GroupLink ContactWise - Novell GroupWise CRM

EFCA

Background

EFCA is a denominational lender specializing in church loans, church construction, and investments. It has holdings in excess of $100,000,000. The Evangelical Free Church of America has been providing its services throughout the United States since 1959. EFCA employs several hundred in sites covering the U.S.

The Problem

EFCA maintains roughly 6,500 contacts. Approximately 1,500 contacts constitute its loan service division, another 5,000 on its investment side. The hands-on contact service and maintenance personnel consist of only seven employees—three in management roles and the other four in system support. Not only was EFCA limited in manpower when dealing with its numerous clients and contacts, it was also tremendously hindered by the absence of an effective contact management tool.

EFCA was reliant upon a paper system in accessing and maintaining vital contact information. Obvious problems associated with outdated paper-filing systems included, but are not limited to: inaccessibility to information by all staff, inability to secure and route information in a timely manner, misfiled or lost hard (universal) copies, inadequate dissemination of information to / through the appropriate channels. EFCA wasn’t nearly using information to its fullest potential and potency; making their marketing efforts far from proactive.

The Solution

Through the implementation of GroupLink’s ContactWise EFCA has transformed the way it utilizes vital information, and consequently the way it does business. In contrast to its former system, all information and work is now maintained electronically in an easy to access and use contact management system. Brett Roehr, Vice President of Development for EFCA said, “The transition from the antiquated paper system to ContactWise has changed the way we operate for the better on every front. ContactWise has so many easy to use facets it would be impossible to name them all, however, the ease of use and functionality of this tool has put all of our employees in the drivers seat of contact / customer satisfaction.”

“In speaking to the functionality of this tool, one obvious advantage we are fully exploiting is the ability to operate remotely. No longer are our marketing efforts constrained to the office; our ability to now function when and where we choose has been a great improvement for us,” said Roehr.

GroupLink’s ContactWise provides users with the ability to quickly and accurately access and input crucial information. Contact / Client information is immediately accessible to all necessary staff, ensuring up-to-date records of communications, appointments: past, present and future, and on-going history capabilities ensuring excellent customer service and satisfaction.

Conclusion

By implementing GroupLink’s ContactWise, EFCA has improved not only their contact management capabilities but also their overall operational abilities as well. ContactWise has allowed EFCA to maintain detailed and accurate, as well as up-to-the-minute records on their thousands of clients and contacts. Now EFCA keeps hard copies of various types of documentation for legal and clerical purposes, not for the day-to-day necessary use that once tied their office together.