Everyone in the Microsoft Dynamics channel knows MSDynamicsWorld. Since its launch in 2008 MSDynamicsWorld has grown into the world’s largest Microsoft ERP/CRM news and information resource.
But if you think this site was launched by seasoned Microsoft executives with deep channel connections and vendor funding, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ten years ago two young entrepreneurs, Adam Berezin and Jason Gumpert, knocked on the door of this channel with no direct relationships and no connection to Fargo or Microsoft. And they made it.
This backstory includes “the worst sales job ever”, crashing a Harvard alumni meeting, the opportune meeting of two very different people and a whole lot of cold calling.
Find out what made MSDynamicsWorld what it is today.
Read moreInfographics are fun representations of complex ideas in visual graphic form. They are eye catching and easy to promote. They are usually also VERY expensive. So what is a cash-strapped marketer to do? Recently, I found a company that is the right fit for me. I get a simple but effective infographic for a low cost and a limited amount of work on my end. Check out the details.
Read moreThe next time we are on a webinar, if tell you where I am sitting, I bet you’ll be surprised. Until recently, you could have safely guessed that I was sitting in my home office in a small town in Massachusetts. But now, even though the webinar looks the same, I am actually half way across the world. Same work, different desk.
This year my husband and I decided to finally act on an idea that we’ve been talking about for a long time. We moved to Europe. No, we are not living in a villa in Tuscany. It’s a bit rougher than that. We moved to......
Read moreIf you painted a masterpiece, would you forget to sign it? Adding a byline to your masterpiece of a blog post is just as important. You want everyone to know you wrote it. And how to contact you. It makes me sad that so many of my ERP Software Blog and CRM Software Blog members forget to add their names to their blog posts. Let me tell you two reasons this is so important.
Read more“Treat others as yourself” or “What goes around comes around.” No matter what quote you prefer, the point is the same. The way you treat people now can have an impact on you later. Either positive or negative. And I think that is especially true when you spend your career working in a software channel like ours. Recently I had a similar issue with two companies. But the outcome of each was very different. And this is what I learned.
Read moreCan you measure the ROI on that? As a marketer, how often have you heard that question? Working in the ERP software industry, many of my bosses have been “non- practicing CPAs” and other financial types. So, the question very often comes down to math. I hate math. I heard a podcast recently and had an “ah-ha moment”. Finally, someone was able to put into words why successful marketers can’t be so concerned with the math and metrics. Many times during my career as a marketer I have had to pitch an idea to the person holding the purse strings and found myself saying: “I know this might sound crazy but…. I really think it could work.”
Read moreWhen was the last time you updated your profile? I am talking about your company’s profile pages on various directories and websites. I want my company to get as much online exposure as possible, so we have listings on all kinds of websites. Most of them have you submit a profile or company description.
But do you remember to keep them all updated? Recently the company I work for started selling Acumatica. For years we have only represented Microsoft Dynamics GP. So not only did we need to update our own company website, we needed to update our company description on any other website where it appeared. Based on this exercise here are 4 suggestions to make your life easier:
Read moreYou just can’t be good at everything. Sad but true. Several years ago, I had to take a long hard look at the company I work for. I had to choose to acknowledge our weaknesses and use our strengths when developing a marketing plan. And realize that just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for us. This is my suggestion….
Read moreI trust you. I bet you properly licensed that copyright protected image you have on your website. But the real question is, can you prove it? As some people have found out the hard way, if you can’t prove it, you are in trouble. If you get a letter from a lawyer saying that you have a copyright protected image (or song) on your website it is up to you to prove that you purchased it. And sometimes that is easier said than done. Here are a few real life examples and few tips to protect yourself.
Read moreA business colleague told me, “Never Apologize!” I know he just meant, “No harm done, no need to be sorry.” But it got me thinking. I don’t think people apologize enough.
Some people say that women apologize way too often. Don’t believe me? Watch this “Sorry Not Sorry” video. Out of habit we say, “I’m sorry, I have a question” or “I’m sorry, did you say something?”. We have nothing to apologize for. In those scenarios, it does border on weakness and not knowing your own value. But I believe many people, mostly men, but women too, take it too far. They don’t think to ever say the words, “I’m sorry” even when they should.
Read moreI hate upgrades. I will ignore them for as long as possible. I just want to do it the way I know how to do it. Even if a “better” way exists. Eventually I lose the battle, and change is forced upon me. After verbally abusing the new system for a few weeks, I get used to doing it a different way and forget the drama. Then I even start to like the new system. Until the next upgrade….
So I have empathy for companies that are faced with upgrades to their ERP and CRM systems. Here are a few simple steps I think ERP/CRM partners should take to make upgrade-haters like me more comfortable with the inevitable.
Read moreHave you recently won an award, reached a milestone or just done something pretty incredible? Of course, you want everyone to know. Recently, the company I work for achieved Gold partner status from Acumatica. As a new Acumatica partner, this is a huge deal for us. I wanted to do more than just put the new logo on our website. I wanted to make a splash. So, I asked a few of my marketing buddies and we came up with this list of creative yet realistic ways an ERP/CRM partner can promote an important news announcement.
Read moreGuest Post by MabbitMarketing
Remember Rocky & Bullwinkle? There was a recurring skit called "Mr. Know It All" where Bullwinkle routinely showed us how smart he… wasn't. But we can learn something from our beloved moose.
You're an ERP Value Added Reseller. You're smart. You also need other people to know you're smart: your future prospects. But if you're like Bullwinkle and tell everybody you're smart… we'll just say it doesn't raise our opinion of his intelligence, does it?
At MabbitMarketing we focus on driving traffic to your blog, crafting creative posts to social media that show the world why they need to hear what you have to say. Not like Rocky, who just came right out and called Bullwinkle "Mr. Know It All", but by showing how you're genuinely helpful and knowledgeable.
Read moreI just can’t stop thinking about marketing. Even on vacation. A large part of my vacation time is spent in restaurants, so I often want to give unsolicited marketing advice to restaurant owners. This happened recently in Tirana, Albania. But since I don’t speak Albanian, I will share in a blog post instead. And likely it will be more appreciated this way anyway. Here are three marketing lessons I learned that apply to Microsoft Dynamics partners too.
Read more“I just assumed you knew.” Have you ever gotten a tip that you know will save you a lot of time and hassle? If the tip comes from a stranger, you are grateful. If it comes from someone who should have told you before, you are annoyed. Learning to put yourself in someone else's situation and anticipate their needs is a skill. But I think it is a skill that can be developed. And it is something that will make your company and your employees really stand out from the competition. Things that seem obvious to you may be very new to someone else. This is why you should not just assume they know....
Read moreI believe that the best workers are the ones that sincerely appreciate having a job that fits their unique life circumstances. They will do anything to please their employer and keep that job, because they know it will be hard to find someone else to accommodate them. Who are these people and where can you find them? Here is my unusual advice.
Read more“The Website is Down!” Those words send chills down the spine of any marketer. Everyone starts looking for someone to blame and finally asks the question - who is responsible for keeping the website running, Marketing or IT? Sadly, many times the IT department dismisses the website as just a “pretty marketing thing”. And the Marketing department assumes that IT is taking care of boring things like security and backups. That is a big mistake.
Read moreI like to talk to my chiropractor about marketing. After my first visit, he sent me a letter with referrals. I complimented him on the great marketing tactic and we started talking about how hard it is for a busy small business owner to spend time on marketing. I thought more about it and on my next visit I suggested what I would do in his situation to market a small business with limited time and resources. Here are two things that you, as a small business owner, can do that could have a big impact:
Read moreI feel like I tell this tip all the time. Yet every time I say it people are still amazed and act like they have never heard it before. So, I’ll just keep saying it. This is the fastest way to write a blog post. Ready? 1) Record 2) Transcribe 3) Edit. I have done it hundreds of times. Here are my specific tips to make it easy.
Read moreLet me just say right away, this post has nothing to do with marketing. But gosh darn, I spent a lot of time on this so I wanted to share it.
I was asked to come up with a baby shower game that showed different baby traditions around the world. Based on extensive internet research these are the “facts” I found. I can’t actually prove that any of them true, but they certainly do start some fun conversations.
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