My heart is with all businesses in America that are struggling with the extremely difficult business climate caused by Covid-19! First and foremost is health and safety! I also understand that for so many businesses this is the most difficult challenge their business has ever faced! My remarks below do not make light of this in any way. I am ONLY trying to offer encouragement!
I am 60 years old. I have owned and operated First Direct Corporation for nearly 30 years. Before that I worked for my Dad who went through numerous ups & downs in his firms.
Times like this test leaders, organizations and individuals.
We can respond in ways that ultimately result in a competitive advantage. We can respond in ways that demonstrate confidence and leadership. We operate in smart ways or we can be fearful. We can actually get the better of the Covid-19 Virus rather than letting it get the better of us and our organization.
As an entrepreneur who has been through the 1987 Crash, the 2000 Dot.com crash, the last Financial Crisis, and the H1N1 Swine Flu, I know one thing for certain – THIS TOO SHALL PASS! In every case, America emerged stronger and more prosperous.
It is abundantly clear that for the next month or two, perhaps longer, almost all organizations are going to be pulling back due to the so called “Social Distancing” taking place in response to the Covid-19 Virus.
The question is what do we do in the meantime? The answer is we use the slow down to “sharpen the saw.” We USE times like this to address the issues inside our organization that require attention and have possibly been neglected because we had other priorities.
Now is the time for us to get the better of the virus by exploiting the negative effects of the virus to our advantage. We do so by using the time the virus has created to make changes and improvements. Now is the time to implement certain plans and ideas we have been waiting for an opportunity to push ahead with.
This is a time to do housecleaning and make improvements to our technology infrastructure, Office applications and GoldMine CRM. When business is slow, your users will suffer less from the disruption while you implement your improvements. Then, when business picks up again their systems are running better and faster.
Actions To Take with your GoldMine CRM:
- Upgrades and Updates* – Roll-out system updates that will ensure greater security and improve stability.
- Configuration Improvements – Create fields, layouts, templates, reports and other customization to enable better workflow
- New Ways to Manage and Benefit from your Data – Create and utilize reports from the system to manage performance of people, operations, etc.
Here are some other ideas to consider:
- Purge and archive GoldMine logs, data, outdated records/files
- Create useful GoldMine CRM documentation on procedures and protocols
- Plan marketing campaigns, automated processes and revisit workflow
- Verify back-ups are running and system security
A CRM system is “never done.” There is the need for perpetual improvement in your system and the abilities of your users. Continuous improvement increases the return on your CRM investment. Here are some areas to focus on:
- End-user and management training on the system
- Better usage protocols and clear exceptions for all the users
- Smarter administration of the system in areas such as security, database scrubbing, system performance, etc.
- Enhancements through add-on products and customization which extend the capabilities of your system
- Implement best practices and other fundamental methods for a better outcome
Hot Topic:
I am starting to get calls from businesses looking for a way to provide remote access to their office network, data and applications. One option it to move everything to the “cloud.” But that is expensive and time consuming. There is an alternative option. Without a significant investment of time and money, or moving any infrastructure, any firm provide it’s staff the ability to work remotely. First Direct offers a solution.
If you’d like to discuss your ideas and your organization’s specific needs with me personally, just reach out to me. You can call me directly at (845) 221-3800 x 101. Or contact me online.
In closing, I promise to do anything I can to help your organization weather the storm we are in. My prayers are for all of us!
P.S. Please note this recent post about an upcoming GoldMine Premium Update.
