Sage CRM Customer Success
HCEA constructs superior customer service with Sage CRM Customer Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia (HCEA) Industry Construction Equipment Location Australia Solution Sage 300 ERP and Sage CRM
In a little under ten years, Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia (HCEA) has established itself as one of Australia’s largest and most reputable construction equipment brands. Part of the Porter Group of Companies, HCEA supplies earthmoving and construction equipment including excavators and loaders, plus parts and after sales services to customers throughout Australia and Papua New Guinea. The company sells through a national dealer network and maintains a sales force that spends much of its time on the road, travelling throughout cities, rural and remote areas to keep customers up to date with product and service information. The problem of untimely data Two years ago HCEA’s customer information was maintained in a Microsoft Excel-based sales tool. While the software provided a central place to store customer-related data it had some practical limitations, particularly when it came to obtaining and sharing information when it was most likely to be needed – while a rep was out of the office.
“From a sales perspective, Sage CRM was the next step up in growth for us.” Matt Golby, Systems Manager, Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia
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Challenge Customer information was maintained in a Microsoft Excel-based sales tool. This had some practical limitations, particularly when it came to obtaining and sharing information when it was most likely to be needed – while a rep was out of the office.
Matt Golby, Systems Manager at Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia explains, “In the past territory managers, would go out into the field armed with laptops containing the Excel application and create quotations.” To find out what a sales person had quoted or to catch up on the latest customer activity, management would have to wait until the rep sent back information in an email or returned to the office. However, with quotes ranging anywhere from $20,000 for a single machine through to millions of dollars for multiple units, management decided it was an unacceptable time lag. “We couldn’t manage what the reps were doing. We wanted to replace the Excel system with a new, innovative product that would give our sales teams the opportunity to be more mobile and that would enable discussion among the whole HCEA community,” Golby says. In short, HCEA required a fully-featured Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution.
Solution Sage CRM’s cloud-based solution allows HCEA’s sales teams to be more mobile and communicate efficiently with other departments. Sage CRM is now the central resource for all sales activities and communications linked to customers. Results Sage CRM provides HCEA with a central depository for critical customer information and provides sales teams with important information for opportunity management. For example, if a service is coming up, it gives territory managers the opportunity to raise a conversation with the customer.
Sage CRM Customer Success
“I’ve been involved in some major system implementations in the past and knew what we needed. Sage offered a solution that was analytically robust, customer focused, and cost effective. It delivered what we needed at the time and it gave us the ability to expand our infrastructure moving the business forward at a rapid pace.” Matt Golby, Systems Manager, Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia
Software solutions that work together With the company already using Sage 300 ERP as its main business software and a Sage Vehicle Maintenance package installed in the service departments, it was no surprise that Golby turned to Sage reseller, Business Enabling Systems (BES) for help. “Sage has different packages that can bolt on to the ERP at different stages of business growth. So from a sales perspective, Sage CRM was the next step up in growth for us. It gave us the opportunity to move with the times and link communications between management and the sales teams. “I’ve been involved in some major system implementations in the past and knew what we needed. Sage offered a solution that was analytically robust, customer focused, and cost effective. It delivered what we needed at the time and it gave us the ability to expand our infrastructure moving the business forward at a rapid pace,” Golby adds. Cloud-based for greater accessibility BES recommended a cloud-based solution whereby the Sage CRM software would be installed and hosted on a server at BES-sister company, Pacific Technology Solutions. This would provide HCEA with a highly scalable, flexible nationwide sales and marketing solution that could be quickly deployed, available to any authorised staff member from anywhere at any time of day, and it would remove the burden of day-to-day software maintenance. It sounded ideal for HCEA and deployment soon followed. Ammunition to talk to the customer Twelve months down the track, HCEA has 15 sales reps plus seven managers and administrative staff who rely on Sage CRM every day. The software manages all sales activities and communications linked to customers. It contains contact information and a full history of the customer’s dealings with HCEA including equipment service histories.
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“So for example, if a service is coming up, it gives territory managers the opportunity to raise a conversation with the customer. Or because of machine age, there may be components that need to be assessed. It gives us the ammunition to get out there and talk to the customer. We have real time activity and information being filtered through all facets of the business,” Golby points out. Despite some initial pockets of concern about the change to customer reporting processes, sales staff have embraced the new system. Golby puts the positive reaction down to solid planning, careful design and a thorough education campaign to prepare staff. “We spent a good six months making sure the system was effective and efficient. We worked with the sales team to ensure that they were involved in the development, that they had input and ownership. It was important that what was delivered at the end of the day was a collaborative effort involving sales and the development team. “Territory managers travel all over their areas of responsibility, therefore with the added benefits of a mobile application providing customer information at their fingertips, our sales teams are equipped to successfully manage their relationships in real time” Golby says. “They can produce a quote online and we can see it immediately. So if there are any issues from a sales management point of view, we can get involved and support the process of getting that quotation out to the customer.” In the coming months, Golby intends to replace the personal computers currently used by territory managers with more functional tablets. To facilitate the move, he’s also planning to upgrade to Sage CRM v7.1. “That will make it easier to utilise the software through the tablet formats,” he says. Golby is also interested in pursuing additional cloud-services opportunities. “CRM has been a starting point and it’s worked well. It’s given us good grounding and cloud services do seem to be right for us. Summing up his Sage CRM experiences, Golby concludes, “The software solution is well priced. It’s an easy to use tool that drives better business practices with complete flexibility. And at HCEA, it’s a valued product.”
About Sage CRM Over 15,000 small and medium sized companies across the globe use Sage CRM every day to accelerate sales, drive business productivity and make every customer interaction count. It is used by enterprising, growing companies seeking new ways to interact with customers, leverage the power of social media and take advantage of the latest mobile developments to further grow their business. When combined with Sage ERP, our customers enjoy better business insight, increased efficiencies and productivity, and gain a single, customer-centric view across their entire business. So whether you’re just starting out or have already grown to several hundred employees, Sage CRM can help accelerate your business success. Accelerate your business success with a free 30-day trial at www.sagecrm.com
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