Norwegian Business Newspaper Focuses on Customers by …



Overview

Country or Region: Norway

Industry: Newspaper Publishing

Customer Profile

Dagens Næringsliv is Norway’s most read and respected business newspaper. It is part of Norges Handels and Sjøfartstidende (NHST) media group. Based in Oslo, it is by far the largest business-oriented publication in Norway.

Business Situation

Dagens Næringsliv used many different systems that showed an incomplete picture. The subscription system it used was out of date and didn’t satisfy the needs for future growth. The newspaper printed 72,300 copies per day with about 615,000 readers in a week. Not all of these readers bought the paper, so the challenge was to get more readers to buy their own copies.

Solution

The newspaper implemented Microsoft® Business Solutions–Axapta®. It gained a sales and marketing tool that was able to support a more active dialogue with customers. The tool automized previously cumbersome processes, improved sales effectiveness, and helped Dagens Næringsliv build profitable, sustainable customer relationships.

Benefits

■ Increased customer loyalty and

■ Optimized sales effectiveness

■ Analysis based on knowledge

■ Increased efficiency

■ Web integration

| | |“We were really pleased with the way that the Microsoft partner understood our specific needs and recognized that the CRM solution we needed was different from other CRM products. We had a hectic implementation schedule over Easter, but Microsoft Axapta was fast to implement and we have been extremely happy with the results”

Svenn Larsen, Department Manager & Project Leader, Dagens Næringsliv.

Ed Simnick, Tech Support Manager, Allison Payment Systems, LLC

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| | | |No other business newspaper in the world has a per capita readership as high as Norway's Dagens |

| | | |Næringsliv. Norwegian business relies on this newspaper for the latest information and analysis. |

| | | |However, with Norway's market for newspapers stagnating, Dagens Næringsliv knew that it had to put |

| | | |its customers first to ensure continued growth and to sustain its position in the market. That's when|

| | | |it went shopping for an ERP system that focused on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). |

| | | | |

| | | |With Microsoft® Business Solutions–Axapta (now part of Microsoft Dynamics™), Dagens Næringsliv now |

| | | |has an effective CRM tool, which has vastly improved its sales process and significantly reduced |

| | | |sales and marketing costs. |

| | | | |

|[pic] | | |[pic] |

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Situation

Every day in Norway, the newspaper Dagens Næringsliv provides up-to-the-minute business news. Based in Oslo, the newspaper is part of Norges Handels and Sjøfartstidende (NHST) media group and is directly distributed to subscribers throughout the country. There are 70 employees in the marketing department (subscription sales and advertising) and a staff of 110 on the editorial side.

NHST recognised that it was essential to revitalize the way that Dagens Næringsliv dealt with its customers in order to increase loyalty and ensure the paper remained Norway's most read and respected business publication.

There are 72,300 newspapers printed every day but Dagens Næringsliv estimates that there are about 615,000 readers in a week. The challenge was to get more of these readers to buy their own copy of the paper.

Dagens Næringsliv also needed to sell to the right people. It had a lot of new potential customers who were happy to receive two or three free trial newspapers but unfortunately, not many of these customers ended up subscribing. So Dagens Næringsliv was obviously trying to sell to the wrong people.

The newspaper's system that tracked subscriptions and sales was out of date and could not satisfy the need for future growth. Dagens Næringsliv used many different systems, which gave an incomplete picture of its customers. The sales department lacked an easy routine to be able to contact a customer when a subscription was coming to an end – the salespeople couldn't easily extract this kind of information out of the old system.

"We wanted to sell to the right customers, be more targeted towards potential prospects, and to be able to analyse our customer base," says Svenn Larsen, Department Manager and Project Leader at Dagens Næringsliv.

The paper had many manual processes, which were cumbersome. It also ran centralized sales campaigns, which it felt were inefficient because each sales unit lacked the information to run individual targeted campaigns.

Solution

Dagens Næringsliv decided to implement an ERP system that had strong sales and CRM functionality. It evaluated two other systems before choosing Microsoft® Business Solutions–Axapta® because of the solution's flexibility and the excellent working relationship Dagens Næringsliv has with the Certified Microsoft Business Solutions partner, Hands.

Dagens Næringsliv implemented the following Microsoft Axapta modules: Financial Management, Trade, Logistics, Project, Questionnaire, Customer Relationship Management, Telemarketing, Sales Management, Marketing Automation, OLAP, and Business Connector Users. The implementation was carried out on Easter 2002 (Easter is the only time when the paper is not published) and Microsoft Axapta was up and running by April 3. The solution needed to be customized so that the CRM solution could be integrated with the relevant distribution functionality that is unique to the print media business. In Norway, instead of having a standard package with a distributor, Dagens Næringsliv is delivered directly to the door of 50,000 subscribers across the whole country. Hands customized a distribution and subscription system that was fully integrated with Microsoft Axapta Customer Relationship Management functionality so that it matched the specific needs of this print media business.

"We were really pleased with the way that the Microsoft partner understood our specific needs and recognized that the CRM solution we needed was different from other CRM products," says Svenn Larsen. "We had a hectic implementation schedule over Easter, but Microsoft Axapta was fast to implement and we have been extremely happy with the results."

Dagens Næringsliv now has automatic processes in place, such as the automatic generation of call lists, Web questionnaires, and automatic activity planning. Sales campaigns have also been decentralized. Instead of four major campaigns a year, all sales units are now able to create and execute their own local campaigns. The salespeople have an efficient way of extracting vital information from the program. For example, they can easily get a list of customers who have a subscription that is due to expire, and they can therefore contact these customers to ensure their continued loyalty.

Benefits

Optimized Sales and Marketing Effectiveness

The sales and marketing tools included in Microsoft Axapta enable Dagens Næringsliv to understand its customers' needs, improve sales effectiveness, and build profitable and sustainable customer relationships. Microsoft Axapta facilitates each interaction with the newspaper's customers and prospects, helping sales personnel to be more focused and cost effective.

What's more, Microsoft Axapta gives Dagens Næringsliv the possibility to define and prioritize market segments, allowing marketing activities to be targeted towards the right segments. The overall result is that more newspapers are sold to the right customers and sales and marketing costs have been greatly reduced.

Increased Customer Loyalty and Satisfaction

Microsoft Axapta allows sales personnel to retrieve customer information instantly. This increased customer knowledge means that they can meet customer expectations, and target the right subscribers.

"The new system has been excellent because the sales personnel now have a clearer picture of who they are talking to, and they can be more personal and focused on the specific customer's needs. And this means that we can retain our valued customers." says Svenn Larsen.

Analysis Based on Knowledge

Dagens Næringsliv can carry out segmentation analyses and ROI (Return on Investment) analyses all from within Microsoft Axapta Customer Relationship Management.

"There are many things that happen to a subscription during a year: temporary breaks, missing payments, delivery problems, customer credits, and so on. We use OLAP to extract information from Microsoft Axapta to generate sales reports and to get an overview of why customers stop (and start) subscribing. We can now compare different periods against each other and use this knowledge to address these subscription issues. This helps us improve the subscription process and ultimately the newspaper's circulation figures." Svenn Larsen explains.

Web Integration

Dagens Næringsliv is also very happy with the way that Microsoft Axapta integrates with the Web. The newspaper now has a tool to help find out which activities have the best effect on retaining customers. For example, it can monitor new and old subscribers' satisfaction by automatically generating questionnaires over the Internet.

"We can send questionnaires to both new and old subscribers and analyze the feedback we receive," says Svenn Larsen. "We have been very impressed with the way the solution integrates with the Web."

"With Microsoft Axapta, we have a solution that can cover our needs today and in the future in a cost effective way. The goal is that readership and market share will continue to increase and that Dagens Næringsliv's customers remain loyal subscribers. Using Microsoft Axapta will help us to achieve our ambitions," concludes Svenn Larsen.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship

and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to:

dynamics

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| |Software and Services

■ Products

− Microsoft Office XP Professional

− Microsoft SQL Server 2000

− Microsoft Windows XP Professional |Microsoft Dynamics

− Microsoft Business Solutions–Axapta | |Software and Services

■ Products

− Microsoft SQL Server 7.0

− Microsoft Business Solutions—Axapta

− Microsoft Business Solutions Analytics

|Microsoft Business Solutions Financial Management

− Microsoft Business Solutions Supply Chain Management | |

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Axapta, Navision, BizTalk, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published June 2005 | | |

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:

For more information about Dagens Næringsliv products and services, visit the Web site at:

hands.no

For more information about Dagens Næringsliv products and services, visit the Web site at:

nhst.no

"The new system has been excellent because the sales personnel now have a clearer picture of who they are talking to, and they can be more personal and focused on the specific customer's needs. And this means that we can retain our valued customers."

Svenn Larsen, Department Manager & Project Leader, Dagens Næringsliv.

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