Episode B1.007 Research Business Intranets (BI)

RESULTS RADIO..."Let's Grow Together"

Introduction
We're in the home stretch as we wrap up our 3rd week of exploring concepts central to researching and selecting the right platforms to support your customer life cycle and empower early-stage businesses to increase customer lifetime value.
Today we're going to take a peek (or two) at business intranets. Over the past couple of weeks, we reviewed two of concepts you need to consider to give your business a sexy backend. You'd think that dealing with customer relationships, & business resources would be enough, but if you stop your planning there, you're missing the most critical piece. People! Your internal customers.

Remember our quote from Hubspot.?
[businesses use ERP systems to] ...unify their business functions and communications in order to reduce costs and increase revenue
THIS is that unified communication piece.

Have a great business week.
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Show Objectives
On today's show, I'm working with you to turn your information management + collaboration + company culture up to 11. I used to listen to baseball on the radio with my grandpa and the most exciting points were always when someone was running; rounding those bases. What happened next? The person gets to that last spot and the umpire yells, SAFE! Safe. Headquarters. Home base. Home. The place where it's okay to let your hair down and just BE. The safe spaces that you work out today will be home-base for you + your internal customers. That's the reason that most modern intranet software have some component that looks like a popular social network that we have a love-hate relationship with. Our goal for today is to talk about creating a safe space that supports your company by delivering your data to your people, collaboratively.

Key Issues - Owner Perspective:

1. Why would I invest in an intranet for my business?
2. What core features should I start with?
3. How do I get started?

What You Need to Know

• As a small team, or company of one, you might be tempted to forgo planning for collaborative communications and information management. That can be a costly mistake.
  • What happens when that social channel shuts down or you decide to change marketing platforms? Do you resign yourself to losing years of hard work in the content you can no longer access? Do you hire a mini-army to make sure you get all of your collective knowledge moved "elsewhere"?
• There are several bells and whistles in this space that can spell success for your smedium business.
  • Document management and collaboration can be done all in the same place and save you thousands.
  • Rich permissions systems mean that you can share need-to-know info with the folks that need to know, be they clients, or one-time contractors.
• Practice how you intend to perform
  • Being deliberate and intentional now, will save you time and money later. If and when you decide to scale you business is not the ideal time to begin compiling the nitty gritty details about your company. It'd be a shame to waste the time and energy that you've spent making decisions about your unique value, by then deciding that because your biz is small and nimble, it has no culture. Your company identity; your brand identity matters just as much now as it will later.

What You Need to Do

• Consolidate your company documentation in a categorized, centralized location.
• Consider the level of access needed for specific aspects of your burgeoning business – think press & media kits verses annual sales goals.
• Create a comfort zone for you and your people to communicate and further your company message.

Resources

• Hubspot Blog – CRM vs. ERP: To Integrate Or Not To integrate

Shows

• Previous: Episode B1.006 Research Product & Service Platforms (ERP) 
• Next: Episode B1.008 Selection Based on Price, Integration, and Scalability

 

Written by: RJ Lewis

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