At our recent Everest World user conference we had a very diverse group of businesses coming from many industries and verticals, large and small.  They all recognized that the key to their continued business success was their ability to maximize how the software can help them attract more new customers, optimize their operation, and use the information in their database to create and retain loyal customers.

It was interesting that I could clearly see two camps of users, the power users and the want-to- be power users.  

The power users were already taking advantage of the flexibility and control an open solution like Everest can provide, and came with their laptops fully loaded with their Everest databases and tools, eager to find out how they could even do more. Many had invested in in-house resources for creating high-end content and a "custom look" for their Web shopping sites. They had made some headway in making their sites search engine-friendly and most were even marketing themselves on popular shopping comparison sites. Many had developed standardized processes and procedures that helped their employees become more productive; and most had learned how to analyze their business data to make smart, strategic decisions.   

While they had pretty much implemented the most important strategies, they also realized that the Everest platform gives them endless possibilities and they wanted more. They were avid attendees of our Technology track, learning how to further leverage the Everest software development kit (SDK), the Everest business activity monitoring and business rules engine, and the Everest analytical tools for greater control and visibility into key areas of their SQL database.

The "want-to-be power users" also recognized they had something special with the Everest solution, but they were a little unsure about how to accelerate and propel to their business vision. They wanted to see firsthand how the power users made this possible. They wanted to see how they could better focus on running and growing their business, leveraging the people at Everest to help them become true power users.  

What they shared in common was, they achieved their goals by attending the user conference. They saw how the upcoming Everest 5.0 release and the new eStorefront can help them attract more customers and allow them to quickly create a high-end shopping experience for their customers. They were impressed with how easily they can now enable Google and Paypal checkout for their sites to increase sales. They learned how they can monitor shopper behaviors so that, by making  minor adjustments, shoppers are more likely to buy, buy more products at each visit, and buy more often. They learned how to utilize Everest monitoring intelligence to track buying habits and then send out purchase recommendation marketing emails. They learned how they can manage their site content and its look and feel all without writing any code, but if they really wanted to get fancy and write some code, how they can keep their customizations working as new software releases become available.

They learned how Everest can provide them an array of continuous services from web design, search engine optimization and monitoring, to web marketing services. They learned how to take advantage of our business activity monitoring and CRM business rules engine to create optimal work-flow and improved productivity. They learned how Everest can help them create and administer standardized, scalable processes. They learned to develop programs such as gift cards and CRM that help with customer loyalty and retention. They learned how to access their data in a more meaningful manner so they can quickly analyze it, watch key performance indicators, and make smart strategic and tactical decisions.

So are you "power using" your business software?