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FROM EXCEL TO ASP TO IN-HOUSE
-- ProLink goes the
distance with Soffront CRM --
From CRM Magazine – December 2002 - By Ramin
Ganeshram -- "What's my distance?" It's the question
that plagues golfers -- and the course owners
tracking the pace of play -- the world over.
Being able to answer that question has made ProLink
hugely popular among course owners. ProLink is a
Web-based GPS system that uses crosshairs to project
distance to any part of a hole and displays the
results on a 10-inch flat-panel monitor attached to
the golf carts. The company, which had just 20
courses on board when it started in 1994, found its
business growing exponentially. Today, with more
than 100 courses on board and an average 700,000
users per month, ProLink's sales and service
requires a robust CRM application.
"Once we couldn't manage our sales on an Excel
spreadsheet we realized it was time to get serious
about CRM," says Alex Pannone, ProLink product
manager.
The main issues that ProLink needed to address
related to service. The company wanted to provide
clients with quick resolution for everything from
software issues to parts-ordering, fulfillment, and
tracking. So in 1999 ProLink selected Soffront
Software Inc., because of its Web interface and high
level of customization.
ProLink decided to launch Soffront's CRM package in
an ASP model, largely because this would allow the
golf-services provider to put the software through
its paces. Although inputting customer data took
nearly six months, the software began to show value
as soon as it was fully up and running -- ProLink
went from 50 open customer service issues at any
given time to zero.
"Using Soffront as an ASP model worked very well for
us. We pushed the asset-management module to its
limits and found it kept up," Pannone says. "I was
able to open a customer ticket and be able to follow
sales through an initial need all the way to
completion. If a customer had a service issue I
could determine how quickly it was resolved and even
track parts orders from placement to fulfillment,
which allowed me to give clients accurate time
projections."
The ASP model worked well, but Pannone wanted more
control over changes. Although it would only take up
to 48 hours to make a change, Pannone wanted
real-time access so he could work with package's
development tools open to try and retry his ideas.
"We had been paying per change, so if I had a
hundred changes it got costly. Bringing the product
in-house allows me to noodle with it as much as I
want," he says.
Bringing Soffront's application in-house took mere
overnight hours and Pannone says he has complete
more customization in six months than in the entire
one-and-a-half years ProLink used the product in an
ASP model.
Of course, Pannone isn't finished yet. ProLink's
future plans for Soffront includes using the
software's Web-interface with handheld computers.
And Pannone says he is also looking forward to the
product's next release, which will include NT
authentication. "Soffront has been very open to
customer suggestions -- for example the real desire
to have NT authentication with the product," he
says. "The result is that we feel they are really
growing with us -- it's another reason the product
has worked so well for us." -- Ramin Ganeshram
Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information or for executive comment, contact:
Media Contact:
Alison Golan, Golan Public Relations
Phone: 904-230-0349
alison@soffront.com |
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