Choosing business software is never an easy task and making the right choice is only part of the solution.
Wednesday 11th March 2009
Greg Wood - Picture Plan Perfect Ltd:
Choosing business software is never an easy task and making the right choice is only part of the solution. An efficient, knowledgeable and professional support team is as important as the system.
Just such a challenge faced Greg Wood early in 2008. This was almost a year after forming his company, Picture Plan Perfect Ltd, in the conservatory at the back of his bungalow. During this first year it was obvious that the headaches of manually processing every aspect of a KBB Company needed to be addressed.
During his research he came across a management system that he knew a number of his acquaintances used in the business and made a point of looking into it in a bit more detail at the KBB show that year in Birmingham. SMART was also on his short list at the show and although appeared to be more expensive, Greg had a philosophy of “cheap is not always the best”. Not only did he feel the system had a much greater depth of functionality and was user friendly what further impressed was the knowledge, commitment and attitude of the SMART team.
To Greg the choice was a “no-brainer!” but before making a final decision, SMART offered to send one of their Business Development Managers to Greg’s office to spend time learning more about the wants and needs of his business. After the best part of a day Greg was hooked on the power of the system, had a complete understanding of the implementation and couldn’t wait to get it installed!
Getting a new system can be both nerve-racking and exciting; having such a powerful system in your control can be seen as quite daunting, but having already mastered an intricate drawing package, Greg knew he could master the SMART system.
As he discovered at the show, SMART places great emphasis on support. The cost of the system included a day on-site training which got Greg to a position of immediately being able to both quote and order kitchens.However, Greg was under no illusion that there was a lot more to SMART than this. Greg elected to get on using the system and use the expertise & dedication of the support team at the SMART Head Quarters.
“In my mind they are second to none, their response to requests are immediate, always keen to help and will remotely connect to my computer in an instant to demonstrate the answer to any question I might have. I have to admit that if it wasn’t for them it would probably have taken me some what longer to get to the stage I am now.”
Greg would freely admit that he would have had the system earlier if he knew then what he knows now! SMART has enabled him to expand into additional premises, growing his business and keeping his head count to a minimum. In the current economic downturn Greg feels that with SMART he is better placed than most to survive and come out a stronger and more efficient company.