Training on ACT, right here in Mansfield

SMB have been using the ACT database software for more than fifteen years and have developed a significant capability in its application and use, both as a sales and a direct marketing tool.

It’s been our experience that most users of ACT that we have come across are only scratching the surface in terms of ACT’s powerful capability. Many users have not customised the database and just use ACT literally as it comes out of the box it was delivered in.

SMB can provide specific ACT training either on your own premises or at our custom training suite at Mansfield Business Centre, just a few minutes from Mansfield town centre. Training can be provided on an hourly basis at £53 per hour to deal with specific product areas or full days at £315 for up to 10 delegates.

To arrange a no obligation meeting to discuss how SMB can help you improve your businesses use of ACT call Sharon Rickersey on 01623 706566 or contact her by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Scroll down for more information about Customer Relationship Management and the business benefits of CRM using ACT:

Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) solution can involve considerable time and expense. However, SMB has a powerful low cost solution using ACT by Sage which provides many potential benefits.

Solutions are built upon the ACT database platform. The software costs £180 for a single user Licence and prices for a bespoke database built to your own specification start from £315. Typically a very complex database costs £945 including 2 half day training workshops on its use and application.

A major benefit can be the development of better relations with your existing customers, which can lead to:

• Increased sales through better timing by anticipating needs based on historic trends
• Identifying needs more effectively by understanding specific customer requirements
• Cross-selling of other products by highlighting and suggesting alternatives or enhancements
• Identifying which of your customers are profitable and which are not

This can lead to better marketing of your products or services by focusing on:

• Effective targeted marketing communications aimed specifically at customer needs
• A more personal approach and the development of new or improved products and services in order to win more business in the future

Ultimately this could lead to:

• Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention, ensuring that your good reputation in the marketplace continues to grow
• Increased value from your existing customers and reduced costs associated with supporting and servicing them, increasing your overall efficiency and reducing total cost of sales
• Improved profitability by focusing on the most profitable customers and dealing with the unprofitable in more cost effective ways

Once your business starts to look after its existing customers effectively, efforts can be concentrated on finding new customers and expanding your market. The more you know about your customers, the easier it is to identify new prospects and increase your customer base.

Even with years of accumulated knowledge, there's always room for improvement. Customer needs change over time, and technology can make it easier to find out more about customers and ensure that everyone in an organisation can exploit this information.

More than anything else you do, a well maintained customer contact database is a critical component to growing and retaining your customers. A well-coded customer database will allow you to use customer data to build highly profitable marketing programs. It will be your number one tool in selecting the best customers for each individual marketing program you create. 

We've all heard how important it is to collect customer data but most people are challenged to actually "do" something with all this information. Collecting the data is the easy part. Figuring out what exactly to do with it is only slightly more difficult.

Requirements of all Customer Contact Database Software 

No matter what database software program you decide to use, it must allow you to:

1. Mail merge names for direct mail projects.
2. Easily set up email communications.
3. Identify your most valuable customers.
4. Tell when a customer may be defecting. 
5. Help you build retention and loyalty programmes.
6. Allow you to enhance basic contact fields with demographic and lifestyle
    information.
7. Allow you to identify customers by target market.
8. Allow you to identify contacts by customer type.

You don't need to be a large corporation in order to take advantage of the power of database marketing. Even a one person business can develop an extraordinary advantage by developing a customer contact database and learning how to use it for strategic marketing. 

Small business owners fall into one of three basic categories.

Category 1: You don't have a formal database at all.

Category 2: You have an existing database but it isn't coded with the proper
                 information.

Category 3: You have an existing database that is coded properly.

It’s been estimated that less than 1% of all small business owners fall into the third category. Perhaps 60-70% fall into category 2 and the rest fall into category 1.

To arrange a no obligation meeting to discuss how SMB can help you improve your business by building a bespoke ACT database call Sharon Rickersey on 01623 706566 or contact her by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it