Sunbelt Rentals finds mobile CRM app speeds data flow and lets reps respond quickly to customer needs.
In the construction equipment rental business, sales reps must often satisfy customers' needs the same day. "If a customer needs a
backhoe today or tomorrow, you have to be able to tell them immediately if it's
available and what the rental rate is," says John Stadick, VP IT for Fort
Mill, SC-based Sunbelt Rentals. "If you can't, a competitor will show up and try to rent it to them."
Sunbelt had tried a variety of mobile CRM solutions in the
past without much success. The sales force still relied on calls to and from
the branch to obtain information, as well as books and binders for recording
data and entering it in the Web interface at the end of the day. "We
needed to get data into the hands of our sales reps while they're standing on a
job site, so they can give their customer the right information quickly --
whether it's information about their account or the rental rate for that
day," explains Stadick.
Sunbelt deployed Apple's iPhone 2.0 to 1,200-plus users
enterprise-wide and worked with Customer Connect to implement Microsoft CRM 4.0
and customize the Web interface. The company provided basic training and was
impressed with how quickly its reps adopted the iPhone and mobile application.
Now, sales reps can access real-time information pertaining
to a customer's account, rental history, and outstanding invoices as well as
quote equipment rental rates without having to make a phone call first. The
system also helps them respond more quickly to leads and conduct follow-up
activities in a timely manner.
According to Stadick, the greatest benefit of the iPhone
application has been the sales reps' ability to respond to customers' needs
quickly. The solution has also allowed the reps to get information or take
action on their own as needed, rather than calling the inside sales reps at the
Sunbelt store. "We've seen a 10% to 20% reduction in phone calls between
sales reps and branch offices," says Stadick. Customer service reps now
have more time to concentrate on customers in the branch.
By pushing live data regarding pricing and equipment
availability to the reps, Sunbelt estimates that the company's return on
investment will be $10 million to $15 million annually. This increase in
revenue is based on a 10-week control test, explains Stadick, in which a price
optimization engine fed one group optimized prices while the other group was
not fed specific rates.
Stadick also credits the iPhone application with helping to
increase rental rates. "Every month we saw rental rates go down," he
says. "There's less work out there and competition is greater, so that
drives down the rates."
About one month after implementing the iPhones, Stadick
noticed rental rates inching back up. "A large part of it is because we've
been able to put the right rate in front of the reps, whereas before they had
to guess or call in. Now they're getting live rates off the system. It's helped
drive [our rental] rates back up."
Honorable Mention
A PROPER FIT
CRM software gives medical hosiery firm Sigvaris a leg up on
customer service
Sigvaris North America, a Peachtree City, GA-based
manufacturer of compression garments for the healthcare industry, needed to
replace its email program, Lotus Notes, and its in-house CRM system, eSales,
with a mobile solution that would increase its sales reps' productivity.
"On a daily basis, our reps call on dealers who sell
our products as well as doctors who prescribe them," says Lisa Wells,
Sigvaris Marketing Consultant. "Physicians have a very limited amount of
time to spend with our reps, so it's important for our reps to be responsive
immediately and appear well informed."
The company selected Maximizer CRM and worked closely with
Moonstone Technologies, an IT consulting firm, to implement the solution.
Within two months, Sigvaris' entire U.S. sales force went live. Initially, reps
used Dell Axim PDAs during the day to collect data and synched up the devices
at home to download data at the end of each day.
When these devices became
obsolete, Sigvaris replaced them with BlackBerry
smartphones that connect in
real time. In addition, the company upgraded to the latest Mazimizer software,
version 10.5.
Since implementing Maximizer CRM, the sales force has seen a
significant increase in productivity, says Moonstone's Joey Annan, IT Manager,
Americas. "Their expectation was six calls a day. That's been moved up to
seven," he says. "Reps have better planning of itineraries and spend
less time driving around. They also spend less time hunting for information,
and they're able to use their time more productively."
Honorable Mention
DOOR-TO-DOOR APPROACH
Magazine field sales crews reach the right demos with mobile
CRM
At Wirral, U.K.-based Candis Magazine, door-to-door
salespeople are responsible for half of the company's subscription sales. For
this reason, Newhall Publications needed a mobile solution to help its sales
force target the appropriate audience.
The company rolled out Global Bay's GBMobile platform on HTC
6500 PDAs. The solution replaced a Web-based sales force automation package
that was difficult to use, time-consuming, and costly to make changes to.
With the new solution, Candis can make changes quickly and easily, adding new apps
as needed and rolling them out to its 117 mobile workers. Salespeople can now
access Sonar Check, a demographic profiling system that helps them identify the right customers.
"Without Sonar Check, our salespeople were selling to the wrong people,
and it was costing us," says Chris Harman, IT Director.
Using Sonar Check, Newhall Publications will save $182,000
per year in sales commissions that would have been paid for unprofitable sales.
The mobile solution has also reduced data entry and improved
vehicle inspections. "Before, the compliance level for inspections was
about 30%, and every month someone had to chase people who didn't complete
paperwork," says Harman. "Now, we're around 99% compliant."
Sigvaris North America
