Toronto CRM, Website Design and SEO

Our client, a major National Chamber of Commerce, with 22 staff and 3 offices came to us with a problem:

Their current CRM system was not being used by the staff, many were creating their own information silos in MS Excel, and there was almost no compliance with the organizations standards for categorizing the contacts.

What Our Client Wanted:

• A system that everyone uses effectively
• A better fit between tasks and tools
• Support for all offices to integrate the view of key constituents and critical data
• A sustainable plan to maintain up-to-date data
• To deliver high-value intelligence and coordination to constituents

Our Goals:

• To produce a strategic plan to develop a comprehensive information storage and dissemination system to support the mandate of the Chamber.
• To gather needs and performance requirements and characteristics to provide clear direction for the capabilities, expected strategic, and practical value, anticipated productivity gains and ease-of-use requirements of a CRM system .
• To identify what data is required and how it can be kept-up-to-date and valuable
• To identify what data should be accessed from external sources

We Worked With the Client to Clearly Identify the Problems:

1. The current system was not being used or maintained effectively, staff were using their own data silo’s and procedures
2. The current system was deemed unfriendly because too many basic fields are required before a contact can be saved
3. There was no written procedures or standards relating to how the database should be used and what the significance and value of some of the data fields was, for specific departments
4. Different departments had requirements that seemed to be in conflict
5. External offices in other cities needed access
6. There was no defined workflow of how business events are handled or tasks allocated and monitored
7. There was no over-all guiding principle or strategy for database use or maintenance
8. User reluctance has frustrated the CRM “champions”, as they found that facilities they had defined and provided were not being used.
9. There was also a requirement to design "best practice" checklists to integrate into the management system, providing peace of mind that standards are being maintained by staff
10. They wanted to explore an increased web presence so more visitors come to their web-site and register their interest in on-line forms or registration facilities
11. They wanted to provide easier integrated membership management and renewal processing, on-line payment of membership dues and registration fees

Our Process:

An on-line anonymous survey of all staff that identified needs, difficulties with existing tools, expectations and suggestions for a new

system, plus areas where new business opportunities could be realized if the tools supported the task.

A synopsis of departmental management’s assessment of the survey results, leading to a consensus of action and priorities

A point form plan for the next steps in achieving the goals and expectations that have been agreed