Sears
When the Industrial Sales division of Sears set a
goal to increase its market share, the company turned to Oncontact Software
for help. CMS boosted employee productivity and enhanced lead quality,
opening the door for Sears to breeze past its competition.
The Industrial Sales Division of Sears has been a tool
supplier to maintenance repair operations, Fortune 1000 companies, service
organizations, property managers, hospitals and federal, state and local
governments for over 30 years.
Oncontact Software's Challenge
Eager to expand its customer base, Sears was seeking a powerful, yet
flexible, customer relationship management solution that would enable
its front office to increase productivity and manage more accounts.
So eager was Sears to grow its business that it set an ambitious goal
to become the No. 1 tool supplier to the industrial, maintenance repair
operation and vocational markets.
Sears rationalized that, in order to achieve this goal,
it would have to maximize the reach of its front office efforts. Increasing
its customer audience looked to be a daunting task, considering Sears'
field sales force wasn't covering much ground. In fact, the sales force's
expansion strategy consisted solely of making personal visits to existing
customers to grow current accounts and to prospective customers to win
new accounts, a time-consuming process that was preventing Sears from
reaching out to new markets and smaller accounts.
To step up its growth plan, Sears decided to develop
a call center group to pursue these additional opportunities. To support
the call center team, Sears would need a customer relationship management
solution that could automate business activities, increase productivity
and enhance communication throughout the front office.
Access to prompt technical support was also key. Sears
firmly believes that quality technical support is crucial to maintaining
customer satisfaction and maximizing new sales opportunities.
An added challenge for Oncontact Software was that Sears
was running on an old OS/2 operating system. Because the OS/2 platform
was obsolete, Sears had to replace it with a new platform before installing
a customer relationship management system. THE CMS
Solution
Sears chose Oncontact Software's Client Management Software (CMS) as
its customer relationship management solution because it encompasses
in one application the many features Sears required to expand its business.
CMS' account management feature allows Sears to schedule
and generate follow-up activities, track sales prospects and chart the
effectiveness of sales initiatives. CMS' call center function allows
Sears to qualify leads and track literature fulfillment requests. CMS'
report generating, data synchronization, sales management and marketing
management features also aid Sears in its quest to become the best.
The CMS Form Painter module lets Sears customize CMS
and modify it to adapt to changing needs. Using the CMS Form Painter,
the system administrator can customize the application to meet specific
objectives or extend the application by creating entirely new screens
- all without modifying source code.
"The flexibility we have with Form Painter has allowed
us to integrate our sales process and call center operations,"
says Jerry Needham, Sears Industrial Sales Division district manager.
"Form Painter also guarantees that Sears will always be able to
upgrade the CMS solution as future versions are released."
Oncontact Software advised Sears to replace its OS/2
platform with the database and operating systems other clients rated
highly for performance and stability - Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft
Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 95.
Impressive Results
CMS has delivered numerous bottom-line benefits for Sears. To Sears,
the CMS application suite is proof that an effective customer relationship
management solution enables a business to serve its present customers
more effectively, as well as conquer entirely new markets. In fact,
Sears believes that one of the greatest CMS perks is that it meets a
company's current needs and continues benefiting the company well into
the future.
CMS has enabled Sears to manage 10 times as many accounts
as before and has increased productivity by 25 percent. Previously,
a representative struggled to manage 50 or 60 accounts. With help from
CMS, that same representative can now manage 400 to 600 accounts with
increased efficiency.
Sears uses CMS to monitor progress on projects and accounts,
track front office activities and guide salespeople in transforming
opportunities into sales. Automating these processes frees time so representatives
can focus on individual accounts, account service and new markets. Small
accounts now receive the same level of service as larger ones.
Sears has also witnessed a boost in business from existing
customers, a direct result of better service generated by unlimited
access to account information and history.
Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Windows NT have provided
unparalleled price and performance, as well as improved access to qualified
support. "We have found Windows NT to be extremely stable in comparison
with the OS/2 platforms we were running before," says Needham.
By teaming with Oncontact Software and Microsoft, Sears
has increased profitability, expanded into new markets and equipped
itself to efficiently manage mission-critical information. By leveraging
the power of CMS, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Windows NT, Sears
has given itself a vital edge in a competitive environment and has positioned
itself to become the No. 1 tool supplier to the industrial, maintenance
repair operation and vocational markets.
"CMS has positioned us very well for the future,
says Needham. "We are very pleased with Oncontact Software as an
organization and as a front office application supporting our business."
More Information
Oncontact Software Corporation develops, markets and supports Client
Management Software (CMS), a leading front office application suite
that automates the field sales, inside sales, marketing, customer service
and call center functions for mid-market companies. CMS is a "one
solution, one price" integrated application that enables sales,
marketing and customer service professionals to take better care of
their prospects and customers through seamless communication and rapid
productivity.
CMS is based on network and Internet technologies and
provides today's companies with integrated, flexible and mobile software
solutions to meet their advanced business goals. CMS is a 32-bit, Microsoft
BackOffice certified application and has been optimized to run natively
on the Microsoft SQL Server and the Oracle, Sybase and Informix platforms.
Oncontact Software is a privately held company whose
applications are marketed, installed and implemented throughout North
America, Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.
Oncontact Software has a portfolio of customers worldwide,
including Johnson & Johnson, Sears, Blue Cross-Blue Shield, Summit
Bank and Mercedes-Benz
