Success Stories
Customizing a CRM System to a Company’s Neeeds
A CCA client had been using “good old-fashioned index cards” to track customers and prospects for many years. Though the firm had purchased ACT to handle its CRM needs it still wanted to be able to record the pertinent information in the same format as it had with its index card system.
The company initially hired CCA to train its staff on how to use ACT as its contact management system. In conjunction with this training, CCA worked with the client’s owners on customizing the database. They wanted the system to record and provide only the information they needed but to ignore those fields not being used. This effort led to a reporting system which showed the needed information in the same format as it had under the old index card system.
CCA also created ACT templates for custom letters and forms using the firm’s logo. This initiative enabled the client to save significant time per customer, to generate correspondence in a more timely and relevant fashion and in the referral tracking process overall.
In summary, the customization increased efficiency and accuracy by reducing paper work more than 65% and providing standardization for all staff. Everyone in the firm could now electronically share all information in a common, simple format without having to resort to index cards and paper files.
Conversion of Lotus 1-2-3 File to Excel 2007
CCA was approached by a company that had recently upgraded the Microsoft Office Suite to version 2007, yet still had to use Lotus 1-2-3 for a custom built reporting system.
This reporting system included a data entry component that linked to custom company forms as well as forms required by the state for each of their projects. CCA was hired to convert this application to Excel 2007.
Rather than just converting the application to Excel, CCA did a complete analysis of the reporting process and the client agreed to the following improvements:
- More organized data input process
- Input validation to reduce errors
- Custom screen tips to help with input
- Updated state required forms
- Automatic completion of all custom forms
- Added security to prevent overwriting data
The improvements made to the reporting system increased efficiency and accuracy, reduced completion time by at least 50% and provided standardization for all employees.
