When it comes to upgrading your clients to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV are you able to provide them detail about the differences between each version? This page may help.

When it comes to upgrading your clients to the latest version of Microsoft Dynamics NAV it can feel like you are ‘hitting your head against a brick wall’. Convincing them that moving to NAV 2015 will be more beneficial to their business than sticking with their current version can take a lot of effort.

I imaging you have advised your client that keeping their solution up-to-date is essential to the future of their business. Taking advantage of the new available functionality and enhanced capabilities in the recent releases can also boost productivity, reduce costs, and improve customer service. But it would help to understand the functionality they have in their existing version and how migrating could help them.

However, unless you are a veteran of Microsoft Dynamics NAV it is unlikely you will know the feature variations of each version. So how can you possibly give them the right advice and convince them they need to migrate?

Well, Microsoft have come up with a very handy ‘Feature Comparison Tool’ which compares all versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, from version 4.0 to the latest version; NAV 2015. The tool allows you to compare all previous versions of Microsoft Dynamics NAV with the latest incarnation NAV 2015, to see how the new version differs from your current solution. The capabilities that are highlighted are all based on core product functionality that has been developed by Microsoft Dynamics.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015 Feature Comparison Tool

If you are a current or potential Microsoft Dynamics NAV user and need to discuss any software requirements then please reference to our product site ERP Central for more information.

In the first week of October you can find the European Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners heading North East. They’ll travel to the city of Poznan in Poland – this year’s location for the DIRECTIONS EMEA event.

DIRECTIONS is an event for Dynamics NAV partners, organized by Dynamics NAV partners. Traditionally this event was focused on the technical and functional roles in a partner organization. Over the last few years however this focus shifted to cover also the more business related topics and roles.

There are two editions of DIRECTIONS: one for the US and one for Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA). The US edition took place in San Diego in the second week of September.

This year the organization committee expects a large attendance at the EMEA edition. May be even an all-time high! For that reason they picked a much larger location. Last year’s edition in Vienna was sold out quite fast and a number of partners ended up on the waiting list.

What can Microsoft Dynamics NAV partners expect from this year’s event?

• The introduction of Dynamics NAV 2015. DIRECTIONS is the platform where Microsoft releases the new version of Dynamics NAV, called Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2015. Of course partners can expect a large number of deep dive session regarding new functionalities, the availability on new devices and upgrade strategies.
• IN and ON. At DIRECTIONS 2013 Microsoft announced the slogan IN and ON. IN Office365 and ON Azure. This new slogan was and still is a nice reminder for partners that Dynamics NAV is not a stand-alone solution anymore! Over time Microsoft wants her partners to sell and deliver integrated solutions, rather than point solutions. After all the famous Microsoft stack is the most compelling reason for prospects to choose Microsoft over any other competitor.
• A Business Solution from Microsoft. As the next step after IN and ON we can expect the introduction of BSfM. That’s the new acronym for a Business Solution from Microsoft. This expression was announced at the Worldwide Partner Conference last July in Washington. BSfM goes beyond IN and ON since it also includes solutions like Dynamics CRM and Power BI. It will be interesting to hear Microsoft’s strategies on the transformation of her partner channel from just Dynamics NAV to BSfM solutions.
• R2R, GR2R and RAMP. Two years ago Microsoft started a new project in her NAV and GP channels called Road to Repeatability (R2R). This project focuses on methodologies of selling and delivering high volumes of new customers in a very efficient way. Last year the company designed a short edition of this program called R2R RAMP. But again, only meant for a selected group of partners. This autumn however the RAMP program will be offered to the NAV partners all over the world at four main NAV events in the US, EMEA and Asia Pacific. In short the R2R approach is a shift from Projects to Products. From complex, expensive and long lasting customized projects to a standardized approach based on a standard solution, a faster sales cycle and a short delivery process. Could be cloud based, could be on premise.
• The RAMP Leadership track in Poznan. At this DIRECTIONS event NAV partners can attend the Leadership track of the RAMP program. It’ll give them insights in the changing buying behaviour of modern prospects and the most efficient way for a partner to react. On top of that comes a high-level overview of the impact on the different domains in a partner company, such as Sales and Marketing but also Delivery and Support. The separate in-depth Sales and Marketing tracks can be attended after DIRECTIONS since Microsoft is busy offering these courses in many countries throughout Europe.
• New growth aspirations for Dynamics NAV. Earlier this year Microsoft disclosed that Dynamics NAV crossed the magic barrier of 100.000 midsized NAV customers worldwide. The official number was an impressive 102.000 with a growth of 8.000 customers over the last 12 months! We expect Microsoft to announce the next milestone in this growth path. But also when this milestone should be achieved. And what partners can do to contribute to this ongoing growth. We expect that the R2R way of thinking needs to contribute to the ongoing (and even faster) growth of Dynamics NAV in the worldwide marketplace.

Partner Master Class, a sister company of QBS group, is a Microsoft certified R2R training company. PMC delivers these training courses throughout Europe since the start of the program two years ago.

Your benefits?

Only RAMP certified partners get access to the Microsoft Dynamics subscription pricelist and get an interesting discount on Azure pricing. That’s interesting of course. But much more important is probably the fact that this program prepares partners to be successful in the new era of subscription pricing, packaged solutions, faster delivery and growth in volume.

Interested?

Are you interested in joining these programs? Feel free to contact us and/or schedule a meeting with us in Poznan. You can contact us at info@qbsgroup.com

See you in Poznan!

In the past, many B2B marketers have focused their efforts primarily on marketing communications and short term – interruptive – lead generation. The orientation and buying journey of customers in the B2B market however has changed dramatically in recent years. Potential customers now make their decisions and compile their shortlists for solutions and vendors, based upon their online experience (websites, blogs, social media, forums….). Typically they will only have contact with sales people after they have already ‘travelled’ along 50-70% of their buying journey.

In a research study, Gartner concluded that IT providers have to rethink their ‘Go-to-Market’ and sales models. “Personal interactions with providers are still the most influential activity in B2B buying decisions“, said Tiffany Bova, Vice President and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “However, buyers do not value their interactions with salespeople as much as they did in the past. As a result, sales teams must adjust processes and skills to learn to guide buyers through their purchase cycle.” During the past few years, the sales organization has lost its control of the sales cycle.

Based upon these developments, it is Marketing that has to change and take the responsibility for helping and guiding the potential customer during his/her buying journey. It is a dramatic change for many organizations, but if performed well, will be a strong driver for leads and additional business.

Key elements to this are identifying and understanding your target market(s). Based upon this you then need to define the so called buying personas (who is/are involved in buying your solution?) and build an understanding of their needs, pain points, challenges and behaviour. The key to future selling starts with sharing your knowledge. Providing your potential customers with relevant content along each step of the buying journey will position you as an expert and thought leader in your particular field. To produce such content is not an easy step and represents a huge (marketing) challenge for many companies, but those companies who don’t start now, will face an uncertain future.

So, the field of marketing has changed. But are marketers able to adapt to this change? In the past many marketers were creative persons, investing lots of time in developing campaigns, copy for brochures, organizing events etc. The new marketer must have a “split personality”. Not only must he/she be creative and able to develop the crucial content that is needed to be found via online channels, the new marketer also needs to combine these alpha skills with beta skills. Analytical skills are necessary to discover and understand trends, knowing when to target leads with the right content and calculating the ROI of marketing activities.

The modern marketer must be creative, data driven, revenue minded and tech savvy!

Of course  this discussion is not new and most business leaders are able to participate in this discussion. But how successful are you in bringing this theory into practice? Do you make the correct use of the new channels and tools? Do you have proper insight in buying personas and customer journeys? Do you know which channel delivers what result? And how do they influence each other? Are you able to select the right tools to support your marketing and sales team? Are you able to successfully implement these tools? If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, how do you see the future of your organization?

Connecting all elements of the marketing and sales process to each other is crucial.  The challenge is to identify the key person(s) within the decision making process and to provide them with relevant and interesting content at the right time using the correct (online) channels.  This in turn will help to move them from being a website visitor to prospect, lead, opportunity and finally to a new customer.

It is crucial  that marketing and sales are closely aligned and work towards common goals. This provides an additional challenge in ensuring that all relevant information captured during the marketing phase is recorded in your CRM system, so the sales team can benefit from the insight and advantage of this rich information, which enables them in successfully converting a lead in to a customer.

This blog is an excerpt of the QBS Marketing Paper. Interested in the full paper? Download the QBS Marketing Paper here.

Interested to find out how we can support your organisation in the area of Marketing and Lead Generation? Contact us here!

One of the hottest topics of modern marketing is Content Marketing. CEO’s and CMO’s instruct their teams to create more content and on average companies spend 25% of the marketing budget on content. But what is content marketing really all about?

Content marketing is about creating, curating and distributing valuable (of value to the customer!) content, combined with measuring its impact on awareness, lead generation and customer acquisition. Simply put, it is business relevant communications …

In this sense it is the antidote to “interruption marketing.” Instead of pitching products or services, a content marketer equips buyers with the knowledge to make better-informed decisions. So, it starts with sharing your relevant knowledge with your prospective future customers. Central to content marketing is the belief that if businesses deliver consistent, helpful information to buyers at the right time, then prospects will ultimately reward the company with their purchase and loyalty. And they do!

Content marketing is used by some of the greatest marketing organizations in the world, but also by small businesses around the globe. Why? Because it works. A famous study by research firm Yankelovich found the average person is exposed to about 5,000 ads or offers per day. Buyers have tuned out interruptive marketing, and businesses must respond by reaching prospects in new ways.

Content marketing is one of these new ways.

Businesses that succeed in developing timely, relevant, non-promotional content reach potential buyers both directly and through the most persuasive channel of all: word of mouth. Exceptional content, like remarkable solutions or great customer experiences, induces conversations and incites sharing. Both through word of mouth and through online channels such as blogs and social media.

Effective content marketing requires you to shift thinking from marketer to publisher. This shift consists of four new emphases:

1. Define a critical group of buyers (buying personas).
2. Determine what these buyers really need and how they want to receive it.
3. Deliver that information in a way that maximizes the impact on the company’s goals.
4. Measure the result and recalibrate.

Content marketing doesn’t end at creation. A thoughtful content distribution strategy is also a prerequisite for success. Some popular ways for distributing content are:

• Blog
• eNewsletter
• White Paper
• Referent cases and case studies
• eBook
• Video
• Infographics

Finally, like great content, also poor content will be noticed by potential buyers and can have a huge impact on your business. Of course this will not be the impact you are looking for.

So, go the content marketing way, but shoot for a professional level!