Your business is blossoming. You’ve watched it grow from a blip on the economic radar to a serious local contender. You know it’s time to expand, but the phrase “growing pains” doesn’t exist without reason, and many small and midsize business (SMB) owners seem to flounder just when prospects look their best.

An expanded business needs more comprehensive solutions than you may be used to. The good news is, since yours isn’t the first company to transition from “small fry” to industry competitor, there’s no reason that you should have to make the same mistakes others have. In this article we’ll cover three of the most important goals to keep in mind (and the challenges they present) as you take your business to the next level.

1. Improve customer retention. Believe it or not, the best way to expand your business is to make sure your existing customers are loyal and happy. BIA Kelsey reports that returning customers tend to spend 67 percent more on average when compared to first-time shoppers, and for SMBs like your own, this repeat business can actually account for over half of your profits.

So how do you improve customer retention during a period of expansion? You adopt new tools that help you manage contacts, prioritize leads, and drive sales. You deploy them in a way that works seamlessly with tools you already use, saving your agents training time and showing your customers that the new face of your business is centered on them.

2. Attract new customers. Every expansion brims with the prospect of potential customers. But if you want their business, you need to personalize their experience with your company. Send tailored offers to the customers you know will appreciate them, when you know they’re most likely to buy. Then make sure your sales staff has enough data to speak to a customer’s individual needs.

The combination of entering new markets and speaking directly to customer requirements can have a profound effect on your business. When interest in your business surges, you’ll want to be sure you have the bandwidth to handle all the attention. The economical way to do this is to use a cloud-based solution that expands if needed, but otherwise keeps your data costs low.

3. Increase revenues. The above goals and solutions mean nothing if they don’t lead to more money coming in. That’s why it’s important to focus on the right customers and priorities. Organize your sales process to nurture opportunities and drive sales. Review your sales pipeline to spot trends, then improve your sales process to win more deals and increase revenue. As your business grows, you may also need to better manage your financials, inventory, and operations.

While your customer and analytical data can be your edge as your business develops, it can also expose both your company and customers to new risks. A robust and reliable security solution that grants you access to your data but keeps unwanted visitors out is now more important than ever. Again, your best bet here is the cloud, where enterprise-grade security is the standard.

The decision to expand your business is a big one, and equally important is how you go about making your vision come to fruition. For a more in-depth look at whether your business is ready for solutions like Microsoft Dynamics CRM, check out the SMB Group e-book, How to know if your business is ready for CRM. You can also take a personalized, guided tour of Dynamics CRM Online to get started.

[cta-crm-guided-tour]

The post 3 Important Goals and How to Meet Them as Your Business Expands appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Choose business management software that delivers control, productivity, and the insight you need to grow

Your new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution can help accelerate profitable long-term growth for your business-or slow it down. An underpowered solution might be cheaper to implement now, but if it lacks capabilities that support and drive growth without adding costly headcount or future upgrades, it could ultimately cost you more in the long run. On the other hand, a powerful solution that's difficult to deploy, use, and maintain creates its own set of growth-hindering problems, including high costs and low utilization. The right choice will deliver the ideal set of growth-supporting capabilities in a solution that's easy to use and maintain.

We've created a 10-point checklist to help you search for your ideal solution in an orderly and thorough way. We've examined one point from the checklist each week over the past several weeks. You can review the series to date by clicking on the link for each individual post:

• Goes beyond traditional ERP
• Offers deployment flexibility and choice
• Features strong customer-vendor relationships
• Integrates easily with other LOB applications
• Delivers ease of use
• Provides cost predictability
• Enables forward-looking insight
• Delivers ongoing innovation

 This week, we stress the value of choosing a business management solution that's built to support, and actually help you drive, the growth of your business.  

Choose a solution designed to help you manage a growing business

You're in the market for a new business management solution because the tools you're now using just aren't suited for the growth you're planning-or already achieving. They cover the basics, but their inefficiency and lack of cost-effectiveness are apparent every time you close a period, and particularly when you do something new like enter a new market or add a new product line. Look ahead and you see more roadblocks to hamper growth: slow performance, or inefficient system management, or simultaneous user limits, or the inability to handle multiple currencies. How do you avoid these headaches and find a solution that supports and drives growth? Here are three elements to insist on.

More control. If your growth strategy includes starting or acquiring new operations, you want a business solution that can be quickly and easily extended to include them, so you can compare and keep tabs on every part of your business as it grows. International operations? Look for a solution that supports multiple languages and currencies. And be sure to choose a solution that addresses all your business processes, from order entry to customer credit policies.

Increased productivity. Powerful new capabilities help streamline operations across your business. Reduce inventory levels and days sales outstanding, for example. Cut down on manual data entry and increase inventory turns. Do more with less: add new business without comparable payroll increases. Actions like these improve productivity-and the cash flow to fund growth.

Deeper insight. Give your people, wherever they're located, convenient, 24/7 access to accurate, consistent, timely information. This supports the collaborative, informed decisions that drive growth.

A business solution from Microsoft helps you focus on growth

It's difficult to drive growth when you're busy deploying, learning, and maintaining technology. A business solution from Microsoft is easy to learn and use, and gives you the flexibility to deploy in the way that works best for you now and in the future. It easily scales to grow with your business, and most importantly, it's sold and implemented by a world-class network of partners with deep industry expertise and technical knowledge.

Fixed-scope implementations offered by our partners and RapidStart deployments help get you up and running in days with less risk to your business. Many customers have actually made the switch for the same cost as upgrading to the next version of their current software. And compatibility with other Microsoft technology you have now helps you get more long-term value from these IT investments, too.

Customer success story

Small and midsize businesses around the world choose business solutions from Microsoft because they support and help drive profitable growth. Here's just one example-a U.K. furniture company that took advantage of better control, added productivity, and deeper insight to expand sales volume from existing customers and increase overall profits.

Birlea Furniture

"Within two days, our Microsoft [Dynamics] solution had helped us achieve an extra £15,000 in sales…. Moving to Microsoft Dynamics is one of the best business decisions we've ever made." Sarah Leach, Financial Controller

 Join us next week for the final post in our 10-part series, when we'll urge you to thoroughly test the ability of each solution you're evaluating to help you reduce business risk. Until then, learn more about a business solution from Microsoft, take a product test drive, or register for an upcoming webcast.

The post ERP Evaluation Checklist: The Right Solution Supports and Drives Business Growth appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

A business management solution that’s easy to learn, use, and manage empowers people to do their best work

Choosing the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is a strategic investment for your company, so it’s well worth your time to carefully examine your options. We’ve created a 10-point evaluation checklist to help you do this, and we’re exploring one checklist item each week for 10 weeks. So far, we’ve covered three items (follow the links to read the full discussions):

1.         Goes beyond traditional ERP

2.         Offers deployment flexibility and choice

3.         Integrates easily with other LOB applications

This week, we highlight the importance of choosing a business solution that makes it easy for your people to excel at their jobs. Equipping them to deliver peak performances enhances their job satisfaction, and those performances help your company flourish.

Choose a business management solution that delivers ease of use

This sounds pretty obvious, but take the time to examine “ease of use” from four different perspectives.

The individual user experience. When was the last time you were given a user’s manual for an app that you downloaded? Who taught you how to use Facebook? A good business management solution will be easy for your people to understand and use. An intuitive user experience will eliminate extensive training time and costs-and accelerate adoption. Your people get up to speed faster, and their productivity and efficiency accelerate your return on investment.

Applicability across the business. Benefits can be amplified when a business management solution extends ease of use to all parts of the operation: headquarters and the field, for example, or sales and manufacturing, accounting and distribution, and all geographic locations. Consistent, end-to-end ease of use helps everyone communicate and collaborate better, meet deadlines, and make the best decisions.

Cloud-based options. The flexibility to deploy part or all of a business management solution in the cloud opens additional ease-of-use opportunities: easier deployment, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and scaling. In cloud-based options, off-loading these workloads frees you and your people to focus on taking your business to new levels.

Compatibility with other systems your company uses. Individual business systems might be easy to use, but the benefit can be lost if they don’t work together in a consistent way. The right choice for you will be a business management solution that works like and with other systems and technology that your company already uses.

Business solutions from Microsoft deliver ease of use from all four perspectives

Business solutions from Microsoft feature a consistent look and feel that your people already know and work with. If they already know and use Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, they will find the Microsoft Dynamics ERP user experience familiar and adopt it faster. Because a business solution from Microsoft works like and with other Microsoft technology, it helps increase adoption rates and lower training costs. Straightforward deployment, features designed to support international business, a global community of technology professionals available to help, and quick, easy extensibility combine to enable consistent ease of use throughout an organization. Flexible Microsoft cloud-based options simplify deployment, operation, and maintenance-and offer financial benefits as well. And a business solution from Microsoft helps you get more value out of your other Microsoft technology investments. Maybe your company uses Microsoft SQL Server for databases or Microsoft SharePoint Server to maintain portals for your employees and business partners; or maybe you use Microsoft Dynamics CRM to manage customer information. Your people probably work with productivity tools like Microsoft Word to create forms or Microsoft Excel to analyze data maintained in a SQL Server database. All of these products share the Windows platform, and they present a familiar look and feel to users. Choosing a business management solution that works like and with these productivity tools and server products unlocks a new level of value in all of them. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Customer success story            

Small and midsize manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and other organizations around the world count on business solutions from Microsoft to deliver the ease of use that boosts their employees’ productivity, efficiency, and job satisfaction. Many of these organizations also run these solutions in the cloud, helping them to simplify system deployment and management. Take a look at how a surfboard and skateboard company is achieving success, positioning itself for growth, and helping its employees excel at their jobs.

Sitka Surfboard Corporation
“[The multiple parts of our business] all need to be linked together. And that’s what [Microsoft] technology has allowed us to do…. It’s very easy to use, and the power you get from it-it’s just a huge time-saver…. Our goal is to create long-term, sustainable careers for our employees. We want them to have a good time at their job, and therefore they’re going to be doing a good job. And that’s very important to the success of the company.” Andrew Paine, President, and Kyle Treleaven, IT Ninja

*****

Learn more about a business solution from Microsoft, take a product test drive, register for an upcoming webcast. Join us next week for part 6 of our blog series, when we’ll encourage you to test the cost predictability of the new business management solutions you’re considering.

Thanks for following our blog series, until next week.

Jen Dorsey

The post ERP Evaluation Checklist: An Easy to Use Solution Helps Your People Move Business Forward appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

The right business management solution connects your LOB applications to take your business forward

If finding a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution was on your list of New Year’s resolutions, this blog series can help you navigate what can seem to be a complex research process.  During which you must carefully weigh multiple factors to find the business management solution that’s right for you. We’ve created a 10-point evaluation checklist to guide you through this process, and we’re examining one checklist item weekly over a 10-week period. So far, we’ve covered two items (follow the links to read the full discussions):

1. Goes beyond traditional ERP
2. Offers deployment flexibility and choice

This week, we underscore the importance of picking a business management solution that integrates easily with other line-of-business (LOB) applications that your organization depends on.

Choose a business management solution that easily connects with your LOB applications

Today’s powerful ERP and other LOB applications, such as customer relationship management, collaboration, and analytical tools, hold great potential for helping you get more control of operations, streamline business processes and workflows, boost productivity, and gain deeper insight into your business. But if these applications aren’t smoothly integrated, the potential remains untapped. Systems that don’t work together duplicate data entry, miss insights, drive costs up and results down, and squander opportunities. So when you weigh your options, be sure you understand how well your new system will integrate with your other mission-critical systems, and how much effort it will take to get the connection you need.

Some ERP vendors might suggest that you can reduce integration complexity and cost by simplifying the processes you’re integrating. Be careful here. Simplification might help initially, but at the end of the day, your business processes need to support your real business, not a simplified version of it. And you could end up incurring those “saved” IT costs later, if you decide you really need the integration you gave up at the start.

Here’s one final thing to think about: you may want technical assistance in connecting your data and applications. So be sure the vendors you’re considering, or their implementation partners, can be there when you need them, to help connect your systems for end-to-end business process improvement.

A business solution from Microsoft simplifies integration

You don’t have to choose either powerful, flexible capabilities or streamlined, affordable integration. With Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, you can have both. Integrating data sources and applications is easier, even if they’re not built on Microsoft platforms, using web services and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Taking this approach, partners and customers can simplify the integration between their Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions and their third-party applications.

There’s a good chance your business and employees already use other Microsoft software-Microsoft Office, for example, or Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft SharePoint Server. Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions work like and with these products and provide additional interoperability to add even more value for you and your ERP users. And a global community of local Microsoft partners with deep application integration and business expertise is available to help unlock the power of Microsoft technology for you and your business.

Customer success story

Small and midsize organizations around the world, in a wide variety of businesses, use solutions from Microsoft to discover and tap their full potential. Here’s one brief example: Denmark’s second-largest airport integrated Microsoft Dynamics ERP with its financial and retail management systems. The results? More control, more productivity, more insight. A fast return on investment (ROI). And retail shop business that takes off.

Billund Airport
“Not only would Microsoft Dynamics ERP ease integration with our shopping partner’s ERP system … extended with retail functionality, we could have a single solution that met all our needs, both from a financial management and retail management perspective…. We have dramatically improved our insight … and now we can optimize our storefront accordingly.” Jan Hessellund, Retail Manager

Join us next week for part 5 of our blog series, when we’ll look at the importance of finding a solution that is easy to use and deploy. Until then, learn more about a business solution from Microsoft, take a product test drive, or register for an upcoming webcast.

The post ERP Evaluation Checklist: Connect and Enhance the Value of Your Technology Systems appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Choosing the right enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is an important decision. Your ERP solution is the backbone of your business-and making the right choice can mean the difference between winning against the competition or becoming obsolete. So it’s imperative to ask the right questions in your evaluation. During the past several weeks, we’ve published a blog series to help guide you through a few of the questions you should be asking as you review potential ERP vendors. If you missed any of the postings or you would like to have a summary of the topics, here are the 10 questions we’ve urged you to answer carefully and thoroughly before making your choice.

1. Will the ERP solution fit the way we work, or will we need to change our processes to make it work?

2. Does the solution offer the flexibility to deploy both on-premises and in the cloud, or in some combination of each?

3. What deployment model is best for my business?

4. How does the solution support integration with other line-of-business applications?

5. Will the ERP solution help maximize our investments in the Microsoft technology platform and Microsoft Office productivity tools?

6. Does the solution offer a predictable cost model?

7. How stable is the vendor, and do they understand and serve customers like me?

8. What is the vendor’s product roadmap, and what R&D investments are they making to deliver ongoing innovation and value?

9. What is the vendor’s customer churn rate and reputation for service after the sale?

10. Will the ERP solution help drive and support our growth aspirations?

Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP?

Microsoft Dynamics ERP has offered proven solutions for customers like you for more than 25 years, delivering capabilities that fit the way you work-so you won’t have to change the way you do business. Deploy on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid approach-whatever makes the most sense for you. Integrate your vital line-of-business applications quickly and easily, and enjoy the freedom to choose among a wide range of third-party software that runs on the Microsoft technology platform. Get more value out of the other Microsoft products you already use because Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions work like and with them. Manage ERP cost predictability through cloud-based deployment options, user-based licensing, and by working with Microsoft partners who offer fixed-scope deployments and ongoing local service after the sale. Microsoft financial stability, clear technology vision, documented product roadmaps, deep global experience with companies of all sizes in a broad range of industries, and our strong post-sale support programs allow you to plan your own technology future with insight and confidence.

We can also point with pride to thousands of real-life customers around the word who are turning their business vision into reality with help from Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.

Taking the Next Step

We hope you have found this blog series helpful as you evaluate your ERP options. To learn more about how Microsoft Dynamics ERP can help you turn your business vision into reality, we invite you to register for the following webcasts:

ERP On-Premises or in the Cloud: What’s Right for Your Business?

Elevate Your Bottom Line with Microsoft Dynamics ERP

Outgrowing Your Entry-Level Accounting Solution? Microsoft Dynamics ERP Can Help

And you can learn more about Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions for small and midsize businesses or find out about special pricing currently available to help you get up and running quickly and affordably.

Thanks for joining us during the past 10 weeks!

Jen Dorsey

The post ERP on Your Terms: Ten questions to ask that can help you find the right solution and turn your business vision into reality. appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

Choosing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for your business is a multistep process. We’re publishing a blog series to help you ask the right questions as you move through the evaluation stage, to help you find the solution that’s right for you.   

So far, we’ve looked at the importance of choosing a solution that is built around your needs versus a solution you will need to model your business around, and the advantages offered by flexible ERP deployment options: on-premises, public and private cloud, and hybrid. If you missed it, you can read last week’s post here, and catch up on the broader discussion on Twitter at #ERPONYOURTERMS. This week’s question focuses on another important topic during your evaluation process: application integration.  

How does the solution support integration with other line-of-business applications?

Like many businesses, you may need to integrate your new ERP solution with other line-of-business software that you rely on-your payroll processing or ecommerce system, for example, or your customer relationship management (CRM) solution. As you weigh your ERP options, be sure you understand how much IT work and cost will be required to get your other mission-critical systems to work properly with your new ERP solution. The right choice will be flexible and easy to integrate with other applications or data sources.

Some ERP vendors may suggest that the way to reduce integration complexity and cost is to simplify the processes you want to integrate. Be careful here. Simplification might help to a point, but at the end of the day, your business processes need to fit your real business needs, not a simplified version of them. And you could end up incurring IT costs later anyway, if you decide you really need the integration capability you sacrificed initially.

Here’s another thing to think about: even though the right ERP solution for you will be flexible and easy to integrate with your other line-of-business applications, you may still want or need technical support at some point, as you connect your data and other applications. Be sure that the ERP vendors or their implementation partners you’re considering can help bring your systems together for end-to-end business process improvement. Do they offer resources near you? Do their support people understand and care about your business?

Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP?

With Microsoft Dynamics ERP, you don’t have to choose between a robust ERP solution and low deployment and integration costs. You can have the best of both. You can easily connect and integrate with external data sources and applications, even if they’re not built on Microsoft platforms, by using Web Services and the Microsoft .NET Framework. In addition, all Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions in the United States currently offer a managed service option. In this approach, partners and customers can integrate their Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions with third-party applications in the hosted environment.

 It’s very likely that your business and your employees already work with other Microsoft software-Microsoft Office, for example, or Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions work like and with these products (more on this next week) and provide an even greater level of interoperability to add even more value for you and your ERP users. And a global network of local Microsoft partners with deep technical and business expertise is there to help make the power of Microsoft technology work for you and your business.

What kinds of experiences are our customers having? Read how three customers have integrated their Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions with other vital line-of-business applications to help them turn their business vision into reality.

Central YMCA of London Improves Accounting Efficiency by 90 Percent

Consulting4IT: Technology Service Provider Rapidly Rebuilds and Optimizes Business Infrastructure

Dr. Miracle’s: Personal-Care Products Manufacturer and Distributor Enhances Operations with Microsoft Dynamics ERP

Join us again next week, when we’ll explore another key question you need to answer as you continue the process of choosing the right ERP solution for your business: Will the ERP solution help us maximize our investments in the Microsoft technology platform and Microsoft Office productivity tools?

And until then …

Calculate your potential annual savings using Microsoft Dynamics ERP.

Or learn more about Microsoft Dynamics ERP Solutions for Small and Midsize Businesses.

 Jen Dorsey

The post ERP on Your Terms: An end-to-end connected business helps turn your vision into reality. appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.

The decision to implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution may seem overwhelming. And to choose the solution that’s right for you, you’ll need to weigh multiple factors.

To help you begin the process of finding a solution that delivers ERP on your terms, we’ve launched a series of blog posts that will equip you with key questions to ask as you consider your options. In week one, the opening question was: “Will the ERP solution fit the way we work, or will we need to change our processes to run it?” You can read the full post here and catch up on the discussion via Twitter at #ERPONYOURTERMS. As this first question suggests, flexibility is a core component in the right solution. So here’s a second question that drills deeper into a topic you are likely hearing a lot about these days: cloud versus on-premises deployments.

Does the solution offer the flexibility to deploy both on-premises and in the cloud, or in some combination of each?

Depending on your current and potential future business needs, both deployment models offer advantages. Cloud computing commands lots of attention today because it offers the potential for:

• Low start-up costs and short time to benefit.
• Low initial hardware requirements-which is appealing if capital is particularly tight.
• Simple software management, which can help you trim IT costs.
• The ability to quickly flex IT capacity to changing workloads or rapid growth, which lets you convert fixed expenses to variable.

On the other hand, running your ERP on-premises offers its own potential advantages:

• Improved integration with other business software you’re already running.
• Greater flexibility for customization if needed.
• Maintaining ownership of your data.

Bottom line, what’s best for other businesses might not be right for your business.

As noted in an April 2011 report from Forrester Research, Inc., Vendors’ cloud computing/SaaS models get the headlines, but hosting-again, dominated now by channel partners-is a leading model for Internet-based application delivery and consumption. Forrester’s research concluded that customers’ plans for the future are even more telling: 25% of customers indicate that they will deploy business applications in a private hosted environment, versus only 9% opting for a public hosted-environment deployment model.[1]

So if you decide that the cloud is right for your ERP solution, be sure to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of public cloud and private hosting providers-their stability, service offering, service level commitments, track record, customer service reputation, and more. In other words, don’t let initial pricing alone lead your decision-making process.

Why Microsoft Dynamics ERP?

With Microsoft Dynamics ERP you have the flexibility to choose between on-premises deployment, a variety of cloud deployment offerings delivered through the Microsoft Dynamics partner channel, or a blend of both. Our commitment to “ERP on Your Terms” enables our customers to choose the deployment strategy that’s right for their business and move between those options as needed. Microsoft believes that the combined strength of our proven product capabilities and flexible deployment models provides the best of both worlds.

What are our customers saying? Don’t just take our word for it. Check out the stories of four businesses with various deployment models that are turning their business visions into reality with the help of Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions.

INFOMA: Software Company Helps Small Public-Sector Customers Meet Regulations with ERP System

Mays Mission for the Handicapped: Nonprofit Generates Large Cost Savings, Focuses on Mission with ERP in the Cloud

Amax Incorporated: Office Products Distributor Optimizes Finances with Easy-to-Implement ERP Solution

Print Management Partners: Print Distributor Strengthens Customer Ties with Flexible ERP Solution

Join us again next week for a new blog post, when we’ll continue to look at deployment options by posing the question: What deployment model is best for my business? And in the meantime …

Register to attend the upcoming webcast: “ERP On-Premises or in the Cloud: What’s Right for Your Business?”

Until next week.

Jen Dorsey

[1] “Hosting Service Providers – Cloud Partners or Competitors?” Forrester Research, Inc., April 21, 2011.

The post ERP on Your Terms: Turn your business vision into reality with the flexibility to deploy on-premises or in the cloud appeared first on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Blog.