential risks. What do you value as a business owner? Here are some typical values that could be at risk with a JV partnership:

• Time
• Money
• Technology
• Credibility

Avoid the Risk of Losing or Wasting Time

The great businessman, Benjamin Franklin, stated that “time is money”. Every minute you spend on your business should be in the pursuit of forwarding the success of your business. You spend time each day creating and building relationships, selling goods and services, hiring and training valuable workers to perform the tasks of your business, etc.  If your time is lost, then your business suffers.

Rather than waste time with a JV that is destined for failure, you can control this aspect by choosing a JV partner wisely. Know that your JV partner is committed for the long term and has the ability to make good judgments.

Schedule your time effectively. Why waste hours in discussions with a JV partner that is unproductive?  When you meet and communicate with your partner, make sure you are organized and ready to make recommendations and decisions.

Avoid Wasting Money

Cash is king. You need cash to continue to be liquid and fluid in your business. Know your limits to how much you can contribute to JV, and be honest with a JV partner about your limitations. Before a JV goes live, you and your JV partner should perform marketing research and other studies that provide valuable data about how and where your liquid capital contributions will be spent.

Avoid Losing or Wasting Proprietary Technology

Your JV should share resources in the pursuit of making a profit. However, you must be wise and cautious about sharing secret intellectual property. Sharing a printing press is one thing, but sharing unique software programming that you developed is another. Be willing to use your technology, but you don’t have to share your secrets.

Avoid Losing Credibility

Indeed, one of the risks of a JV is the risk of losing face with your customers or with other business associates. This is where choosing the right JV partner becomes very important again. If your business has a stellar reputation, don’t agree to a JV with a business owner known for cheating or poor customer service.

Joint ventures are inherently geared for success, just like two heads are better than one. You must be willing to share and participate, but take the time to be organized, research, and make wise choices so your JV will have the opportunity to blossom.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.

Many small business owners experience great sales success when they form a joint venture, but some do not. What is the difference between a successful JV and an unsuccessful one? It could be the consumer psychology used to sell JV products and services! Read below to discover some simple tricks to help increase your JV sales.

1. Don’t Give Consumers a Choice

Consumer research has proven that too many choices can deter consumers and actually drop sales. Choices can cause the dreaded “analysis paralysis” in consumers. Rather than providing all things to all customers, a JV that markets a wide variety of similar products may do more harm to their sales because consumers would rather make no choice than make a complicated one.

Too many choices may also cause buyer’s remorse. Why? Consumers will wonder whether they should have made a different choice and possibly regret the buying decision. So why drive your customers away? Don’t give them too many choices. Rather, provide a quality product each and every time that will satisfy customers and give them reason to return or tell others about your JV business.

2. Customers Buy Happiness

Customers will spend more money when they feel good about their purchase. Even if your JV sells a product, the experience that the customer feels during the purchase can make the sale very worthwhile. What does that mean for your JV business? Focus on customer service and atmosphere.

When you greet customers and treat them as friends, they enjoy the experience more than with a sour-faced and bored clerk. Customers always appreciate good customer service, even if they do not acknowledge it in the moment.

If your JV runs out of a brick and mortar location, provide a welcoming place for your customers as well. Hire an interior designer if necessary to create an atmosphere where customers feel comfortable. A fine five-star restaurant is a good example of a place that may create a welcoming dining atmosphere. Consider all the senses, good lighting, creative décor, soft music, and pleasant aromas.

3. Focus Advertising on Your Product

Some general consensuses believe that certain elements in advertising will help sell a product, such as sex or comedy. The belief is that attaching attractive women to a product primarily bought by men will help its recall and sales.

However, researchers at the University College London found that product recall was no better when sexual or comedic elements were used in advertisements on television ads.  Therefore, focus on your JV product and its benefits and problem-solving usefulness in your ads. There is no need to spend more money on clever gimmicks that do not help sell a product.

Your JV can experience more sales if you know how to effectively advertise, display your products, and treat your customers. Try these simple yet effective psychological tricks and see how your sales climb.

Christian Fea is CEO of Synertegic, Inc. A Joint Venture Marketing firm. He exemplifies how to profit from Joint Venture relationships by creating profit centers with minimal risk and maximum profitability.

To discover more Joint Venture Marketing Strategies join his free Joint Venture Marketing Wealth Report.