Donzat to meet the needs of the fledgling company
Are you the manager of a very small business and wondering which software to use? Does the very notion of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) make you dizzy? What you're looking for is a basic solution that allows you to operate simply based on your current needs? That's only natural. But how do you choose between the existing solutions? Read all our opinions on business management software.
What criteria should you use to choose your business software?
Your needs
As a small organisation, your needs are going to be smaller in scale, but very specific. So there's no point in going for software that claims to be complete, when you'll only be using it for limited functions. And it would be a shame to pay for aspects of the solution that you don't use.
Pay What You Use
Some sales management solutions, such as Donzat, are aware of these expectations, and offer dedicated packages that isolate their modules. Let's say you're in the middle of setting up a business, and you start by needing to manage your prospects or draw up your first quotes. At Donzat, you can select only the "CRM prospecting" application at first and pay only for it. When the time comes, you can add the "Estimates & Invoices" module to this tool, and the pricing will be upgraded. By only paying for what you need, your company has better control of its costs. What's more, by choosing a modular package, you retain the option of upgrading, without having to make any commitment.
What's in it for the publisher?
60% of demand for sales management software is centred on a specific need: to have this or that functionality. The challenge for the publisher is to provide you with what you're looking for when you need it, and then to win your loyalty so that you make your next choices with them again. As Donzat found out, even the smallest initial need, which is not very lucrative from the publisher's point of view, is a powerful driver of customer acquisition. And it's the maintenance of a relationship with the customer over time that enables you to score points and come out on top on the day of a possible comparison with other publishers.
The benefits of modularity for your business
The benefits of compatibility
Your needs are precise: you compare existing offers and do your shopping. Now let's imagine that you take the CRM prospecting software from one vendor, the quotation software from another, the database here and the sales management there. On the basis of a strict comparison of the advertised prices, the calculation gives you a priori a winner. But let's look at the longer term. Multiplying suppliers can pose a problem of compatibility between solutions, or at least fluidity. Information from one application will not be automatically entered into another. The prospect's details in the CRM will not be transferred directly to the invoicing software the day he becomes a customer. These facilities, which are possible between modules designed for, or compatible with, each other, are not a matter of detail. From an operational point of view, the inconvenience caused is a deadweight loss that can severely damage a company's productivity.
Smooth handling
Beyond the technical aspect, the adoption of the tools is also important. By continuing with the same service provider for your new needs, you are extending your customer experience in a familiar working environment. For you and your staff, getting to grips with the system will be quick, if not instantaneous. There's no need to train your teams in the new tool - it's an intuitive, autonomous process. Finally, on a day-to-day basis, the gymnastics involved in switching from one tool to another are much less taxing, since the modularity of the applications gives them homogeneous continuity.
Looking to the longer term
In the professional world, some of our personal reflexes remain in place. Accustomed to self-service - the typical way of shopping in supermarkets - we shop according to a range of comparison criteria, where price is often the decisive factor. But when it comes to software solutions, two criteria need to be borne in mind:
- the long-term practicality of the tools: will what you buy today work with your tools tomorrow? Will they be easy to get to grips with?
- fluidity of use: an aspect not to be neglected. Without it, operations can turn into a gas factory, and repetitive, unproductive tasks can quickly saturate your work capacity.
Complete" ERP software is not for VSEs and entrepreneurs. It seems either too exhaustive or too advanced. Initially, the needs of a small structure are more isolated. But that doesn't mean we should close the door on ourselves. Anticipating possible developments will save time in the future. Donzat is designed with this in mind. Offering stand-alone modules, it meets the immediate needs of the VSE or entrepreneur, without compromising their ability to evolve in the future.
Article translated from French