There are many options that are placed before small businesses. In order to build a very efficient system, Enterprise Resource Planning becomes a priority to most Entrepreneurs. This is a good move but in order to ensure that resources are equitably distributed; it is important to know if you really need ERP. This comes in the light of the fact that many vendors now offer ERP Services to small businesses. You can know if your business would benefit from it by understanding the points that would be highlighted below.

How to decide if you need Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

If your company is experiencing rapid growth and the corresponding strain on legacy systems, or if you’re starting a new process — such as manufacturing — from scratch, you may benefit from an ERP system. Such a system maintains in a single database the information gleaned from a variety of business functions, such as financial, manufacturing, human resources, and customer management.

As such, ERP systems offer a bird’s-eye view into the working of the company and allow users to cross-reference business functions.

An executive might drill-down into the data, for example, to learn how business financials were affected by installation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. When ERP includes manufacturing information, businesses can reduce inventory by closely tracking customer orders and shipments, which helps companies clarify ERP goals before implementation.

The Big Business Model

ERP systems help you behave like a bigger business. By automating finance processes, you can do things like accept online orders and to business-to-business transactions electronically, instead of via e-mail.

Many of smaller players think they’ll have difficulty finding an ERP application. But all major ERP providers — with names like Oracle, SAP, Syspro, Microsoft Dynamics, and Epicor — make specialized offerings for small and mid-sized businesses. Many other vendors cater exclusively to the small and mid-sized business market.

When ERP is done right, the number one benefit is streamlining your processes and making them more efficient than doing data entry and keeping track of stuff in spreadsheets and digging for data. ERP makes those things more flexible and accessible to employees.

When organizations implement ERP, they can move from research and development to the manufacturing of many solution-based products in any industry. It enables them grow and stretch their frontiers to new horizons. When you are running QuickBooks and some miscellaneous packages; it may work well in the research and development stage. However, when it comes to Commercial applications, with the volume of transactions that would be going through manufacturing, ERP becomes essential.

The real value to small business

Purchasing and implementing an ERP system is no small task. A Consultant, vendor, or other outside help is often needed. The real value to small and mid-sized businesses comes in the way they customize and configure the core product to their own particular industry and individual needs. Ironically, that kind of customization can be harder for small businesses to find. For example, businesses located in areas without a pertinent systems integrator or reseller that can essentially make a house call, could face customization challenges.

The challenge is making sure the domain expertise is available in the geography you’re operating in. The good news is that ERP systems are affordable and can radically improve your business.

Most business owners invest tons of Cash to create a website for their business. The platform usually contains everything about your organization, captures your message in clarity, talks about your brand, has powerful aesthetics and everything you desire. However, days, weeks and sometimes months go by without your site generating any traffic. This can be quite daunting because you assume you have done all that you know and nothing is working. A website that does not get you visitors and bring conversions is really of no value to your business. This may sound harsh but this is a reality in the online world.

I know you will want to ask or find out how to send the right type of visitors to your site. How can you re-position your business to get the attention of those who will embrace your brand? It is not a straightforward response that will answer your questions. However, with a hub of creative ideas, a strategic mindset and an analytical approach; you can get things in the right frame. We will be looking at two basic marketing tactics which we believe can help you achieve your goals. It is vital to mention that there are other streams that we will be highlighting over time but this is a good place to start.

digital-marketing

Use Paid Advertising: It must be stated that it is not always ideal to pursue a complex online marketing campaign. However, a creative digital marketing campaign will always throw you up as a winner. It is pertinent to follow a path that has proven to deliver with precision. The online advertising tactics that has stood the test of time and continues to generate results is the paid advertising. You can kick-start your campaign with a very engaging ad that appeals to your target audience. You need to discover what their interests are, find out what makes them tick and how they can go over-board to embrace your brand.

You can consider the use of advertising platforms such as Twitter, Google Search, YouTube, Google Display network, LinkedIn or Facebook. These platforms will open a vista of possibilities to your brand as they help you target your market with precision. You can create ads for your targets according to countries or target cities, age, devices they use, gender, online interests, income, job titles, companies they work at and specific search keywords. It is a powerful tool when it is properly harnessed. You can target your prospects based on what appeals to them and send them to a site that gives them exactly what they need.

If you do this and generate traffic to your site, the next step is to ensure that you convert them. However, if you discover that you are not getting the kind of conversions you desire, you can go back and retarget your visitors. The online world allows us to retarget our prospects that did not subscribe to our service on their first visit or buy our products. You can use specific ads or banner ads for your re-targeting. You can create content that will entice those leads and make them find your brand irresistible. As you keep honing your skills and following these basic steps, you will hit a goldmine in the online world.

Search Engine Optimization: It can be quite challenging to get the visibility you desire with the use of SEO if you do not know how to navigate this space. It is important to state that you do not need to get scared about how to hit the right notes because this process can be fun as well. The main objective of SEO is to increase how easily people find your website and to promote your brand on various search engines. It is important to position your business to be quite visible on social platforms and Google.

The first place to begin is by doing your keyword research. You must find out what your target audience is looking for and you can optimize your website to pop up whenever they search for those specific terms. It is essential to reinstate the fact that this is simply the basics you need to know about SEO. Search Engine Optimization actually has four phases namely Technical SEO, Keyword research, Off-page optimization and On-page Optimization. We will get into more details on these phases the next time we analyse how you can promote your business with the use of digital marketing.

You can take a more adventurous path by promoting and creating links back to your site through Company social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. This is another interesting way to go that will give you limitless opportunities. In the light of what has been shared, you can begin to implement the basics and celebrate the wins you get at each turn. Most importantly, you can engage a digital marketing company to help your business/brand shine like a million stars.