Securiton

Since 1978, Securiton Deutschland has been keeping companies and authorities safe. As Germany’s most established security company, the business equips organizations and individuals with the technology they need to prevent burglary, detect fires, protect privacy and more. From fire alarms and video security to mobile systems and even drone detection devices, Securiton is known across the country for its comprehensive line of solutions. With almost 400 employees distributed across 16 locations, the company is united by a common mission: to protect lives and tangible assets with innovative solutions.

However, for all its cutting-edge advancements in the security industry, there was still one area within the organization that Securiton needed to address: customer relationship management.

Challenges  in Communicating with Customers

For years, Securiton staff relied on an internal system when communicating with customers.

“These were very rudimentary customer relationship management (CRM) functions in the ERP system,” said Sales Manager Frank Betsch. “All 16 branches and offices maintained their own prospect databases within their ERP system.”

As the company continued to grow, it became clear that a more comprehensive solution would be needed, especially in terms of digitalisation and automation. “We wanted to follow the latest technology trends and support traditional sales with digital, targeted, content-oriented communication,” Betsch said. So the team set out to find a CRM solution that would be both easy to use and seamless for staff to adopt.

“We were looking for an innovative tool to fit our needs,” said Betsch. “We paid particular attention to the flexibility and experience of the software provider so that we could meet all the challenges of digitization.”

Consolidating Data Into One System

For the changeover to a new CRM, Securiton began by outlining the necessary processes and requirements.

“The company is constantly developing and growing,” explained Betsch, so it was important to be intentional from the start. Securiton needed a robust CRM solution that would allow employees across the organization to be proactive about creating extraordinary customer experiences.

Securiton evaluated several systems before narrowing the list down to three top contenders. From that shortlist, SugarCRM was selected. But rather than rolling out the system for immediate adoption, the company devoted a lot of upfront time to onboarding employees. Together with Elite integration partner Insignio, Securiton focused on equipping staff with the right tools and especially the right knowledge.

Those efforts paid off.

“Thanks to many training courses and platform configurations, it can now be said that users are increasingly feeling the added value of the CRM system,” said Betsch. “Especially with regard to the cooperation between marketing and sales, and the improvement of data quality in general.”

David Cavas, a CRM Consultant at Insignio, agrees.

“We at Insignio have been supporting Securiton for years,” he said. “In this time there has rarely been a standstill in the CRM project. Securiton is constantly developing itself and its products. This makes cooperation very exciting, as we are always developing new solutions and optimising existing processes together.”

Uniting Autonomous Locations In One Seamless System

Since implementing Sugar, the quality of Securiton’s customer data has increased significantly.

“The data quality has already been significantly improved, not least thanks to the integration of additional databases such as our email marketing tool,” said Betsch. “We were able to unify all autonomous data into one database.”

Securiton employees can access a single database where virtually all relevant customer information is readily available. “Thanks to the transparency of the sales and marketing activities that now exists, some details could be discovered that previously did not receive the attention they might have required,” said Betsch. “The data required by marketing can be maintained and processed in one system without having to send Excel lists by email.”

Those improvements are also making it easier to communicate with prospects and improve transparency for everyone involved. For example: When working with a large hospital, Securiton was able to seamlessly collaborate across a wide range of stakeholders—finance, controlling and purchasing departments as well as technicians, special planners and other key players—to land an important contract.

Moving forward, Securiton will continue to build out new processes and add more departments to Sugar for a comprehensive view across marketing, sales and customer service.

“The long-term goal is to provide a comprehensive view of all customers and their activities in one single, easy-to-use overview… so all departments can select the information they need for their daily work,” Betsch said. “Sugar is the ideal platform to combine classic sales with digital communication.”