Salesforce Helps Uecomm Uncover More Sales Opportunities, Realize Rapid ROI

Uecomm Limited is Australia's leading specialised fibre broadband carrier, delivering data and Internet services to corporations, government departments, and other carriers and service providers nationally, at a cost-effective price.

With its fibre optic network being one of the newest and most advanced in the world and with more than 700 buildings directly connected to its network, speed of communication between employees is fundamental to its ongoing success in providing superior customer service. With competition increasing in the telco sector, Uecomm's customers and prospects are constantly reviewing network requirements for their own specific requirements.

Public and corporate awareness of broadband and its benefits are relatively low, and Uecomm is taking a leading role in the industry to promote the benefits of high bandwidth solutions. This promotion puts pressure on the sales teams, who have had to ensure that they can match the resourcing levels to meet customer needs and deliver the benefits of the network to customers cost effectively.

Prior to implementing a CRM solution from salesforce.com, each sales team relied on its own Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to track customer and prospect information. This proved laborious to maintain and did not reflect trends or provide immediate information around the prospective sale. In addition, staff churn could set the sales cycle back further due to a lack of centrally held information.

Uecomm recognised that it needed to have consistent and more accurate access to information in order to take advantage of the opportunities for broadband sales in Australia.

Uecomm evaluated several CRM solutions, based on a variety of key factors: set-up costs, security, ease of use, stability, and the ability to grow and integrate with the company's internal processes. The solution had to be uncomplicated enough to be maintained and used by all levels of staff, from system administrators through to sales, financial, and marketing departments, executives, and of course the CEO. The system needed to be implemented without investing a large amount in time, software, maintenance, or training.

Salesforce was evaluated on account of being able to meet these needs and was chosen because it was low risk, low maintenance, and had low set-up costs and yet still included all the features Uecomm required. Salesforce was rolled out to 40 users across Uecomm's offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.

"Salesforce has become an integral part of our operation—a valuable sales reporting tool," says Neil Verrall, sales director at Uecomm. "The fact that it's Internet based, intuitive, seamlessly integrates with back-end systems, and is user friendly means that channelling everything through Salesforce has encouraged user buy-in—thus justifying our monthly spend. Add to that an increase in sales opportunities, and we're talking levels of ROI that we wouldn't have seen with traditional CRM software in three years."

Through the implantation of Salesforce, Uecomm has centralised its repository of information from which it can record and forecast broadband sales. Information is easily accessible both online and offline for a 360-degree view of the company's customers and prospects. Lead assignments are now automated and information remains constantly available for up-to-date reports on orders and any relevant customer information.

All users can drill into the level of detail necessary for their roles and produce reports at the click of a button. Salesforce also allows users to store and share opportunities and store and tailor information for new prospects as necessary. By offering a high-level view, the company has a clearer picture of its long-term pipeline and has been able to identify trends in certain markets.

"Salesforce has also been a bonus for staff, as high achievers are easily recognised and rewarded for their hard work," adds Verrall.

Uecomm