Software behind firm making a splash
"...we turned to Clear Thinking who have established themselves as market leaders in the UK for software for glass processors. ...".
Opticolour are almost certainly the fastest growing splash back company in the UK. Established in 2006 and working from a 9000 sq.ft factory in Somerset, they have been quietly building their reputation as one of the most versatile and design conscious firms around.
Investing in the equipment to provide high quality digital print has been a key to their success, and they can print on to a single glass panel up to 3m x 1.5m, and that can be a splash back, or bathroom wall, or part of a multi panel scene in a foyer of a commercial building.
Opticolour's factory above
Opticolour have doubled in size in the last 6 months, which they attribute to the growing demand for their quality products. Director Steve Bale says, "Whilst 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."
An example of Opticolour's digitally painted image of a farmhouse splash back behind an Aga
"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."
Steve goes on to say, "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."
Steve finishes by saying, "Clear Thinking already came highly recommended to us, but it was crucial that our software supplier could do both the job we needed, as they had already demonstrated well, and also integrate with our existing CRM system. Now we can leverage our existing sales leads database and provide quick and accurate quotations to our prospects and keep tabs on when they need following up in a timely manner."
Article first appeared in Glass Times - January 2012
© 2012 Clear Thinking Software