What Gets Measured Gets Improved

Rhonda Ridge of Ab Initio’s installation management system, AdminBase, talks about the importance of measuring data and explains why installation businesses need a comprehensive CRM system to stay ahead of the competition. 

According to management theorist Peter Drucker, what gets measured gets improved. He’s right, but to harness the true power of data, businesses need to be sure they are measuring the right things in the right way. It should be a company-wide, all-inclusive approach that begins at the very start of the sales process and follows the customer journey through to fruition. Only then can businesses make sense of the data in front of them and use it to make informed decisions. The only way to successfully manage information in this way is through automation.   

An all-encompassing CRM system will have features to reliably hold information about leads from the moment they come into the business through to fruition. It can manage all data throughout the customer journey and support any after-sales service that might be required. This means companies can track trends, identify areas of the business that need further improvement, and recognise what is going well for added insight. 

Boosting Leads and Conversion Rates

Just focusing on the sales process for a moment, with the right system in place, sales reps can access better data, meaning they can do their jobs more efficiently and develop a more tailored approach to improve conversion rates. The right CRM is also helpful for keeping track of costs. It’s no good simply tracking the cost of business once a prospect becomes a customer, because it matters whether it costs you a little or a lot to win the business. Understanding how much it costs to generate confirmed revenue is like gold dust for marketing teams because they know where and how to concentrate their efforts for maximum benefit, i.e., how to generate more income with less budget.

Upgrade With AdminBase

AdminBase is a CRM system that has been specifically designed for installation businesses and manages data from the very beginning of the customer journey to the very end. The system has always managed leads as part of its offering but has recently had an upgrade to extend the facility that manages inquiries submitted via a customer’s website. When a homeowner contacts an installation business via their website, they are now able to submit photos along with their quote or brochure request that will automatically be entered into the AdminBase system with the lead. 

In addition to gathering and managing information up front, AdminBase offers a bird’s-eye view of data through the sale and for the duration of the installation. The My AdminBase Diary app, for example, holds all information about a project and allows installers to attach PDFs, pictures, videos, voice recordings, spreadsheets and any other useful information to each lead or contract record. The app also now makes it easy for managers to see the appointments assigned to their team members as well as their own. So, for example, an installation manager can view the appointments assigned to fitters and add their own photos to the job to feed back into the contract in AdminBase. 

The taskboard element of the system is also a great way for installation businesses to monitor the detail behind the projects. It highlights bottlenecks where people may be overworked and any areas deemed to still have capacity. The system also ensures there is visibility and accountability across the business so that no individual takes on more than they can handle, and no one gets away with hiding in the shadows and not pulling their weight. In short, it improves teamwork.

Informed Decisions For Continuous Improvement

All these features, and so many more that make up AdminBase, cumulatively mean that home improvement companies can track costs from the beginning of the customer journey right through to an installation being signed off, including any snagging issues that might occur. They allow businesses to measure the right things in the right way to help make informed decisions and ultimately follow a path of continuous improvement for a sustained competitive advantage. 

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