https://www.xperience-group.com/case-study/critical-environmental-solutions/
| Client(s): | 1st Communications |
|---|---|
| Key Contact(s): | Andy Holbrook |
"Now that we can prioritise and automate tasks we’ve been able to get more out of our staff which ultimately generates sales and grows revenue. An example would be staff that used to organise their time via spreadsheets now have their days organised automatically. The software tells them which calls to make on any given day and allows them to update notes on that call instantly. Also, because we can track staff activity instantly, we’re able to review individual performance and identify areas for improvement.”
Critical Environmental Solutions (CES) wanted to streamline their business processes and replace an outdated CRM solution which hindered productivity. After migrating to Act, they automated laborious administration so teams could focus on profitable activities, which ultimately generate sales and bring revenue gains.
“As a small business, we only have one salesperson on the road,” explains CES’s Director Andy Holbrook. “So it was vital to get our marketing strategies exactly right – especially the all-important email marketing side of our business – and make maximum use of staff time.
“Our existing CRM solution was adequate, but it was outdated. We needed something that would automate tasks, capture customer information, enhance marketing results and ultimately grow the business. We looked at various CRM solutions, but Act won hands down.
“I did a Google search and found two or three suppliers, but Xperience were the most responsive in terms of coming back to me quickly – and they came up with a sensible price. Act was installed, Xperience came in for a day’s training (which was excellent) and then we went live.”
To be honest, Act does most of what our old software did only Act does it a hundred times better – and it does masses more,” Andy continues. “We’ve been using it for about six months now and have already seen huge improvements especially in terms of marketing.
“With integrated email marketing tools we create campaigns from within the software. We can organise, track and analyse the success of all customer communications from initial email through to sale and after-care, so we get a complete view of each individual customer.”
“We’ve also been able to sell stock that we used to write off and clear short dated stock at discounted prices by targeting specific customers with specific products that might be of interest to them.”
“I know our remote sales office in Kent has seen benefits, too, both in availability of data and improved use of time. They’re able to structure things much better like telephone sales calls which can be scheduled quite neatly within the software.
“We haven’t experienced cost savings as such; as a business our costs are relatively static, but now that we can prioritise and automate tasks we’ve been able to get more out of our staff which ultimately generates sales and grows revenue. An example would be staff that used to organise their time via spreadsheets now have their days organised automatically. The software tells them which calls to make on any given day and allows them to update notes on that call instantly. Also, because we can track staff activity instantly, we’re able to review individual performance and identify areas for improvement.
“I also like the way Act integrates seamlessly with a range of different tools like Outlook and Excel. You can export anything in spreadsheet or CSV format quite easily. For example we recently produced a new company brochure and we extracted data and mail-merged it into letters so we could mail it out to specific customers.
“Another benefit is the quote register feature. We used to run a quote register on a spreadsheet but Act Pro has a quote register built into it so you can actually view live quotes and pull off hard copies if required. Yes, there have been huge improvements across the board.”
First-class support from Xperience
“We are really pleased that we chose Xperience as our supplier. I remember calling them one day because a machine was being problematic. It wasn’t the Act software that was at fault; it was a hardware issue at our end. But the guy on the support desk spent the best part of a day trying to fix things – definitely a case of going ‘over and beyond the call of duty’.”
“In conclusion, Act has been a very good purchase decision. If anything I wish we’d purchased it sooner. Xperience’s follow-up has been good, not too intrusive or “salesy”, but they certainly make clear what services they can offer – for example they sold me the training day which was excellent and good value. They still phone every couple of months just to make sure everything is OK. I really appreciate that.”