CRM software makes it easier for
prefabricated house providers to generate orders
The construction industry is currently facing major challenges. Successful customer management plays a major role in winning orders in times of crisis. After all, good service and a stable customer relationship make it easier to acquire orders. In addition, trust between suppliers and clients is of the utmost importance, especially when it comes to such a highly emotional topic as home ownership. To make customer management easier for manufacturers of prefabricated houses, Softbauware offers a CRM system that, like all the manufacturer's applications, can be seamlessly integrated into its ERP system.
Customer acquisition and retention are the central pillars of a company. However, both can be difficult under certain circumstances. The construction industry is currently experiencing severe losses due to the rise in building material prices and interest rates on loans. This is why the contract market is also unusually competitive for prefabricated house suppliers. New strategies are needed to stand out from the competition and win customers. Establishing good customer relationship management (CRM) is an important factor here.
CRM places the customer relationship at the center of the company's focus. The fundamental objectives are customer acquisition and retention. To this end, the business processes relating to existing and potential customers are adapted and designed. For example, by collecting all relevant data with the CRM software, marketing can be targeted to the wishes and needs of customers. The possibilities of Softbauware's CRM solution are broad and the seamless integration into the manufacturer's ERP system offers many added values.
Support for all processes
From the initial contact with a potential customer to the evaluation of the successful contract signing, all processes are supported and accompanied by the CRM software. The possible sequence of events is as follows: A potential customer (lead) enters the leads application via import through the provider website or prefabricated house portals. Alternatively, leads can also be created manually, for example when a prospective customer calls the show home. A set of rules in the system classifies the incoming leads and assigns them to a representative according to the region or zip code. To enable transparent evaluation, all contacts between prospective customers and representatives are documented. The system can even be used to record the agents' time. Thanks to various calendar functions, the workload of the agents and also of the show homes can be viewed. As soon as there is genuine interest, the leads are converted into opportunities and assigned to the corresponding phases. Within the opportunities, the interested parties are categorized more precisely using characteristics. This includes personal data such as occupation and income, but also customer requirements such as the number of rooms, the type of heating or the addition of a solar system. At this point, the customers have already discussed the entire house, which makes it possible to quote a price.
The phases
Qualifying: In this phase, the sales opportunities are discussed. A closing date has not yet been set and may be months in the future. The client may not yet have a budget or schedule commitment.
Need analysis: The aim of this phase is to adapt the offer, which is sent in the next step, precisely to the customer's wishes.
Proposal: The customer is sent customized offers based on their preferences. Each individual offer contains a description of services and the calculated price. Sampling takes place after the offer has been accepted by the customer. The service description includes examples of standard interior doors, fittings and floor coverings, which are then replaced if necessary. It is also possible to take into account deletions due to own work.
Negotiation: The closing phase describes the entire scope of activities required to bring the offer to a conclusion. Thanks to the optional integrated document management, the corresponding construction file can be viewed by every customer via the system. Desired changes to the property can thus be incorporated and stored directly in a low-threshold manner that is visible to everyone involved in the process. The processing of the data is always GDPR-compliant.
Closed: At this stage, the entire process in the active customer interaction is completed: either won if the offer was successfully concluded, or lost if no contract was signed.
Based on the data collected from the individual phases, the business intelligence function independently determines an evaluation of the measures implemented and thus makes a major contribution to quality assurance and process optimization.
Integration into the ERP
Softbauware offers the CRM functionalities specifically as part of the ERP system. This has several advantages for the user. Firstly, license costs can be saved - CRM systems are rather expensive as stand-alone solutions. In addition, setting up an interface to the ERP without targeted integration would be very time-consuming. In most cases, when used as a stand-alone solution, the interface with the ERP software is dispensed with altogether, which means that all data from the CRM has to be transferred to the ERP manually. This creates an error-prone duplication of work, which is eliminated by the complete solution from Softbauware. Collaboration with representatives is also significantly improved by using the software, as the system simplifies their connection to the company. The possibility of using data from the CRM for follow-up activities offers particular added value. For example, the project plan for the house can be generated from the cost estimate or the house configuration. This can be longer or shorter depending on the customer's selection. Logics for schedules, sequences and dependencies are stored in the ERP system for the respective specifications. This leads to greater planning reliability and thus enables a smooth construction process. Softbauware's CRM functionalities for prefabricated house suppliers - especially as an extension to the ERP solution - offer all the tools needed to sustainably improve customer management.