An ERP solution gives businesses, of any size and in any industry, a multitude of benefits that impact their bottom line. The biggest benefit of an ERP system is efficiency (as discussed in our previous blog - How an ERP solution can support growth: Improving efficiencies to increase profits) but once implemented the business can benefit from decreased admin work and a reduction in manual processes which frees up time is to allow staff to focus on marketing and business development.
ERP software gives businesses the tools they need to manage their sales process; initially by attracting new customers through more effective marketing, but also by helping you nurture new accounts to drive more sales opportunities. Management of your prospect data and tracking the customer's sales journey gives your sales team the visibility they need to convert more enquiries to sales orders. We've outlined 5 key areas of an ERP software that help businesses to break new accounts and meet sales targets.
A fully integrated CRM gives your business a central database for all departments to work from so you can be confident that contact information is accurate. An accurate database means you can successfully profile customers and track history and notes on interactions with the prospect over their sales journey to give your team full visibility of any updates on their buying decisions. It allows your sales reps to build a strong relationship with contacts as they begin to build up history and knowledge about the prospect.
This knowledge base of information is crucial for creating targeted messaging for successful marketing. Your marketing and product messaging will differ depending on your audiences and a CRM will allow you to profile your prospect data based on business type, industry, company size, competitor information (or any other attribute you like) so you can maximise your marketing efforts and produce better performing campaigns.
There will be key actions that will determine where your prospects are on the sales journey and those actions need to be correctly followed up to ensure a deal is made. Having an integrated task manager will ensure you never miss an opportunity. Auto-create follow up tasks that remind sales reps to follow up an enquiry or make a call regarding a quote or to drop in with your new product offering. A task manager gives management the visibility they need to ensure they hit targets and never miss an opportunity.
Close deals quicker with access to the CRM, stock information and pricing when away from the office. Sales reps no longer to need call back to the office to get information about their prospect or to quote prices, they can access the ERP system from their tablet so they can view the contacts history, quote information and stock pricing to speed up the process of securing the deal.
As your customer base and sales orders grow, it's important to have a system in place that can effectively manage the process right from enquiry and quotes to order confirmation and dispatch. Without a seamless order management system, opportunities can be missed, orders can get lost and the business reputation can be damaged.
An ERP system gives you and your team the confidence that they can track enquiries, manage quotes and place orders knowing customer details and stock levels are correct. Delivering quality customer service is key for retaining the new business you secure.
A key enabler for increasing profits and staying competitive is the ability to increase your routes to market and meet customer demands by offering a multi-channel experience. ERP software gives you the foundations to effectively manage quotes and orders from any channel, regardless whether it's digital or bricks and mortar. This allows your business to increase your sales opportunities, target markets and geographical reach to help increase sales revenue.
