Companies could ride the crest of a wave of good fortune by simply throwing a briefcase of money at an advertising agency that could make customers believe their tales of ‘happily ever after’. It seemed to me that there were elements missing in this ham-fisted approach to business, but until now I wasn’t sure what that was…

by Sidsel Vejby Krabbenhoft

This story begins 10 years ago when I was studying PR & Marketing at Aarhus Business School. The dreamworld of glossy commercials completely swept me off my feet, and I would totally forget myself and the reason for my existence.

As an end-consumer it started to drive me to distraction when companies didn’t live up to the high expectations they’d set in their shiny adverts. Maybe they would always run out of stock, or would never send me a newsletter featuring products I was actually interested in, or were unable to honour the 10% discount that I’d been promised, or they’d send me a payment reminder even though I’d already settled their invoice online. I couldn’t help but think: Why would you not structure your company in a way that allows you to give your customers what they really want, and what you promised them?

I was brought up in the countryside and am very aware that outstanding service (which often involves a lot of hard work) is normally what it takes to satisfy and maintain a loyal customer. When I was 15, my first boss taught me that my personal performance was crucial, regardless of my profession, and would affect the overall image of the company. This thought has always fascinated me and is as true now as it was then. I’d call it customer relationship management, but my boss wasn’t aware such terms - he simply knew about turn-over and how to make the business thrive and survive: happy customers = profit!

My point is that, whether you work in a small country shop or a gigantic corporation, it’s in your interest to attract and maintain happy customers: without them you have no business.

Marketing and spin alone will not ultimately satisfy your customers. The behaviour of the employees and the company should always be in alignment in order to provide a consistent experience for all involved. This can be achieved through the implementation of a platform from which you can address and service your target market, ensuring that all processes result in a successful outcome, thus guaranteeing your turnover and the happiness of your customers.

This platform is your ERP system: fulfilling all tasks from invoicing, inventory management, budget, salary and so on, and facilitating your business. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, and while your ERP system doesn’t provide a safety net for your business, it does provide the optimum conditions in which to run your business in accordance with your overall strategy.

Sorting out your IT systems is not a hugely enticing pastime, particularly if you’re a creative person and decision maker, whose responsibility it is to find a clever way to structure the business. You know that it’s a necessary evil but may neglect it regardless, whether because you don’t understand the consequences of choosing to implement 4 CPU’s instead of 6, or the importance of storing your data in the cloud rather than on your local server, or why you should invest in IT that allows you to grow as you intend to. Right? Think again.

Your ERP system is the foundation that will enable you to exceed your customers’ expectations, simply because it puts you in absolute control. It enables all employees to perform to their full potential, which will in turn benefit your organization internally while passing these efficiencies on to your customers.

And these days you’re in luck. While there are various ERP systems to choose from - which can of course make finding the right one for your business a little confusing – it has never been easier to tailor a suitably flexible and feature-rich system to fit around your business, rather than you having to work around it. Once you’ve got that part right, there’s no reason why your wave of good fortune should ever come crashing down.