Considering Business Productivity Software? Here’s Why You Should

Business productivity software (BPS) promises to deliver a lot more bang for its buck, both initially and over time, for companies of nearly every shape and size.

BPS is different from standard productivity software; it's a revolutionary new approach for integrating systems, people and business processes. A primary focus of BPS is to allow people to collaborate better and BPS supports and integrates both data and processes for nearly every aspect of business—sales, marketing, human resources, customer service, executive management and more.

So, why is your business not leveraging it? For most businesses, making the move to a comprehensive BPS solution requires an entire organization’s buy-in and a true commitment to wanting to improve all business processes. BPS contains core elements necessary to help individuals be more productive and accomplish meaningful goals. The collaborative aspects of BPS alone are efficiency boosters, helping centralize information and standardize methods and locations for storing and sharing data.

Still, some companies find it hard to jump away from the de facto standard in terms of business process management and traditional ERP systems. What a shame, because BPS solutions today afford companies both small and large a viable alternative and a necessary graduation in business process efficiency.

Here are 6 reasons to embrace BPS:

1. Your Business Needs Better Collaboration: The collaborative aspects of BPS productivity are vast. Exchanging, storing and accessing information is more efficient with BPS in place, resulting in not only centralized information, but also a 24/7 opportunity to collaborate, engage—and get business done.
2. Your Business Is Disorganized: Doesn’t it get frustrating when different departments are using different software platforms and colleagues are not working in an integrated manner? Integration means that information from various sources is pushed into a centralized location, so that data is available in one place rather than multiple places. An example of this is integrating financial software—for instance, QuickBooks—with a BPS system, allowing users to see important financial information and how it ties into aspects of a business, without separately opening QuickBooks. Doesn’t it make sense to fully integrate all business processes?
3. Your HR Is Sad: It’s difficult to run a growing business without having the right people on board. Every growing business needs to make efficient recruiting a priority, but recruiting can be an overwhelming and labor-intensive undertaking. Sure, some productivity software packages are built specifically for applicants, allowing them to create logins and user profiles, then apply for multiple positions. Still, those tools do not necessarily allow multiple users to work on recruiting in a collaborative way. Plus, they don’t tie together recruiting and other business functions. With a BPS system, the recruiting process is streamlined, resulting in customized application processes, applicant tracking and more.
4. Your Integration Is Woeful: Being a business that is integrated means you are a business leveraging tools that work together to provide a comprehensive resource and system. Integration means that information from various sources is maintained in a centralized location so that it is available in one place rather than multiple places. This not only cuts down on time spent finding information, but also helps organizations relate pieces of information to each other to make better business decisions. BPS brings all of that integration power and promise to a business—a no brainer.
5. Your CRM Could Use A Big Boost: Many sales and marketing teams use customer relationship management (CRM) software systems to help grow, manage and nurture pipelines, prospects and customers. While CRM systems have some characteristics in common with BPS, they are usually geared only toward helping sales and marketing teams and do not extend to other areas of a business. With BPS, all customer information is in the same place, access to customer requests and communications logs is easy and automated workflow email campaigns keep customers apprised of all products and services available. Why not communicate and collaborate with your customers better?
6. Your Customers Will Benefit – Greatly: Customer service is a vital part of the buying experience. Your company might provide stellar products, but in the long run, deficient customer service and support risks losing customer loyalty and revenue. Providing excellent customer service is critical. Using a BPS system that includes a customer portal can significantly decrease the amount of time and effort your employees spend handling customer service inquiries and issues. An online customer portal can provide 24/7 customer support and allow customers. Imagine,  at any time of the day, requests, payments, additional project requests and more. Plus, your business will get paid faster, by customers that are highly content with their ability to interact with a customer service superstar.

Is your company reaping the benefits of BPS? Share your experiences in the comments below.