Situation
Founded in 1988, Supertech Group has revolutionized the real estate arena with architectural excellence in the contemporary global scenario. An ISO 9001:2000 certified company, bestowed with “Udyog Ratan” award for its quality standard, Supertech has successfully completed 20 years in real estate business.
Supertech has converted more than 33 million sq. ft. area of residential and commercial entity into architectural landmarks and more than 36 projects that accommodate nearly 6000 families. Its various projects include residential and commercial townships, shopping malls, hotels and IT parks.
Until now the company relied heavily on Microsoft Office Access based applications and Microsoft Office Excel worksheets to track prospects, manage internal processes, customer information, and to generate reports. These systems however lacked workflows or features to track prospects or monitor customer activity. There was no centralized solution to effectively manage overall processes which led to inaccurate and duplicate information.
All leads were tracked and followed manually using Microsoft Office Excel worksheets. This resulted in duplicate entries. Processes were chaotic and data entry methodologies were not correctly laid out. This caused errors, delays. Sometimes, leads wouldn’t be entered, a small error that could potentially cause revenue loss.
There was no application to handle leads. Leads when received were entered in Microsoft Excel worksheets or written on paper. These leads were then assigned to the executives who would follow it through to closure. Supertech didn’t have any quantified results on leads generated and converted.
Naveen Sharma, Head Information Technology, Supertech, explains, “In this increasingly competitive marketplace, we are aware of the need to improve the way we serve our customers. We therefore needed an integrated solution that is capable to manage communication with our customers, track prospects and automate administrative, sales and support services processes.”
Rapid expansion of its business base in terms of number of projects, customers, and number of offices, led Supertech to consider implementing customer relationship management (CRM) solution.
Solution
Supertech reviewed several well-known solutions, including Sage CRM, but after the brain storming sessions of the management team, Microsoft® Dynamics™ CRM 4.0 was considered as the best fit. “The functionality was extremely attractive to us,” says Naveen. “Another reason for choosing the Microsoft solution was its inherent flexibility.”
Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows workflow automation and extends software access to multiple locations with more features and functionalities. At the same time it runs on the Microsoft platform, which is an advantage for the organization since all the users are already aware of the usage.
Working with Microsoft Certified Gold Partner Religare Technova, Supertech implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0, which today forms the core of its customer engagement capability.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM business software has given Supertech the price point at which on-premise CRM solution is cost effectively, and provides a better quality. Ultimately, it has given the company significant savings in setup and development costs because there was no need for infrastructure and architecture resources each time a new application is developed.
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With CRM, the sales team has been able to reduce the sales cycle by 50 percent. In addition, we have seen a 20 percent increase in conversion rates. |
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Naveen Sharma
Head Information Technology,
Supertech |
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Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 implementation at Supertech started in its Noida office in September 2009 and was completed by January 2010. The Sales module was implemented initially. The processes implemented were Lead Management, Avaya Integration, SMS Integration and Reports Generation. The first phase of implementation is complete and constitutes sub phases such as analysis, design, development, integration, testing, optimization etc. The agenda on next phase is the integration of CRM with SAP.
The attraction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was increased because of the ease of customization. The solution presents in-built functionalities and tools required by Supertech. It also customized the solution by 65 percent to incorporate SMS integration, Web integration and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI). Moreover, lead creation, tracking prospects and conversion of lead to contact is also facilitated using the CRM solution.
The inherent integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Web forms via its .NET architecture has made it simpler for Supertech to build the functionality it needs, without changing the underlying CRM application. The company is exploring the possibilities of integration with SAP in phased manner.
The success of the CRM initiative also depended on rapid, widespread adoption of the solution. Microsoft Dynamics CRM works as a natural extension of the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client.
The users have spontaneous and basic understanding of the solution thereby eliminating training needs. Automated e-mails along with phone calls and SMS’s are easily recorded and are accessible from within a program for the users at Supertech. They can incorporate CRM processes into their everyday activities without having to learn and use a separate system. There are 5 users in sales department for CRM.
Benefits
The implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 has created a single, consistent approach to the whole life cycle of its interactions with customers and potential clients. This, in turn, has enabled the company to better assess potential opportunities and revise strategies where appropriate.
Streamlines Multi Channel Lead Creation and Monitors Leads Efficiently
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 with customized features such as integration with SMS, Web and Avaya Systems’ Computer Telephony Integration (CTI). All queries from all the above sources are automatically added to a central lead database, and possess a unique identity. The system routes the data according to business rules. Thus, if a user tries to add the same lead again to the CRM database, the old window pops up notifying that the data is already present in the system and can be updated as required. This eliminates duplication and errors, saves 2 person hours for the 5 employees’ in the Sales department that were responsible for lead data management.
Increases Efficiency by 50 Percent
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 has boosted the morale of staff and helps to increase team productivity. About 50 per cent of managers’ time that was earlier spent on administration has been freed for business-critical tasks. Manual processes have been automated and streamlined. Naveen says “We have reduced the time spend on follow up calls by an average of 65 percent”
He further explains, “With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, account managers can qualify sales leads more quickly than ever leading to efficient lead management. We can proudly state that we have saved 50 percent of our time by avoiding information duplication”.
Increases Revenue by 5 Percent
Naveen comments, “Our revenue has gone up by 5 percent of the earlier value after the implementation of new solution.” This is primarily because we could shortlist leads based on various criteria and focus on leads having greater conversion rates. Tracking each lead generated gives us an insight into a credible pipeline and the lead history gives us cross selling and up selling opportunities.”
Increases Conversion Rate by 20 percent
Dynamics CRM provides a way to follow the leads from qualification to conversion, developing an ongoing relationship with the customer. Also, a complete view of customer interactions is available to the entire team. This leads to better access to information and collaboration. It also reduces incidents of multiple follow ups with the same customer.
Naveen says, “With CRM, the sales team has been able to reduce the sales cycle by 50 percent. In addition, we have seen a 20 percent increase in conversion rates.”
Advance notifications are automatically sent to customers and sales executives on various activities like site visit, approvals etc via e-mails from Microsoft Dynamics CRM. This reduces the number of visits customers make to the site. “Customers only visit us to finalize the deal and don’t need to return for updates. This saves time and energy for our salesforce as well as the customer,” explains Naveen. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has consequently helped in strengthening the company’s relationships with its customers and delivers increased customer satisfaction.
