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Customer communications
28
Mike Rogers
Communication is Key
Mike Rogers, sales and marketing
director of Formpipe Lasernet, urges
resellers to explore the opportunities
presented by customer communications
management software
with stakeholders.
We do this by enabling organisations
to digitalise, better manage and exploit
their business documents to improve
communication, brand perception and
upselling potential. Lasernet integrates
with all ERP systems to provide superior
functionality in relation to the creation,
control, distribution and archiving of
business documents.
Around 2,500 enterprise-level
businesses across a range of sectors,
including retail, manufacturing and utilities,
use Lasernet, along with a number of
smaller businesses the world over. Lasernet
is sold and supported via our certified
reseller program, although we do have
direct relationships with a few end users.
TR:
Have the needs of your customers
changed in recent years? And, if so, in
what ways?
MR:
Absolutely they have. The shift from
paper to digital has accelerated rapidly
in recent years. Paper documents can
take up a lot of valuable space and can
be difficult to sort through, so customers
are choosing digital options like web
services, XML, EDI, CSV etc. to manage
communications.
Consumer expectations are also
shifting. Most of us have gone paperless
in areas such as bank statements and
most find it more convenient to receive
delivery notifications electronically either
by email or text when we purchase
something online. This trend is showing
no sign of stopping, so there’s an onus on
the industry to adapt to meet these needs
and also to recognise the potential these
communications preferences have for
promoting a brand or selling a product. It’s
not just a transactional process, it’s a sales
opportunity. Including a promotion code on
a delivery confirmation email, for example,
is a quick and easy way of encouraging
repeat business. Yet, if straying from a
template is impossible or if formatting that
document is cumbersome, restrictive and
time-consuming, the opportunity is lost –
along with the potential profit.
Companies are also now analysing
customer purchase behaviour patterns
and marketing products based on this
research. Research has shown that
40%* of people will respond better to
visual information than plain text, so our
customers are asking us more often for
content with imagery, because they want to
engage their customer base.
Measurement is also key; businesses
want to know the return on investment and
to measure how effective the distribution
has been. This can be seen through the
tracking information we increasingly supply.
This functionality simply isn’t available
using ERP alone, so to capitalise on digital
transformation and to add value to ERP
installations, we’d encourage resellers
to find out more about the concept of
customer communications management.
TR:
In your opinion what are the biggest
challenges facing your industry?
MR:
Digitalisation is where the market
is going and this has huge potential
for all links in the chain. Yet, one of the
challenges we face is that some end users
fear the unknown or are reluctant to react
quickly to this inevitable shift. After years
of working with print, it can be daunting to
digitalise documents. It’s cultural as much
as it is operational.
Our software can help customers make
a smooth and relatively speedy transition,
but ultimately it’s our certified reseller
network that has to consult with customers
to explain the benefits, make the case and
manage the transition.
TR:
Is there a particular type of IT
reseller you would like to attract?
MR:
We are keen on finding more vertical
ISV partners who have created a specific
application for a specific industry and then
integrate our solution into their system to
add value and standardise. This type of
partnership will allow us to create industry-
specific solutions to improve speed of
implementation and ensure that Lasernet
is the default solution for users. This is
something that we are very interested in
and have a successful blueprint for.
TR:
What do you see as the biggest trend
right now?
MR:
The biggest trend right now is the
concept of customer communications
management. It’s no longer about generic
templates that tick a box but add little
value to consumers. There’s a big move
in business to understand better who the
customers are and how they like to engage
with a brand. Content is key for this, and
business documents, even down to labels
and invoices, are content – content that, if
With 17 years of experience in the
industry, Mike Rogers, sales and
marketing director at leading customer
communications management software
vendor, Formpipe Lasernet, has seen first-
hand the evolution of the ERP industry.
Keen to share his insight, Mike talks
exclusively to
Technology Reseller
about
the change in consumer expectations,
the emerging demands of end user
businesses and the opportunities that
exist for the reseller community.
Technology Reseller (TR):
Please could
you tell our readers a little about
Formpipe Lasernet and your target
audience?
Mike Rogers (MR):
Sure. So, businesses
of all shapes and sizes deal with vast
amounts of incoming and outgoing data
and documentation, from purchase orders
and invoices to labels, emails and letters.
What we do is give them the ability to
communicate effectively and efficiently
Research has
shown that
40% of people
will respond
better to visual
information than
plain text
