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The Agency of the Future
written by
Michał Tracz
CRM Freelancer at SoftwareSupport
Customer's quote:
"SoftwareSupp Expert successfully implemented a CRM system for us, was responsive, proactive, and willing to deliver business know-how."
Time of the project: 2 months
Scope:
Effect: Successful implementation and integration of CRM system with a database. Securing information flow and defining permissions.
Before starting a project, we always run a preliminary analysis of the client's needs. The kick-off meeting is necessary to discuss the client’s expectations thoroughly. In this case study, we put a strong emphasis on security and visibility settings to ensure that customers' data and know-how are secure when implementing new tools. We connected the client with Michał, a marketing professional familiar with cybersecurity and data security, working towards his OSCP certification.
The CRM system is a must-have for many B2B companies, while a structured one is every marketing or sales director's dream. We implemented Pipedrive from scratch, configured 20 new accounts, and got distributed data under control. In a nutshell, Pipedrive is a sales CRM and pipeline management software that allows you to manage leads and deals, track communications, automate processes, and collect performance data. This required us to learn about the client's needs and current sales funnel, daily tasks, and ways to meet their goals.
Our client wanted to bring team members who interact directly with customers into Pipedrive. We did this in stages and queued granting access to the system because our client wanted to keep things organized and be more in control. Initially, the CEO, Marketing Director, and Sales Director were invited as the people who would have the most permissions and the broadest level of access to Pipedrive. We held weekly meetings with this group to determine further details of the new CRM system's implementation.
Then, after the initial setup, the lower-level employees were added as beta testers to Pipedrive. In the next step, we created and configured accounts for the remaining employees to be ready before the main training on how to use the tool.
Before we could start inviting employees to the system via their email addresses, we had to configure the system's security aspects. We wanted an employee invited to Pipedrive to immediately be assigned to the appropriate group with strictly defined permissions.
We had to create five groups: Marketing, Sales, Project managers, Executives, and Admins. We mapped out the hierarchy and dependencies within the team. Based on this, we defined the roles, permissions, and allowed actions that we assigned to team members working with Pipedrive. The implementation was quite a challenge because we had four visibility groups available to us in the Pipedrive plan our client chose:
So, we briefed the client on Pipedrive's visibility breakdown capabilities, and after that, strategized and implemented the visibility settings. At the very end, we instructed the client on how roles should be applied so that each time new team members are added, they're easily assigned to the appropriate group.
A marketing or sales funnel is a smart way to categorize new opportunities and nurture potential leads in the best way there is. Such a funnel is a visualization that helps you understand the process of converting leads into customers. Also, the funnel shows the customer journey from the awareness stage through interest, evaluation, commitment, and the final purchase.
Our client wanted to ensure a sense of ownership and make sure the team is actively focused on the client. The goal was to prevent the customer from being pushed back or ignored because every non-response is a lost opportunity. So, by establishing funnels and work breakdowns, we streamlined workflow and ensured proper customer care.
We created two separate funnels for marketing and sales. Each team has different goals and responsibilities, so they want to track the flow of leads separately. Funnels have been linked to ways of acquiring leads. The client does it in several possible ways, using popular marketing technology advances such as newsletters, website forms, etc.
It's worth noting that it's very apparent how the marketing and sales departments support each other to drive sales. For example, if a customer writes back to a newsletter, the marketing specialist takes it over and continues the conversation. They warm up the lead to then pass it on to the salesperson or project manager.
So, we planned the entire process from the moment the lead appears in the marketing funnel system, through the entire sales process, to the successful completion and closing of the case. We took these existing practices for categorizing leads and simply systematized them in Pipedrive.
It's worth noting that the expert didn't have access to actual customer data and used sample data. This wasn't a problem for us. The expert proposed initial funnels and built them based on the general categories of information processed in the company. Based on this, we proposed model steps and labels within the funnels. The marketing director was then instructed on how to implement the funnels in Pipedrive using a sandbox. The major focus here was on knowledge sharing, education, and client self-reliance.
The next thing was to create a lead qualification form and rules for qualifying leads. We worked out the following breakdown, considering the criteria related to the client’s sales process and the customer relationship development:
This may seem fairly standard, but this division was necessary to organize knowledge. This way, the entire marketing team knows how each submission is classified. They’re able to figure out on their own what stage in the funnel a lead is at based on its activity.
Additionally, we've defined the required labels in Pipedrive. Now, the team can freely manipulate these labels, predefining them by giving them a color or choosing another option from the range provided by Pipedrive. Even in something as seemingly simple as lead labeling, there was the issue of security and the need to implement a hierarchical structure.
For example, the marketing department can see the deals, but not their value. Project managers can't see all deals, only those specific to a salesperson. Meanwhile, each salesperson can see only their own deals. The executives, on the other hand, are supposed to see everything. Our expert analyzed the labeling opportunities in Pipedrive and used the built-in features to solve this issue.
Pipedrive doesn't have its own mailing server but uses internal servers. So, we needed to synchronize it with an external email provider. Our client uses Microsoft Exchange, which was connected to Pipedrive to synchronize selected elements.
With Pipedrive labels, you can ensure that only the emails you select will fall into your inbox. The thing is, however, that Pipedrive treats labels as a separate folder in the inbox. So, we've created a special CRM folder where selected emails fall into, and by syncing with Pipedrive, they're always up to date. We created a folder with each person individually and then a global CRM folder.
We didn't synchronize the ERP system with Pipedrive by making a direct connection. The whole process was to pull data from the ERP and transfer it to the Pipedrive CRM system. But the problem was that there was no order in the ERP system, and, simply put, there was information chaos.
For example, we found out that marketing or sales professionals filled in fields in different ways. There were mistakes where the first name was in the last name field, and the email address was in the phone number field. The customer wanted to change this and start over by cleaning up the data. This data was critical as it’s related to the customer, their organization, and the activities carried to nurture them.
First, the marketing director and the team did a tremendous job sorting through several thousand records to ensure all the data was in place before syncing. Each record had more than a dozen items, so it was labor-intensive to make this data consistent and organized.
Then, the expert configured the fields in Pipedrive and added some custom fields. Also, the SoftwareSupp expert created an Excel template with which the client could import data from the ERP into the CRM. To be precise, there was an Excel between the ERP system and Pipedrive as a tool to facilitate this connection.
The Excel sheet created by us perfectly matched the fields created in Pipedrive. This was followed by training for the marketing director on how to import data from ERP to CRM using Excel. As a result, the first 50 records with exact creation and modification dates were imported with our help. Each subsequent batch of records, the client was able to make on their own.
The work of marketing and sales departments is based on data and reports. They need to measure how they're handling the day-to-day challenges of acquiring customers and closing sales. That's why we suggested using Pipedrive Insights as an indicator to show them if they're moving in the right direction.
We configured the dashboard, taking into account the essential information that every salesperson or marketer should see when entering the Pipedrive system. From now on, employees can find out in seconds about the events in a given period, current revenue, completed product transactions, new opportunities, etc. This gives them the big picture and allows them to track future successes.
The next action was to integrate Pipedrive and Mailchimp via Zapier. At this moment, Mailchimp is more of a native tool. Still, at the time of implementation, it wasn't possible to make Pipedrive-MailChimp integration in any other way than through an additional solution that will work in the middle (Zapier).
The Zap we created was a simple integration between Pipedrive and Mailchimp so that these solutions can communicate with each other two-way. The two-way communication was that information is sent from Pipedrive to MailChimp and vice versa.
For example, a marketing director can filter in Pipedrive the list of people they want to send a newsletter. Then, just pull the data between the tools, and it's all done. Or the marketing director can pull audience information from MailChimp and then saves the individuals in Pipedrive as new deals.
The client planned their first newsletter campaign with an expert, using the potential of the new integration. So, if the recipient responds, Mailchimp is supposed to come back with that information and saves the entire message in Pipedrive as a new or existing deal. However, there was a catch here: A separate Zap had to be created for each newsletter campaign. However, the SoftwareSupp expert trained the marketing director to be able to navigate the application themselves.
In this implementation, we took a somewhat creative approach to get customer feedback. As the client requested, we didn’t implement any new tool, and re-used Mailchimp. The process was as follows: Once a customer is contacted, an automated email is sent from Mailchimp asking the customer to rate the interaction on a scale of 1 to 10. This allows the client to see how the employee performed during the interaction and calculate the NPS.
This was a one-time test to see if this solution fit or not. Additionally, by using Mailchimp, the client is assured that they have full permission to contact and ask for a rating.
Data without context tells you nothing. They're just a collection of numbers, charts, and descriptions. Our client wanted tangible information about the companies and decision-makers who visit and engage on their website, so they wanted to learn more about:
To that end, we decided to try out Leadfeeder, a web application that collects data about customers visiting websites through a tracking script. It converts anonymous traffic into real company names and reveals the exact behavior of website visitors.
We embed the script on the client's website to learn more about the visitors' sources, areas of interest, the most viewed pages, and much more. All this data is documented so that the marketing team can warm up such a lead on their next visit. Additionally, Leadfeeder tracks users and creates heat maps. The client can analyze them and then make necessary improvements to the site, such as changing its design, adding new buttons, or conducting A/B tests.
In the initial phase, we conducted a group training that lasted about two hours. The goal was to get a smooth start with Pipedrive. Each employee was asked to click through the app and see how it works. Then, we did one-on-one training, with each one lasting 35 minutes.
The SoftwareSupp expert discussed with each employee what problems or comments they have. The training was personalized, as managers, salespeople, project managers, or marketers have different needs. Together we went through the basic features, taking into account the specific nature of the employee's work, their duties, and the type of tasks.
The entire implementation enabled the client to organize the collected information and integrate it with new tools to improve their operations. Even though we didn't have direct access to the actual data, it wasn't a barrier. The SoftwareSupp expert created the test accounts and sandboxes to properly demonstrate the tool's potential and show the client its use. As a result, the client can perform many tasks on their own, gain practical knowledge, and have peace of mind because we’ve ensured a high level of security.
Such privacy-oriented implementations show that anything is possible. The SoftwareSupp experts can cooperate and maintain a high level of confidentiality when required. We always share our insights and try to engage the client at all stages. By being proactive, you can stay up to date and master the changes faster.
written by
Michał Tracz
CRM Freelancer at SoftwareSupport
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