“The team loves it because it’s clear and easy to use; it’s not clunky like some of its competitors,” said Burkinshaw. “Sage has a simple ‘drag and drop’ feel but if you need to do something more complex and put some code in, you can do that too. It’s user-friendly and customisable.” Sage Partner Qmulus Solutions was brought in to integrate different systems including Sage 50, the accountancy package that was already fundamental to the business.
Bringing about change
CommLink experienced 50% growth in 2014, a significant ramp up in business that Burkinshaw puts down in part to the use of Sage. And he credits it directly for improving customer satisfaction levels by 25%.
As soon as it was deployed, account managers made it the platform for proactively managing relationships with hundreds of existing customers. It also introduced advanced email marketing capabilities. The company now tracks and monitors email campaigns, analysing how customers and prospects respond then tailoring future campaigns accordingly.
With around 4,000 prospects in the Sage database and another 8,000 to be added, the company sends out 1,500 emails each week and supports them with follow-up calls and social media activity, all managed and logged within the solution. “Sage has dramatically increased the amount of business we have, and I expect to see a 50-75% growth on turnover as a result of our marketing and sales efforts within the next 12 months,” said Burkinshaw.