Overcoming the pains of being an Irish SME
In a competitive environment, small business owners understand the difficulties of making the right investments, to ensure that business can flourish.
There are multiple offers out there, indeed a myriad range of options regarding technology solutions to tempt you into investing in everything from full blown business management software to pay-as-you-go cloud-based CRM and accounting solutions. It goes without saying that in the modern world, investment in IT can be potentially hazardous for your bottom line.
In a nutshell, there are many potential pitfalls and dangers involved in making the right decisions, and negotiating a path which balances risk with success is not easy!
Priorities can change but we expect that ensuring you can meet the overheads of staff wages and securing future work orders or sales orders not to mention getting money in, invoices paid and cashflow streaming, is a regular concern.
Benefit v Cost
Leveraging the benefits against the cost of any technology solution, from CRM (Customer Relationship Management software) to a barcode scanner, is crucial, and making mistakes is part of the pain of making the right decision.
That is to say, the right decision for you, and at the right time for your business, because as you know, what might work for your friend’s retail business or your partners’ friend’s food distribution company, might not work for you!
In a real sense, although the Irish SME market is fairly small, albeit vibrant and innovative, one size certainly doesn’t fit all. Making the right mistakes will help you on the way, as your business evolves and you gain a greater understanding of the most effective way to engage with your clients, and maximize your reach, customer base, and profitability.
Communication
Without communication, you simply cannot retain your existing customers and for that matter, neither can you acquire new customers. As you well know, customer service is always crucial. So how you communicate both externally and internally is of paramount importance for your business, and the way in which it is perceived.
In this day and age, a CRM system is a must-have, so that all of your team, whether it is someone in production, sales, support or customer service, can have access to business critical information without it being a costly resource.
Social Media Marketing
With the advent of social media, connecting with both competitors and customers alike was never easier, but this brings with it a host of decisions which need to be made for the Irish SME owner.
Do you invest in a full-time marketing person to manage your online activity? Do you pay to send a trusted employee on a course in digital marketing or somehow find the time to do it yourself? Do you engage regularly via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? Or do you rely on more old-fashioned methods to promote your company and products?
Margins
Cash is king, and where margins are concerned, having a high quality product which yields high margin is always desirable. Where the margins are tighter, having close control over fluctuations in pricing is vitally important.
Again, having access to the right information, and at the right time, can be a crucial factor when making a decision to buy or sell.
Do you know from week to week, which product is selling best, or which sales rep is making the most sales and earning the highest commissions?
Reports
At the end of the week, month, quarter, or year, having access to the right reports can help guide your business in the right direction.
Having access to real-time reports can be advantageous in that you need not wait until the end of the month to replenish stock, or deploy a new product. Having access to real-time data and reports allows you to drive further sales, or make necessary changes to realise increased revenues.
Experience
With 20 years experience in helping companies in the Irish SME market, you can trust the team at DB Computer Solutions to deliver expertise and support to your business.
We understand the pain points, and we can help. We like to see companies grow, and take on more staff and more clients. We deliver solutions which not only meet ROI, but can which can help increase profitability. After all, they say Turnover, is for vanity, profit is for sanity.
Contact
Follow us on LinkedIn here : https://www.linkedin.com/company/db-computers-limerick
You can also “follow” our tweets via Twitter too : https://twitter.com/DB_Comp
If you would like more information on Sage CRM, there are videos and other learning tools here: http://www.sagecrm.com/ireland/
And for more information on our tailored solutions for the Irish SME market, or to avail of a free 30-day trial of our Remote Rep mobile sales solution, contact the team at DB on 061 480980 or email: carl.ashley@dbcomp.ie