David Johnson, AP solutions manager, Perceptive Software
In a day and age where the corporate mantra includes: “do more with less,” “work smarter not harder,” or “Kaisen,” we still see many organizations processing accounts payable invoices the old-fashioned way. That is, many organizations still receive a majority of their invoices via paper, route them through the organization through intercompany mail--or just walking them from desk to desk, move invoices from pile to pile (waiting to be matched, matched/waiting to be entered, entered/waiting to be paid, paid/waiting to be filed, filed/hopefully to be found again).
Perhaps it’s time to say, put your money where your mouth is. Better yet, put more money on your bottom line by investing in an enterprise content management system that will make your AP processing significantly more efficient.
The Institute of Financial Operations recently conducted a survey regarding the automation of accounts payable with the results issued at their annual Fusion Conference in Orlando, Florida. According to their study, more than 75% of the respondents indicated that they receive a majority of their invoices via paper. Of those responding, 39% stated that their paper invoice volume exceeded 90% of their total volume.
When looking at the paper invoice volume, 32% indicated that their volume over the past year has not changed. When combining the following categories over the past year: slightly lower, unchanged, and slightly higher, the results showed that over 80% of paper invoice volume has essentially remained static. There appears to be no end in sight of paper invoices for these organizations.
There is a cost associated with the manual payment process too. According to this same study, 41% of respondents indicated their processing cost per invoice was $5.00 or less while 59% reported a per invoice cost in excess of $5.00. These processing costs savings do not include the potential for early payment discounts offered by vendors.
I attended Disney’s Accounts Payable Department presentation at Fusion on their world-class accounts payable processing. They reported a per invoice cost of $1.61 per invoice with the aid of automation. It’s worth noting that Disney processes in excess of 5 million invoices annually. Thus, a mere change in cost per invoice of $0.01 will affect their bottom line by $50,000.
So c’mon, do more with less and work smarter not harder, let automation bring bottom line results to your organization. Your competitors are.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Showing posts with label document imaging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label document imaging. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Manual data entry top AP challenge
By Mark Brousseau
An eye-popping 88 percent of attendees at a recent accounts payable (AP) forum sponsored by Ricoh identified manual data entry as their top AP challenge, providing further evidence of the need for automated invoice processing solutions. Manual data entry came in a whopping 25 percentage points higher than the second biggest challenge identified by attendees at the Houston event.
Routing invoices for approval was identified as a top AP challenge for 63 percent of forum attendees, while 54 percent of attendees stated that resolving errors and exceptions was among their top challenges. Lost or missing invoices (42 percent) and overall payment costs (29 percent) rounded out the list of top AP challenges identified by forum attendees.
What is your top AP challenge?
An eye-popping 88 percent of attendees at a recent accounts payable (AP) forum sponsored by Ricoh identified manual data entry as their top AP challenge, providing further evidence of the need for automated invoice processing solutions. Manual data entry came in a whopping 25 percentage points higher than the second biggest challenge identified by attendees at the Houston event.
Routing invoices for approval was identified as a top AP challenge for 63 percent of forum attendees, while 54 percent of attendees stated that resolving errors and exceptions was among their top challenges. Lost or missing invoices (42 percent) and overall payment costs (29 percent) rounded out the list of top AP challenges identified by forum attendees.
What is your top AP challenge?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Avoid these document imaging mistakes!
By Mark Brousseau
Despite the lousy economy, document imaging solutions continue to enjoy strong adoption among organizations of all sizes. No wonder: the technology is proven to deliver tremendous operations and business benefits, including lower processing costs, streamlined storage and retrieval, and better information tracking and reporting.
But even the strongest business case for document imaging can be undermined by crucial errors during system deployment, says Brett Rodgers (brodgers@ibml.com), manager, Solution Consulting, Americas, at ibml (www.ibml.com), a Birmingham, AL-based document imaging solutions provider.
If you want to keep your document imaging business case on track (and who doesn't?), Rodgers suggests avoiding the following 10 all-too-common foul-ups during system deployment:
1. Incorrect sizing of the necessary number of document scanners.
2. Not including all stakeholders (business and IT) in the requirements definition.
3. Buying technology without first conducting a proof of concept.
4. Making decisions on front-end and back-end software separately.
5. Not coordinating software and hardware vendors during system deployment.
6. Not using a phased implementation approach (biting off too much at once).
7. Letting "fear of change" take over.
8. Not thinking LEAN.
9. Not cutting the paper cord.
10. Not "sharing" -- as in utilizing shared services.
What was your biggest mistake when deploying document imaging?
Despite the lousy economy, document imaging solutions continue to enjoy strong adoption among organizations of all sizes. No wonder: the technology is proven to deliver tremendous operations and business benefits, including lower processing costs, streamlined storage and retrieval, and better information tracking and reporting.
But even the strongest business case for document imaging can be undermined by crucial errors during system deployment, says Brett Rodgers (brodgers@ibml.com), manager, Solution Consulting, Americas, at ibml (www.ibml.com), a Birmingham, AL-based document imaging solutions provider.
If you want to keep your document imaging business case on track (and who doesn't?), Rodgers suggests avoiding the following 10 all-too-common foul-ups during system deployment:
1. Incorrect sizing of the necessary number of document scanners.
2. Not including all stakeholders (business and IT) in the requirements definition.
3. Buying technology without first conducting a proof of concept.
4. Making decisions on front-end and back-end software separately.
5. Not coordinating software and hardware vendors during system deployment.
6. Not using a phased implementation approach (biting off too much at once).
7. Letting "fear of change" take over.
8. Not thinking LEAN.
9. Not cutting the paper cord.
10. Not "sharing" -- as in utilizing shared services.
What was your biggest mistake when deploying document imaging?
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Fusion attendees meet Kevin Nealon
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Customers and prospects of Brainware -- sponsor of the Fusion 2011 Wednesday night reception -- had an opportunity to meet actor and comedian Kevin Nealon before his performance.
Click below to see photos from the meet and greet.
http://www.iappnet.org/photo/fusion2011_vip/index.html
Customers and prospects of Brainware -- sponsor of the Fusion 2011 Wednesday night reception -- had an opportunity to meet actor and comedian Kevin Nealon before his performance.
Click below to see photos from the meet and greet.
http://www.iappnet.org/photo/fusion2011_vip/index.html
Monday, May 23, 2011
Where’s the automation?
By Mark Brousseau
Despite revenues in the billions of dollars and the document volumes inherent to that scale of operation, many—possibly even most—companies have not made the leap to automated data capture technology for invoice processing, a proven driver of efficiency and value in accounts payable (AP).
That’s the key takeaway of a survey of attendees of Fusion 2011, held May 8-12 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center near Orlando, Florida. The survey polled AP professionals around the globe, working in numerous industries and for organizations ranging from less than $500 million in annual revenues to well in excess of $10 billion in revenues. It was conducted by The Institute of Financial Operations and sponsored by Brainware. Fusion 2011 brought together more than 1,800 financial operations professionals and 170 exhibiting companies.
With an increased focus on working capital management, many AP professionals are emphasizing a need for greater visibility into and reporting of invoice processing—a demonstrated strength of available data capture and extraction technologies such as optical character recognition (OCR) and intelligent document recognition (IDR). That’s what makes these survey findings so surprising.
More than half of the survey respondents (56.3 percent) indicated that their AP organization doesn’t use automated data capture technology. And, only 3.1 percent of respondents stated that their AP organization plans to implement automated data capture within the next six months, while 6.3 percent stated their AP organization plans to implement the technology within the next 12 months.
Why aren’t AP departments making greater use of automated data capture and extraction?
Tight capital budgets are undoubtedly a factor. But AP departments also may not see the need.
Despite their lack of data capture technologies, most of the respondents to the survey are doing a pretty good job of holding the line on invoice processing costs. A plurality of respondents (41.9 percent) indicated that their average invoice processing costs have not changed over the past 12 months, while 38.7 percent of respondents stated their invoice processing costs have dropped slightly. Only 12.9 percent of respondents indicated that their average invoice processing costs have increased either slightly (9.7 percent) or significantly (3.2 percent) over the past 12 months.
Similarly, a plurality of respondents (40 percent) indicated that their average cost to process an invoice is between $2 and $5 – in line with the costs published in surveys by industry research firms. Some 16.7 percent of respondents said their average invoice processing costs are less than $2.
But the survey results show that many AP departments could benefit from labor-saving technologies such as automated data capture. More than a quarter of respondents (26.7 percent) pegged their average invoice processing costs between $5 and $10. Worse, 13.4 percent of respondents stated their average invoice processing costs are between $10 and $20, while 3.3 percent of respondents indicated that their average invoice processing costs were between an eye-popping $20 and $25.
“Among other findings, more than a third of respondents claim it still takes them more than twelve days to process an invoice, inhibiting their ability to take early payment discounts, creating backlogs, and often necessitating increased headcount,” notes Charles Kaplan, vice president of sales and marketing at Brainware. Twenty-five percent of respondents stated it takes their organization more than 15 days to pay invoices. “Automated data capture solves those problems and many others.”
To this point, a plurality of respondents (32.3 percent) believe that “better visibility and reporting” is the biggest benefit of the technology, followed by “faster turnaround” (29 percent), “lower costs” (12.9 percent), “better working capital management” (12.9 percent), and “fewer errors” (9.7 percent). Only 3.2 percent of survey respondents stated that they see “no benefit” to automated data capture.
The bottom line is that despite all the hype about automating invoice processing with data capture technology, vendors have a long way to go in convincing AP departments to deploy them.
What do you think?
Despite revenues in the billions of dollars and the document volumes inherent to that scale of operation, many—possibly even most—companies have not made the leap to automated data capture technology for invoice processing, a proven driver of efficiency and value in accounts payable (AP).
That’s the key takeaway of a survey of attendees of Fusion 2011, held May 8-12 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center near Orlando, Florida. The survey polled AP professionals around the globe, working in numerous industries and for organizations ranging from less than $500 million in annual revenues to well in excess of $10 billion in revenues. It was conducted by The Institute of Financial Operations and sponsored by Brainware. Fusion 2011 brought together more than 1,800 financial operations professionals and 170 exhibiting companies.
With an increased focus on working capital management, many AP professionals are emphasizing a need for greater visibility into and reporting of invoice processing—a demonstrated strength of available data capture and extraction technologies such as optical character recognition (OCR) and intelligent document recognition (IDR). That’s what makes these survey findings so surprising.
More than half of the survey respondents (56.3 percent) indicated that their AP organization doesn’t use automated data capture technology. And, only 3.1 percent of respondents stated that their AP organization plans to implement automated data capture within the next six months, while 6.3 percent stated their AP organization plans to implement the technology within the next 12 months.
Why aren’t AP departments making greater use of automated data capture and extraction?
Tight capital budgets are undoubtedly a factor. But AP departments also may not see the need.
Despite their lack of data capture technologies, most of the respondents to the survey are doing a pretty good job of holding the line on invoice processing costs. A plurality of respondents (41.9 percent) indicated that their average invoice processing costs have not changed over the past 12 months, while 38.7 percent of respondents stated their invoice processing costs have dropped slightly. Only 12.9 percent of respondents indicated that their average invoice processing costs have increased either slightly (9.7 percent) or significantly (3.2 percent) over the past 12 months.
Similarly, a plurality of respondents (40 percent) indicated that their average cost to process an invoice is between $2 and $5 – in line with the costs published in surveys by industry research firms. Some 16.7 percent of respondents said their average invoice processing costs are less than $2.
But the survey results show that many AP departments could benefit from labor-saving technologies such as automated data capture. More than a quarter of respondents (26.7 percent) pegged their average invoice processing costs between $5 and $10. Worse, 13.4 percent of respondents stated their average invoice processing costs are between $10 and $20, while 3.3 percent of respondents indicated that their average invoice processing costs were between an eye-popping $20 and $25.
“Among other findings, more than a third of respondents claim it still takes them more than twelve days to process an invoice, inhibiting their ability to take early payment discounts, creating backlogs, and often necessitating increased headcount,” notes Charles Kaplan, vice president of sales and marketing at Brainware. Twenty-five percent of respondents stated it takes their organization more than 15 days to pay invoices. “Automated data capture solves those problems and many others.”
To this point, a plurality of respondents (32.3 percent) believe that “better visibility and reporting” is the biggest benefit of the technology, followed by “faster turnaround” (29 percent), “lower costs” (12.9 percent), “better working capital management” (12.9 percent), and “fewer errors” (9.7 percent). Only 3.2 percent of survey respondents stated that they see “no benefit” to automated data capture.
The bottom line is that despite all the hype about automating invoice processing with data capture technology, vendors have a long way to go in convincing AP departments to deploy them.
What do you think?
Friday, May 6, 2011
Alligators at Fusion 2011
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Folks arriving this weekend for Fusion 2011 may be surprised to see alligators(!) in the atrium of the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Florida.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Document management best practices
Posted by Mark Brousseau
According to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), there are more than 4.3 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States. In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, celebrated on April 27, Cintas Corporation offered best practices to help administrative professionals implement a successful office-wide program to manage, maintain and protect confidential business documents.
"During the recession, downsizing has forced all office professionals to come together and work harder in the workplace,” said Marcia Peller, corporate office services manager, Cintas. “Ensuring business information remains secure, yet easily accessible is essential to the success of any business. This is best accomplished through an integrated program that involves all relevant stakeholders.”
Cintas’ best practices include:
1. Create a document retention schedule. All businesses have an abundance of documents and records to maintain, which can often be a daunting task. To maximize space efficiently and increase productivity, work with management and a legal consultant to identify a retention schedule based on legal requirements and internal company policies. Depending on the type of business, proactively learn and implement these retention guidelines to maintain an organized, uncluttered office.
2. Educate and engage employees. Once a retention schedule has been established, educate and train all employees to take a proactive role and follow protocol. Each year, update employees regarding any new legal requirements and encourage them to securely shred any documents that are no longer needed. This will save space to ensure current documents are easily accessible.
3. Store records offsite. If your company has a large volume of records with long retention periods but limited space, consider an offsite storage provider. This will free up space and keep confidential information out of the wrong hands. The ideal provider will offer a secure storage facility equipped with 24-hour security cameras, alarm systems and complete fire protection systems to protect records from catastrophes such as floods and fires.
4. Limit accessibility to records. Only personnel who require job-related access should be authorized to view records. Limiting accessibility is critical as every business retains some degree of confidential information regarding their employees and customers. Such information includes names, addresses, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other account information. By enforcing these rules, administrative professionals can greatly reduce the threat of data breaches from employees and other unauthorized sources.
5. Digitally image critical files. Converting paper files and records to electronic documents can help businesses increase productivity, improve processes and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. From disaster recovery planning, to having immediate access to files, a digital imaging solution helps employees find what they need, when they need it. Consider working with a professional provider that provides secure document imaging and scanning services to gain immediate, real-time access to all critical files.
6. Implement a “shred-all” program. It is important to securely shred all unneeded documents. With identity theft and data breaches on the rise, doing so will protect confidential business data and customers’ sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. In addition, encourage employees to shred their personal information at work to protect their identity as well. Recommend a shredding service that destroys documents on a scheduled basis. These companies place secure shredding containers in accessible and identifiable locations to make it safe and convenient for all employees to properly shred documents that have reached the end of their useful life. In addition, they will provide a certificate of destruction for a legal audit trail.
7. Create an office recycling program. Ensure that your office or department is doing its part to protect the earth by encouraging and promoting a paper recycling program. Many companies that offer shredding services recycle the paper into secondary paper products, such as paper towels, to reduce the impact on the environment. Recycling paper saves water, reduces green house gas emissions and uses 25 percent less energy than manufacturing paper from trees.
“Administrative professionals work hard throughout the year to ensure their offices operate as efficiently as possible,” said Brittney Kirk, marketing associate, Cintas Document Management. “This Administrative Professionals Day, we want to recognize their efforts and provide them with best practices to help them securely protect and store confidential information to ensure business success.”
What do you think?
According to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP), there are more than 4.3 million secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States. In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, celebrated on April 27, Cintas Corporation offered best practices to help administrative professionals implement a successful office-wide program to manage, maintain and protect confidential business documents.
"During the recession, downsizing has forced all office professionals to come together and work harder in the workplace,” said Marcia Peller, corporate office services manager, Cintas. “Ensuring business information remains secure, yet easily accessible is essential to the success of any business. This is best accomplished through an integrated program that involves all relevant stakeholders.”
Cintas’ best practices include:
1. Create a document retention schedule. All businesses have an abundance of documents and records to maintain, which can often be a daunting task. To maximize space efficiently and increase productivity, work with management and a legal consultant to identify a retention schedule based on legal requirements and internal company policies. Depending on the type of business, proactively learn and implement these retention guidelines to maintain an organized, uncluttered office.
2. Educate and engage employees. Once a retention schedule has been established, educate and train all employees to take a proactive role and follow protocol. Each year, update employees regarding any new legal requirements and encourage them to securely shred any documents that are no longer needed. This will save space to ensure current documents are easily accessible.
3. Store records offsite. If your company has a large volume of records with long retention periods but limited space, consider an offsite storage provider. This will free up space and keep confidential information out of the wrong hands. The ideal provider will offer a secure storage facility equipped with 24-hour security cameras, alarm systems and complete fire protection systems to protect records from catastrophes such as floods and fires.
4. Limit accessibility to records. Only personnel who require job-related access should be authorized to view records. Limiting accessibility is critical as every business retains some degree of confidential information regarding their employees and customers. Such information includes names, addresses, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other account information. By enforcing these rules, administrative professionals can greatly reduce the threat of data breaches from employees and other unauthorized sources.
5. Digitally image critical files. Converting paper files and records to electronic documents can help businesses increase productivity, improve processes and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. From disaster recovery planning, to having immediate access to files, a digital imaging solution helps employees find what they need, when they need it. Consider working with a professional provider that provides secure document imaging and scanning services to gain immediate, real-time access to all critical files.
6. Implement a “shred-all” program. It is important to securely shred all unneeded documents. With identity theft and data breaches on the rise, doing so will protect confidential business data and customers’ sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. In addition, encourage employees to shred their personal information at work to protect their identity as well. Recommend a shredding service that destroys documents on a scheduled basis. These companies place secure shredding containers in accessible and identifiable locations to make it safe and convenient for all employees to properly shred documents that have reached the end of their useful life. In addition, they will provide a certificate of destruction for a legal audit trail.
7. Create an office recycling program. Ensure that your office or department is doing its part to protect the earth by encouraging and promoting a paper recycling program. Many companies that offer shredding services recycle the paper into secondary paper products, such as paper towels, to reduce the impact on the environment. Recycling paper saves water, reduces green house gas emissions and uses 25 percent less energy than manufacturing paper from trees.
“Administrative professionals work hard throughout the year to ensure their offices operate as efficiently as possible,” said Brittney Kirk, marketing associate, Cintas Document Management. “This Administrative Professionals Day, we want to recognize their efforts and provide them with best practices to help them securely protect and store confidential information to ensure business success.”
What do you think?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
5 Questions For …
Shayne Magee, director, Client Solutions, Diversified Information Technologies
When you talk to prospects, what do they tell you is their biggest document processing challenge, and why?
Our prospects and clients typically have many customers. The relationship they have is one that requires efficient management of inbound and outbound documents and data. The biggest challenge has been finding a partner that has a complete solution. The solutions needs to seamlessly capture, output, processing, and preservation of increasingly compliant centric environments.
What is your company doing to address this challenge?
Diversified is continuing to develop our virtual mailroom and information lifecycle management solutions. Our solutions can be combined and interfaced seamlessly with our clients infrastructure and systems. All of our offerings are specifically designed to deploy quickly and solve this previously unmet industry challenge for a single source solution.
Additionally, We have been adding integrated document facilities across the country to support the requirements of our financial, healthcare, enterprise and government clients. We added five in the last 12 months and continue to invest in quality programs and certification to support our clients needs. Currently, Diversified holds the following certifications: NARA, ISO 9001, SaS 70 Type II, HIPAA, and, most recently, NAID.
What do you believe will be the major storyline in document processing over the next 12 months, and why?
We are in the middle of a swiftly moving trend of SaaS technology, which is allowing organizations to collaborate and communicate in real time streamlined processes that in many cases eliminate previous steps, antiquated systems, and documents. We feel SaaS-deployed applications, and the inclusion of the mobile Internet tsunami, will be the major ECM storyline in the next 12 months.
What’s the most interesting thing in the documents processing space that you’ve read about recently (that wasn’t put out by your own company)?
Some new data points from some AIIM research have been very interesting regarding the change in paper-based policies in a Facebook era. They forecast an evolution from systems of records to systems of engagement and potentially the end of email, wet signatures, and paper based transactions.
What do you think?
When you talk to prospects, what do they tell you is their biggest document processing challenge, and why?
Our prospects and clients typically have many customers. The relationship they have is one that requires efficient management of inbound and outbound documents and data. The biggest challenge has been finding a partner that has a complete solution. The solutions needs to seamlessly capture, output, processing, and preservation of increasingly compliant centric environments.
What is your company doing to address this challenge?
Diversified is continuing to develop our virtual mailroom and information lifecycle management solutions. Our solutions can be combined and interfaced seamlessly with our clients infrastructure and systems. All of our offerings are specifically designed to deploy quickly and solve this previously unmet industry challenge for a single source solution.
Additionally, We have been adding integrated document facilities across the country to support the requirements of our financial, healthcare, enterprise and government clients. We added five in the last 12 months and continue to invest in quality programs and certification to support our clients needs. Currently, Diversified holds the following certifications: NARA, ISO 9001, SaS 70 Type II, HIPAA, and, most recently, NAID.
What do you believe will be the major storyline in document processing over the next 12 months, and why?
We are in the middle of a swiftly moving trend of SaaS technology, which is allowing organizations to collaborate and communicate in real time streamlined processes that in many cases eliminate previous steps, antiquated systems, and documents. We feel SaaS-deployed applications, and the inclusion of the mobile Internet tsunami, will be the major ECM storyline in the next 12 months.
What’s the most interesting thing in the documents processing space that you’ve read about recently (that wasn’t put out by your own company)?
Some new data points from some AIIM research have been very interesting regarding the change in paper-based policies in a Facebook era. They forecast an evolution from systems of records to systems of engagement and potentially the end of email, wet signatures, and paper based transactions.
What do you think?
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Inspire 2011 kicks off in Las Vegas
By Mark Brousseau
More than 900 document automation professionals have descended upon Las Vegas this week for Perceptive Software’s Inspire 2011 user conference at the Wynn.
This is the fifth year that Perceptive Software has held its Inspire event.
The attendance at this year’s Inspire user conference is a record, Jeremy McNeive, Perceptive Software’s public relations manager told me yesterday, topping the crowd of about 700 that attended Inspire 2010 in Kansas City. McNeive attributes the growth to the improving economy, the continuing pressure within organizations to improve efficiency, and the value that end-users perceive from the content. For instance, yesterday’s keynote address on the state of the company by Perceptive Software President and CEO Scott Coons was “very well received,” McNeive said.
Inspire 2011 includes more than 60 educational sessions (more than ever before at an Inspire event), with learning tracks dedicated to higher education, healthcare, financial services, the back-office, and product and platform information. There also is a large resource center where end-users can try out Perceptive Software products and get answers to technical and product questions from the company’s experts.
Eight of Perceptive Software’s partners also are exhibiting at the event: Lexmark (Perceptive Software’s parent company), Fujitsu, Napersoft, Scanning America, CSP Group, Docucon, Global Information Distribution, and HyBridge Solutions. Many of these partners provide various components for Perceptive Software’s solutions.
One of the hot topics among attendees is the anticipated release next year of ImageNow 6.7, which will offer “a little bit of everything” for end-users, McNeive said, including records information management and foldering capabilities. It will help end-users move towards collaboration in an even bigger way, McNeive added.
“There is lots of energy here and lots of excitement,” McNeive concluded.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
info360 wrap-up
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Some odds and ends from AIIM’s info360 event this week in Washington, D.C.:
… d.velop technologies announced the launch of its ecspand for SharePoint enterprise content management (ECM) solution in the United States. Over the past two years, d.velop also introduced ecspand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. d.velop exhibited in the info360 Microsoft pavilion.
… Colligo Networks and GimmalSoft forged a partnership and will integrate Colligo’s email management software into GimmalSoft’s SharePoint-based records management solution. The partnership will fulfill the DoD 5015.2 design criteria in GimmalSoft’s solution. DoD 5015.2 is the U.S. Department of Defense’s design criteria standard for electronic records management solutions.
… Document collaboration provider Workshare said it was awarded Microsoft Certified Gold ISV Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. The Gold ISV certification requires the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies. By achieving Gold competency, partners receive benefits such as increased customer visibility through branding and accessibility, as well as training and support. Workshare has been a Microsoft Gold partner since 2005.
… Laserfiche demonstrated its DOD 5015.2-certified records management solution for SharePoint 2010. Laserfiche claims that its SharePoint 2010 integration was the first to obtain DoD 5015.2 certification. With the joint certification, Laserfiche now works with SharePoint 2010 to provide a unified business collaboration platform with enterprise content management (ECM) functionality.
… Datawatch released an enhanced version of its enterprise report management, archive and distribution solution. Called Datawatch BDS V8, the software adds certification for Red Hat LINUX, several new security features, and report and document redaction and translation.
What did you see at AIIM’s info360?
Some odds and ends from AIIM’s info360 event this week in Washington, D.C.:
… d.velop technologies announced the launch of its ecspand for SharePoint enterprise content management (ECM) solution in the United States. Over the past two years, d.velop also introduced ecspand in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. d.velop exhibited in the info360 Microsoft pavilion.
… Colligo Networks and GimmalSoft forged a partnership and will integrate Colligo’s email management software into GimmalSoft’s SharePoint-based records management solution. The partnership will fulfill the DoD 5015.2 design criteria in GimmalSoft’s solution. DoD 5015.2 is the U.S. Department of Defense’s design criteria standard for electronic records management solutions.
… Document collaboration provider Workshare said it was awarded Microsoft Certified Gold ISV Partner status in the Microsoft Partner Program. The Gold ISV certification requires the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies. By achieving Gold competency, partners receive benefits such as increased customer visibility through branding and accessibility, as well as training and support. Workshare has been a Microsoft Gold partner since 2005.
… Laserfiche demonstrated its DOD 5015.2-certified records management solution for SharePoint 2010. Laserfiche claims that its SharePoint 2010 integration was the first to obtain DoD 5015.2 certification. With the joint certification, Laserfiche now works with SharePoint 2010 to provide a unified business collaboration platform with enterprise content management (ECM) functionality.
… Datawatch released an enhanced version of its enterprise report management, archive and distribution solution. Called Datawatch BDS V8, the software adds certification for Red Hat LINUX, several new security features, and report and document redaction and translation.
What did you see at AIIM’s info360?
Government e-discovery trends
Posted by Mark Brousseau
The chief information officer increasingly is joining the chief council in setting e-Discovery strategy within government organizations. That's according to a survey by USIS, an Altegrity company, conducted among government leaders from the federal e-Discovery community.
Among the other findings of the survey:
• Information management, data collection, and producing discoverable results in a timely manner are major concerns.
• More than one-third of respondents said the preservation and collection stage of electronic data discovery (EDD) needs the most improvement.
• Organizations that place a strong emphasis on the EDD process and strategy tend to have better e-Discovery processes.
• Among respondents whose organizations do not place an emphasis on the EDD process, not a single one reported being satisfied with their e-Discovery process.
“This survey reinforces how important it is to have good information management practices in place for the e-Discovery program and the burden it can place on a team when those practices simply aren’t there,” notes Michael Santelli, president of USIS’ Information Management Division (LABAT). “Being proactive about managing data can also save money. It is not uncommon to hear that the cost of one litigation would have paid for the technology and services to better manage the data.”
What do you think?
The chief information officer increasingly is joining the chief council in setting e-Discovery strategy within government organizations. That's according to a survey by USIS, an Altegrity company, conducted among government leaders from the federal e-Discovery community.
Among the other findings of the survey:
• Information management, data collection, and producing discoverable results in a timely manner are major concerns.
• More than one-third of respondents said the preservation and collection stage of electronic data discovery (EDD) needs the most improvement.
• Organizations that place a strong emphasis on the EDD process and strategy tend to have better e-Discovery processes.
• Among respondents whose organizations do not place an emphasis on the EDD process, not a single one reported being satisfied with their e-Discovery process.
“This survey reinforces how important it is to have good information management practices in place for the e-Discovery program and the burden it can place on a team when those practices simply aren’t there,” notes Michael Santelli, president of USIS’ Information Management Division (LABAT). “Being proactive about managing data can also save money. It is not uncommon to hear that the cost of one litigation would have paid for the technology and services to better manage the data.”
What do you think?
AIIM/info360 lint in the cranial vent
By Steve Weissman of the Holly Group
After spending more than three days at the AIIM Conference/Info360 event in Washington, D.C., my brain is clogged with all kinds of interesting nuggets.
Here are but a few of the more intriguing story lines that stuck following my ECM Practitioner class, my series of show-floor briefings, and my numerous in-the-corridor-and-press-room perspective checks with buyers, vendors, and integrator/reseller types:
Misuse/overuse of the word “new”
This itself isn’t, well, new in terms of vendor marketing, but it kept surfacing in places where the principals really ought to have known better. The lesson is to ask, “In what way is this new?” when you hear the word.
Is the feature/product/capability truly innovative? Never before seen in this particular market space? Never before offered by this particular vendor? I found much of what was touted as “new” either to be old client/server development techniques wrapped in ECM/BPM clothes or long-standard features finally being offered by the vendor in question. So as they said in ancient Rome, caveat emptor.
Emerging stratification in the world of mobility
All the talk of customer engagement intersected with the drive to enhance the mobile experience to surface an important distinction between enabling browser-based smartphone or tablet access to content and process activities on the one hand, and fielding true mobile apps for the purpose on the other.
The separation of these two tiers is still nascent, but the long-term ramifications are significant since they speak to new ways to think about information architecture, content structure, usability, security, and privacy. The use of “m.” sites and formatting is just the beginning.
Tendency to ignore the past (and thus the risk of being condemned to repeat it)
Specifically, is cloud computing a true innovation or merely a viable hosting alternative with its roots in 1970s timesharing and 1990s ASPs? (See prior point regarding new.)
To be sure, the underlying technology is hugely more flexible and accessible today than it was then, but the takeaway here isn’t one of semantics and definition – rather, it has to do with cutting away the hype, focusing on the practical, and, especially, looking to preceding market models and technology trends for guidance.
Black/white vs. shades of gray
Perhaps it’s a reflection of how commodity so much of the technology has become, and thus how competitive the market is today. But there was an awful lot of talk about good tools vs. bad, all users vs. none wanting certain features, old technologies being dead vs. new ones being saviors.
Well, the world isn’t a binary place. Tools that do x vs. y aren’t better of worse; they’re merely different, and depending upon what you need to accomplish, they may be absolutely perfect for you. Just as, say, and “old” technology like microfiche is very much alive, and perhaps critical for archivists needing to think in terms of centuries-long retention schedules.
Conclusion
My mother-in-law used to say, “Remember who you are!” when the kids would go out, and so you should remember who you are when you attend conferences and exhibitions. There’ll be plenty that will stick in your brain, and you’ll best make sense of it only by using your own organization and needs as the touchstone.
What do you think?
Steve Weissman, ECMp, ECMs, BPMp, can be reached at 617-383-4655.
After spending more than three days at the AIIM Conference/Info360 event in Washington, D.C., my brain is clogged with all kinds of interesting nuggets.
Here are but a few of the more intriguing story lines that stuck following my ECM Practitioner class, my series of show-floor briefings, and my numerous in-the-corridor-and-press-room perspective checks with buyers, vendors, and integrator/reseller types:
Misuse/overuse of the word “new”
This itself isn’t, well, new in terms of vendor marketing, but it kept surfacing in places where the principals really ought to have known better. The lesson is to ask, “In what way is this new?” when you hear the word.
Is the feature/product/capability truly innovative? Never before seen in this particular market space? Never before offered by this particular vendor? I found much of what was touted as “new” either to be old client/server development techniques wrapped in ECM/BPM clothes or long-standard features finally being offered by the vendor in question. So as they said in ancient Rome, caveat emptor.
Emerging stratification in the world of mobility
All the talk of customer engagement intersected with the drive to enhance the mobile experience to surface an important distinction between enabling browser-based smartphone or tablet access to content and process activities on the one hand, and fielding true mobile apps for the purpose on the other.
The separation of these two tiers is still nascent, but the long-term ramifications are significant since they speak to new ways to think about information architecture, content structure, usability, security, and privacy. The use of “m.” sites and formatting is just the beginning.
Tendency to ignore the past (and thus the risk of being condemned to repeat it)
Specifically, is cloud computing a true innovation or merely a viable hosting alternative with its roots in 1970s timesharing and 1990s ASPs? (See prior point regarding new.)
To be sure, the underlying technology is hugely more flexible and accessible today than it was then, but the takeaway here isn’t one of semantics and definition – rather, it has to do with cutting away the hype, focusing on the practical, and, especially, looking to preceding market models and technology trends for guidance.
Black/white vs. shades of gray
Perhaps it’s a reflection of how commodity so much of the technology has become, and thus how competitive the market is today. But there was an awful lot of talk about good tools vs. bad, all users vs. none wanting certain features, old technologies being dead vs. new ones being saviors.
Well, the world isn’t a binary place. Tools that do x vs. y aren’t better of worse; they’re merely different, and depending upon what you need to accomplish, they may be absolutely perfect for you. Just as, say, and “old” technology like microfiche is very much alive, and perhaps critical for archivists needing to think in terms of centuries-long retention schedules.
Conclusion
My mother-in-law used to say, “Remember who you are!” when the kids would go out, and so you should remember who you are when you attend conferences and exhibitions. There’ll be plenty that will stick in your brain, and you’ll best make sense of it only by using your own organization and needs as the touchstone.
What do you think?
Steve Weissman, ECMp, ECMs, BPMp, can be reached at 617-383-4655.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The business value of managed content
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Managed content can deliver 30 percent productivity gains and a 25 percent in efficiency improvements, according to new research co-sponsored by OpenText and AIIM.
One of the more notable findings from the survey of more than 450 information technology professionals and business managers is that the productivity of professional staff would be improved by 30 percent if they could only find internal information and documents as quickly and as easily as they find information on the Web. Along the same lines, respondents said customer service levels and response times could be improved by 33 percent if all customer-facing staff could immediately access and share all of the customer-related and case-related information.
Additional opportunities for improvement included:
• The productivity of administrative staff could be increased on average by 33 percent through use of workflow, scanned forms and automated data capture.
• Changing to a culture of electronic-only filing would reduce the office space allocated to filing storage from 14.5 percent to 5.9 percent – a 60-percent reduction.
• The size of server farms dedicated to unstructured content and emails could be reduced by between a third and a half if each document or email attachment was stored only once.
• A collaborative, widely accessible team-site environment could improve project delivery by 23 percent on average in terms of time and project costs.
• Respondents indicated they believe that Enterprise 2.0 applications could improve staff productivity and engagement by about 18 percent.
• The improved efficiency from providing office staff with comprehensive mobile access to company information would likely be between 20 and 25 percent.
While the survey indicates a compelling case for adopting enterprise content management (ECM) technologies, it also exposes the significant challenges for companies that get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of documents and content accumulating on shared drives, email, laptops and mobile device and paper files.
According to 61 percent of the survey respondents, organizational knowledge is the first thing to suffer in a badly managed environment, causing the organization to lose its competitive position due to poor decisions and a lack of accumulated corporate expertise. Innovation is considered to be another significant victim of poor collaboration and restricted knowledge-sharing, followed by the productivity impact of information search fatigue.
Compliance breaches and information and data leaks also weighed heavily on the minds of the survey respondents. For instance, 40 percent of organizations would take a financial hit from a compliance breach while fully 66 percent would suffer bad – and costly – publicity. Over a third of organizations reported they would have no way of finding out who was responsible if sensitive data was “leaked” to a competitor or to the press by a trusted employee. Only a quarter could readily point to a specific employee based on activity logs. For 60 percent of the largest organizations, the potential impact of such a leak would be high, and for 13 percent it would be “disastrous.”
“As the research confirms, companies that claim, control and capitalize on content increase their people’s contribution, deliver better customer service, and save money – all of which leads to better business,” said James Latham, chief marketing officer, OpenText. “At the same time, succumbing to fast-growing unstructured content inside the enterprise will increase risk, stifle innovation, or worse yet, leak sensitive documents. The case for ECM has never been stronger.”
What do you think?
Managed content can deliver 30 percent productivity gains and a 25 percent in efficiency improvements, according to new research co-sponsored by OpenText and AIIM.
One of the more notable findings from the survey of more than 450 information technology professionals and business managers is that the productivity of professional staff would be improved by 30 percent if they could only find internal information and documents as quickly and as easily as they find information on the Web. Along the same lines, respondents said customer service levels and response times could be improved by 33 percent if all customer-facing staff could immediately access and share all of the customer-related and case-related information.
Additional opportunities for improvement included:
• The productivity of administrative staff could be increased on average by 33 percent through use of workflow, scanned forms and automated data capture.
• Changing to a culture of electronic-only filing would reduce the office space allocated to filing storage from 14.5 percent to 5.9 percent – a 60-percent reduction.
• The size of server farms dedicated to unstructured content and emails could be reduced by between a third and a half if each document or email attachment was stored only once.
• A collaborative, widely accessible team-site environment could improve project delivery by 23 percent on average in terms of time and project costs.
• Respondents indicated they believe that Enterprise 2.0 applications could improve staff productivity and engagement by about 18 percent.
• The improved efficiency from providing office staff with comprehensive mobile access to company information would likely be between 20 and 25 percent.
While the survey indicates a compelling case for adopting enterprise content management (ECM) technologies, it also exposes the significant challenges for companies that get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of documents and content accumulating on shared drives, email, laptops and mobile device and paper files.
According to 61 percent of the survey respondents, organizational knowledge is the first thing to suffer in a badly managed environment, causing the organization to lose its competitive position due to poor decisions and a lack of accumulated corporate expertise. Innovation is considered to be another significant victim of poor collaboration and restricted knowledge-sharing, followed by the productivity impact of information search fatigue.
Compliance breaches and information and data leaks also weighed heavily on the minds of the survey respondents. For instance, 40 percent of organizations would take a financial hit from a compliance breach while fully 66 percent would suffer bad – and costly – publicity. Over a third of organizations reported they would have no way of finding out who was responsible if sensitive data was “leaked” to a competitor or to the press by a trusted employee. Only a quarter could readily point to a specific employee based on activity logs. For 60 percent of the largest organizations, the potential impact of such a leak would be high, and for 13 percent it would be “disastrous.”
“As the research confirms, companies that claim, control and capitalize on content increase their people’s contribution, deliver better customer service, and save money – all of which leads to better business,” said James Latham, chief marketing officer, OpenText. “At the same time, succumbing to fast-growing unstructured content inside the enterprise will increase risk, stifle innovation, or worse yet, leak sensitive documents. The case for ECM has never been stronger.”
What do you think?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
A real-world AP automation journey
Posted by Mark Brousseau
It’s not often that an organization can reduce its workforce while significantly growing its volume, but that’s exactly what University Hospitals, one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems, did by rethinking and automating processes in its accounts payable (AP) shared services department.
The healthcare system’s shared services center has supported a 63 percent increase in invoice volume with a 17 percent reduction in full-time equivalents (FTEs), Jeff Lubbe, corporate finance director, University Hospitals, told attendees at Kofax Transform 2011 Americas this week in San Diego.
When University Hospitals set out to revamp its AP operations a few years back, several factors were driving its thinking: external pressure to improve profitability, its desire to reduce back-office costs and reinvest the savings in patient care, and its desire to improve satisfaction with AP processing. What’s more, the AP department’s old technology infrastructure presented several challenges:
• Lost and misplaced invoices
• High costs for non-value added tasks
• Lots of time focused on keying instead of analytics
• Lack of information for workload monitoring
• Lack of accountability to resolve problem invoices
• Difficult verifying non-PO invoice approvals
• Lag time to receive approval on non-PO invoices
• Issues around coding of invoices to invalid accounts
Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising that AP was blamed anytime an invoice was paid late.
With the implementation of an Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, University Hospitals felt it finally had a strong base that it could build on for its automation strategy.
The first phase of University Hospitals’ automation strategy was to consolidate its AP operations, consolidate invoices and suppliers, identify technology-ready suppliers with high invoice counts (“We wanted to see where we could use EDI [electronic data interchange] or spreadsheet uploads,” Lubbe said), and takea hard look at internally generated transactions for process improvements.
In the second phase of its AP automation strategy, Lubbe said University Hospitals implemented a document imaging and automated workflow solution, and began utilizing a self-service solution for expenses and non-PO invoicing. University Hospitals selected MarkView software from 170 Systems (now part of Kofax) for its document imaging and automated workflow solution.
“Our strategy was to select an Oracle application – since we are an Oracle shop – and if one didn’t exist, to select an Oracle partner that had a solution that was intuitive, cost effective and scalable,” Lubbe told attendees. “We chose 170 Systems because of MarkView’s integration with Oracle, the company’s proven track record of best-practices implementations, its extensive financial automation experience, and MarkView’s breadth of out-of-the-box functionality. It was a really great fit for us.”
Today, University Hospitals has automated about 75 percent of the invoices that come into its enterprise, Lubbe said. The final phase of the medical system’s original AP automation plan will include deploying an optical character recognition (OCR) solution, and refocusing AP staff on analytical tasks, such as problem and hold resolution, statement reconciliation, and discount capture.
To automate its data capture, University Hospitals began deploying Kofax Capture and Kofax Transformation Management in December, and expects to complete the implementation in March. Lubbe said the medical system selected the Kofax products because of their integration with MarkView and Kofax’s leadership position in the intelligent data capture market.
While data capture is sure to provide additional benefits, Lubbe said he’s already pleased with the progress the medical system has made in automating its AP processes. “We have improved internal control, improved productivity of the AP department and its manager, increased visibility, avoided AP headcount increases, and improved the perception of AP and finance,” Lubbe concluded.
It’s not often that an organization can reduce its workforce while significantly growing its volume, but that’s exactly what University Hospitals, one of the nation’s leading healthcare systems, did by rethinking and automating processes in its accounts payable (AP) shared services department.
The healthcare system’s shared services center has supported a 63 percent increase in invoice volume with a 17 percent reduction in full-time equivalents (FTEs), Jeff Lubbe, corporate finance director, University Hospitals, told attendees at Kofax Transform 2011 Americas this week in San Diego.
When University Hospitals set out to revamp its AP operations a few years back, several factors were driving its thinking: external pressure to improve profitability, its desire to reduce back-office costs and reinvest the savings in patient care, and its desire to improve satisfaction with AP processing. What’s more, the AP department’s old technology infrastructure presented several challenges:
• Lost and misplaced invoices
• High costs for non-value added tasks
• Lots of time focused on keying instead of analytics
• Lack of information for workload monitoring
• Lack of accountability to resolve problem invoices
• Difficult verifying non-PO invoice approvals
• Lag time to receive approval on non-PO invoices
• Issues around coding of invoices to invalid accounts
Against this backdrop, it’s not surprising that AP was blamed anytime an invoice was paid late.
With the implementation of an Oracle enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, University Hospitals felt it finally had a strong base that it could build on for its automation strategy.
The first phase of University Hospitals’ automation strategy was to consolidate its AP operations, consolidate invoices and suppliers, identify technology-ready suppliers with high invoice counts (“We wanted to see where we could use EDI [electronic data interchange] or spreadsheet uploads,” Lubbe said), and takea hard look at internally generated transactions for process improvements.
In the second phase of its AP automation strategy, Lubbe said University Hospitals implemented a document imaging and automated workflow solution, and began utilizing a self-service solution for expenses and non-PO invoicing. University Hospitals selected MarkView software from 170 Systems (now part of Kofax) for its document imaging and automated workflow solution.
“Our strategy was to select an Oracle application – since we are an Oracle shop – and if one didn’t exist, to select an Oracle partner that had a solution that was intuitive, cost effective and scalable,” Lubbe told attendees. “We chose 170 Systems because of MarkView’s integration with Oracle, the company’s proven track record of best-practices implementations, its extensive financial automation experience, and MarkView’s breadth of out-of-the-box functionality. It was a really great fit for us.”
Today, University Hospitals has automated about 75 percent of the invoices that come into its enterprise, Lubbe said. The final phase of the medical system’s original AP automation plan will include deploying an optical character recognition (OCR) solution, and refocusing AP staff on analytical tasks, such as problem and hold resolution, statement reconciliation, and discount capture.
To automate its data capture, University Hospitals began deploying Kofax Capture and Kofax Transformation Management in December, and expects to complete the implementation in March. Lubbe said the medical system selected the Kofax products because of their integration with MarkView and Kofax’s leadership position in the intelligent data capture market.
While data capture is sure to provide additional benefits, Lubbe said he’s already pleased with the progress the medical system has made in automating its AP processes. “We have improved internal control, improved productivity of the AP department and its manager, increased visibility, avoided AP headcount increases, and improved the perception of AP and finance,” Lubbe concluded.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Why It's a Great Time to Look for a Job
Posted by Mark Brousseau
You've been on the job hunt for months—maybe even all year—and you're looking forward to the coming respite from search-related stress and disappointment. The holidays are here, after all. And it's "common knowledge" that nothing happens on the hiring front from Thanksgiving to New Year's. You might as well give the pavement pounding a rest and focus on decking the halls for a while...right?
Wong. In fact, says Kate Wendleton, now is exactly the time to hit your job search the hardest.
"Although most job seekers don't realize it, conditions are ideal for them this time of year," confirms Wendleton, president of The Five O'Clock Club (www.fiveoclockclub.com), a career coaching and outplacement network. "While they won't 'officially' tell you, many organizations are planning to hire in January. That means now is the perfect time to put yourself on their radar."
Wendleton knows all about helping people navigate the complicated job market, regardless of the season. Hers is the only career program in which members meet with professional coaches and peers on a weekly basis in a friendly, club-type format. It offers small group career coaching across the U.S. and Canada. And its website—www.fiveoclockclub.com—provides hundreds of free articles and audio recordings on job searching and career development.
"It may come as a big surprise, but looking for a job this time of year actually increases your chances of getting hired," Wendleton promises. "You have less competition, and many companies are in a hiring mood. It's the perfect storm—in a good way—for job seekers."
Read on for the case as to why you should keep on keepin' on...and some suggestions from The Five O'Clock Club for how you can maximize your momentum amidst the merriment:
Why you shouldn't wait 'til January:
'Tis the season for your competition to take a breather. Nearly everyone believes the "no one gets hired during the holidays" myth, so the majority of your competition is taking a break while you're still filling out applications. The fact is, it's much easier to out-class and out-perform the competition when there's next to none of it!
"It's amazing how many people retire from the job-hunt battle this time of year and leave the field wide open," Wendleton says. "At no other time will it be easier for you to really distinguish yourself from the pack. For one thing, hiring managers will have fewer résumés to distract them; plus, they'll be impressed by your drive and persistence, because most of your peers are taking it easy."
Managers are planning their post-Auld Lang Syne moves now. Here's a valuable tip for job hunters: January is often one of the biggest hiring months of the year. However, no organization will say that it plans to hire in January—right now, all you'll hear is that there are no openings at present (which is technically true). And guess what? Those upcoming positions won't go to folks who kicked back by the fire with a cup of eggnog—they'll be offered to the people who expressed interest and met with hiring managers in December.
"Right now, organizations are doing their budgeting for 2011," Wendleton explains. "For example, one company The Five O'Clock Club spoke with said they will not do any more hiring this year because they want to keep the numbers looking good, but they will fill those positions ASAP in the New Year, and they might even consider making offers now. Who is going to get those jobs? The folks who throw their hats into the ring during the holidays!"
The business world isn't pressing pause just because the halls are decked. The fact that the annual alcohol-laced karaoke party has been scheduled doesn't mean that business as usual stops. Think about it: The stock market is trading. Stores are still open. Deals are still being negotiated. And—shocker!—hiring managers are still reading résumés that land on their desks. (If anything, the seasonal good cheer will put them in a better mood when they do.)
"No hiring manager in his or her right mind would ever say, 'Okay, it's December, so I can't look at any résumés or communicate with any prospective applicants until January,'" Wendleton points out. "Certainly, this time of year comes with a special set of distractions, but underneath the trimmings, it's business as usual. If there's hiring to be done, it will be done."
Your momentum won't sustain itself through the merriment. Unless your job hunt started last week, you've built up some amount of momentum. You've made contacts. You've gotten your foot in some doors. You've started to prove how wonderful you are. Don't let all of that effort go to waste by slacking off now! If you do, it'll take you weeks to make up the lost ground.
"I can categorically say that the slackening of momentum is one of the greatest job-hunt saboteurs we see in The Five O'Clock Club," Wendleton shares. "When people fail to have lots of things in the works, they concentrate on the one great job that they really want—and they're devastated when they come in second or the company puts a freeze on hiring. Then, it takes them two or three weeks to dig out of the depression...and who knows how many great opportunities have slipped by in the meantime?"
What you can do to improve your job search:
The Five O'Clock Club says that there are three stages to a job search: 1) being in touch with six to ten people in your target market on an ongoing basis, 2) getting those people to actively express interest in having someone like you on board, and 3) inspiring them to discuss real jobs with you. The following strategies will help you get to Stage Two (which means you're approaching the right people and positioning yourself correctly)—and once you're there, Five O'Clockers promise, Stage Three will take care of itself.
Reconnect with the year's contacts. You've sent out cards and good wishes to friends and family...so why not extend that tradition to all of the job-search contacts you've made throughout the year? Send a card or email thanking each person for his or her help, wishing them a Happy New Year and include an update on your situation. You never know when the right memory might be sparked!
"Reconnecting with the year's contacts in a friendly, well-wishing way will remind them of who you are, what you do, and what you're trying to accomplish," Wendleton explains. "One of your main goals should be to stay on the radar of as many people in your network as possible. It takes hard work and discipline, yes, but as was the case recently for one Five O'Clock Club member, a friendly email can prompt a contact to forward your résumé to someone else, which might lead to an interview...and a job."
Expand, define, and redefine your targets. You may have a short—or long—list of companies on which you're focusing, but that list isn't definitive by a long shot. The last thing you want is a skimpy or sloppy group of targets that lacks breadth and depth. Plus, you never know when you might discover a new company you never knew about that's an ideal fit.
"You can expand your list of targets by revisiting what your skills and strengths are (maybe there's something you've overlooked!), brainstorming with friends, and doing more internet research," suggests Wendleton. "Many people are amazed to discover, after months of job hunting, an organization that isn't rich or famous but is nevertheless a great place to work."
Focus on avenues you've neglected. Everyone has a preferred method of getting meetings, whether it's through ads, search firms, networking, or direct contacts. During the next few weeks, focus on the avenues you normally skimp on. You'll probably identify new hiring trends, new contacts, and new positions. And (as we've established) now's the ideal time to get your name out there.
"Many people neglect networking and direct contacts, because they're the most labor-intensive," Wendleton shares. "If you fall into that category, challenge yourself to launch a targeted mail campaign this holiday season. Imagine what the impact might be if you send out ten intelligent cover letters per week, and then make follow-up phone calls a few days later. At the very least, you'll be a familiar name to a bevy of hiring managers."
Don't withdraw from your support network. Five O'Clock Club members attend a weekly meeting in order to receive support, advice, and help in their job searches. If you belong to such a group, don't use the holidays as an excuse to skip meetings. One of your primary goals should always be to make sure your search is moving forward.
"Accountability and outside input are crucial in helping you stay on track, and they also ensure that your job search doesn't lose originality and momentum," Wendleton says. "If you don't have a support network and are worried that you'll slack off despite your best intentions, ask a friend or family member to serve as a sounding board and check in on your progress."
Accept those party invitations! You might be tempted to become a hermit because you don't want to field questions about "what you're doing right now" or "how your job search is going." To some extent, that's understandable, especially if your situation hasn't changed in a long time—but avoidance is the wrong attitude to have. This is a party time of year, so get out there and network! Tell people you're looking for your next situation, and be sure to tell them the kind of job you're looking for.
"Take advantage of as many opportunities to meet new people as possible, and be ready to share your 30-second pitch on what you're looking for," advises Wendleton. "And if it's appropriate, ask for a more formal meeting at a new contact's office in the near future. Also, remember that those who are in a direct position to hire aren't your only allies. If you favorably impress a project manager, for example, she might mention you to her boss...and bingo—you've got an interview."
"Remember, keep adding to your job-search to-do list...and check it twice," concludes Wendleton. "There's absolutely no reason why you can't start out the New Year with one resolution already crossed off your list—a job you're excited to accept."
What do you think?
You've been on the job hunt for months—maybe even all year—and you're looking forward to the coming respite from search-related stress and disappointment. The holidays are here, after all. And it's "common knowledge" that nothing happens on the hiring front from Thanksgiving to New Year's. You might as well give the pavement pounding a rest and focus on decking the halls for a while...right?
Wong. In fact, says Kate Wendleton, now is exactly the time to hit your job search the hardest.
"Although most job seekers don't realize it, conditions are ideal for them this time of year," confirms Wendleton, president of The Five O'Clock Club (www.fiveoclockclub.com), a career coaching and outplacement network. "While they won't 'officially' tell you, many organizations are planning to hire in January. That means now is the perfect time to put yourself on their radar."
Wendleton knows all about helping people navigate the complicated job market, regardless of the season. Hers is the only career program in which members meet with professional coaches and peers on a weekly basis in a friendly, club-type format. It offers small group career coaching across the U.S. and Canada. And its website—www.fiveoclockclub.com—provides hundreds of free articles and audio recordings on job searching and career development.
"It may come as a big surprise, but looking for a job this time of year actually increases your chances of getting hired," Wendleton promises. "You have less competition, and many companies are in a hiring mood. It's the perfect storm—in a good way—for job seekers."
Read on for the case as to why you should keep on keepin' on...and some suggestions from The Five O'Clock Club for how you can maximize your momentum amidst the merriment:
Why you shouldn't wait 'til January:
'Tis the season for your competition to take a breather. Nearly everyone believes the "no one gets hired during the holidays" myth, so the majority of your competition is taking a break while you're still filling out applications. The fact is, it's much easier to out-class and out-perform the competition when there's next to none of it!
"It's amazing how many people retire from the job-hunt battle this time of year and leave the field wide open," Wendleton says. "At no other time will it be easier for you to really distinguish yourself from the pack. For one thing, hiring managers will have fewer résumés to distract them; plus, they'll be impressed by your drive and persistence, because most of your peers are taking it easy."
Managers are planning their post-Auld Lang Syne moves now. Here's a valuable tip for job hunters: January is often one of the biggest hiring months of the year. However, no organization will say that it plans to hire in January—right now, all you'll hear is that there are no openings at present (which is technically true). And guess what? Those upcoming positions won't go to folks who kicked back by the fire with a cup of eggnog—they'll be offered to the people who expressed interest and met with hiring managers in December.
"Right now, organizations are doing their budgeting for 2011," Wendleton explains. "For example, one company The Five O'Clock Club spoke with said they will not do any more hiring this year because they want to keep the numbers looking good, but they will fill those positions ASAP in the New Year, and they might even consider making offers now. Who is going to get those jobs? The folks who throw their hats into the ring during the holidays!"
The business world isn't pressing pause just because the halls are decked. The fact that the annual alcohol-laced karaoke party has been scheduled doesn't mean that business as usual stops. Think about it: The stock market is trading. Stores are still open. Deals are still being negotiated. And—shocker!—hiring managers are still reading résumés that land on their desks. (If anything, the seasonal good cheer will put them in a better mood when they do.)
"No hiring manager in his or her right mind would ever say, 'Okay, it's December, so I can't look at any résumés or communicate with any prospective applicants until January,'" Wendleton points out. "Certainly, this time of year comes with a special set of distractions, but underneath the trimmings, it's business as usual. If there's hiring to be done, it will be done."
Your momentum won't sustain itself through the merriment. Unless your job hunt started last week, you've built up some amount of momentum. You've made contacts. You've gotten your foot in some doors. You've started to prove how wonderful you are. Don't let all of that effort go to waste by slacking off now! If you do, it'll take you weeks to make up the lost ground.
"I can categorically say that the slackening of momentum is one of the greatest job-hunt saboteurs we see in The Five O'Clock Club," Wendleton shares. "When people fail to have lots of things in the works, they concentrate on the one great job that they really want—and they're devastated when they come in second or the company puts a freeze on hiring. Then, it takes them two or three weeks to dig out of the depression...and who knows how many great opportunities have slipped by in the meantime?"
What you can do to improve your job search:
The Five O'Clock Club says that there are three stages to a job search: 1) being in touch with six to ten people in your target market on an ongoing basis, 2) getting those people to actively express interest in having someone like you on board, and 3) inspiring them to discuss real jobs with you. The following strategies will help you get to Stage Two (which means you're approaching the right people and positioning yourself correctly)—and once you're there, Five O'Clockers promise, Stage Three will take care of itself.
Reconnect with the year's contacts. You've sent out cards and good wishes to friends and family...so why not extend that tradition to all of the job-search contacts you've made throughout the year? Send a card or email thanking each person for his or her help, wishing them a Happy New Year and include an update on your situation. You never know when the right memory might be sparked!
"Reconnecting with the year's contacts in a friendly, well-wishing way will remind them of who you are, what you do, and what you're trying to accomplish," Wendleton explains. "One of your main goals should be to stay on the radar of as many people in your network as possible. It takes hard work and discipline, yes, but as was the case recently for one Five O'Clock Club member, a friendly email can prompt a contact to forward your résumé to someone else, which might lead to an interview...and a job."
Expand, define, and redefine your targets. You may have a short—or long—list of companies on which you're focusing, but that list isn't definitive by a long shot. The last thing you want is a skimpy or sloppy group of targets that lacks breadth and depth. Plus, you never know when you might discover a new company you never knew about that's an ideal fit.
"You can expand your list of targets by revisiting what your skills and strengths are (maybe there's something you've overlooked!), brainstorming with friends, and doing more internet research," suggests Wendleton. "Many people are amazed to discover, after months of job hunting, an organization that isn't rich or famous but is nevertheless a great place to work."
Focus on avenues you've neglected. Everyone has a preferred method of getting meetings, whether it's through ads, search firms, networking, or direct contacts. During the next few weeks, focus on the avenues you normally skimp on. You'll probably identify new hiring trends, new contacts, and new positions. And (as we've established) now's the ideal time to get your name out there.
"Many people neglect networking and direct contacts, because they're the most labor-intensive," Wendleton shares. "If you fall into that category, challenge yourself to launch a targeted mail campaign this holiday season. Imagine what the impact might be if you send out ten intelligent cover letters per week, and then make follow-up phone calls a few days later. At the very least, you'll be a familiar name to a bevy of hiring managers."
Don't withdraw from your support network. Five O'Clock Club members attend a weekly meeting in order to receive support, advice, and help in their job searches. If you belong to such a group, don't use the holidays as an excuse to skip meetings. One of your primary goals should always be to make sure your search is moving forward.
"Accountability and outside input are crucial in helping you stay on track, and they also ensure that your job search doesn't lose originality and momentum," Wendleton says. "If you don't have a support network and are worried that you'll slack off despite your best intentions, ask a friend or family member to serve as a sounding board and check in on your progress."
Accept those party invitations! You might be tempted to become a hermit because you don't want to field questions about "what you're doing right now" or "how your job search is going." To some extent, that's understandable, especially if your situation hasn't changed in a long time—but avoidance is the wrong attitude to have. This is a party time of year, so get out there and network! Tell people you're looking for your next situation, and be sure to tell them the kind of job you're looking for.
"Take advantage of as many opportunities to meet new people as possible, and be ready to share your 30-second pitch on what you're looking for," advises Wendleton. "And if it's appropriate, ask for a more formal meeting at a new contact's office in the near future. Also, remember that those who are in a direct position to hire aren't your only allies. If you favorably impress a project manager, for example, she might mention you to her boss...and bingo—you've got an interview."
"Remember, keep adding to your job-search to-do list...and check it twice," concludes Wendleton. "There's absolutely no reason why you can't start out the New Year with one resolution already crossed off your list—a job you're excited to accept."
What do you think?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Greening Your Mail Can Keep You in the Black
By Greg Brown, Marketing Director, Melissa Data
A recent Aperture Research Institute study reported upwards of 70 percent of organizations have adopted a green initiative of some kind. While those companies should be lauded for their efforts at environmental stewardship, bad days on Wall Street and for the economy have seen some companies abandon or scale back their green initiatives as they tighten their belts.
Now is the time to take a realistic look at your company’s green initiatives and ask whether or not the practices undertaken are “evergreen” – promoting not only environmental sustainability, but also sound business practices and solid return on investment so as to be sustainable in good economic conditions as well as bad.
For instance, over six million trees and more than 300 million pounds of paper are wasted each year on undeliverable-as-addressed Standard class mail, as reported by UAA Clearinghouse. It costs the Post Office over 2 billion dollars annually to process this true “junk mail”. And the cost to mailers is even more dramatic – undeliverable mail costs direct mailers over $6 billion dollars a year.
So, is Postmaster General Jack Potter’s call to reduce UAA mail by 50 percent by 2010 a green initiative designed to decrease global warming and unnecessary environmental waste? Absolutely. But it’s also a common sense business initiative that will save both the USPS and mailers a tremendous amount of money – money better spent on job creation, product development, and effective marketing.
Here are 10 steps you can easily implement to save money as you green your mailings – reducing waste, while improving deliverability, effectiveness and response to ensure you stay in the black, even as the economy sees red:
1. Correct your mailing
2. Update your mailing
3. Dedupe your mailing
4. Suppress your mailing
5. Target your mailing
6. TransPromo your mailing
7. Connect your mailing
8. Downsize your mailing
9. Sustain your mailing
10. Recycle your mailing
Has your organization had success with any of these strategies?
A recent Aperture Research Institute study reported upwards of 70 percent of organizations have adopted a green initiative of some kind. While those companies should be lauded for their efforts at environmental stewardship, bad days on Wall Street and for the economy have seen some companies abandon or scale back their green initiatives as they tighten their belts.
Now is the time to take a realistic look at your company’s green initiatives and ask whether or not the practices undertaken are “evergreen” – promoting not only environmental sustainability, but also sound business practices and solid return on investment so as to be sustainable in good economic conditions as well as bad.
For instance, over six million trees and more than 300 million pounds of paper are wasted each year on undeliverable-as-addressed Standard class mail, as reported by UAA Clearinghouse. It costs the Post Office over 2 billion dollars annually to process this true “junk mail”. And the cost to mailers is even more dramatic – undeliverable mail costs direct mailers over $6 billion dollars a year.
So, is Postmaster General Jack Potter’s call to reduce UAA mail by 50 percent by 2010 a green initiative designed to decrease global warming and unnecessary environmental waste? Absolutely. But it’s also a common sense business initiative that will save both the USPS and mailers a tremendous amount of money – money better spent on job creation, product development, and effective marketing.
Here are 10 steps you can easily implement to save money as you green your mailings – reducing waste, while improving deliverability, effectiveness and response to ensure you stay in the black, even as the economy sees red:
1. Correct your mailing
2. Update your mailing
3. Dedupe your mailing
4. Suppress your mailing
5. Target your mailing
6. TransPromo your mailing
7. Connect your mailing
8. Downsize your mailing
9. Sustain your mailing
10. Recycle your mailing
Has your organization had success with any of these strategies?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
7 Tips for Turning Your Customers into Fans for Life
Posted by Mark Brousseau
No matter what industry or profession you’re in, there are tons of ways to win over your customers and create brand loyalists who keep coming back. Below are a few easy-to-implement ideas that will help you turn any customer into a fan for life. And though these tips address specific professions and businesses, keep in mind that great customer service translates across industries. Carefully consider each of them and think about how you can modify them to improve the service you provide your customers:
1. Offer flexible office hours. If you’re an attorney, financial advisor, or other professional whose clients are small business owners or any other busy business-type, you might consider offering to meet with them on evenings or Saturdays rather than during regular business hours. In doing so, you show them that you understand the time they spend with their business is essential and make it easier for them to do business with you.
2. Handle problems quickly. This is especially important for hotels and other hospitality services. Understand that your guests don’t need you when everything is going as planned. It’s when something goes wrong that they need great customer service to right their proverbial ship. When you’re presented with a guest’s problem, provide solutions on the spot.
“For example, if a busy guest’s luggage zipper breaks, what can you do to help?” says Kuzmeski. “Well, you might offer a coupon for a new piece of luggage from the hotel’s store. Keep spare luggage on hand for guests with a problem. Or simply offer to tape the luggage shut to ensure it makes it home safely. Figure out what you can do to get it right when something is going wrong for your guests, and they will keep coming back.”
3. Show them what you’ve got…before the big day. If you are a caterer, baker, florist, wedding planner, or any other professional who helps plan the most important or special days of your clients’ lives, always give them an unexpected taste of what you have to offer before the big day. For example, a wedding caterer might show up at the bride’s house a week before the wedding with a sampling of hors d’oeuvres. Or a florist might send the happy couple a bouquet of flowers two weeks in advance. By doing so, you show your clients that you care about them and also give them a preview of the great service you’ll provide on the big day.
4. Offer friendlier skies (and waiting rooms). Many people today view airports, and flying in general, as the places where all great customer service goes to die. In fact, often you can walk up to a ticket counter or onto a plane and never even have the airline employee make eye contact. If you work for an airline, know that many travelers today would just like to be acknowledged. Show your customers you’re happy they chose to fly with you. The same holds true, of course, for any business in any industry.
“Medical office reception areas can also sometimes be low on great customer service,” says Kuzmeski. “Their busy employees usually have to look at a computer most of the day, and they are trying to cycle patients through as quickly as possible. But by doing something as easy as making eye contact and smiling, you can begin to alleviate a sick patient’s stress—or in the case of the airline, a passenger’s travel worries.”
5. Fix it first. This one goes out to anyone who has ever gotten their freshly dry-cleaned clothes back only to find that a button has broken off of their favorite blouse or dress shirt. Or who has gotten their car back from the repair shop only to have another problem a week later. If you are a dry cleaner, fix the button—at no charge—before your customers pick up their clothing items. By doing so, you eliminate what could become a huge inconvenience for them and ensure they won’t have any qualms about bringing their next round of dry cleaning to your business.
6. Provide worth-the-wait service, without the wait. For doctors, hospitals, veterinarians, or other medical service providers, a wonderful way to win the love of your patients is to ensure short wait times and flexible appointment times. For example, one hospital ER in Florida sponsors a billboard that shows its wait time in LCD real-time—as well as the ER wait times at other local hospitals. The sponsoring hospital has significantly lower times. By doing so, they show their patients that they understand wait time is a huge concern, and that most people fear they’ll end up spending hours and hours sitting in the waiting room if they ever have to go to the ER.
This tactic could easily be modified by other businesses where long waits are often a customer deterrent—for example, “big box” chains and popular grocery stores, phone companies like Verizon and AT&T (where the transactions take a long time), or at coffee shops that want to show they have short waits during the morning rush. Or you can do this on a smaller scale in your own medical office or small business by having your staff let clients/patients know exactly how long it will be before they can be seen.
“Obviously, the shorter the wait time the better, but by providing patients or clients with the wait length, you can show that you haven’t simply accepted that long wait times come with the territory at hospitals, medical offices, and some businesses,” says Kuzmeski. “Show them that you don’t think it’s okay if they have to wait a while to be seen, and that you understand that people want and deserve better.”
7. Give it away for free. Vistaprint, a global printing company, made jaw-dropping value their hallmark. They did so by offering 250 business cards for free, with a nominal $5.67 shipping and processing charge, to appeal to their target market: cost-conscious small businesses. Today, 66 percent of Vistaprint’s business comes from returning customers. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, they acquired 1.4 million new customers—many who started with a free order.
“Offering freebies might also be a great way to get customers into a new restaurant or boutique,” suggests Kuzmeski. “Give first-time customers a free appetizer or special discount—along with great service, of course!—and they will be happy to recommend more first-timers and to come back for more themselves.”
What do you think?
No matter what industry or profession you’re in, there are tons of ways to win over your customers and create brand loyalists who keep coming back. Below are a few easy-to-implement ideas that will help you turn any customer into a fan for life. And though these tips address specific professions and businesses, keep in mind that great customer service translates across industries. Carefully consider each of them and think about how you can modify them to improve the service you provide your customers:
1. Offer flexible office hours. If you’re an attorney, financial advisor, or other professional whose clients are small business owners or any other busy business-type, you might consider offering to meet with them on evenings or Saturdays rather than during regular business hours. In doing so, you show them that you understand the time they spend with their business is essential and make it easier for them to do business with you.
2. Handle problems quickly. This is especially important for hotels and other hospitality services. Understand that your guests don’t need you when everything is going as planned. It’s when something goes wrong that they need great customer service to right their proverbial ship. When you’re presented with a guest’s problem, provide solutions on the spot.
“For example, if a busy guest’s luggage zipper breaks, what can you do to help?” says Kuzmeski. “Well, you might offer a coupon for a new piece of luggage from the hotel’s store. Keep spare luggage on hand for guests with a problem. Or simply offer to tape the luggage shut to ensure it makes it home safely. Figure out what you can do to get it right when something is going wrong for your guests, and they will keep coming back.”
3. Show them what you’ve got…before the big day. If you are a caterer, baker, florist, wedding planner, or any other professional who helps plan the most important or special days of your clients’ lives, always give them an unexpected taste of what you have to offer before the big day. For example, a wedding caterer might show up at the bride’s house a week before the wedding with a sampling of hors d’oeuvres. Or a florist might send the happy couple a bouquet of flowers two weeks in advance. By doing so, you show your clients that you care about them and also give them a preview of the great service you’ll provide on the big day.
4. Offer friendlier skies (and waiting rooms). Many people today view airports, and flying in general, as the places where all great customer service goes to die. In fact, often you can walk up to a ticket counter or onto a plane and never even have the airline employee make eye contact. If you work for an airline, know that many travelers today would just like to be acknowledged. Show your customers you’re happy they chose to fly with you. The same holds true, of course, for any business in any industry.
“Medical office reception areas can also sometimes be low on great customer service,” says Kuzmeski. “Their busy employees usually have to look at a computer most of the day, and they are trying to cycle patients through as quickly as possible. But by doing something as easy as making eye contact and smiling, you can begin to alleviate a sick patient’s stress—or in the case of the airline, a passenger’s travel worries.”
5. Fix it first. This one goes out to anyone who has ever gotten their freshly dry-cleaned clothes back only to find that a button has broken off of their favorite blouse or dress shirt. Or who has gotten their car back from the repair shop only to have another problem a week later. If you are a dry cleaner, fix the button—at no charge—before your customers pick up their clothing items. By doing so, you eliminate what could become a huge inconvenience for them and ensure they won’t have any qualms about bringing their next round of dry cleaning to your business.
6. Provide worth-the-wait service, without the wait. For doctors, hospitals, veterinarians, or other medical service providers, a wonderful way to win the love of your patients is to ensure short wait times and flexible appointment times. For example, one hospital ER in Florida sponsors a billboard that shows its wait time in LCD real-time—as well as the ER wait times at other local hospitals. The sponsoring hospital has significantly lower times. By doing so, they show their patients that they understand wait time is a huge concern, and that most people fear they’ll end up spending hours and hours sitting in the waiting room if they ever have to go to the ER.
This tactic could easily be modified by other businesses where long waits are often a customer deterrent—for example, “big box” chains and popular grocery stores, phone companies like Verizon and AT&T (where the transactions take a long time), or at coffee shops that want to show they have short waits during the morning rush. Or you can do this on a smaller scale in your own medical office or small business by having your staff let clients/patients know exactly how long it will be before they can be seen.
“Obviously, the shorter the wait time the better, but by providing patients or clients with the wait length, you can show that you haven’t simply accepted that long wait times come with the territory at hospitals, medical offices, and some businesses,” says Kuzmeski. “Show them that you don’t think it’s okay if they have to wait a while to be seen, and that you understand that people want and deserve better.”
7. Give it away for free. Vistaprint, a global printing company, made jaw-dropping value their hallmark. They did so by offering 250 business cards for free, with a nominal $5.67 shipping and processing charge, to appeal to their target market: cost-conscious small businesses. Today, 66 percent of Vistaprint’s business comes from returning customers. In the first quarter of 2010 alone, they acquired 1.4 million new customers—many who started with a free order.
“Offering freebies might also be a great way to get customers into a new restaurant or boutique,” suggests Kuzmeski. “Give first-time customers a free appetizer or special discount—along with great service, of course!—and they will be happy to recommend more first-timers and to come back for more themselves.”
What do you think?
4 Steps to Creating FAN-atical Clients
Posted by Mark Brousseau
You wear their team colors and refuse to wear those of their greatest rival. You cheer for them win or lose but are always full of advice on how they could improve (just in case the coach ever gives you a call!). You’ll do what it takes to watch them play whether that means braving icy weather or missing yet another Sunday lunch with the family. These are the makings of a true sports fan and the factors that connect you to tens of thousands of like-minded strangers.
Yes, sports fans are loyal and passionate—so much so that, for many, their team seems like a close friend or family member. Marketing expert Maribeth Kuzmeski says this intense emotional connection to what is essentially just another brand begs the question: What can today’s business owners do to make their customers as passionate and loyal to their products as sports fans are to their favorite teams?
“I am a huge Green Bay Packers fan,” says Kuzmeski, author of the new book …And the Clients Went Wild! How Savvy Professionals Win All the Business They Want (Wiley, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-470-60176-1, $24.95, www.AndTheClientsWentWild.com). “I learned about football, the Packers, and what it means to be a fan from my football-loving grandmother. We cheered for our team when they were terrible and basked in the glow of the wins when they were better. But we never considered moving to another.”
While Kuzmeski now lives in a different football town where another big NFL franchise gets all the attention, she insists that the Packers are still “my team.” And it’s that level of loyalty that she strives to help her clients create in their customers.
“Fan loyalty is an emotional connection that’s often stronger than any other loyalty, frequently due to generational or family-based connections—or, for those who fiercely cheer for their college, or even high school, alma maters, connections based on nostalgia,” she adds. “Many business owners today might assume that there is no way they can elicit such passion from their customers, but with the right strategies, it is possible.”
In her new book, Kuzmeski explains that in order to truly get clients to “go wild” about your business, there must be an overriding and strong emotional connection—similar to the one you might feel for your favorite sports team.
“Success is all in what you offer and how you offer it,” she says. “You can get others to connect to your company, product, or service by passionately delivering whatever you have to offer. This is a true differentiator, because so few people and businesses actually act with this kind of enthusiasm. Thus, when you exhibit it, your customers and potential customers will take notice.”
If you want to learn how to create a die-hard-sports-fan level of loyalty among your customers, read on for Kuzmeski’s four absolutes for inspiring that kind of passion:
1. Offer something unique. Whatever you’re offering your customers can’t just be better; it has to be different. In order to gain exposure, it helps to be or to offer something unique—or do something that no one else dares.
A great example of a company that understands the “different is better” mantra is Buc-ee’s gas stations. They have focused their number-one offering on what people dread most about stopping at a gas station: the bathrooms! Each of the thirty locations has incredibly clean, substantially sized bathrooms, along with full-time attendants to keep them in tip-top shape. And happy customers regularly post testimonials on the company’s blog. Buc-ee’s built their entire business around the bathrooms—a feature they knew they could use to differentiate their business.
“This is a great example of how looking at things from a different perspective can really pay off,” Kuzmeski says. “Instead of focusing on what clients liked about their industry, they chose to plan their strategy around what customers liked the least and improve upon it. Think about what people dislike most about your industry, service, or product offering. What solutions can you offer? It’s a great way to differentiate yourself from your competition and to create some buzz in the process!”
2. Create something valuable (and viral!). This strategy is two-fold. First, you must have something valuable to say—a message your customers will want to pass on to others. Then, you have to make it easy for them to pass that message on. When it is really easy for customers to pass along information about your brand, they will.
“You might kick off this strategy by creating a simple, repeatable message,” suggests Kuzmeski. “People have an average attention span of only seventeen seconds, so you have to get their attention quickly. A short, clear message will certainly do the trick. Think about Google. For the most part, the company does not advertise, and certainly did not advertise its initial offering of its web search site.
“Do you remember how you found out about the search engine?” she adds. “People were just passing along the straightforward message that you can ‘search for anything and everything on the internet for free at www.google.com.’ The message became viral, and the company’s growth notoriously exploded. It’s truly a great example of a simple, repeatable statement of value that was so easy to pass on that it spread like, well, a virus!”
3. Understand the difference between features and benefits. Too many businesses accentuate the features of their products or services rather than the benefits—which are what your clients really care about. Benefits are value statements about the features of a product or service, with an emphasis on what the customer gets. For example, “Open 24 Hours” is a feature. The benefit is that the business will be open whenever the customer needs it. Or say you’ve been in financial services for twenty years. That is a feature. The benefit for your clients is the experience, working knowledge, and years of training that result from your length of time in the business.
“Too many companies leave it up to their prospects to figure out the benefits of their products or services,” notes Kuzmeski. “Remember, you may be steeped in information about your products and services, but they aren’t. When you try to sell them on features alone, you’re asking the customer to do all the work—and she probably won’t. Bottom line: It’s in your best interest to draw a crystal clear picture of a product’s or service’s benefits for a prospective buyer.”
4. Don’t just say it. Do it! Often, the things you can do to turn your customers into die-hard fans are right under your nose. They’re the things you do every day, or those things you do simply because you want to provide your customers with the service they deserve. Kuzmeski tells a story about one of her financial advisor clients who didn’t have to proclaim that he provided excellent service—he lived it. And going the extra mile ended up paying off in a big way.
“One day this financial advisor got a call from a pastor explaining that an elderly woman at his church was completely lost,” relates Kuzmeski. “Her husband had recently passed away, and she didn’t know where any of the important papers regarding her estate were located. The advisor ended up going to her home to help her find her insurance policies and other important files. He ended up helping her uncover documents indicating $700,000 in assets! And he didn’t charge her a penny.
“Based on what he did for her, he created a survivorship program and quickly started receiving referrals from all over his community,” she adds. “Rather than ask to be trusted, he had shown he was trustworthy. Instead of asking her to trust him, he had shown his client she could trust him.”
“Making screaming, loyal fans out of your customers won’t be easy, but it is absolutely possible,” says Kuzmeski. “You simply have to give them a product or service worth going wild about. Hit on all of the absolutes I’ve provided, and before you know it, you’ll have clients who stick with you through thick and thin and cheer you on every chance they get.”
What do you think?
You wear their team colors and refuse to wear those of their greatest rival. You cheer for them win or lose but are always full of advice on how they could improve (just in case the coach ever gives you a call!). You’ll do what it takes to watch them play whether that means braving icy weather or missing yet another Sunday lunch with the family. These are the makings of a true sports fan and the factors that connect you to tens of thousands of like-minded strangers.
Yes, sports fans are loyal and passionate—so much so that, for many, their team seems like a close friend or family member. Marketing expert Maribeth Kuzmeski says this intense emotional connection to what is essentially just another brand begs the question: What can today’s business owners do to make their customers as passionate and loyal to their products as sports fans are to their favorite teams?
“I am a huge Green Bay Packers fan,” says Kuzmeski, author of the new book …And the Clients Went Wild! How Savvy Professionals Win All the Business They Want (Wiley, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-470-60176-1, $24.95, www.AndTheClientsWentWild.com). “I learned about football, the Packers, and what it means to be a fan from my football-loving grandmother. We cheered for our team when they were terrible and basked in the glow of the wins when they were better. But we never considered moving to another.”
While Kuzmeski now lives in a different football town where another big NFL franchise gets all the attention, she insists that the Packers are still “my team.” And it’s that level of loyalty that she strives to help her clients create in their customers.
“Fan loyalty is an emotional connection that’s often stronger than any other loyalty, frequently due to generational or family-based connections—or, for those who fiercely cheer for their college, or even high school, alma maters, connections based on nostalgia,” she adds. “Many business owners today might assume that there is no way they can elicit such passion from their customers, but with the right strategies, it is possible.”
In her new book, Kuzmeski explains that in order to truly get clients to “go wild” about your business, there must be an overriding and strong emotional connection—similar to the one you might feel for your favorite sports team.
“Success is all in what you offer and how you offer it,” she says. “You can get others to connect to your company, product, or service by passionately delivering whatever you have to offer. This is a true differentiator, because so few people and businesses actually act with this kind of enthusiasm. Thus, when you exhibit it, your customers and potential customers will take notice.”
If you want to learn how to create a die-hard-sports-fan level of loyalty among your customers, read on for Kuzmeski’s four absolutes for inspiring that kind of passion:
1. Offer something unique. Whatever you’re offering your customers can’t just be better; it has to be different. In order to gain exposure, it helps to be or to offer something unique—or do something that no one else dares.
A great example of a company that understands the “different is better” mantra is Buc-ee’s gas stations. They have focused their number-one offering on what people dread most about stopping at a gas station: the bathrooms! Each of the thirty locations has incredibly clean, substantially sized bathrooms, along with full-time attendants to keep them in tip-top shape. And happy customers regularly post testimonials on the company’s blog. Buc-ee’s built their entire business around the bathrooms—a feature they knew they could use to differentiate their business.
“This is a great example of how looking at things from a different perspective can really pay off,” Kuzmeski says. “Instead of focusing on what clients liked about their industry, they chose to plan their strategy around what customers liked the least and improve upon it. Think about what people dislike most about your industry, service, or product offering. What solutions can you offer? It’s a great way to differentiate yourself from your competition and to create some buzz in the process!”
2. Create something valuable (and viral!). This strategy is two-fold. First, you must have something valuable to say—a message your customers will want to pass on to others. Then, you have to make it easy for them to pass that message on. When it is really easy for customers to pass along information about your brand, they will.
“You might kick off this strategy by creating a simple, repeatable message,” suggests Kuzmeski. “People have an average attention span of only seventeen seconds, so you have to get their attention quickly. A short, clear message will certainly do the trick. Think about Google. For the most part, the company does not advertise, and certainly did not advertise its initial offering of its web search site.
“Do you remember how you found out about the search engine?” she adds. “People were just passing along the straightforward message that you can ‘search for anything and everything on the internet for free at www.google.com.’ The message became viral, and the company’s growth notoriously exploded. It’s truly a great example of a simple, repeatable statement of value that was so easy to pass on that it spread like, well, a virus!”
3. Understand the difference between features and benefits. Too many businesses accentuate the features of their products or services rather than the benefits—which are what your clients really care about. Benefits are value statements about the features of a product or service, with an emphasis on what the customer gets. For example, “Open 24 Hours” is a feature. The benefit is that the business will be open whenever the customer needs it. Or say you’ve been in financial services for twenty years. That is a feature. The benefit for your clients is the experience, working knowledge, and years of training that result from your length of time in the business.
“Too many companies leave it up to their prospects to figure out the benefits of their products or services,” notes Kuzmeski. “Remember, you may be steeped in information about your products and services, but they aren’t. When you try to sell them on features alone, you’re asking the customer to do all the work—and she probably won’t. Bottom line: It’s in your best interest to draw a crystal clear picture of a product’s or service’s benefits for a prospective buyer.”
4. Don’t just say it. Do it! Often, the things you can do to turn your customers into die-hard fans are right under your nose. They’re the things you do every day, or those things you do simply because you want to provide your customers with the service they deserve. Kuzmeski tells a story about one of her financial advisor clients who didn’t have to proclaim that he provided excellent service—he lived it. And going the extra mile ended up paying off in a big way.
“One day this financial advisor got a call from a pastor explaining that an elderly woman at his church was completely lost,” relates Kuzmeski. “Her husband had recently passed away, and she didn’t know where any of the important papers regarding her estate were located. The advisor ended up going to her home to help her find her insurance policies and other important files. He ended up helping her uncover documents indicating $700,000 in assets! And he didn’t charge her a penny.
“Based on what he did for her, he created a survivorship program and quickly started receiving referrals from all over his community,” she adds. “Rather than ask to be trusted, he had shown he was trustworthy. Instead of asking her to trust him, he had shown his client she could trust him.”
“Making screaming, loyal fans out of your customers won’t be easy, but it is absolutely possible,” says Kuzmeski. “You simply have to give them a product or service worth going wild about. Hit on all of the absolutes I’ve provided, and before you know it, you’ll have clients who stick with you through thick and thin and cheer you on every chance they get.”
What do you think?
Enterprises will place emphasis on vendor integration in 2011
Posted by Mark Brousseau
As organizations become increasingly decentralized, 2011 will see enterprises identifying technology suppliers that can integrate effectively with other — often competing — solutions, according to new research released by analyst firm Real Story Group (formerly CMS Watch).
"Going into 2011, our research customers are indicating an unprecedented aversion to vendor lock-in," said Real Story Group President and Principal Analyst, Tony Byrne. "In the real world, enterprises have to support multiple devices, multiple internal portals, multiple web delivery channels, underutilized SharePoint deployments, and the lingering primacy of e-mail as a corporate information management platform — so vendors will have to adapt."
Real Story Group provided 12 other technology predictions for 2011:
1. "Bring Your Own Device" policies will push HTML5 adoption for mobile access to enterprise applications
2. Content-rich customers will rebel against Web CMS marketing spins
3. Microsoft will turn to partners to fix SharePoint shortcomings
4. The top end of the Web CMS market will be redefined
5. Intranet community managers will adopt public social functionality
6. SaaS vendors will try to separate from "The Cloud"
7. Buyers will have a greater acceptance of newer standards
8. Case Management will become the leading application from high-end ECM vendors
9. Digital Asset Management vendors will greatly expand video management capabilities
10. E-mail will remain the world's de-facto enterprise document repository and workflow system
11. Portal software will increasingly produce services for other portals
12. Specialized talent around managing content will begin to migrate out of large corporations
What do you think?
As organizations become increasingly decentralized, 2011 will see enterprises identifying technology suppliers that can integrate effectively with other — often competing — solutions, according to new research released by analyst firm Real Story Group (formerly CMS Watch).
"Going into 2011, our research customers are indicating an unprecedented aversion to vendor lock-in," said Real Story Group President and Principal Analyst, Tony Byrne. "In the real world, enterprises have to support multiple devices, multiple internal portals, multiple web delivery channels, underutilized SharePoint deployments, and the lingering primacy of e-mail as a corporate information management platform — so vendors will have to adapt."
Real Story Group provided 12 other technology predictions for 2011:
1. "Bring Your Own Device" policies will push HTML5 adoption for mobile access to enterprise applications
2. Content-rich customers will rebel against Web CMS marketing spins
3. Microsoft will turn to partners to fix SharePoint shortcomings
4. The top end of the Web CMS market will be redefined
5. Intranet community managers will adopt public social functionality
6. SaaS vendors will try to separate from "The Cloud"
7. Buyers will have a greater acceptance of newer standards
8. Case Management will become the leading application from high-end ECM vendors
9. Digital Asset Management vendors will greatly expand video management capabilities
10. E-mail will remain the world's de-facto enterprise document repository and workflow system
11. Portal software will increasingly produce services for other portals
12. Specialized talent around managing content will begin to migrate out of large corporations
What do you think?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Going Green with ECM
By Derrick Murphy of ibml
There's no doubt that reducing or eliminating paper-based processes presents clear and sizeable economic advantages. In large part, these cost savings have driven the demand for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. But digitizing paper-driven processes is also an essential component of the sustainability, or "green," initiatives now underway at companies large and small.
By its nature, ECM promotes efficiency and optimal use of resources. By replacing paper-based processing with electronic processes -- and eliminating paper-related transportation, storage and handling -- ECM solutions can help organizations more quickly realize their green initiatives.
In fact, when you consider the hefty environmental impact of office paper (the U.S. alone consumes about 100 million tons of paper each year, according to the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC), ECM is a great way to get your organization started down the path to sustainable and green practices.
ECM and the 'Green Movement'
Information and communication technology account for about 2 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Energy Information Administration. That might not seem like a lot, but it can easily be reduced. ECM solutions support green initiatives by providing users the ability to:
Reduce paper consumption -- The average worker generates an estimated 45 to 15,000 sheets of paper every day, according to the American Records Management Association (ARMA). ECM solutions allow documents to be processed, managed and stored electronically, including delivery via e-mail, which significantly reduces the amount of paper the average worker consumes each day.
Automate paper-based processes -- Compared to electronic processes, processing paper documents is slow and expensive. ARMA and IDC estimate that the average company spends between 7 to 14 percent of its total costs on document processing in a paper environment. By digitizing document-driven business processes, ECM solutions can automatically identify and route content, such as invoices requiring approval, to the appropriate users or applications, eliminating the need for transportation or multiple copies as well as downstream document storage or shredding/destruction.
Reduce document shipping -- Studies have shown that the average document in an organization is photocopied 19 times. ECM solutions allow organizations to distribute electronic documents securely via intranets, extranets and broadband connection. The more work organizations perform online, the shorter paper trail and the less waste produced. Additionally, this real-time 24/7 access enables employees to review, approve or collaborate on documents without printing or shipping.
Reduce document storage -- Storage requirements for hard copy documents double every three years, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically helps companies reduce their carbon footprint by reducing real estate/facilities needs and the associated energy consumption.
Less paper waste -- The average American office worker disposes of 100 to 200 pounds of paper per year, studies show. OB10 cites estimates that production of paper invoices would take up as much space as 10 football fields stacked 100 feet deep (and this doesn't count the storage space before they get to the landfill). ECM solutions address the paper trail that follows many people around and reduce the amount of waste employees generate as well as the energy they consume shredding.
The Financial Benefit
Each of the "green" benefits of ECM solutions mentioned above has an economic benefit:
Reduced paper consumption -- It costs almost $10,000 to fill a four-drawer file cabinet. By leveraging technologies such as e-invoicing, companies can eliminate these paper expenses. For instance, one company is saving $8,000 to $10,000 a month in paper and toner by using ECM.
Reduced document shipping -- Without an ECM solution, an organization might have to copy a document to send to various people. By sharing documents electronically, companies avoid the expenses associated with transporting documents across sites, including courier fees, postage, gas, and vehicle upkeep. Similarly, sharing documents electronically also eliminates the 280 hours per employee that ARMA and IDC say companies spend each year tracking down lost documents.
Reduced document storage -- Paper storage costs an average of $0.14 per page or $1,400 per file cabinet, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically eliminates this cost.
Less paper waste -- Digitizing documents reduces a company's costs for destruction/shredding. What's more, in a scanning environment, organizations can physically out-sort and re-use batch headers -- or eliminate them altogether depending on the scanner they use -- to reduce paper waste.
ECM in Action
These aren't hypothetical benefits. Organizations of all sizes, across industries, are achieving "green" benefits -- financial and environmental -- through digital technologies. Here are some examples:
... Banner Life Insurance eliminated the need to photocopy checks and oversized documents (to make them scanner-ready) by deploying scanners that can handle comingled documents of different sizes.
... Wyoming Medical Center (WMC) implemented a solution for scanning medical records. This will eliminate the energy consumption associated with storing its over 13 million pages of patient files in a 5,000 square-foot records room. Additionally, with all of its medical records available online, WMC no longer needs to fax information to physician offices, in turn, reducing paper consumption.
... Humana eliminated the need to insert paper separator sheets between the batches of work it scans by deploying intelligent scanners that can automatically identify different document types.
The bottom line? There's no need to worry that your organization will have to sacrifice operational efficiency or effectiveness to be environmentally friendly. ECM technology can help you do both.
What do you think?
There's no doubt that reducing or eliminating paper-based processes presents clear and sizeable economic advantages. In large part, these cost savings have driven the demand for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. But digitizing paper-driven processes is also an essential component of the sustainability, or "green," initiatives now underway at companies large and small.
By its nature, ECM promotes efficiency and optimal use of resources. By replacing paper-based processing with electronic processes -- and eliminating paper-related transportation, storage and handling -- ECM solutions can help organizations more quickly realize their green initiatives.
In fact, when you consider the hefty environmental impact of office paper (the U.S. alone consumes about 100 million tons of paper each year, according to the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC), ECM is a great way to get your organization started down the path to sustainable and green practices.
ECM and the 'Green Movement'
Information and communication technology account for about 2 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Energy Information Administration. That might not seem like a lot, but it can easily be reduced. ECM solutions support green initiatives by providing users the ability to:
Reduce paper consumption -- The average worker generates an estimated 45 to 15,000 sheets of paper every day, according to the American Records Management Association (ARMA). ECM solutions allow documents to be processed, managed and stored electronically, including delivery via e-mail, which significantly reduces the amount of paper the average worker consumes each day.
Automate paper-based processes -- Compared to electronic processes, processing paper documents is slow and expensive. ARMA and IDC estimate that the average company spends between 7 to 14 percent of its total costs on document processing in a paper environment. By digitizing document-driven business processes, ECM solutions can automatically identify and route content, such as invoices requiring approval, to the appropriate users or applications, eliminating the need for transportation or multiple copies as well as downstream document storage or shredding/destruction.
Reduce document shipping -- Studies have shown that the average document in an organization is photocopied 19 times. ECM solutions allow organizations to distribute electronic documents securely via intranets, extranets and broadband connection. The more work organizations perform online, the shorter paper trail and the less waste produced. Additionally, this real-time 24/7 access enables employees to review, approve or collaborate on documents without printing or shipping.
Reduce document storage -- Storage requirements for hard copy documents double every three years, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically helps companies reduce their carbon footprint by reducing real estate/facilities needs and the associated energy consumption.
Less paper waste -- The average American office worker disposes of 100 to 200 pounds of paper per year, studies show. OB10 cites estimates that production of paper invoices would take up as much space as 10 football fields stacked 100 feet deep (and this doesn't count the storage space before they get to the landfill). ECM solutions address the paper trail that follows many people around and reduce the amount of waste employees generate as well as the energy they consume shredding.
The Financial Benefit
Each of the "green" benefits of ECM solutions mentioned above has an economic benefit:
Reduced paper consumption -- It costs almost $10,000 to fill a four-drawer file cabinet. By leveraging technologies such as e-invoicing, companies can eliminate these paper expenses. For instance, one company is saving $8,000 to $10,000 a month in paper and toner by using ECM.
Reduced document shipping -- Without an ECM solution, an organization might have to copy a document to send to various people. By sharing documents electronically, companies avoid the expenses associated with transporting documents across sites, including courier fees, postage, gas, and vehicle upkeep. Similarly, sharing documents electronically also eliminates the 280 hours per employee that ARMA and IDC say companies spend each year tracking down lost documents.
Reduced document storage -- Paper storage costs an average of $0.14 per page or $1,400 per file cabinet, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically eliminates this cost.
Less paper waste -- Digitizing documents reduces a company's costs for destruction/shredding. What's more, in a scanning environment, organizations can physically out-sort and re-use batch headers -- or eliminate them altogether depending on the scanner they use -- to reduce paper waste.
ECM in Action
These aren't hypothetical benefits. Organizations of all sizes, across industries, are achieving "green" benefits -- financial and environmental -- through digital technologies. Here are some examples:
... Banner Life Insurance eliminated the need to photocopy checks and oversized documents (to make them scanner-ready) by deploying scanners that can handle comingled documents of different sizes.
... Wyoming Medical Center (WMC) implemented a solution for scanning medical records. This will eliminate the energy consumption associated with storing its over 13 million pages of patient files in a 5,000 square-foot records room. Additionally, with all of its medical records available online, WMC no longer needs to fax information to physician offices, in turn, reducing paper consumption.
... Humana eliminated the need to insert paper separator sheets between the batches of work it scans by deploying intelligent scanners that can automatically identify different document types.
The bottom line? There's no need to worry that your organization will have to sacrifice operational efficiency or effectiveness to be environmentally friendly. ECM technology can help you do both.
What do you think?
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