CRM Software Improves Customer Service

There are three types of people: those who can count and those who can’t.

Or so goes the old mathematician’s joke.

Counting and keeping track of things is a very human thing to do. We want to know where we stand.

For years, companies have been able to accurately track their accounting via computerized programs.  But many other things relating to their customers were either tracked manually or via spreadsheets, neither of which are integrated with business processes.

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H&R Block Tax Software Makes Completing Personal Tax Returns Simple

Let me tell you how it will be;
There’s one for you, nineteen for me.
‘Cause I’m the taxman.
 - George Harrison

Towards the end of April each year, oldies radio stations tend to play the Taxman song a lot. According to their Anthology, the Beatles paid upwards of 95% income tax, which was the inspiration for the song.

Not only can we not avoid paying taxes, but we have to figure out on the government’s behalf how much we should be paying. That reminds me a bit of those old movies when cowboys were forced to dig their own graves.

At the risk of taking an analogy too far, H&R Block At Home Canadian personal tax software is the backhoe of paying taxes. It is not used for a cause you look forward to and you still have to do the work yourself, but it makes it easier.

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Technology Over the Years

Woody Allen used to say that 80% of success is showing up. I’d add that the remaining 20% is staying there long enough.

I was first introduced to Information Technology when I was in high school, back when the Apollo program was going on and the Foundations were singing “Build Me Up Buttercup”.

I am a member of a very small group of people around town who studied “Computer Science” 40 years ago and stuck with it ever since. I enjoy being at industry roundtables when we go around the room introducing ourselves and stating how long we’ve been in the business. I’m often the granddaddy of them all.

So naturally, over the years I’ve come to see all kinds of technology come and go and I thought this month I’d summarize the ones I think were truly revolutionary.

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Hey, I just won a $7,000 Prize

Guess what, my entry won this contest! Worth $7,000 of free marketing from Starshot (Microsoft).

The contest was:

Write a brief synopsis between 500 and 1500 characters on why Windows 7 is a great business opportunity for you.

What I wrote was:

We are an IT consulting firm, and the only company based out of Atlantic Canada that belongs to Microsoft’s Partner Excellence Program. So we are always looking for ways of leveraging our respective brands to find more consulting work for us, and licenses sold for Microsoft. One such way is via a monthly technology column I write for the largest newspaper in the region. In October, right around the launch of Windows 7, I wrote a column on Windows 7 that was well received. I then put this article on my blog (see http://blog.nicomit.com/index.php/2009/10/windows-7-is-about-simplicity-and-responsiveness/), and now I have old-fashioned and viral marketing at work!

And what we won is:

What can $7,000 in marketing services do for your business? It can mean more demand generation, more event and telemarketing campaigns, a marketing program designed specifically for your business—quite simply, more chances to find new customer opportunities!

Disaster Recovery Institute’s Business Continuity Designation

I am pleased to announce that Ian McLaws  of Nicom now possesses the Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP) designation. Ian took a course from the Disaster Recovery Institute a few weeks ago in Ottawa, and passed with an impressive 98.6%.

Congratulations to Ian McLaws, ABCP!