Top Business Articles of 2023

Here we are, at the end of another year. Before we flip the calendar, we wanted to reflect back on the past year by looking at our most popular blog posts. What topics piqued your interest the most? Which articles did you share with others?

Top Business Articles of 2023:

6 Consequences of Your Business Not Having a Vision

Do you feel like your company “wings it” when it comes to your company vision? Having your CEO, president, or owner set a clear company vision of what the company should become in the next three to five years will be the anchor to which business decisions are made from. Without employees understanding the “why” behind business decisions, a company may suffer from:

• Chaotic organizational structure
• Disengaged employees
• Budgeting “on the fly”
• Wasted profits and lack of appeal to investors

Read on to find out other examples of how a lack of company vision can impact your business.

How Businesses Can Use ChatGPT

2023 was the year of AI. You couldn’t find a news publication that wasn’t talking about it or a company that wasn’t investing in adoption of some form. Yet, SMBs were looking for some guidance to get a grasp on how it could impact their business not just in the future but NOW.

This article was our very first (of many) AI articles of the year and focused specifically on the different ways SMBs could use it to their advantage. From content development and personalization to language translation and predictive analytics, this article breaks it down for you.

Read the article to find out how you can use AI tools and what you need to know before you get started.

How Your Business Can Save With Section 179

If you haven’t heard about Section 179, you are missing out on the largest tax deduction ever offered to businesses in the US. In 2023, the deduction went up $80k more than the year prior, giving businesses the opportunity to get up to $1,160,000 back on certain expenses. This article tells you exactly what you need to know in just 3 minutes.

Read the full article to find out:

• What Section 179 is
• How Section 179 helps businesses
• What expenses qualify for Section 179 tax credit
• Where to go to learn more

B2B Software Acronyms You Need to Know

API, SMB, KPI, ERP… it all sounds like acronym soup. But as a business leader, it is important to have a good handle on what each of these software terms mean and how they can impact your business. We spoke with our customers and compiled a list of the top 19 acronyms you need to know.

Check out the full list here and be ready to bookmark the article to use as a resource in the future.

An Interview with ChatGPT on the Future of ERP, Business Software, AI, and Itself

ChatGPT took the world by storm earlier this year with its proven ability to leverage AI for human-like conversations. So, we took this as an opportunity to put it to the test and interview ChatGPT ourselves. We asked it questions like:

• Does ChatGPT share any capabilities with business enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions in terms of product business intelligence and assisting executive decision-making?
• Are there any current projects aimed at integrating ChatGPT into ERP software systems?
• In the future, will ChatGPT be an application that can integrate with ERP systems?
• What are some of the potential applications of AI in improving how business intelligence is collected, managed, and applied?

Find out ChatGPT’s answers.

OK – those were our top 5 blog articles of 2023, but we’re not going to stop there.

BONUS: Top 2023 ECI blog articles you were interested in on social media

The below articles deserve an honorable mention as they drove the most comments, likes, and shares on our LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram social media channels:

5 Reasons You Need an Industry-Specific ERP

As your business grows and becomes more complex, often, a generic software solution just won’t cut it anymore. Most of our customers find that an industry-specific ERP gives them the capability and insight needed for their unique business.

This article identifies some of the major reasons why purchasing an industry-specific ERP has been one of the best decisions for the businesses we work with. Some examples include:

• Plug-and-play – Oftentimes, a general ERP can require extensive customizations to get it to do what you need. This can be a massive undertaking both in terms of costs and time.
• Built-in best practices – When software developers are focused on a specific area, they conduct a lot of research or even apply first-hand experience to create what the industry really needs.
• Industry-specific knowledge – For many industry-specific software providers (especially ECI), team members come from the industries they serve. This unique perspective gives customers a competitive advantage and confidence that the company can understand their needs and help them in a consultative way.

Uncover the last two reasons and so much more!

Effective Communication: A Q&A with ECI’s Senior Director of Global Learning and Development, Lisa Armstrong

Effective communication in the workplace is critical for the success of any team. Not only does it improve relationships, productivity, and decision-making, but it also minimizes misunderstandings and conflicts.

We took some time to sit down with our ECI expert, Lisa Armstrong, to learn about some of the biggest communication mistakes and how professionals can make sure they aren’t culprits. This interview also introduces the DISC style, what it means, how to use it to understand co-workers, and how we apply it at ECI.

This is a must-read for anyone in the workplace.

Does Your Company Have These 5 Elements of a Great Company Culture?

Company culture can make or break a team member’s career at a company. In fact, almost 70% of leaders credit a majority of their recent success to company culture, and 67% of employees and leaders say culture is more important to business success than strategy and operations, according to a 2021 PWC Global Culture Survey.

So, we asked our team: What makes a great company culture? When exploring their responses, we were able to back them all up with data that attributes those elements to business success.

Find out the 5 elements of a great company culture.

Well, that’s a wrap. I think we can confidently close the book on 2023 now and jump into 2024 with excitement about what the year will bring us.

Liked this article? Be sure to check out these too:

• 5 Questions to Help Your Business Purchase the Right ERP Solution
• How Technology Can Save Your Business $3,500+ Per Month
• Preparing Your Business to Thrive in Uncertain Times