Tag Archive for: business

The Great Resignation: What Do Employees Want?

The world is not static – it evolves; neither are we humans: our preferences change. And one thing is certain: The way we want to work and what we expect from it has changed permanently. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated and brought the realization upon us –To rethink the way we work.

“Workers saw that quitting their jobs gave them a chance to take control of their personal and professional lives,” said Anthony Klotz. An Associate Professor at Texas A&M University, he was the one that coined the term in his May 2021 Bloomberg interview.

This happened with Ajay Patel, Work Process Specialist at Create Time Consultants. He was given two choices – take a new assignment or leave. Ajay saw this as an opportunity to build his own business and left his last employer in October 2021.

“Because the company made promises that assured me I could still be home and drop my son off at day-care every day. This was on day 1. Fast forward 6 months, and those promises were coming undone,” he explained.

The new assignment also required Ajay to travel half the time. So he either had the option to maximize his earnings; or choose a path where he could spend more time with his family.

“This was a loser deal for me. To face reality where I took more time away from my family for a few more bucks didn’t appeal,” he added.

Like Ajay, this has been the case and cause for many who have left their jobs in the last year and a half.

Despite so many people quitting and swapping jobs, it remains a doubt for many who ask –

Is The Great Resignation Real?

The Great Resignation upended workforce dynamics in 2021 and continues to in 2022. And this is very much a reality. According to the US Department of Labor, in March and April 2022 there were approximately 9 million workers who quit their jobs. Making a case that the Great Resignation is a ground reality, but still, many companies ‘are not getting it right’.

So, this brings us to a burning question –

Why is the Great Resignation Happening?

As Klotz said, “The pandemic brought the future of work into the present of work.”

But how?

On-going Health Fears and the realization of the meaning of ‘work-life integration’ –

The pandemic brought the attention of the world to the importance of health. The alarming death rates and loss of loved ones made one thing clear, life triumphs over work.

Additionally, other factors such as child care and high levels of burnout during the pandemic made people re-evaluate their expectations from work. According to a survey by Glassdoor, the proportion of reviews discussing burn-out increased by 100% in 2021.

The ‘workism’ no longer remained a norm and life became a priority.

Remote work changed the outlook:

Early 2020 brought the transition from ‘office-work’ to ‘home-work’. We learned the taste of flexible work hours and how they factor into making our lives better. Casual seating, no formal dress codes, no long commutes to work, and a comfortable environment led to huge mindset shifts. “More than third respondents said their work-life balance was better at the height of Pandemic”, in a survey for Beamery’s Talent Index USA.

The “worth it” equation took center form.

Employee Experience

As mentioned above, with a solidified shift in people’s perspective and what they want from work; their emphasis on needs has increased many-fold.

Also, there is a sudden increase in the talk about mental health and more C-level executives addressing the pressures. This has added to unhappiness becoming the likely quotient for quitting, and one moment is all it takes to take the plunge in the other direction.

“A third of workers – managers and non-managers alike – said that they were considering changing companies for the sake of their mental health”. (A report by Forrester Consulting Inc commissioned by Modern Health)

Toxic Company Culture

According to a recent MIT Sloan Management Review Article by Donald Sull (MIT Professor), Charles Sull (a Founder), and Ben Zweig (A CEO), “A toxic corporate culture is by far the strongest predictor of industry-adjusted attrition, and is 10 times more important than compensation in predicting turnover.”

The same article-study also found that “companies with a reputation of healthy cultures, including Southwest Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and LinkedIn, experienced lower-than-average turnover.”

Culture is driven by how companies think of their employees and workplace. Fair treatment, respect, unethical behavior, and inclusion make up the internal culture at companies. This all escalated in the post-pandemic world due to the increasing adoption of reflective mindsets and questioning norms.

So much for unsatisfied needs and wants being at the core of Great Resignation; but what are these?

What do employees want?

“This shift is different,” says Amplify’s Lars Schmidt in a LinkedIn report, “because this shift isn’t just about tools and technology. It’s about mindset, about desires, about the expectations from both employees and employers. It impacts so many different things and it’s happening in such an accelerated time frame.”

Professional Development:

A new insight that Great Resignation brought to light is employees are seeking skills and career advancements. They want to grow and evolve and want to be offered such opportunities.

According to Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PWC said in their latest report, “Rewarding [work] has to get defined in new and different ways as employees are looking for changes to that work, especially as you think about how automation can help reduce the monotony and some of the routine type of things that they do.”

As much as 83% of respondents said that they want their company to support career progression. (Beamery’s Talent Index USA)

Flexibility:

In post-pandemic times, people want the opportunity to spend more time with their families and kids. Instead of just sticking to their basic 9-5. They want to work on their terms and no longer want to be micromanaged by their superiors.

“Because these work arrangements give us more flexibility and control over our lives. And more autonomy and freedom in how we structure our lives. I don’t think most people are willing to go back to a traditional work environment,” Anthony Klotz addressed in his Bloomberg Interview.

Prime cause why this wave also saw many charting their own path. According to Digital.com, a leading review website for small businesses, published a report which states “more than 1/3rd Americans are quitting their jobs to start their own business”.

Well-Being:

Beyond high pay, employees want care and compassion, whether it’s emotional, physical, mental or financial. The shift in working scenarios brought a change in how employers and employees connected. “There’s no longer a separation between home and work life”, says Becky Garroch, the VP of people and places at Digital River, in a LinkedIn report.

With this amalgamation, employees now look up to their employers to be more empathetic towards their families as well.

Purpose Driven Work:

The rising tide of resignation also put forward – meaningful work is what we want. The pandemic with its drastic impact, became a catalyst for people questioning their purpose and values. They now want to work where they can contribute more than results. Where they align and sync with an organization’s purpose. Thus, some call it “The Great Reflection”.

“People have developed a new sense of awareness and worth for themselves and the world around them. This is prompting them to demand more personal value and purpose from both life and work.”, according to a recent Gartner Survey.

Empowerment

Employees want the power to make small decisions about their work. There is a constant desire to be more humanly and more authentic at work instead of being robotic – where they are fed instructions without acknowledgement. They want power to pursue their plans and be heard for their ideas.

“Feeling empowered to contribute to the best of their ability, and having their contributions valued, matters more than paycheck or title to many employees.”, says Josh Cyphers, President of Nvoicepay, a FLEETOR Company.

Next steps: 

In light of the situations which led to the current scenario; organizations need internal restructuring involving both human and technological aspects. For instance new unified systems created using technologies like Commercient SYNC . Along with new policies and procedures addressing the changed demands of the employees. 

To learn how you can better implement the solutions and what measures can you take in the first place, keep an eye on our blog. Part two answering these queries is coming soon.

The Wonders of the Hybrid Workplace

These past few years have changed the way we view work and its importance in our daily lives. Many workers have realized that work is not all there is to life and that spending all day in the office was not exactly their ideal scenario. There needs to be a work/life balance, or else we face the same burnout that we encountered when the pandemic struck. And with those seeds, the idea of a hybrid workplace — something that had existed, but wasn’t widely implemented — grew roots.

What is a Hybrid Workplace?

A hybrid workplace is a method in which the work module is divided between working remotely and in the office. There are different methods to do this: A worker can be assigned which days they need to go to the office by the managers or the employee can choose which days themselves. Sometimes hybrid work means a worker goes to the office in the mornings and works from home in the afternoon.

Why is it important?

Because it gives employees flexibility and shows you care about them and their lives. Not every workplace lends itself to being hybrid but the ones that can definitely think about it. The benefits far outweigh the adjustment period needed to adapt to new circumstances.

Here are some reasons why hybrid work can lend itself to success:

Increased Productivity:

One of the highlights of the hybrid workplace concept has been an increase in productivity. Before the pandemic, there was an assumption that because people were working from home meant they were less productive. But studies have shown that it’s the other way around. But one of the neat factors in a hybrid workplace is that no commute and no water cooler talk can make a person more productive and get more work done in a more petite time frame. There can be exceptions of course — as with everything — but overall it seems like a positive side of the hybrid workplace has been an increase in productivity and efficiency.

Commute Times:

One thing that no one missed while we were stuck at home was the commute to work. Having to wake up at least one or two hours earlier to go to work and losing one or two hours on the way back. It all depends on traffic. When you work from home, you can avoid the commute and be more productive, because those 1-3 hours are actually yours to do as you like.

Worldwide Potential:

Hybrid workplaces have an extra ace up their sleeve. If you don’t have to go to the office, your office can be anywhere in the world, and your team can work from anywhere in the world. You have the option of having coworkers from Madrid or from right across the street. The potential is limitless.

Work/Life Balance:

One of the most important aspects is the balance of work and life. Balance is important in every aspect of life. It’s in every fantasy or sci-fi movie. Anakin Skywalker was supposed to bring balance to the Force, the Karate Kid needed to learn balance. So why wouldn’t our lives also need balance? If we have a full work/life balance, we can live full lives and avoid the dreaded burnout. It means that you can go to a doctor’s appointment without missing a half or full day of work. You can spend more time with the family, rather than being stuck in an office all day long.

Health:

One of the main things the last few years have made us aware of is our health. The truth is that the pandemic is still ongoing, and some people are still anxious about returning to work in an office. Hybrid work helps those who are anxious about returning to work and those that have loved ones who have medical issues. It helps them be able to work without putting anyone they love at risk.

What does a hybrid workplace need?

Now that we’ve analyzed the what and the why of the Hybrid workplace let’s look at the how. How can you make a successful transition? Technology is the answer. First off you have to invest in video conferencing software. This is what is going to allow for the interconnectivity in your team to flourish.

You could also invest in a CRM to have your information in the cloud and centralize it so all your teams can access it. Take it a step further with Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, by connecting your ERP (accounting and operations) software and your CRM.

It might seem like too much work, but sometimes progress requires work. It requires commitment and dedication. And while not all your employees might want to do it, the ones that do will definitely appreciate it and be happier for it. And if they’re happier they are more productive. If they’re more productive then your business will soar. It seems like a no-brainer.

After all, a happy employee makes for a happy business.

Why Artificial Intelligence Integration In CRM Is The Future For Your Business

Artificial Intelligence is all around us. Perhaps the concept still comes as new to some, but it already has a huge impact in your daily routine. When you contact Uber, Alexa, Amazon or the voice assistants on your smartphone like Siri, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology works to make life easier for you. Who hasn’t search Netflix to find recommendations to watch a movie? AI algorithms have definitely helped influence your decision about what to watch next.

Businesses have been using AI to boost the decision-making process. Some examples are online customer support, intelligent personal assistants, or process automation.

The use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is growing, as well. The value of providing a better service for consumers helps guide a business. It is estimated that 2019 will bring an increase in spending on CRM as companies realize the importance of not just knowing, but understanding their customers. And according to the trends for 2019 (per Medium.com), CRM systems have evolved and integrated AI technology to improve the customer experience.

There is real value of real-time data for your business, and there are many advantages of having a powerful CRM system connected to your ERP. This can be accomplished through a data integration app such as Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales. Therefore, your business will receive a treasure trove of valuable information.

But you might think: Where does the need of using my current CRM with AI come from?

When Artificial Intelligence and CRM meet, the result is a match made in heaven. And here’s why.

It is estimated that by 2021, an additional $394 billion in revenue could be gained from Artificial Intelligence adoption in CRM activities in the United States (Statista.com). There are many new developments in CRM software, such as face and voice recognition. Salesforce’s Einstein and Zoho CRM’s Zia are two examples of an AI-powered CRM that uses voice commands to access information.

In addition, as a company grows, collecting, storing and providing data can become a huge task, and your clients won’t wait around for you to offer them exactly what they’re looking for. Nowadays, CRM needs the support of Artificial Intelligence to achieve a more efficient data management. Even more so when less than 0.5% of all data is being analyzed and used, according to Forbes.

But with digital transformation and improvements in technology, AI assists businesses with finding new customers and keeping the loyal ones happy.

The Benefits of Combining Artificial Intelligence with CRM

Integrating these two technologies delivers more predictive and personalized customer information in all areas of your business. Here are some reasons why you need to start thinking about an AI-driven CRM.

  1. Virtual assistants and bots. Is time to forget about tedious workflows, and speed up the sales cycle by using technology to interact with your customers or schedule meetings. You can also improve lead generation by having more accurate marketing campaigns. Integrating AI into CRM can also automate customer reports, emails, data capture, and more. This helps you avoid the risk of human errors in your everyday tasks and administrative duties.
  2. An AI-powered CRM will be able to learn from past decisions and historical patterns to score the best leads for sales. Artificial Intelligence will also be able to predict future customer behavior. How? AI is very helpful when it comes to analyzing customer’s emotions by a simple phone call, in order to establish strategies that will increase the engagement. You will be able to connect with the customers on an entirely new level, because you will give them exactly what they want, when and how they want it.
  3. Segmenting customers becomes easier. AI won’t take away jobs, but will actually help team workers to be more productive. You won’t need to worry about manual data entry or the time it takes to look up information, for example. Having intelligent algorithms will help you segment customers easily. Imagine an automated segmentation that will assure your message to be delivered to a specific group of potential customers.
  4. Increase customer engagement with AI-driven CRM. This technology can help you as well to get an emotional insight from the customer. Image recognition and sentiment analysis are two powerful reasons why an AI-enabled CRM is the future for your business. Don’t risk your qualified leads. AI can help you understand a customer’s satisfaction in real-time. Once you have this valuable insight, it’s easy to take action and identify problems. Essentially, AI will be able to better read the customer’s intentions.
  5. Close more deals, learn from your mistakes. AI-based CRM can study different scenarios where sales are most successful, and where deals were rejected. For example, an AI algorithm can do wonders for your price-optimization. This intelligence can tell you what the ideal discount rate should be for a proposal, ensuring that you’re most likely to win the deal, per Harvard. It’s no secret that businesses struggle to identify which buyers are more likely to come back and buy more. Instead of spending money marketing to those who won’t close deals, target the ones who will. How is this possible? AI algorithms can gather historical information from a client.

As you can see, Artificial Intelligence isn’t something you’d see in a sci-fi movie or TV show. Businesses are already taking advantage of IS, and you shouldn’t be left behind. AI makes it possible for companies to evolve to a more efficient and powerful CRM. Remember to choose the best tools that suit your needs.

Let Commercient SYNC data integration help you make the right decision to take your business to the next level. Are you interested to see how? Watch this video.
Are you ready to bring the power of AI, and make it work together with your CRM and ERP software? Contact us today.

5 Reasons Why Real-Time Data Is Crucial For Your Business

The need to obtain and analyze data is evolving. Businesses are collecting vast quantities of information in real-time. To get the most out of data, companies need to analyze it as soon as it is generated, because real-time data helps to make faster and better decisions. This applies to both businesses of all sizes.

Part of today’s digital transformation — meaning the implementation of digital and cloud technology into all aspects of business — involves being able to instantly decide on the next best action (Forbes).

Most companies already have a valuable amount of standard and real-time data provided from their business tools, such as an ERP or CRM system (Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management, respectively). But this information becomes useless if the business ignores it, or doesn’t know how to properly analyze it. Imagine selling a car to a person who can’t drive.

Data analytics is a commercial area whose market value is estimated to reach $22.8 billion by 2020 (Gartner). The managers who perform data analysis are three times as likely to execute decisions as intended (Bain and Company).

Today, companies must be capable of making smart decisions faster, such as changes in their offerings and promotions, in advance or in real-time. And then align them with constantly-changing external factors.

How Your Business Benefits from Real-Time Data

1. With real-time data analysis, a company is able to continuously monitor their product or service performance, and quickly apply corrective measures when something doesn’t go according to plan. Don’t wait until the end of the quarter or the year to apply changes in your products or services when the market is demanding changes today.

2. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems can benefit from real-time data in order to provide better service for consumers. Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Zoho CRM are three popular examples of CRM. It also helps to develop more engagement. For example, by tracking conversations leads to a better understanding of customer’s preferences, needs, expectations, and to build a more accurate buyer persona.

3. Make better and faster decisions to get the most out of your business’ competitive advantages in the market. Sometimes those competitive advantages are clear for you and your staff, but sometimes what you may be overlooking is crucial for your clients.

4. Anticipate and understand the strategies of competitors, which can help you seize opportunities, or prevent problems before they happen. How fast do your competitors respond to customers’ needs? Is the process too slow? With instant access to customer data, you can quickly improve your customers’ experience. That can become an important competitive advantage.

5. Reduce costs by optimizing processes in full execution. The more complex the process, the more money is needed to keep it working. With a bi-directional data integration, such as the one offered by Commercient SYNC, everything works faster and more smoothly. There isn’t a need to make big investments in different systems. Additionally, time previously spent on double data entry and error correction goes “back” to the business.

How to Obtain and Analyze Real-Time Data

Once you learn the value of real-time data for your business, it’s good to research the best tools that suit your business. With that in mind, Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, is great for integrating your ERP and CRM data. You’ll have access to important data in real-time, without the need of ETL, data mapping, or coding on your part.

Having access to your ERP data directly in CRM can give you a 360-degree view of sales and marketing, and give you a competitive advantage. This ERP data includes customer information, sales history, invoicing, serial numbers invoiced, inventory, tracking numbers and shipping information, multi-ship to addresses, and much more.

With a two-way SYNC, new accounts, orders, opportunities, etc., which are created in CRM are integrated to ERP. This helps you avoid double-data entry and potential errors.

Don’t run your company blindly. Start delivering the best customer experience by choosing Commercient SYNC to give you the best insights when you need it. Take your business to the next level with data integration. Contact us today to learn more.

SYNC ERP and CRM

What A Thriving Remote Sales Team Looks Like

Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series on digital integration, cutting-edge technology and CRM integration from Commercient. Our goal is to help modernize your business and improve sales.

Sales closed is a key metric to predict revenue and measure business growth. This is especially true with a remote sales team, where tracking results can be challenging. How many leads came into your marketing systems? How many of those became customers?

The results are important, but managers and business owners also need to keep in mind the sales processes: How leads get in touch with the company, do they come on their own through the website or other digital channels, or the need to be approached by a salesperson cold-calling them?

In addition, the processes they follow once they’re into the sales funnel, how long does it take them to make a decision — or how many end up with a “no?” Or if the deal is lost to no-decision?

With a remote sales team, watching salespeople’s interactions with leads and customers is not always a possibility. That’s why it’s important to have sales processes in place to provide direction, and to clarify what’s expected from them in every stage of the sales process.

Here’s what a thriving remote sales team looks like, and how they achieve success.

They Take Advantage Of Technology

From CRM and ERP systems, to popular cloud-based business tools for practically everything (team collaboration, accounting, project management, and more), technology is here to make everything faster and easier. Remote sales teams need to embrace these technologies to be able to work better with their co-workers. This will provide a more personalized attention to their leads and current customers.

Much of the data found in these systems are siloed, and data integration can help them work together smoothly. For example, with Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, ERP data can be seen directly in CRM.

They can access customer information, sales history, terms, invoices, inventory, serial numbers invoiced, multi ship to addresses, etc. In addition, new orders, accounts, won opportunities, etc., created in CRM are SYNC’d back to ERP.

This means less wasted time contacting other departments for a report, or double-data entry and possible errors. Your sales team will have a 360-degree view of customers and leads. And, most importantly, providing a better customer experience, even when they’re not a customer yet!

Smartphones and Mobile Technology are a Remote Sales Team’s Best Friends

Mobile technology has allowed remote sales teams and others to work and collaborate remotely and globally, in real-time. Besides calling customers and leads, a smartphone allows instant messaging, emails, and if the company leverages cloud technology, instant access to CRM or ERP data.

Did a customer call with a question about their contract or services schedule? Does your remote sales team need to follow up with leads, but you’re not sure where they’re at in the buying process?

They Make Their Customers’ Lives Easier

With mobile technology, salespeople are easier to reach. No matter where they’re at right now or where do they work from (home, coworking space, cafes), reachable salespeople strengthen the customers’ ties with the company. If the business decides to take advantage of cloud technology such as SYNC, the customer service provided keeps customers happy.

How? SYNC’d data allows salespeople to easily find the information they’re looking for to provide prompt and accurate answers to the customers. All without needing to access multiple systems or searching for data on other devices, besides the smartphone or laptop. Watch this video on how SYNC works.

They Don’t Give Up Too Easily

In B2B sales, the buying cycle tends to be longer. This is due to higher investments, and there are more people involved in the process. In a word, don’t give up just yet. In fact, it takes between 5 to 7 touchpoints to close a sale.

Through a CRM such as Salesforce, you can track that lead’s particular journey: How many follow-up calls they have received, if they watched a demo or not, if there are meetings pending with other decision makers in that company, etc.

If you’re ready to create or strengthen your thriving remote sales team leveraging cloud technology like Commercient SYNC, please contact us today to schedule a demo.

SYNC ERP and CRM

Short-Term Benefits Companies See When Using A CRM Integration

Editor’s Note: This is part of an ongoing series on digital integration, cutting-edge technology and CRM integration from Commercient. Our goal is to help modernize your business and improve sales.

In the not-too-distant past, the business world was less complicated, and not so reliant on technology. Those were simpler times. Disparate systems with scattered data and manual data processing were not a cause for concern. Today, these somewhat ancient practices will slow your business down. Your employees will lose precious time capturing, organizing and analyzing customer data. Manual processes put your data at the potential risk of human error, such as double data entry.

Your customers are at the heart of your business. That’s why every business needs a CRM system. Using a state-of-the-art Customer Relationship Management system, such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365, is the best way to organize your customer and prospect information, but with the right tools, your CRM can offer your business so much more.

Why Using CRM Integration is Important to Your Business

Modern technology has ignited the competition for customers. To stand a chance of winning, a business needs to harness the full power of its data. This is where CRM integration becomes extremely valuable.

A CRM is only as good as the data it collects. By adding your ERP data to your CRM system, you get a complete, unified view of all your customer and sales data. This enables you track and analyze buying behavior, better understand your customers, make better data-driven decisions, and much more. CRM integration is one of the best ways to gain a competitive advantage, helping to increase sales and sustain your business.

Short-Term Benefits of Using CRM Integration

Many business don’t realize the potential benefits of using CRM integration. It can add immense value to your business and your bottom-line.

Here are some of the short-term benefits of using CRM integration:

  • A single source for all your data.
  • A complete, accurate view of all your customer data.
  • Access to sales history, invoicing, serial numbers invoiced, multi ship to addresses, etc.
  • Instant access to real-time data.
  • Reduces manual processes which increases productivity.
  • Enables more informed, data-driven decisions.
  • Improves lead tracking so leads don’t fall off the radar.
  • Makes it easier to follow-up on leads that didn’t close.
  • Increases the number of leads closed, which increases sales.
  • Improves customer relationships and customer service.
  • Increases customer retention.

Why Choose Commercient SYNC for Your CRM Integration Needs

Commercient is the leading application development services company specializing in CRM and ERP integration apps. Commercient has extensive experience in many industries, and has successfully integrated sales and accounting systems for many businesses. Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, offers you and your company to help manage your customers, prospects, sales, etc.

Hatch Lighting needed a reliable solution for integrating their data between their Salesforce and SYSPRO systems. They chose Commercient SYNC for a tailored ERP and CRM integration.

With their SYNC in place, Hatch Lighting was able to grow their customer base by having a complete view of sales and marketing. Their sales process has become streamlined, and they can monitor the overall health of a customer. This enables them to speed up their sales cycle and increase sales. Read the success story here.

CRM Integration With Commercient SYNC

Today nearly every modern business relies on a variety of software to keep their operations running smoothly. It’s essential for businesses to have the right technology tools at their disposal to accomplish their goals and objectives.

Commercient’s data integration apps SYNC your ERP system with your CRM system, and also eCommerce platforms. They are completely customizable, and available for both one-way and bi-directional data integrations. There’s no mapping, coding, ETL or servers required, so you can focus on your business.

With your CRM and ERP data SYNC’d, your business will benefit from more precise targeting, improved sales and marketing engagement, aid in forecasting, and much more.

Click here to find out which ERPs and CRMs Commercient supports or check out our listing on the Salesforce AppExchange.

Get Started With CRM Integration

Is your business using a cutting edge CRM system? Make the most of your investment by fully harnessing the tools you already have and integrate your sales and accounting software. Become more efficient, increase sales, provide superior customer experiences, and much more with SYNC. Contact Commercient today for a free demo.

SYNC Demo integrate CRM ERP

How to Use Data to Drive Business Growth and Success

There is a never-ending avalanche of information and data coursing through society every minute of everyday. If our reactions are not instant, information can quickly lose its relevance and become outdated as new information is made available. The Information Age has given rise to a data-driven business world, where information and knowledge have become the key ingredients to ensure the success and continued survival of a business.

The Power of Data

Data has become one of the most powerful, yet under-utilized assets of any business. As the number of connected Internet of Things (IoT) -enabled devices increases, so does the volume of data generated. Digital businesses driven by the need for continual up-to-date information will pursue data-driven intelligence in order to meet the demands of a now intelligent environment. Data has become the center of the business universe.

It presents a great opportunity to differentiate against your competitors by leveraging insights from data to improve processes, make better decisions, deliver greater value to customers, and more. Data can help address the many challenges faced by businesses today. But most importantly, data can be a business differentiator for driving growth and success.

Technology is Changing What’s Possible

Companies that are cognizant of the potential value of data find themselves under increasing pressure to make better use of their data to remain relevant and competitive. As a result, old ways of collecting and processing data are being turned upside down as technology-focused approaches unravel new ways of using data to ensure business growth and success.

Advancements in technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and the IoT (Internet of Things) have introduced easier, more efficient methods of collecting, storing and analyzing data. When used effectively, data can have a positive impact on your bottom line, ultimately driving the growth and success of your business.

The Importance of Data Integration for Business

One of the challenges faced by many businesses is the ability to use the increasing volume of data available to the fullest extent of its value. The problem is that data is stored across multiple data sources, which operate in silos.

If it is stored across multiple databases, the lack of integration to combine data from different sources can severely hinder the growth of your business. The solution to successfully combating this challenge is to break down the boundaries between these disparate sources of information, and integrate your business systems.

The Benefits of Data Integration

The ability for different systems to integrate and share data with one another has become a critical success factor for digital businesses in every industry. Data integration gives you a holistic view of your business performance, and provides real-time access to all your data. This allows you to analyze your data more effectively to improve business outcomes by increasing efficiencies and reducing costs in a timely manner.

By integrating your data, you can turn it into actionable insights to improve overall business operations. It can also enhance customer service and satisfaction, and unlock new opportunities that will increase the competitiveness of your business and drive growth.

Data-Driven Intelligence with Commercient SYNC ERP and CRM Integration

As a reputable services company, Commercient’s goal is to provide solutions that help companies take advantage of their data to succeed in competitive environments. We empower businesses to keep pace in order to change and grow and believes that data integration is key to business growth and success.

Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, allows you to tap into the disparate systems and applications by integrating them to provide a unified view of business operations. By combining the power of your sales and accounting systems, SYNC enables you to maintain and leverage data in one central location. It gives you a 360-degree view of your sales, marketing, and operations, helping you derive data-driven intelligence from all your business data.

SYNC helps forward-thinking companies to uncover the value of their data and make it available to the right people, at the right time, and in a meaningful way. Most importantly, the untapped resource of your data can increase revenue and profits, thereby repaying your investment many times over.

What Commercient SYNCs

Commercient SYNC integrates with over 85 ERP systems to CRM including SYSPRO, Sage, Epicor, SAP, QuickBooks, Acumatica, and many others. We support these CRMs: Salesforce, Zoho CRM, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SugarCRM and more.

With SYNC, your sales team can see important ERP information directly in CRM. This includes customer information, sales history, invoicing, serial numbers invoiced, inventory, multi ship to addresses, etc. New sales, accounts and invoices are integrated from CRM to ERP, which avoids double-entry and possible errors, with our two-way SYNC option.

In this information age, data is power, which will put your business on the right path to growth and success. Contact Commercient today to find out how your business can use data to drive growth and success. You can also learn about our other integration app, IoT Pulse, which connects your ERP to over 1100 business and productivity apps, to help automate data migrations and frequent tasks.

With our extensive experience, Commercient can help businesses just like yours, forge ahead by harnessing the power of data.

SYNC ERP and CRM

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Rise Of The Intelligent Era

These are times of monumental change. A phenomenon is creating a new normal, a paradigm shift so life-changing that it’s rapidly transforming the way we live, communicate and do business. Life as we know it will never be the same again.

The entire world is in the midst of an incredibly exciting revolution known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Changes are taking place at lightning speed. Breakthroughs in emerging technologies are exposing a wealth of opportunities, allowing us to reimagine the world and reinvent business models.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Era of Intelligence

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, is poised to change the world like never before. It’s marked by the fusion of several technological breakthroughs. This fourth major revolution comes with the promise of radical changes and major overhauls of business models.

How Did We Get Here?

The world has seen three industrial revolutions, beginning with the First Industrial Revolution starting in the 18th century. This revolution was centered around steam, water, and iron. There was a seismic shift from rural to industrial and urban societies. In 1870, the Second Industrial Revolution saw the arrival of electricity and mass production.

Also known as the Digital Revolution, the Third Industrial Revolution began during the 1980’s, and saw the development of personal computing and mass electronics.

We are now amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution where technological breakthroughs have the potential to drive tremendous growth and automation across industries worldwide.

Technologies Driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution was triggered by advancements in state-of-the-art technologies. These include artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), quantum computing, and others.

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Sector

The industrial sector stands to benefit the most from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We are already seeing massive changes driven by Industry 4.0 technologies across industries. From improving efficiency and productivity, to reducing operating costs and machine downtime.

Relative to other industries, manufacturing is undergoing its greatest change in decades. Manufacturers are moving forward with digital transformation and transforming into intelligent manufacturers in order to meet ever-changing markets and the emerging wants and needs of their customers.

The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Your Business

The rules of the game are changing rapidly. In the face of evolving customer needs and competitive threats, technology has now become a key asset in helping businesses overcome these challenges.

Industry 4.0 technologies can empower your business to solve problems. It will expose a wealth of opportunities to meet growing demands and drive growth. Digital capabilities have the potential to enhance and increase the value of physical products and services.

Business assets can also be made more durable and resilient, and data and analytics can drastically improve how they are maintained. These are just some of the many potential benefits that Industry 4.0 technologies have to offer.

Data is the Holy Grail of Business

According to Gartner, data and analytics will drive modern business operations.

Data is at the heart of Industry 4.0. In this new age of digitization, the pace and flow of data has exploded and continues to increase. There is an urgent need for businesses to possess the ability to accurately collect and interpret the increasing volume of data.

Artificial intelligence can tackle large volumes of complex data with speed and ease. This can empower businesses to make intelligent data-driven decisions using insights gained from this data.

Speed is of the Essence: How ERP and CRM Integration can Help

To compete in the Connected Age, fast access to data is critical. Relying on manual data entry, or out-of-date technologies will no longer cut it. Customer and suppliers now expect responses faster than ever before.

Many businesses have multiple systems in which data is stored in silos, and nothing is quickly accessible. Integrating your business systems can change that. It brings all your data together in one place, making it available and easily accessible to the right people at the right time.

As a provider of innovative application tools and technologies, Commercient fully understands the importance and necessity of digital transformation. Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, integrates your CRM and ERP systems, which eliminates data silos. It makes important information available in real-time, and accessible to people who need it the most.

Sales can access valuable ERP data from within the CRM. This includes customer information, sales history, invoicing multi-ship to addresses, serial numbers, inventory, and much more. Our two-way SYNC allows new orders, accounts, and invoices created in CRM to be integrated to ERP, eliminating double entry and errors.

Change is Inevitable, Resistance is Futile

In a race to reinvent business models and become a digital organization, growth and competitiveness has become increasingly dependent on digital transformation. Set a standard for the rest of your industry and embrace change.

Find out how Commercient can help your business prepare for the “new normal,” and survive and thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Please contact us today to learn more about Commercient SYNC and our other data integration apps, including IoT Pulse.

SYNC Demo integrate CRM ERP

Top 5 Reasons You Should Use Data Integration Tools

As disruptive technologies emerge and find large-scale adoption, there is an influx of massive amounts of data within enterprises. Scattered data exists across various systems in companies such as CRM, ERP, marketing systems, email, etc. It’s important to have it streamlined, organized, and simplified into a cohesive whole. The solution lies in data integration from all sources, so users can view it as one centralized data set.

Such data can prove powerful when used correctly, and its accurate analysis can help transform your business and build value. Although there is no single kind of integration that is ideal for every business, it has become a necessity to get ahead in today’s competitive markets. Let’s take a closer look at why integrating data is a key part of business best practice.

Data Simplification

The most important function of a data integration tool is the simplification of data. Simplified data promotes efficiency and ease of use. When data is scattered, it is extremely time-consuming to make sense of such data. For instance, when you are looking at CRM or ERP data through separate systems, it is complicated to comprehend the information and its further use can be difficult.

Sifting through tons of systems makes the data extremely complex, and unless it sits at one easily viewable space, it cannot be analyzed or used in a meaningful way. Data integration brings in data from various sources into one central platform.

It’s easy to access by management and team members, and perhaps partners. Viewing data through a single centralized view, making it simple to use and comprehend.

Enhanced Value

Data can be present in so many different formats, it can have a structure or it can be in the form of graphics or as a web-based program and so on. It’s much easier to identify any issues after looking through data in its entirety and make necessary improvements where necessary. You can do this by using qualitative and quantitative analysis, and such analysis can work only once the data is complete.

Commercient SYNC, the #1 data integration platform for sales, integrates your ERP and CRM data, and brings them into a single location, giving you a 360-degree view of sales and marketing. What this means is a unified data access point for you and your team. They can deal with clients in a quick and efficient manner after having quickly reviewed their data, based on the query, be it a sales or a customer service issue.

Data Integration Saves Time and Effort

An important reason why companies channelize data integration in the right manner is to cut down time and effort in tracking and analysis of that data. Such reliable automation produces a single unified data view, eliminating the need for any manual entries or looking for vital information.

Physically draining manual efforts are minimized, and the efforts can be geared towards utilizing the time on productive efforts such as retention and profitability. It also saves company and resource time, and, indirectly, expenses are lowered.

Error Reduction

We know that in any manual process, some scope of error cannot be ruled out. The sheer volume of a company’s data means despite individual software in place for specific functions, the dataset may not be complete or accurate.

As departments across a company are updating information to the same customer account, the data if not centralized is not viewed in its entirety. To reduce any discrepancies, reports must be run at frequent intervals to get some idea of the data.

With integrated systems in place, such reports can be run in real-time, and with great accuracy. An integration plan also ensures data is consistent with no duplication. For example, when inputting an order once in ERP, and again in CRM, shipping and billing information, or the amount of product ordered, could be wrong. Commercient SYNC will integrate that data entry in CRM over to ERP, so there are no errors.

Easy Accessibility of Data

Sometimes real-time data becomes the need of the hours when dealing with a customer or looking for critical information. A centralized data presence means anyone within your company can easily access that data for analysis. In addition, it can be shared and used for present and future projects.

Integrated data also fosters collaboration among your team, and is much more likely to be complete as it has multiple chains of contributions.

If you are a small business looking to minimize overhead without compromising on service delivery, then consider tapping into the benefits of using Commercient SYNC.

To learn more about Commercient SYNC data integration apps, please contact us today.

SYNC ERP and CRM

How Chatbots Are Reinventing Lead Generation & Customer Service

The fast pace of digital transformation is changing the business landscape, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Customers’ needs and expectations are increasing, and they now demand instant online service. As a result, our methods of communicating and interacting with them are evolving to meet those demands. A technology that is quickly becoming an effective solution to meet these demands is chatbots.

The interaction between artificial intelligence and humans was once science fiction, but this fantasy has now become a reality. Due to recent advancements in AI, machine learning and natural language processing technologies, chatbots have become a technology of major focus and excitement.

What’s a Chatbot?

A chatbot is a computer programmed bot, or AI software designed to simulate spoken or written human speech for the purpose of interacting conversationally with human users. It uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) to interact and exchange information with users. Plus, it will analyze, answer, and predict queries faster and more accurately than a human can.

How Do Chatbots Work?

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is the technology behind chatbots. Chatbots process text presented to them by a user through means of a series of algorithms that interpret and identify a user’s intent. Chatbots then provide the most appropriate response based on this information.

Examples of Chatbots

Chatbots come in the form of virtual assistants like Google’s Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Others are accessed via messaging apps like Facebook, or via business apps and websites.

How Chatbots Can Be Used in Business

  • In restaurants, to take orders from customers.
  • In marketing campaigns, to ask customers questions.
  • Simplify the online shopping experience for customers.
  • Assist customers with eCommerce purchases.
  • Provide round the clock customer service support.
  • Increase employee productivity by automating simple tasks.
  • On websites to interact with prospects and customers.

Benefits of Using Chatbots in Your Business

  • Increased sales.
  • Better customer engagement and satisfaction.
  • Improved customer service.
  • Enhanced customer experience.
  • Reduced cost of customer service.
  • Automate repetitive tasks.
  • Increased lead generation.
  • Gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of customers.
  • Provide 24/7 customer support.
  • Give instant online responses and resolve queries quickly.

How Commercient Uses Chatbots to Enhance the Customer Experience

Commercient’s Innovation Team is deploying various chatbot applications to create highly engaging user experiences for our customers and partners. We are using AWS Lex Bot to provide conversational interfaces for registration and support systems using voice and text.

Amazon Lex provides the advanced deep learning functionalities of automatic speech recognition (ASR) for converting speech to text. In addition, natural language understanding (NLU) recognizes the intent of the text, to deliver effective conversational interactions.

Commercient, whose SYNC is the #1 ERP and CRM data integration platform for sales, is also using Drift Chatbot to give our clients a personal assistant. It allows us to provide live chat customer service support on our website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This ensures that customers and website users get instant responses to their questions every time.

Customers can perform tasks such as requesting support contact information or scheduling an appointment, without needing to speak to an agent. They can get technical support answers from our knowledge base delivered via intelligent chat.

Pinkesh Patel of Commercient, who holds a Master Of Computer Application, and is currently pursuing his Ph. D., says, “We find the following features very useful easy to use: High-quality speech recognition and natural language understanding, multi-turn conversations, and powerful lifecycle management capabilities.”

Patel and his team at Commercient are changing the speed and accuracy of communication, making the customer experience greatly enhanced.

Revolutionize Your Sales and Customer Service with Chatbots

Many businesses know the importance of good customer service, and how bad customer service can affect their bottom-line.

These are some of the ways that chatbots help businesses improve customer service and increase sales.

Chatbots can:

  • Gather customer insight.
  • Personalize your marketing.
  • Increase engagement.
  • Provide quick responses to users and reduce query response time.
  • Allow businesses to provide 24/7 customer service support.
  • Reduce human error.
  • Helps make customer service more personal with product recommendations.

The Future Of Chatbots

Chatbots are going to get a lot smarter. One day, they may be so advanced that you wouldn’t know whether you’re conversing with a human or a chatbot.

Gartner predicts that by 2020, the average person will have more conversations with bots than with their spouse.

In the years to follow, the workplace will increasingly comprise of machines and humans collaborating to transform business processes. With future technological breakthroughs, the conversational capabilities of chatbots will significantly improve, and they’ll become a standard in the customer service industry.

Chatbots have already proven their value and deserve your attention if you want your business to keep up. In the fast-paced world of technology, businesses need to identify and leverage the opportunities exposed by technological advances such as chatbots.

Those who adopt a digital approach to business will leave their competitors in the dust. Complacency is guaranteed to put your business at a disadvantage against your competitors.

If you’d like to learn more about how ERP and CRM data integration from Commercient SYNC, please contact us today.

SYNC Demo integrate CRM ERP