We conducted a quick interview with Mark Stretton – Communications Manager from The Heads’ Conference (HMC) about his recent CRM planning work with us, see what he had to say about his goals and experience.
Founded in 1869, HMC was the world’s first association for headteachers and currently consists of over 300 members in the British Isles – educating more than 270,000 pupils – and around 50 further members across the globe.
What was your digital challenge and how was this inhibiting you achieving your business objectives?
‘We currently have no central CRM which means we can’t deal with our data effectively; we have to manually update information, wasting valuable time and resource and as we have grown, and continue to grow, we need to put a long-term solution in place.’
What brought you to the decision that you needed support from a consultant to help you on your digital journey?
‘We don’t have the skills in house and felt that we needed advice and guidance to ensure that we were making the right decision from the start. In my role as Communications Manager I know this is critical to get right for our organisation, and improve our service to our members, therefore supported by the General Secretary this was a key strategic priority for this year.
Why did you choose Chrysalis Digital to support you?
‘Chrysalis Digital has the skills and experience, which closely aligned to what I was looking for. Plus, plenty of Membership and CRM expertise across a varied size of business, from introducing new CRMs to digital transformation projects in large complex membership organisations.
During the CRM tendering process with Chrysalis what areas particularly resonated?
‘Chrysalis Digital were knowledgeable and easy to deal with. I felt like there were no stupid questions and that Chrysalis Digital provided information and guidance in an accessible way. My advice to anyone starting this journey is to involve a consultant early.’
During the business requirement gathering process in your organisation, did you identify addition changes and improvements you could make to help your business?
‘Yes. We saw that some changes that could be made to our member portal/zone, helping to improve the user experience and useability.
Now that you are evolving digitally what’s next/where do you see the benefits & opportunities?
‘We are working on the implementation now, when the CRM is in place, we are looking forward to being able to channel all the time we have back into proactive activities for our members and the organisation.
It was a pleasure working with Mark and his team and we wish them every success in their CRM implementation.
Chrysalis Digital provides a digital transformation service designed to help build a more agile, efficient, and innovative organisation. With its broad cross-sector experience Chrysalis has helped many organisations map their digital path and through careful planning and assessment, choose the right technology partners. Chrysalis Digital is 100% agnostic when recommending CMS and CRM suppliers to its clients.
If you need any help with the next steps in your journey, please call Ben Sturt on 07469 768990 or email info@chrysalisdigital.co.uk