Case Study

ERP to CRM Integration With Data Warehouse

A chain of boutique fitness studios was aiming to grow their repeat business through improved customer retention and acquisition. Installing HubSpot was not enough, however, because the real-time data from their business (stored in Mariana Tek) was not easily updated into HubSpot. To really boost their business, they needed a real-time link between the systems.

SOLUTION

The project involved two distinct steps: first, extract the data from Mariana Tek into a central database or "data warehouse"; and second, to push the required customer information into HubSpot so that customers could be micro-targeted with the perfect message at the perfect time.

Over the course of the next year, the scope of information in the data warehouse expanded to cover more scenarios and business elements. When the company decided to implement Tableau for improved data analytics in areas beyond CRM, the data warehouse was the perfect foundation for business intelligence as well.

BENEFITS

No technical knowledge required. Our uniquely skilled project managers will work with non-technical business experts to build a “development-ready” specification and timeline for your project.

Bring a competitive edge to your business with custom software. Because internal development projects are hard to manage successfully, you can achieve strong competitive advantages by successfully achieving what your competitors cannot do.

Changing priorities is expected. Our process is based on change. Although we work with you to develop an initial scope, our development process involves weekly checkpoints where you can assess progress and discuss evolving requirements. You’re always in control of the process, every step of the way.

DETAILS

Challenged with the need to quickly grow her business, the VP of Growth realized the immense value that a data warehouse would bring to the business. Some of the anticipated advantages include:

  • Using widely available tools such as Excel and Microsoft Access to analyze business data before making business decisions.
  • Creating a feeding point for Business Intelligence tools such as Tableau, Domo or Qlik.
  • Integration to CRM systems such as HubSpot and SalesForce, to enable better customer interactions and up-to-date data for sales people.
Despite the value it would bring, getting the system implemented was a daunting challenge. Fortunately, she had worked with Dandelion Development on a previous project and felt comfortable that Dandelion was up to the challenge.

Thank you Dandelion for the outstanding professional job you did for us. I highly recommend you for the quality and professionalism that I experienced every step of the way! I look forward to a long lasting relationship.

The first step of the project involved an analysis of Mariana Tek's API and data structures. As a well known and highly respected platform in the boutiqe fitness industry, Mariana Tek had the programmatic interfaces to get at the business data when needed.

After discussing the specific priorities for data with the client, Dandelion implemented a system that extracted an initial core group of information from Mariana Tek and stored it in a central database. This data is automatically downloaded from Mariana Tek every night to ensure the data warehouse has the latest information.

As this first phase progressed, the client was involved every steps of the way. In many cases, the close working relationship between the client and the Dandelion project manager ensured that priorities for data synchronization were adjusted as the business priorities changed. This important element of flexibility ensures that the ultimate product matches the business needs at the end of the project, not what they were at the start.

Once the data warehouse was in place, HubSpot's developer interface was used to create contacts in the CRM system along with custom properties for each contact. These custom properties, such as quarterly spend and lifetime visits, can then be used to filter contacts for promotional campaigns.

As the business evolved, the data warehouse expanded its footprint to include more data about the customers. Every customer visit was pushed into HubSpot as a "deal" for easy access by customer service representatives and marketing campaign managers alike.

Apart from the enhanced value for the CRM system, the data warehouse was also used by business analysts for general business decision-making. This inevitably led to the introduction of Tableau as a business intelligence platform---something that the data warehouse is perfectly suited to feeding.