Some changes come very slowly. They need time to mature. What is it like to wait 10 years for a CRM solution? At the third Digital Transformation Summit, we welcomed Ľuboš Dinka, Sales Director, and Juraj Knap, Head of Customer Service, who came to us from Slovnaft in Slovakia. In an interview with Eduard Gers, Business Development Manager at Enehano Solutions, they openly shared how they replaced Excel with a new CRM, gave advice on how to successfully manage the adoption of the Salesforce platform, and whether they opted for a standard solution or opted for a customized system.
Slovnaft is a member of the MOL Group, a Hungarian chinese overseas asia database oil and gas concern. All major projects are managed by the “mother” and inspire other subsidiaries. The digital transformation of customer processes falls into the group of major projects. Who took the initiative to change the platform?
Ľuboš Dinka: Slovnaft is very active within the corporation. We often address our demands to the group management and our superiors, who are often based abroad. We do not position ourselves as passive customers, but we want to participate in the direction of the company. It took us 10 years to convince everyone to change. Even though we are a manufacturing company, we needed an adequate CRM solution for our salespeople, thanks to which we could better identify customer needs.
In our country, the priority was automation, digitalization and robotization in production and logistics.
That was a really long persuasion. What was your driving force and how did you operate before the transformation?
Juraj Knap: As already mentioned, we have been preparing for a sophisticated CRM solution for 10 years. We used Excel functions to keep all relevant customer information in one place. But it was unsustainable. We had to enter a lot of data into Excel manually and it did not cover the functions we needed. We hit its limits.
Ľuboš Dinka: It was not an easy path. Our priority building brand community: the new era of engagement was automation, digitalization and robotization in production and logistics. Many years ago, our systems were outdated. However, after the transformation, our production control center looked like a space center. We did a huge amount of work to keep up with the times and work more efficiently. However, we had to wait for the development of the sales department. At that time, salespeople were still taking out pencils and notebooks at meetings to present their work and negotiated deals.
When did you start the implementation?
Ľuboš Dinka: When we started talking about the new system, things went quickly. We managed the implementation in less than a year. The longest time was covered by preparation and promotion. Already 10 years ago, we said that we needed a more sophisticated tool for salespeople, which would contain all the information in one place and would have a 360 view of the client. We needed to make their work more efficient. Previously, they were finding information from five different systems and preparing for the meeting was disproportionately long compared to the meeting itself.
Have your customers also noticed the new modern solutions?
Ľuboš Dinka: Digitalization in the sales department is not just thailand data about Salesforce. We also use other applications and various portals. In this regard, we are very grateful for the ubiquitous digitalization in everyday life. This option is significantly more convenient than having to call the customer center or talk to an automated system and wait for a connection. Another undeniable benefit is that we want to be with the customer and solve their problems and requirements. We don’t want to spend time on preparation. Now, a salesperson can download a report across products and services with one button and spend the saved time talking to the client. That is priceless for business. Now, our customers experience first-class care.
In one place they are able to prepare offers, contracts, obtain information about the client and the communication that has taken place. / Ľuboš Dinka
How was the system adopted?
Ľuboš Dinka: Salespeople hate CRM, especially the new CRM they have to use. We have a wide range of people here – from young and dynamic to older people who don’t want to learn that much anymore. They used to use Excel, even though it meant a lot of extra work for them. So we set up Salesforce in a way that it would have a clear benefit for salespeople in terms of usage. Preparing for a meeting is easy, just one click. In one place, they are able to prepare offers, contracts, obtain information about the client and the communication that has taken place. Our requirement was that it should not visually differ from the previous Excel. With these steps leading to the improvement of t