Learn seven valuable tips for boosting your sales operation during lean economic times with CRM.
Difficult times often prompt businesses to pull in their guns. They become inwardly focused, risk-averse and protective of their existing accounts. Faced with a business downturn, they shift their attention to conserving capital and minimizing risk. This reflexive reaction nearly always back fires. When the economy recovers, these companies find they have fallen behind their competitors and are in a poor position to catch up.

Smart business executives have learned that investing in customer relationships and overall effectiveness pays big dividends when the rebound invariably occurs. A tight economy is a good time to try new tactics, educate your sales force and adopt metrics that yield insights about the effectiveness of your sales and marketing programs. Now is the time to embrace new ideas so that when business improves, you will have the edge on your competition. Start by investing in technology to support and drive these new ideas throughout your organization.

Learn seven tips for leveraging customer relationship management (CRM) processes to turbo-charge your sales operation during lean economic times.

Published by Oracle Corporation and IT Business Edge

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Explore how Small to Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that make intelligent use of technology can gain a competitive edge within their industries.
They are able to grow faster - and more profitably - than their rivals. Data integration provides all parts of the business with customized views of the same data, increasing flexibility and accountability. Applications that automate processes such as payroll, accounts payable, customer relationship management and inventory management boost efficiency. Through networks, SMEs can communicate from any location with wireless connectivity, access geospatial information, and keep in touch with customers and suppliers from around the world.

This study takes a two-pronged approach to the issue of technology investments in mid-sized companies. At the macro level, how do investments in a country’s ICT infrastructure facilitate the growth of both the overall economy and mid-sized companies? At the micro level, once the ICT infrastructure is in place, to what extent can technology solutions help mid-sized companies adopt industry best practices and achieve their business goals? These questions are answered using three types of research:

• An economic analysis of the effect of investment in ICT infrastructure on GDP growth in 60 countries.
• A worldwide survey of 535 senior IT, financial and management executives at SMEs on the use of technology to achieve business objectives.
• An analysis of the survey results-broken down by the best and worst performers among the company respondents-to generalize about the IT practices of firms outperforming their peers.
• In-depth supporting interviews with over 20 senior executives at SMEs in the financial services, professional services, consumer goods, healthcare and manufacturing industries.

A white paper by the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Oracle

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In over 800 interviews with midsize companies, IDC has found that while their needs are complex and varied, they share a common interest in using advanced technology solutions similar to those deployed by larger enterprises, but they face the constraints of limited IT budgets and resources.
HP and Oracle have announced a new focus within their 25-year alliance with the goal of addressing these requirements for midsize companies. This informative white paper analyzes this powerful partnership and outlines how businesses looking to improve business processes can get enterprise-level products and services despite common midmarket budgets and constraints.

Written by IDC, Sponsored by: HP and Oracle

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Take a comprehensive look at the strategies and tactics that companies are using now to weather–and prosper–in the current economic downturn.
This White Paper is based on a survey and packed with strategies you can use to sell more effectively in challenging times. Explore how companies are reacting to six basic strategy points because of the recession, and how most are missing opportunities as a result. Register for this White Paper to learn more about these successful sales strategies.

Published by TheCustomerCollective; Sponsored by Oracle

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Oracle has announced a number of initiatives that highlight its mid-market ambitions, its application integration strategy and – most of all – its growing passion for partners.
Oracle is aggressively recruiting partners that have expertise in specific industries and markets, and will work with them to define standard solution bundles, prices and implementation times that reflect SMBs’ typical resource constraints, and lower risk tolerance compared to large enterprises.

Published by Ovum; Sponsored by Oracle.

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