Paul Enguita of Cellular Solutions, demonstrates the new E-pen with Bond MD Derek Curtis
Experts at business solutions specialist Bond have been helping field sales staff at communications specialists Cellular Solutions make sure information collected on their sales calls at customer offices arrives back at the base before they do, with the help of new technology.
The Cellular Solutions sales force uses electronic pens and special paper forms to record customer data, which is then sent back to the office via a Blackberry or other handheld device.
The pens work by capturing handwriting and transforming it into pen strokes, using a wireless ink pen on paper embedded with a digital pattern. Graphical images of original documents and business forms can be collected along with data and delivered as XML files.
The interface software that the Bond team implemented now monitors the data traffic and automatically updates the central Sage Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system which sits on servers at Cellular Solutions’ offices in Sunderland.
The new system means staff have up to date information at their fingertips to help them foster customer relationships, with a system that provides an instant overview of business and an accurate management, reporting and marketing tool.
Bond managing director Derek Curtis said: “The new application improves efficiency through faster and more effective data handling and will bring significant benefits for Cellular Solutions.
“The ability to have information automatically integrated into the central CRM system before the field sales staff even get back to the office gives the team a powerful marketing tool that helps them get closer to their existing and potential customer base.
“Although this particular project involved installing the software interface with Sage CRM, it can be used with any major CRM platform. The result is an ideal framework for anyone with a mobile workforce, such as financial services or the home improvement sector, or any business looking for more efficient management of customer relationships.
“As a Sage Circle of Excellence winner ourselves we were pleased to be invited to work with Cellular Solutions, which has a similar approach to using best of breed technology to constantly improve levels of customer care.”
Mike Bowers, managing director of Cellular Solutions added: “With Bond’s help we have already seen the benefits of the new framework, which is giving us instant access to information that is up to date on a minute by minute basis, and providing us with an essential platform from which to forge closer client relationships that will keep us in front of a very competitive market.”
Bond managing director Derek Bond and Chief Executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Carole Beverley
One of the region’s leading names in business management software is applying its expertise to support the Entrepreneurs’ Forum as it continues to enhance what it offers to its growing membership base, with the installation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Sunderland-based Bond, which specialises in technology based CRM, is helping the Forum develop a new system which will manage the client database faster and more efficiently, as well as allowing staff to gather and analyse member data that can then be used to support them more effectively.
The system will also further streamline the Forum’s mentoring programme, by matching mentees with a shortlist of possible established entrepreneurs as mentors.
The Forum, whose membership is made up of over 300 entrepreneurs from around the North East, previously used a combination of spreadsheets and databases for event management and to manage membership lists. With the addition of the new system the Forum is also aiming to increase membership numbers further and to manage links to several other groups it has contact with, such as further and higher education organisations where students are engaged through its youth strand.
Bond managing director Derek Curtis, who is also taking part in the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s ‘If We Can You Can’ campaign, said: “I’ve been a member of the Forum for four years now, so I’m proud that the organisation chose Bond to revolutionise its CRM.
“Being able to gather and apply a wider range of marketing information should help generate more members, and allow the Forum to grow both its membership base and its range of activities.”
“Having a place where entrepreneurs can go to meet with like-minded people to swap advice and share inspiration is fantastic. I’m looking forward to helping the Forum expand so that more people can reap the benefits of attending events and being a member.”
The next stage of the new CRM integration will involve linking the system with the Forum’s existing events system, so that staff will be able to further monitor the take up and success of events across a number of themes and formats.
Chief Executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Carole Beverley, said: “We’ve known Derek for a long time and even though we had proposals from other companies to implement the CRM system, we felt that Bond was the only one that shared the same vision and attitude as us, combined with the flexibility we needed.
“There’s no doubt that the new system will transform the way we analyse our data internally. It’s only just been installed, and already we’re finding information retrieval much faster and the dashboard facility, which allows us to view a whole host of bespoke information at a glance, is superb. I’m confident that it won’t be long before it will be delivering some amazing results.”
Paul Enguita of Cellular Solutions, demonstrates the new E-pen with Bond MD Derek Curtis
