CRM - Bridging the gap
At Blox.xyz, the CRM system serves as the backbone of managing sales, client interactions, and post-sales processes. However, there was a significant gap in the CRM system—the post-sales journey was missing. The post sales team relied heavily on Excel sheets for post-sales activities, creating inefficiencies and data silos. Our challenge was to initiate a full-scale CRM revamp that addressed these issues.
This case study chronicles our journey of identifying the gaps, uncovering deeper problems, and iterating solutions across two phases.
My Role
I collaborated closely with stakeholders to gather requirements and understand user problems. As lead product designer, I led user interviews and feedback calls. I took charge of conducting research, market analysis, data analysis, designing workflows, and creating pixel-perfect visual representations of the product.
On the tech side, I was responsible for delivering designs for development and worked closely with front-end and back-end teams.
Research
We began with stakeholder interviews, focusing on different departments like sales, finance, and relationship management. After a series of discussions, one major issue became clear—while the idea of shifting the post-sales journey onto the CRM was welcome, the system lacked the foundation to support it.
Key Insights
The sales team didn’t enter booking details into the system. There was no CRM interface to capture booking information. And business emphasized that we need to bridge the gap between sales and postsales. Without the inflow of booking information, postsales journey can't be initiated on the CRM.
Refining the problem
It became evident that to fully implement the post-sales journey (Phase 1), we first needed to address an overlooked issue: the lack of booking creation functionality in the sales workflow. For successful completion of booking process, we must include refine sales journey and complete the booking process on CRM.
In Phase 2, our objective was to build a robust booking creation interface within the CRM. We needed to capture booking details entered by Relationship Managers (RMs), a step that didn’t exist in the old CRM system. The booking process was completed offline and wasn’t integrated into the sales workflow on the system.
Challenges Uncovered
Sales Team Disconnect: Sales teams would mark a booking as "done" but didn't have a interface to log booking details into the CRM.
Approval Workflows: Any new booking would need approval from the RM head, which was also not supported in the old system.
Incentivization Visibility: RMs were incentivized on the bookings made, it was important to keep track of their credits earned and credits getting incentivized.
Missing Data for Post-Sales: Without booking information, post-sales tasks like tracking payments or sending brokerage invoice requests couldn’t be triggered.
User flow
Solution
With the booking creation functionality built in Phase 2, we could proceed with the Phase 1 goal of incorporating post-sales tracking into the CRM. Now, the CRM provided a complete, end-to-end workflow—from initial enquiry to booking, payment tracking, and invoicing.
Solution Features:
Bookings: The CRM now captures all bookings made by RMs, complete with relevant details.
Interactions: RMs can log interactions with the developer, customer, sales, or finance team, creating a full audit trail.
Payment Tracking: Teams can update the payment status, helping to identify any stuck payments.
Invoice Requests: RMs can request brokerage invoices from developers, and update the invoice status once processed.
Real-Time Visibility: Management can track overall revenue generation, problem areas, and resolve any payment bottlenecks swiftly.
Design Principles
User-centered design
Focused on user needs through empathy mapping and stakeholder interviews.
Built features around users' workflows (e.g., booking creation, payment tracking).
Simplicity and Clarity
Streamlined complex workflows by eliminating Excel dependencies.
Created intuitive interfaces for easy booking entry and tracking.
Iterative Development
Regular feedback loops through prototypes and user testing.
Continuous refinement based on real-world user feedback.
Final Design
Result
By addressing the root problem of missing booking information, we were able to create a more robust CRM system that no longer relied on Excel sheets. This provided better visibility into the business’s revenue streams and helped teams track key milestones, such as payment statuses and invoice requests.
Key Outcomes:
Data Centralization: No more Excel sheets. All booking and post-sales data was now within the CRM.
Improved Accountability: The Postsales team could now track payments and invoicing, ensuring there was a clear audit trail for all interactions.
Operational Efficiency: Teams saved time and improved efficiency by 36%, the system helped reduce errors caused by managing data across multiple platforms.