6 integrations that will simplify your business

Since the inception of the assembly line, we readily accept that work is accomplished more efficiently when we step out of our silos and tackle projects together. That is, of course, unless we’re talking digital.

While companies across the country recognize the power of teamwork and joint integration in completing a large project, many keep their digital programs largely separated. Have a task? There’s a program for it and we install it. However, too many of us then wash our hands of the problem and step away.

Systems are like people: They work more efficiently when they work together. When they’re alone, they create unnecessary friction and increased cost and complexity, all while reducing user adoption and governance. Integration reduces or eliminates these concerns and targeting a few key areas for integration will simplify your operation and give it that assembly-line efficiency.

1. ERP/accounting/inventory management. For many companies, these are three of the largest silo offenders. However, their roles undeniably hinge on one another. Integrate them and you’ll improve your productivity, reduce your expenses and enhance your data, along with your competitive edge. For instance, giving access to this information, even at a high level to sales and marketing can help identify opportunities for upselling or customer engagement programs. And what company wouldn’t like to do that?

2. Marketing automation. One of the most vital integration strategies you can employ in today’s market, a sound marketing automation strategy pulls data from all your business activities and unites it for easy, efficient comparison. Marketing automation can also help you identify opportunities in your lead generation, CRM and inbound marketing processes that you can harness to improve your marketing efforts and make them more impactful.

3. Project management and CPQ. OK, these are more consolidations than integrations, as both categories are better suited being part of your CRM than integrating with it. Today’s CRM systems have many powerful project management applications that you can use to manage daily tasks — for yourself, your team, or even your customers — customize your workflow and uphold your commitments. For CPQ, consolidating this data into your CRM means you can finally rid yourself of those complicated Excel documents and trust your CRM to handle the complex discounting, exceptions and bundling that once required various formulas that no one knows how to change.

4. File storage. Your company’s files are its lifeblood, the data invaluable. And, if the files are still in conventional, isolated file storage solutions, they’re also largely unusable. Integrating your files to a virtual cloud system increases access, improves security and reduces your in-house maintenance costs.

5. Payment processing. Integrating your payment processing into your CRM saves time and money while reducing your risk of errors simply through the law of less is more. Less instances of data entry, reconciliation and credit card verification means more payments processed free of errors.

6. Communities/portals. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about how integration can help your business, so let’s close by looking at how integration can help your customers. By providing customers access to CRM data via a portal or virtual community, you are allowing them to manage their cases and subscriptions while providing them an efficient way to communicate with your account management teams. Both sides will appreciate the added visibility this integration provides and your relationship with your customers will grow even stronger. And really, is there any better advantage of integration than that?