sep 24. 2008 13:32 | telenorge.no

In January 2005 the sales company ucan2.no saw the light of day. Today, nearly four years later, they have about 50 000 users of the mobile subscription ucan2 SOHO. Quietly, they have become one of NextCom's largest contractors and will monthly add between 3000 and 5000 new customers.

The need for a CRM system that optimizes customer follow-up is one vital ingredient in a market where it is an ongoing fight for customers.

One step ahead

With a fast growing customer database, Apelthun realized that they needed better control. He discovered that the sellers often developed their own techniques and systems to ensure the best possible follow-up of subscribers, and the need to systematize this information became more and more clear. All they had worked with for three years had to be put in a proper system so that the handling of the large amount of customers would be properly serviced.

- "We were looking for something that could contribute to better control of the customer database. It was necessary for the service of the customers to be more correct - yes, better."

- "One of our employees tipped me about NextCom, and what I was presented when I visited them in Sandefjord appeared revolutionary and extremely well thought-out. They had already been through the problems we faced, and it was all very exciting. Although I am a trained data engineer, I was not exactly an uncritical spectator," he says.

Was understood

Although the development of NextCom Evolution already had been going on for a long time, it was still considered as newborn when ucan2.no knocked at the door. Apelthun tells about a hint of skepticism that they would be one of the first real customers, but what he had seen had convinced him anyway.

- "The over all impression after the first meeting, was that NextCom truly understood our problem - they knew exactly what I would need and why it was necessary. There was also an important element in my assessment of the system; the people behind NextCom had long experience in the telecommunications industry and telemarketing," says Apelthun.

The user experience

In February of this year, they had kicked off of NextCom Evolution at ucan2.no, and today they have ninety-four licenses.

When Apelthuns' employees adopted the system for the first time, it was natural that several employees were skeptical about the transition from what they had been used to for nearly three years, to something completely new. The implementation went, we are told, beyond every expectation, and the response from the users gave a picture of a system that was easy to use and that made more of the tasks at work easier to handle.

- "We are very satisfied; feedback from our users is entirely positive. Not least, it is an invaluable security for us that ideas of improvement and further development of the system will be taken seriously. When I bring these ideas to NextCom, they usually have started the development already. When we ask for adjustments, they act quickly," Apelthuns enthusiastically offered.