At some point, getting a CRM-system is inevitable to keep up with the changed customer demand, increased complexity and shifting business models following the digital imperative. So far you have acknowledged the extensive investments that have been made to streamline production and increase efficiency in some areas.
Now, you start to feel the pain from years of neglecting the processes closest to the customers. You are struggling with shared Excel files, a stand-alone ticket system and an ERP that lives its own life. Not to mention the agreements and quotations piling up at the shared server and the e-mails stored in each sales reps Outlook, making you dependent on individuals to access crucial business information.
At some point, you also did invest in a CRM-system but realized that it was too much of a “one size fits all” solution, and therefore it has not helped improve any of your procedures. Your employees do not even use it.
From leads to service
Imagine your daily work starting already on the commute to work, opening your CRM in the phone. It tells you what to do today, if there are any customers with declining sales trends to pay a visit or if there have been any critical issues on a customer’s machines that you should be aware of.
Sliding into work feeling prepared, a customer calls to ask for a quotation and before the other person finishes her sentence you say “the price that Sara gave you the other week is still relevant, however I can see that you have not discussed the accessories to your existing machines. They haven’t been replaced the last year, should we add that to your quotation as well?”. The person is thankful for the proactiveness and realize that you are the right person to also mention the broken machine that needs service, you escalate a service order to Charlie on the field and schedule a time already in the call. With the right seamless integrations, the customer will see you as a seamless vendor.
Connecting the dots between departments
With industry best practice CRM, you ensure all departments have a shared platform for collaboration and access to updated information about the customer. This way sales, service and aftermarket could work as one unit and merge the gap between field and office. As the example above, Charlie instantly is notified about a service needed, and could on the way out to the customer easily check on previous interventions, machine type and which year the accessories were changed last time.
What is Lime CRM for the machinery industry?
Remember, Lime is not a “one size fits all” tool, and therefore Lime CRM can be adjusted to your specific flows. Buying an industry specific solution is not an all you can eat buffet. This is a common misunderstanding and important to highlight – a real industry specific solution should already have made the selection for you.
Lime CRM for machinery usually includes:
- A company overview, with search functionalities allowing you to easily find what you are searching for.
- A connection to your ERP system, making sure that your daily tools are well integrated, and the CRM is fed with relevant sales orders. This gives you the possibility to get indications when your customers have a declining sales trend, allowing you to be proactive and pick them up with the right products, just in time.
- A storage for your sold products and current and previous owners if that is the case. Many of our customers do not only sell, but also buy or rent out machines and products, creating a need to allocate both the current and historical position of the product.
- Service handling; reactive and proactive. When the customer actively reaches out to you for help, then Lime CRM supports the ticket flow from start to finish. This often needs to be escalated to field service, and from there scheduled service should be planned.
- Agreements, either framework agreements or service agreements. In the best of worlds, the customer does not have to keep track on their agreements, you would stay far ahead of the customer and their agreements with the help of Lime CRM.
- Marketing automation. Sending newsletters and SMS manually is so 2020, adding logic to some of the processes is 2021. Why not automatically send marketing material for the right accessories depending on which product the customer has bought?
Learn more about Lime CRM for Machinery
In this webinar, our industry sales expert Mathias walks you through some common situations and needs of machine companies and how a CRM can facilitate business.
Experience
A classic mistake that companies make is to go with a vendor that paints an attractive picture of their solution but has no previous customers within the industry. This is usually an underlying factor for disaster, where you find yourself feeding the vendor with your experience rather than the other way around. Lime has a solid customer base, and 30 years of know-how. With over 1.000 implementations per year, we have our ear to the ground and continuously improve our products to the evolving needs of the industry.
Making the move
In the end, the biggest challenge is not necessarily choosing the right tool but making the move. Our belief is that the best implementations are those where software implementation and behavioral changes are in symbiosis. When packaging a solution, we also include change management, helping you make sure that your new IT system is backed up by the right behaviors and routines in your organization. We have not yet encountered a better combination than digitalized workflows, to-the-point-features, and best-practice behaviour.
