Safe software bet
24th January 2012

Splash back company Opticolour has doubled in size in the last six months.

Director Steve Bale said: "While it's true that you can buy a cheap single splash back from one of the DIY sheds, we believe that there's a huge market of discerning customers out there who are prepared to pay a reasonable price for a quality bespoke product and that's where we come in.

“We can supply direct or through kitchen companies on a national basis, and word has been rapidly spreading through the industry, and when customers see the scope of what we're able to offer, they are often amazed.

"However, it's not all about the range of products that we offer, our success is based on getting things right first time for the customer and the way we handle the customer from initial tentative enquiry, right through to sending samples, quoting, templating, delivery and fitting to getting the job signed off. We have been using Goldmine Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and this has been central to our success.

"As we've grown, we recently realised the need to purchase some order processing software so that we can quote more quickly and more accurately, so we turned to Clear Thinking who have established themselves as market leaders in the UK for software for glass processors. We knew that their software was in use at several of our friends in the industry and at a few of our competitors – so they seemed like a safe bet.

"Clear Thinking undertook to integrate their quoting and invoicing software with both our existing Sage accounts software and also with our Goldmine CRM system. So now as well as managing our prospecting well, we can now process orders onto a central Clear Thinking database and everyone in the company can see the progress of that order and provide a quick response to any customer queries.

“In our industry we are constantly rescheduling installations around the challenges of a full kitchen installation, including plumbers, electricians and tilers, so we have always had to be very flexible. This will save us lots of time and make us a very efficient organisation."

"Now when an enquiry is taken, whether it is from a householder or a kitchen company, the lead is assigned to a rep, information and samples are sent out and tracked, and then quotations can be emailed and copied to the rep, so they are prompted to follow up the quote a few days later. This has improved our conversion rate and shown us what profile of clients typically buy and who are just brochure collectors.

"It is then very simple to convert a prospect into a customer (once credit checks have been done or deposit taken), a deposit invoice can be sent and either manufacturing or the templating service can start. If the job is supply only, the job gets scheduled for manufacture straight away and either delivered to site or to a kitchen company."

www.clearthinkingsoftware.co.uk
www.opticolour.co.uk