Many marketing and sales organizations are plagued by inefficient processes.

Paper-based documentation, ineffective collaboration and manual workflows make it difficult to deliver targeted marketing collateral and to close deals in a timely manner. Whether you're searching for methods to expedite return on investment or tools to better support your sales team, enterprise marketing management (EMM) can bolster your business. But to ensure the best solution for your organization, you also need to consider how the EMM software is delivered.

EMM software delivered via the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model provides instant access to your organization's content and CRM information. Copywriters, sales reps, managers and anyone involved in the process can access the EMM software with just a Web browser and Internet connection. SaaS-based EMM enables marketing and sales professionals to collaborate and to improve efficiency at every step of the marketing and sales process.

SpringCM, the leader in on-demand document management and workflow, has developed a completely SaaS-based solution to streamline and accelerate marketing and sales processes. Developed specifically to save time and to boost productivity for marketing and sales professionals, the solution goes beyond typical content management and adds value to CRM applications by providing comprehensive support for every part of the marketing-through-sales cycle. Companies can accelerate revenue, improve closing efficiency and win more business.

Our Web-based solution's document management and workflow capabilities streamline both electronic and paper processes including:

* A MARKETING COLLATERAL PLATFORM THAT CAN ALSO BE LEVERAGED FOR ANY KIND OF COLLABORATIVE DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENT IN THE ENTERPRISE

* A SALES LIBRARY CONTAINED IN A SCALABLE AND SECURE DOCUMENT REPOSITORY FOR ANY FILE TYPE COMPLETE WITH FULL ENTERPRISE SEARCH AND EMBEDDED OPTICAL CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR)

* TOOLS TO COLLABORATIVELY CREATE, EDIT, UPDATE AND PUBLISH DOCUMENTS TO MAKE THEM ACCESSIBLE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

* VERSION CONTROL FEATURES TO ENSURE ACCURACY AND TO KEEP EVERYONE WORKING ON THE SAME PAGE

* CAPTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF PAPER DOCUMENTS TO ELIMINATE THE MANUAL "PAPER CHASE," A MAJOR TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY DRAIN

* STREAMLINED ACCESSIBILITY OF ALL RELATED DOCUMENTS, COLLATERAL AND MORE IN A SINGLE, WEB-BASED REPOSITORY

* THE ABILITY TO CAPTURE SIGNATURE DOCUMENTS EASILY THROUGH ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE, FAX, SCAN OR E-MAIL

* POWERFUL, BUILT-IN WEBEX COLLABORATION FEATURES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO LAUNCH MEETINGS AND SHARE YOUR DESKTOP WITHOUT LEAVING SPRING CM

Unlike complex installed software, SpringCM can be put to work immediately and have users up and running in a matter of minutes. And close integration between SpringCM and leading CRM applications such as salesforce.com allows sales professionals to realize additional efficiencies by accessing SpringCM applications and content directly from within the familiar CRM interface, minimizing training requirements.

A CUSTOMER EXAMPLE STRATUS TECHNOLOGIES

Stratus Technologies helps its customers ensure the continuous availability of information systems that support critical business processes. However, until recently, the company's own contract negotiation and new partner application processes were hampered by manual processes that made optimal sales performance difficult to achieve.

Manual inefficiency was only part of the problem. With 20 to 40 deals underway at any given time, it was difficult to identify which ones needed the greatest sense of urgency. Steve Parker, senior business development manager for Stratus, added revenue information from salesforce.com to the spreadsheet, which helped focus his time where it was most needed - but added yet another manual task to his contract-tracking process.

Parker initially researched contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions but found their cost well beyond the budget of even a $260 million company like Stratus. In speaking to various vendors and colleagues, including fellow attendees at meetings of the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM), Parker determined that a document management (DM) system with salesforce.com integration would be a more cost-effective way to get the functionality he needs.

"From the sales reps' perspective, the biggest benefit is visibility into the business processes around contracts," says Parker. "They don't have to ask around or wait for voice m ails or e-mails to be returned to learn the status of their deals; they can find out instantly, freeing their time for better sales productivity." Reports to senior management will be fast and simple to prepare, and the ability to easily prioritize deals according to potential revenue and other criteria stored in sale sforce.com will help ensure that Parker's attention is being focused where it's most needed. "It shows the company where the investment in my time is best spent."