Han Solo is a big-hearted, high-flying marketing and communications manager, always accompanied by his ever-present, loyal companion Chewbacca wherever he goes. As a talented project manager, a popular leader and a natural charmer, he has all the qualities of an effective communicator and has proven his worth in the fight against the Empire. The only problem: “the luckiest man in the galaxy” suffers from a brutal shortage of high-performance tools to help him do his job (it’s hard to install an ERP solution on the Millennium Falcon!). Han Solo explains what he and his intern could have improved with a good ERP solution.
Benefits of an ERP system for marketing and communications professionals
With a good ERP system that’s designed for SMEs, you can easily create platforms that connect to your business, whether for a website, a blog or even a forum. You can even stay true to your visual identity while doing so. These modules are generally very easy to use, with no coding knowledge required to build a modern, appealing platform.
Some ERP modules deliver real productivity gains in your communications campaigns. For example, they make it easier to create email campaigns, from qualifying the database through to analysing performance statistics (open rates, click-throughs) and tracking links. The same applies to event management. A good ERP package will allow you to manage every stage in putting on a professional event, from managing speakers to selling tickets and even running promotions.
In addition, the features offered by an ERP solution translate into real time savings for the communications team, because all documents can be accessed directly from the platform. There’s no longer any need to waste time exporting data: documents are instantly ready to send.
A “fully integrated” solution with benefits for your entire business
With a properly configured ERP system, coordination among the various departments is improved and some activities are even automated. And to optimize the communications process even further, you can choose to integrate discussion group or chat modules into your ERP solution to encourage dialogue among your employees.
A new-generation ERP solution for a high-performing marketing team
With a “new-generation” ERP solution based on a SaaS and/or open-source model, you’ll have access to a host of even more advanced features. Still on the topic of encouraging discussion and idea-sharing across the organization, you can choose to provide an ESN (Enterprise Social Network) for your team.
This will allow you to roll out a strategy to improve customer satisfaction through your ERP, for example by using online surveys. These can be integrated directly into the customer journey with an automatic link to the CRM system. This is ideal for sending satisfaction surveys to a targeted list of customers right after they make a purchase!
So, as Han Solo would say to his intern, Chewbacca: "Come on, Chewie, hit the hyperdrive!"
"Anticipate, you shall."
The Marketing and Communications modules should be included in the budget from the very start of the project. This does not mean that they need to be deployed immediately, but they should be planned for. – Master Yoda's advice