iCloud, Sage ACT! 2012, and Market Tectonics

Notes from a recent exchange with an ACT! user upgrading to Sage ACT! 2012.  The ACT! user states:
"Everybody has web access apps. For better integration on the go and with other applications,  I want the ACT contacts and appts on my PC to be pushed in realtime to my iDevice.  So they are always in sync without every having to raise a finger on all my computers (macbook, iPad, iPhone and PC running ACT)"

I might add that the most popular post on this blog, by far, is the one about publishing ACT! to the web and devices.   This behavior has been described as Ubiquity: put my stuff in ACT! from anywhere and have it show up everywhere.

Zip City's business model supports businesses that use ACT! for sales, marketing, and business intelligence.  How we have defined sales, marketing, and business intelligence has evolved deeply in the 16 years I have been an ACT! consultant.  I like to think of it as tectonic shifts in fundamental principles affecting markets.  Call it market tectonics.

Market tectonics prescribe shifts in demand that are not so subtle.  The vision you have of what ACT! should be is a rather new one that is nonetheless quite predictable.  The calculus Sage has to do in response to these demands includes a formula of how much you and millions of other ACT! users are willing to pay for the privilege of ubiquity.  Sage is in business to capitalize on our evolving understanding of What Is Possible.  ...and, now, what is possible is ubiquity.  When ACT! goes SaaS, as it will soon enough, this demand will be met.  Ubiquity will be part of the product offering from Sage by, say, Q3 2012.

Of course, there are more nimble players in the market now and there are solutions for the environment of ubiquity.  Today, Zip City could set you up with your entire desktop environment (ACT!, Office, Quickbooks, Swiftpage, et al.) in the cloud accessible form your every device.  Your business can have ubiquity for $50 - $90/month/user.  If a simple, moderate iPad/iPhone integration with a subset of data (contacts, activities, history, notes, opportunities) in a full blown app is what you seek, then you will be rewarded soon when we announce the app for $69.99.  It is still in beta as of this writing.

Technologies evolve and choosing how you access your information is part of technology’s promise.  Apple creates iCloud and a few months later ACT! users are wondering how they can leverage the concept to further their own environment.  Apple did not create a solution, though.  They created an environment for Apple solutions.  What iCloud apps are you using now?  iTunes, sure.  MobileMe? What else?  There isn’t much available yet.  It’s new.  Google and Amazon.  Same thing.  They are selling space and access to their proprietary devices, but no integration with popular applications that power business, like ACT!

The inevitability of ubiquity is a force of market tectonics.  It will not be long before applications we have used as desktop stalwarts become cloudified.  (Think Google Apps and Office 365.)  But what about applications like ACT! which are powerful (customizable) engines as desktop applications, in a way that the cloud cannot yet match?  We will see deeper integration with the cloud, certainly, but we will not see the power we know on our desktops today for some time.

Till then look for ubiquity to be offered in the form of virtual desktops and apps that sync in real time.  Because the market, You, demand ubiquity and because you are willing to pay for ubiquity, you will then see ACT! not only on your desktop, or as a web interface to your server, but you will also see it as a SaaS application hosted in the cloud and you will see, very soon, an app available on your iDevice.

The plates keep shifting and we are on top of it.

If you are in need of ubiquity today, then give me a call.

bevan wistar
ACT! Certified Consultant
Zip City
503-381-5654
bwistar at zip-city dot com

Holiday Marketing with Sage ACT! 2012

Use the holiday season to let your prospects and customers know that you are thinking of them personally.

Now is the time to make sure your prospects and customers know they are on your mind.  If you count the number of times you “touch” your base with some type of communication, remember the next few months are a welcomed time to reach out for no other reason than to let them know how much they mean to you.

Using Sage ACT! allows you to make the process easier by helping you to find them, and their addresses, quickly.  The features within Sage ACT! best-suited for the task at hand are described below.

Creating Your List
There are multiple ways to identify who to send your holiday email or card to within Sage ACT!.

Lookup by Opportunities Won.  Find the contacts with whom you have done the most business this year.  Look for the top opportunities Closed Won within the custom date range most relevant to your need.  Select all the opportunities on the list, right-click the selected, and choose Create Lookup.


Lookup by Contact Activity. Also consider a Lookup from your Contact records using the Contact Activity from the Lookup menu, selecting your preferred date range and contact types from the available filter.



Define Fields. Analyze your business and evaluate the processes you use to close business.  Does your existing database include all the ways you would categorize your contacts?  ID/Status and Referred By may not be enough. 

Consider adding a field like Role to describe whether a contact is a "Decision Maker", an "Advocate", a "Gatekeeper", or a "Speedbump", something we would not find on their business card, but should be right next to their Title field on your ACT! layout.


Sending
Sage Email Marketing for ACT!  (SEMA)  Use your built-in broadcast email tool to send good wishes directly to your list’s inbox.  Make your own, or use one of the many handy templates in the library.  If you need a free account (limit of 50 per day) then use this link (prior to version 2010) or sign up right from your toolbar in ACT!  


Zip City will build your first template for you when you set up your new SEMA trial... for nothing.  Call 503-381-5654 to get your holiday message out now.

Export to Excel
Once you have selected your list of recipients customize your columns to show only the fields relevant to your mailing and then click on the Export to Excel button on your toolbar.  The resulting list will be configured exactly as you see it in Sage ACT! and can then be used to send to your third-party service provider.

Plan ahead and acknowledge your best contacts by offering them the best of the season, easily, with ACT!

Making Printing Labels a Snap!
Purchase a Dymo Labelwriter 450 model printer and integrate it with ACT! to make printing labels a snap! Call me to learn more or schedule a time to have me set it up for you.

Good design is good business.

Bevan Wistar
ACT! Certified Consultant
www.zip-city.com
bwistar@zip-city.com
503-381-5654