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“Soffront
CRM really brings together every division
under one umbrella. Everything from
marketing efforts, determining wants and needs
of the customer, sales, delivery and training
on hardware/software systems, and tracking of
loose ends can be tied under one project
record for the customer.”
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Mark Herrington,
Manager
of Installation & Support,
Central Service Association
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Business Challenge:
- Better track customer
information companywide
- Eliminate duplicate
databases, maintain one central database with
all customer information
- Improve collaboration by
providing all employees direct access to
customer and product database
- Find an effective
solution that provided flexibility,
customization, and robust features at a
reasonable cost
Solution:
Benefits
Achieved:
- One corporate-wide
database with increased customer information
- All employees can easily
access information; collaboration greatly
improved
- More information
tracked; customer service enhanced
- Manual processes greatly
reduced saving time; streamlined processes
improve workflow
- Efficiency
and performance increased
- Facilitates mass
marketing to customers
- Brings all departments
and projects together, saving time and money
Central
Service Association (CSA), www.csa1.com,
provides information technology services to public utilities throughout the southeastern
United States
. In its 65-plus year history, CSA has grown from
serving the Tennessee Valley Area to serving seven
states. What began as a billing service has grown
into an association offering a very comprehensive
range of modern, computerized information systems
and consulting services to assist in all areas of
utility operations and management.
With
all of this growth, CSA needed a better way
to track and share information companywide. The
company’s biggest challenge was a lack of
collaboration, because each division in the company
maintained a separate database of customer
information. They also needed a better way to
maintain and share customer information.
CRM
implementation – fast, flexible, and
cost-effective
CSA
looked at numerous CRM solutions before choosing
Soffront CRM from Soffront Software, Inc. in
November 2005. “We selected Soffront primarily for
two reasons: speed of implementation and cost,”
explained to Mark
Herrington, manager
of client hardware installation and support.
“With Soffront’s hosted or on-demand solution,
we were able to jump in within a month. The entire
system was available online, and we did not have to
purchase any hardware or third party software to get
started. We also liked the idea that we had the
flexibility to bring the system in-house at some
point in the future.”
According
to Herrington, Soffront offered the greatest overall value and was an effective solution on
multiple levels. “For the price, other vendors did
not offer a system with this much flexibility. Most
CRM packages offer many of the same features, but
the area where certain vendors stand out is in
flexibility of licensing, hosting, and their
implementation model. Soffront definitely stood out
in these areas.”
CSA purchased the Soffront CRM server suite
and numerous modules including customer helpdesk,
customer portal, sales force automation, knowledge
management, email response marketing automation,
email campaign and outlook integration. For the
first year, they used the software as an on-demand
solution, but then decided to bring the solution in
house in November of 2006. They have deployed almost
all of the modules companywide and expect full
deployment within a couple of months.
Immediate
improvements
Herrington
explained that right out of the box, CSA saw
immediate positive results using Soffront CRM.
“All of our information has been consolidated and
can be verified and accessed by any user who needs
it. Information is passed from one division to
another without losing critical documentation. We
have a level of confidence now that didn’t exist
before; we know that issues won’t fall through the
cracks.”
According
to Herrington, one of the biggest challenges they
faced was in the area of tracking customer issues
and collaborating companywide. “We now have access
to data that we never could track before, and we can
share it with coworkers in ways that never existed
previously. For instance, we can see how many issues
are being resolved and how fast it takes us to
resolve them,”
explained Herrington. “This
information is a key factor in determining
efficiency, performance, and workload in our
personnel. Soffront CRM provides us with
information that is powerful for us and valuable to
improving customer satisfaction.”
Herrington
explained that CSA is planning to use Soffront’s
customization features to a greater degree in the
near future. “With
Soffront’s customization features, we will
automate remaining processes that are currently
being handled manually. Automating these few
remaining processes won’t only alleviate the
‘paper shuffle’, but it will also result in a
central repository where we can easily review
historical efforts and transactions all under each
customer’s
account in the CRM system. Further, we will be
able to conduct additional analysis and reporting on
critical metrics on problem areas with data that was
not so easily accessible in the past.”
Other
improvements include the capability for CSA to mass
market to their customers and enhance project
planning. “The
system really brings together every division under
one umbrella. Everything from marketing
efforts, determining wants and needs of the
customer, sales, delivery and training on
hardware/software systems, and tracking of loose
ends can be tied under one project record for the
customer.”
About Soffront
Soffront
Software Inc.
has the experience, technology and focus for mid
market companies seeking CRM solutions. A CRM
pioneer since 1992, Soffront spans the enterprise
with integrated CRM: sales, marketing, customer
service, knowledge base, help desk, project
management, asset/inventory management, order
processing, defect tracking and more. Soffront CRM
is flexible, powerful, and affordable. It is
designed to readily adapt to a company’s
processes, workflows, and users. With on-demand,
on-site, or host-to-purchase options, floating or
named seats, Soffront is the perfect choice for
mid-size companies. With more than 2,500 CRM
customers worldwide, Soffront’s installed base
includes Fortune 500 companies, mid-sized
businesses, federal, state, and local governments.
Soffront is privately held, debt-free, and
profitable.
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