The world of customer relationship management (CRM) consists of more than commercially manufactured systems like Saleslogix, Oncontact and Commence.
Significant lines can be drawn between systems that run and store data on a server at the user’s site (Oncontact, SalesLogix) and application server provider (ASP) systems, where the program itself and that data are housed on a server accessible to users over the Internet (Deltek).
There are also systems that start with a raw programing tool and require outside consulting help (Commence) to create a working custom application.
And then there are individuals whose needs and expectations are best met by a combination of off-the-shelf software lashed together with a little fancy custom programing.
Individuals like Tim Tucker, president of Air Engineering in New Berlin. Tucker’s firm sells parts and service for industrial compressors. The eight-person staff relies on their customer relationship systems to – among other things – track when specific customers’ compressors will require service based on the make and model of the equipment.
Air Engineering’s system was assembled by independent Milwaukee consultant Lou Sabovic. At the heart of the system is Goldmine – a popular contact-management program. Phonepro – which ties incoming and outgoing calls into the company’s computer system – serves as what is called “middleware.”
“We use the software that came with our phone system for caller ID,” Tucker said. “We have TAPI phones – Telephonic Appliance Product Interface. The phones plug into the back of a PC. Phone calls go over our network, which also logs all of our calls. We can print graphs of peaks, valleys and frequencies so we can analyze the patterns.”
Various components were integrated by Sabovic to do what Tucker and his team require of them.
“We use different software packages that are integrated,” Tucker said. “One is the classic customer database. Another is middleware – which connects our telephone system to our computers – so when the phone rings, it pops up who is calling. That is an extension of caller ID. Middleware allows you to push a button and pull up a customer’s record when they call.”
Tucker said the firm customized the screens in Goldmine to fit their needs.
“We have the normal stuff like name and location,” Tucker said. “On the left, we have an org chart for that customer which allows us to go over to see how you are interfacing with a larger organization. In our business, that is important because you have multiple decision-makers. We used to keep only one name – now we keep all names – we can display them depending on how important they are on a day-to-day basis. We also track things like their hobbies, favorite teams and birthdays.”
But Air Engineering’s system keeps track of more than personal data – it provides access to highly technical data that allows customer service representatives to know exactly what equipment each customer has.
“We support industrial air compressors – specialized pieces of equipment,” Tucker said. “We customized the system to track the make, model, horsepower and serial number of every compressor. We customized another field so we can digitally display their entire purchase history, which we have scanned in from a lot of handwritten records since 1963. History is very important in this business. Placing the historical data into the system makes it easier to access quickly and makes it easier to preserve the archives because the system is backed up on tape.”
Data in the system is used to generate postcards – like those sent by oil change shops – as a reminder of approaching service dates.
“We have broken down our products into a couple of major categories,” Tucker said. “We know when those products should be serviced based on the number of operation hours. We record how long a plant operates – one, two or three shifts – and calculate how many days that means it will be before a particular product should be serviced again. Less two weeks of the date, a reminder letter is generated.”
According to Tucker, the simple reminder is a powerful tool.
“All most of us have to worry about is oil on our car,” Tucker said. “Many of our customers have to worry about eight or 10 compressors – plus a lot of other equipment.”
