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September 4th, 2020 by Jessica Wert
![]() A key to CRM success is defining your users. There are several types of Users that we commonly see our customers need; however, you may have more or less depending on your company structure. This is an important step in the set up of CRM but can be adjusted after deployment if necessary. Here’s a look at the most common types of Users companies have: Data Steward: This user keeps the data clean and promotes the standards for data entry. Sometimes the data steward is also the Admin user. Power User: These are your users who are the expert level in CRM. They do all the training and stay up to date on how to navigate and use CRM. These users should also help you in promoting user adoption to the other users. Standard User: These are all your daily users; they have standard roles assigned to them. Marketing User: These users are creating the campaigns, landing pages, and other marketing efforts in CRM. They should be making sure to create access points in CRM for all other users to see the marketing analytics. Administrator: This user is typically someone in IT. They would have access to everything in the database that you never want other users having, such as Delete, Merge, Pick List editing, etc. Keeping these functions locked down will contribute to data integrity. Again, depending on your company structure some of these roles may be combined or expanded on. Many of our customers have leadership that have to wear many hats. CRM is ideal to help in streamlining your duties. There are different types of users even at leadership level; read more in our white paper. Would you like to discuss the bigger picture with Infor CloudSuite CRM at your company? Connect with a Simplesoft Consultant at support@simplesoft.net
Simplesoft Solutions, Inc. is a customer relationship management (CRM) business consulting and software development firm in Cincinnati/Dayton region and offices in Cleveland, OH and Charlotte, NC. We provide implementation, integration, development and training for Infor CloudSuite CRM. We have built our business on an ability to creatively adapt CRM to meet the varying needs of our customers’ businesses. We have been helping our customers develop stronger relationships with their customers through improved sales, marketing, customer service, and support processes since 1994. Comments Off on Infor CloudSuite CRM – Types of Users
November 29th, 2016 by Janetta
![]() Infor hosted a customer focused webinar to summarize their excellent work with Infor CRM in 2016. Kevin Draggoo, Product Manager for Infor CRM, shared new functionality for each of the areas of Infor CRM and explained that 262 customer requests for features were included in this year’s work so far. Customer and partner input is very important to Infor CRM and it shows in the priority placed on feature requests made by customers. Kevin provided detailed information about all the improvements made in Web, Mobile, Xbar, Dashboards, along with Ming.le. Included in the most recent service pack (04) of Infor CRM is Contour. Infor CRM Contour is a proximity search and mapping tool. This tool will allow sales and service users to maximize their time on the road. They can search an area for surrounding prospects and customers then map the most efficient travel routes. Infor CRM Web includes the new and more robust Entity Manager which allows the administrative user to add fields, filters, and metrics to any entity. It can also be used for bulk updates and imports. More and more functionality is being brought into the Web for the admin users including Ticket ACI control, and password complexity just to mention a few. Mobile v3.5 was released early in November and it includes Offline capability with the concept of a Briefcase. You commit the items you need while offline to your Briefcase. The current functionality is read only and the next phase will include read/write ability. There are also several UI enhancements. A special note to current customers, Mobile v3.5 requires v8.2 or higher of Infor CRM. To review the webinar “Everything New in Infor CRM” use this link. To see a demonstration of the most up to date functionality, register here. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland CRM Users Group Events. If you need help upgrading to Infor CRM v8.3.0 or Mobile 3.5.0, let us know! We can assist in a minor capacity or provide all the technical heavy lifting. Dayton/Cincinnati, OH | Charleston, WV | Charlotte, NC
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August 23rd, 2016 by Mark E. Perone
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This is the scene in the majority of CRM deployments. Why? Fully developing a CRM Solution has 4 parts:
Process: Activity to Progress First Steps: Know the strengths and weaknesses of your workforce. Once you decide who is going to be in your work groups and an impromptu assembly line starts to establish itself. Aligning people by job task for practical efficiency isn’t the simplest of change management exercises, but it is the most effective way to evolve progress without squandered activity. By assigning people similar duties, each person should start to depend on the information presented by the person preceding their job task. This creates a natural course of accountability and helps you stay more focused on comparative job task analysis. You might consider outside help with the breakdown of organizational activity to guide process orientation. Because our products have intelligent flexibility native to their functional workflow, nearly any company can adapt current workflow into our software solutions. Built into our software suite is the unique perspective of the user from varying organizational silo’s accessing our solution. The Simplesoft Solution is positioned to leverage the activity of your company from the top down or bottom up. What this means to you: System use for every representative level in your organizational hierarchy is provided a place at the enterprise software table. We have high level big data visibility down to work in progress insights to orient standard users on predetermined key performance indicator dashboards. Many of our clients have found the starting point for CRM implementation is mapping out organizational processes. Mapping out your process Look for more articles in our series “The Rear View Mirror” and learn more ways to improve CRM adoption from Simplesoft Solutions. We will focus future articles on each pillar of Strategy, People, Processes, and Technology. If you need help upgrading to Infor CRM v8.3.0 or Mobile 3.4.0, let us know! We can assist in a minor capacity or provide all the technical heavy lifting. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland CRM Users Group Events. Comments Off on CRM User Adoption with Business Processes in the Rear View Mirror
June 6th, 2016 by Mark E. Perone
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This is the scene in the majority of CRM implementations. Why? Have a Vision and Know Your Processes to Maximize CRM Utility The most important part a decision maker can play in any software implementation is to make sure all stakeholders are considered in the CRM decision making process. Requiring the organization to document its day-to-day operations is a critical step in making sure all stakeholders and their current processes will be supported by any new enterprise software. There are a number of qualifying questions all company leaders should be asking regarding the way business is being done today. Questions to ask as you develop a CRM implementation Strategy:
By choosing a new CRM solution, the course of business will change forever for all employees. Yes, ALL employees. Whether directly acting in the CRM solution or using information contained in the system, organizations are forever changed when consciously reorganizing customer information under a CRM. Involving frontline users in the definition of software requirements and even in the selection process will improve the ease of implementation and adoption. The idea of implementing a CRM, after all, is streamlining employee interaction with customers and developing a detailed method to study your customer relationships. Specifying who will do what, when, and why are the precursors to generating a process orientation. As a tenured Infor CRM channel partner, Simplesoft Solutions has driven business solution implementations and training for companies large and small. Throughout our 20+ year history, we have determined a company’s vision statement for CRM is the first step to comprehensively defining the framework for the entire solution. We work with our clients using a Balanced Scorecard focusing on four pillars of Strategy, People, Processes, and Technology. Proper planning and implementation in all four areas is key to strong CRM engagement. Look for more articles in our series “The Rear View Mirror” and learn more ways to improve CRM adoption from Simplesoft Solutions. We will focus future articles on each pillar of Strategy, People, Processes, and Technology. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on CRM User Adoption with Stakeholders in the Rear View Mirror
April 26th, 2016 by Janetta
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All of this work is very similar to a previous profile (see below) designed for the tasks involved with the work of a data scientist role. http://oceansofdata.org/our-work/profile-big-data-enabled-specialist The projected quantity of data is growing each year and the clique that data is “everywhere” in a sense is true. There is a strong need to promote data literacy and incorporate data-driven thinking into our daily lives. Our economy is increasingly defined by data as is our knowledge and skills for using it effectively. Our stakeholders and customers are demanding an increase in results that help make sense of the data in place. Simplesoft was pleased to be able to contribute to the larger picture by having a tenured consultant like Paul share his data expertise. Paul has a unique set of skills to lend to this project with his 20 years of data consulting expertise and his more recent experience teaching at the collegiate level. Paul was energized by his participation in this valuable work and commented, “It was a real honor to contribute to the work in the world of data and databases. Organizations of all kinds are looking for data to help them transform their business model and increase productivity. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this highly important discussion.” Simplesoft has highly skilled data specialists with a range of experience in system integration, business intelligence, CRM, and marketing automation tools. We are looking forward to seeing the finished work. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Simplesoft Contributes to Job Profile for Data Professionals
February 18th, 2016 by Paul
![]() I understand synchronization is not a predominate deployment method for Infor CRM today, but our company still uses it. I am a new administrator and I wondered if you can provide an overview of synchronization? Can you also show me how to tell the last time a user synchronized? Yes of Course. Sync in general is a topic that takes quite a while to explain, and even more time to fully understand, so I will try my best to be thorough but concise. From an end user’s perspective, it is easy and that is the most important part. In the Administrator, there are 2 dates that will be pertinent to the remote users. They are the ‘Last Send Date’ and ‘Last Apply Date’. The ‘Last Send Date’ is the last time the Sync Server sent files to the remote user. For the most part, this date should be fairly regular as files are sent to the remotes every sync cycle during the work day, depending on how this is configured. TEF files are sent to most (if not all) users when changes are made. The ‘Last Apply Date’ is when the remote user sends files back to the HOST database. This date can vary more widely as it only gets updated when the remote user has files (made changes) to apply. If the remote users are working inside of Saleslogix and syncing regularly, this date should be within the last few days. There are a couple of tools that we have in place to automatically monitor the Sync Service that we have modified from a partner source. Notably a Windows Script that works well with Exchange server. There is a built-in Saleslogix tool called ‘Sync Monitor Console’ that you can open and view the status of the Sync process. Let me start out with the built in tool. 1. The ‘Sync Monitor’ provides you with a GUI interface to see what the Sync Service is doing, and the date/time of the next scheduled process job along with historical jobs. It provides you with the window to make sure things are moving correctly. It is more of “pull” the status type of tool or specifically where you need to open the tool to check the status. It is a good tool, but more reactive. 2. Simplesoft has built a couple of tools that allow you to monitor the Sync Service a bit more closely than just opening up a GUI interface. Our tools are sent by e-mail and come to you as a “push”. The first tool we have is our “Sync Report’ which provides you an e-mail on a scheduled basis telling you which users are syncing (and which are not) along with some vital information about the health of your Sync Server. I have attached a screen shot of ours from this morning. Additionally, we have developed a scheduled job that has thresholds built in to allow you to tell when the Sync Service has stopped. I don’t have an example of that one to share, but it fires off an e-mail basically telling you ‘The Sync Server has not sent files in X period of time’. Both of our tools are built off the database tables used for the sync process and are set up through a Windows task scheduler and sends e-mail alerts. We recommend using a distribution group for the e-mail. With the tools mentioned above, an Administrator can tell fairly quickly when there is an issue with the processes that run the synchronization engine. When the operational monitoring tools are put into place, corrections can be made before it becomes a bigger issue. You would then be working in proactive mode more rather than reactive mode. We can help you to configure the Administrator to review the dates a little better by turning columns “on” for visual review. We can also help you implement the monitoring tools to see the process via e-mail. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM (Saleslogix) Synchronization Monitoring Overview
January 5th, 2016 by Paul
![]() I am looking forward to 2016 as I look back to positive strides that Infor has made to the Infor CRM product stack. I thought I would mention a few highlights as we begin 2016. 1. Mobile continues to be a cutting edge toolset for Ipad, Iphone, and Android. 2. Purpose built applications (PBA) will continue to be improved and have international capabilities. – Xbar 3. Browser compatibility continues to keep up and improve. 4. Web client continues to be improved and refreshed with Infor’s Hook and Loop designs. 5. Infor CRM v8.2.x LAN client is stable and the v8.3 release is around the corner. 6. Cloud continues to expand offerings (from Single tenant models to multi-tenant) to lower the entry points. 7. Integrations are becoming more available with ION and Sdata for the Infor ERP offerings and other Accounting systems. 8. Tools to help automation tuning and performance of Windows components. 9. Released and updated Advanced Analytics for metrics visibility and decision making. So here is to 2016 and the positive changes that Infor will continue to bring to our customer base. As we begin to look forward here are a few items I believe are on the horizon with Infor CRM: – The strategic emphasis on micro vertical markets and industry solutions. Attend the Q1 Heartland Users Group Meeting on Tuesday, January 12th and learn more about Infor CRM for 2016! Click to register – Planning for an Agile Enterprise with Infor CRM. The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time. – Abraham Lincoln If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor has Made Positive Strides for Infor CRM in 2015
June 9th, 2015 by Janetta
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Below is a summary of the key features in this release:
The new Filter Manager (shown below) allows admin users to release more filters and metrics used on the built in Web Dashboards through the Admin Client interface rather than Application Architect. If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM v8.2 (Saleslogix) Now Available on Infor Xtreme Support Portal
May 19th, 2015 by Paul
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Infor CRM is an incredible system that allows for customization flexibility and process management. However, if you unleash a system to users without any guidance or usage basics there will be consequences for storing all that mismanaged data. Through many unintended actions you will have created a hot data mess. A hot data mess can dramatically affect your bottom line in expected and unexpected ways. It is already a challenge when introducing a new system to users so make sure that you have put some thought into how you are launching and the process to make it more manageable.
How does an Infor CRM Administrator or an application Data Steward manage the expectations upfront and create a well-oiled machine (to prevent a nightmare on Elm St)? • Have a governance plan in place
• Identify a Data Steward
• Build a set of policies and procedures
• Configure the system tools
• Train to the usage procedures (initial, refresh, new employee)
• Monitor the results (using tools like KnowledgeSync, or data cleanup tools like DQ Global)
• Offer incentives for winning (keeping customers happy with high quality results)
With interactive systems, like CRM, we are constantly adding, removing, updating, and importing records. This is called Data Management and your company should have a plan in place to make sure the data changing is not causing the system usage issues. This will have a positive impact on acquisition of new customer as well as maintaining profitable relations with customers, partners, and vendors alike. If you find yourself unsure about where to start, we are encouraging our customers to start by identifying a Data Steward for each user group of CRM within their organization. The Data Steward can begin to define the data requirements for their user group and then work backwards to clean up what has gone astray. If you need assistance from Simplesoft, we have various levels of Data Cleanup Services. Data management does not have to be complex, but it does need governance and care. Taking care of data is one of the three pillars to CRM success that helps to support user adoption. CRMs are always pushing the limiting of technology and with platforms expanding (mobile, tablets and others) we must make sure the tools keep step with the users to enhance productivity. Good things will happen when CRM is put into place with users trained, processes documented, and a data maintenance plan in place.
“Are you upset little friend? Have you been lying awake worrying? Well, don’t worry…I’m here. The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine tomorrow, and I will always be here to take care of you. -Charlie Brown to Snoopy”
— Charles M. Schulz
If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Bad Things Happen to Good CRM Systems When You Add Data – Prevent Data Nightmares
March 26th, 2015 by Teri Unger
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Re-branding of the Saleslogix interface has taken place and here is the new look! As you can see the colors and logo have changed as well as the general tab and button appearance. *All current updates to Infor CRM v8.1.0 (Saleslogix) are cumulative and contain all preceding updates. SNC Update 05 for Infor CRM v8.1.0 (Saleslogix) Prerequisite: No prerequisites except a currently working Infor CRM v8.1.0 environment.
Web Core Update 05 for Infor CRM v8.1.0 (Saleslogix) Prerequisite: SNC Update 05 is required to have been applied to the environment prior to applying Web Core update 05 to your system. Please be sure to read the documentation thoroughly if you plan to apply these updates to your system.
Web Model Update 05 for Infor CRM v8.1.0 (Saleslogix) Prerequisite: Web Core Update 05 is required to have been applied to the environment prior to applying Web Model update 05 to your system. Please be sure to read the documentation thoroughly if you plan to apply these updates to your system. The summary of the fixes are listed below:
We recommend and encourage you to review the update documents to keep abreast of all defects and issues that have been corrected. Contact Simplesoft Solutions to discuss an upgrade for Infor CRM(Saleslogix), and to review any new features or updates with your version of Infor CRM(Saleslogix). If you would like to discuss upgrading your system, or to see a free demonstration, please contact Simplesoft Solutions. Remember to check our CALENDAR and register for free training, demo sessions, and the Heartland Saleslogix Users Group Events. Comments Off on Infor CRM v8.1.0 Update 05 in Detail
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