Ajco: the journey from partner to user

Ajco is not only a partner of BSI, but has recently also become an enthusiastic user of the BSI Customer Suite: At the end of 2022 ajco successfully migrated the internally used ajco CRM to the BSI Customer Suite. Thanks to the new possibilities for marketing and sales activities, not only has the topic “customer experience” reached a new level, but users are also giving highly positive feedback.

The key benefits of the BSI Customer Suite

• The modern user interface increases the adoption by ajco users;
• The marketing automation provides more individual customer, network and lead-interaction possibilities and customer journeys;
• Ajco thus knows the BSI Customer Suite not just from a consultant’s perspective, but also as a user.

The company ajco set itself clear objectives for the use of the internal CRM main system: the main goal is to optimally support long-standing and loyal customers. In order to achieve this, important information such as activities, maintenance and service contracts, as well as information on implemented software solutions or consulting projects must be available at all times.

Furthermore, the established relationship network of ajco contacts is regularly provided with relevant information, and relationships are maintained. In addition, the transparent and efficient processing of the sales pipeline in the CRM system must be guaranteed.

In order to achieve these objectives in the future, ajco decided to migrate the existing Aurea CRM to the BSI Customer Suite. The pivotal factors for the decision were:

• The use of a modern technology platform (cloud operating system instead of on-premises solutions);
• Significantly more functionalities (AI support, better analysis options with BSI Insight etc.);
• The use of integrated marketing automation, e.g., for webinar invitations, information on consulting topics, or use cases for software.

It was also important for ajco to get to know the BSI Customer Suite from a user’s perspective so as to be able to advice customers based on their own experience.

Setup as an internal project

Ajco handled the migration and implementation project in the same way as a customer project: After the stakeholder interviews to review the objectives and define the project framework, user stories were collected, a backlog was filled, and the system was subsequently introduced in an agile manner.

In addition to some necessary adjustments to the software and the data migration (companies, contacts, activities, documents, contracts, installed base), the integration with Microsoft 365, the use of the Outlook plug-in, and single sign-on via Microsoft services were implemented.

Ajco users received dedicated training and were closely supported by the internal project team, especially during the first weeks. Smaller requests regarding functionalities or the need for additional data fields were always quickly fulfilled by BSI.

Migration – benefits of the BSI Customer Suite

During customization and migration, the advantages of the BSI Customer Suite became clear:

1. The low-code/no-code approach of the BSI Customer Suite allows the software to be customized by ajco’s certified consultants largely via parametrization and purely configurative elements.
2. The migration was carried out on BSI EIP – the enterprise integration platform, which is an integral part of the BSI Customer Suite, supplying BSI CPD (customer data platform) with data. Interfaces did not have to be developed, but were configured.

In order for ajco users to “feel at home” in the system, the color scheme was adapted to ajco’s corporate design:

Successful implementation and learnings

The BSI Customer Suite is used more extensively at ajco than the legacy system. Initial feedback rounds show a variety of benefits:

• Extensive marketing and sales activities are possible with the marketing automation of BSI CX, whereby the possibilities of dynamic target group formation are already being used as well;
• More users actively contribute to the flow of information, e.g., on sales activities; data quality has been improved further;
• This also makes the sales pipeline more transparent and easier to track. The BSI Customer Suite has also improved the internal coordination;
• Generally very positive user feedback on the new system.