The following guest blog focuses on what we mean by automation and integration. It explores if we are already doing it, are we doing it right?

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency”. – Bill Gates

A hot topic much like the cloud, is automation and integration. The trouble is, with all the talk how many of us are truly understanding what it is we should be doing about it?

Automation is quite simply…

“The use or introduction of automatic equipment in a manufacturing or other process or facility.” – Oxford Dictionary

In my opinion, Oxford Dictionary clearly needs updating as it is no longer just manufacturing focused but now automation is universal and all around us.

In reality, it can mean anything you want it to and whether you are doing it right ties back to your objectives and what benefits you are getting from it.

My experience of being a CommuniGator customer, like many of you out there enables us to automate our marketing.  In using Gatormail and Gatorleads website tracking for the process of nurturing leads and sending out relevant automated campaigns to customers and prospects.

This is all very well but for automation to work to its full potential it can do so best when combined with integration. Integrating CommuniGator with CRM software means not only do you have automation in place for your lead generation and marketing campaigns, you can also store all this information centrally to strengthen the marketing and sales relationship.

Again it could be that you are already following this process and are currently enjoying a nice chin wag between marketing and sales as we speak. However what if accounts want in on the action or customer service?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could start sending automation campaigns to customers based directly on data integrated from accounts software into CRM? Or if sales could do a quick check on customer order history or internal credit rating for whether they are on good terms to target for that new business deal?

All of this information can be available when you fully consider automation with integration, in this case, you can go one step further and instead of focusing on sales and marketing, focus on all the business units.

Financial information is one of the most important details to management and the business development team, successful integration between Accounts Software, CRM and CommuniGator can deliver true automation.

Take a look at a quick video of Sage 200 CRM to discover integration between accounts software and CRM here,

About the author

David Weaver is Marketing Manager at Oakley Global, helping organisations achieve automation through integration of accounting software with CRM software. Sage 200 and Sage 300 ERP enable organisations to link up accounts, CRM, Communigator and many more industry applications. Find out more about accounting software and integration specialists Oakley ERP here.