In the heyday of the Madison Avenue advertising giants, every detail of design was considered. More importantly, it was tested. Something as simple as a change of color, its removal, or addition could vary response by double-digit percentages. All that to say that how you present the information that matters to you can heavily impact how it is received.
Data, its selection, and its presentation
It should, therefore, come as good news that Shepherd has created a feature that gives you the means to create corporate communications where you have full control over what goes into the materials and how it is presented. All of it pulled from Shepherd and NetSuite, and all of it (should you desire) automated. Presenting: PDF customisations. Opening the door to perhaps your most effective (and even cost-effective) communications tool.
These automated PDFs help ensure you avoid that sneaky trap of excessive information. In a world where data is flowing freely from every orifice, it is easy to get lost in a deluge of options. A set design, considered and reviewed, allows you to be very deliberate in what you include. And because Shepherd and NetSuite are the source data, accuracy is as good as it gets, with no risk of data distortion as one record is interpreted one way and later another. The intermediaries are not needed here.
A different approach, based on goals
As alluded to in the introduction, different approaches get different results, and this is where who you are writing to matters immensely. Is your target audience internal or external? Are they already stakeholders, or do you want to entice them to be? Are they customers, or staff of your own? The results you want and the people you hope will deliver them all have a part to play in how you present your chosen information. Shepherd’s PDF customisations make that not only possible, but easy too.
Just like those dreaded presentation slides, producing something clear, easy to follow, and that has a consistent underlying message will help drive your point home. Let’s first consider when a PDF is required. PDF’s exist as a shareable document that, once created, cannot be edited. That makes their use extremely flexible. One of the most obvious might be invoices.
Clarity for customers and accountants alike
A PDF invoice format can be set up to pull all the standard data from NetSuite billing databases: the customer name, address, the service order it relates to, and the dates the work was performed. With that belong the parts used. All of those have costs that sit in the accounting system that can be fed directly into the PDF invoice. If the service contract includes discounts, warranty coverage, or the like, you could also add a reminder of what has been saved by choosing your company as a service provider.
Those same savings can be part of a post-contract report, again as a simple but effective demonstration of the costs at stake if that customer hadn’t chosen you. A PDF can be designed as a costings overview, pulling from known amounts based on past work, helping nudge a lead over the line to become a customer instead.
Persuasion using clear arguments
Internally, these PDFs can help guide business decisions. With clear comparisons of running costs and resale values, the decision makers can be informed about the true costs of asset ownership, where otherwise they might only consider the purchase price of one model or another as an indicator.
A company might have important information to share with staff, subsidiaries, or shareholders. Once more, that information can be presented in encouraging ways, positive ways, or more urgent ways, depending on the nature of the discussion. Which tone you want to strike is down to what you say and how, with customised PDFs being the perfect medium to do so.
Automated suggests a repeating process, and that is absolutely possible: you can set up your preferred PDF design with the ideal information presented in it for sending out whenever the situation arises. But one-off PDFs are equally available when the communication deserves that added bit of attention and flair. Whichever you choose, and whatever the purpose, clear, well-presented information that is obviously designed to aid the reader rather than obfuscate means you build trust, too.
Proactive compliance records on demand
This kind of clear presentation can also serve as a written record for compliance and inspection purposes. Clear paper-trails, readily produced and pulled straight from Shepherd’s own HSW reports (Health, Safety, and Wellness) or asset records, will no doubt support your company should an audit ever be needed. And records that are easy to access speak more broadly of a company that has things under control, rather than one that is chaotic and reactionary.
Ultimately, if you know what goes into your invoices and reports, you will have greater confidence if ever there are questions or claims thrown around. You will know exactly what is sent out and to whom, and claims to the contrary will be just that and nothing more.
From a company structure and inter-departmental perspective, being able to choose what to share and how also means that you can ensure different parts of a company who operate with different priorities stand a better chance of seeing each other’s perspective. Clarity of understanding and peeling back any veil of perceived misinformation can go a long way to improve cooperation.
The bottom line is that these documents can be the cornerstone of predictable, thought-out, optimised communication, whatever the goal of that communication might be. Once set up, you don’t need to think about them anymore, safe in the knowledge that the system will produce and distribute them any time the criteria to do so are met. And, like those New York advertising giants, if you want to know what will get the best effect, you can test different styles and designs.
This is especially relevant if you have staff with any basic coding experience, since they can do the setup for you. And if you don’t, Shepherd remains ready to help with that, too. Whoever the stakeholders are, they will feel well-informed and taken into account where these communications are concerned.
Featured Blog
A recent blog was posted on the Rental Deliveries feature that customers had requested be devised. That and the Rental planner board have one thing in common: keeping the information directly at the rental team’s finger tips, as well as giving them the means to change that information, as the need arises.
Whereas the Rental planner board gives an overview of all rental activities with the option to zoom in on any of them, Rental Deliveries allows you to see exactly what is expected of a particular piece of equipment and how long it will be unavailable for rent whilst in use by a customer. That means equipment can be assigned, which then prompts delivery to the customer through one workflow. Have a click to learn more if you have rental operations that are a handful, and see how they could become far easier.
Shepherd Case Studies
If you’ve been following our recent newsletters, you may remember that we’re always interested in hearing from customers who would like to be featured in a Shepherd case study. Several companies have already taken part, but we’re always keen to showcase more of the businesses that make up the Shepherd community.
A case study is as much about your organisation as it is about Shepherd. It’s a chance to talk about your industry, the services you provide, the challenges you solve, and the journey that brought you to where you are today. Whether your story centres on growth, innovation, operational improvements, or future ambitions, the focus is on what makes your business unique.
The process is designed to be simple. We arrange a conversation, prepare a draft based on what you tell us, and send it to you for review. Nothing is published until you’re satisfied with the final version and have given your approval.
The finished case study appears on the Shepherd website and provides a professional piece of content that you can also use in your own marketing efforts. Many participants share their case studies with customers, prospects, and followers across social media channels, extending the value well beyond the initial publication.
If you’d like to see what previous case studies look like, you’ll find examples in the Case Studies section of the Shepherd website.
Interested in taking part? Send an email to newsletter@shepherdcmms.com with the subject line “We’d like to be a Case Study” (or words to that effect), and we’ll be in touch to discuss the next steps.
Shepherd Support on demand
Getting the most from your Shepherd product is the name of the game. If you want to have access to a dedicated expert to help you do that, consider signing up for a Shepherd Support contract. It takes the pressure off your administrator and ensures you get the answers you need, when you need them, rather than when time allows. Contact your Shepherd implementer for more information.
