Developing client database and improving customer relations as a sales support in a furniture supplier firm

• Main Author: Sampang, Carlo R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Consumers—Philippines > Databases; Customer relations > Philippines; Selling—Furniture > Philippines; Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_manorg/35; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_manorg/article/1069/viewcontent/sampang2.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Dynamic market and tight industry competition push SME companies to improve sales performance and sustain positive growth. Technology offers ways to build lasting client relationships to generate more sales. This insider action research aimed to increase the sales performance of our family-owned company, a sale –to- business (B2B) engaged in supplying office furniture to firms and institutions. Sales performance in this action research geared towards increased sales productivity measured in terms of sales quotations secured to improve the client/project prospecting. The sales quotation is an important performance indicator as it strongly indicates that there are many potential projects that the sales department could work on. In Cycle 1, our team created and managed a client database system using Excel to help the sales personnel in prospecting. In Cycle 2, we conducted a trial run of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for enhancing the client database system. Our action research team were guided by Lafore et al.’s Sales Allocation Grid framework in developing and implementing the client database. The results showed that the client database became an effective tool in increasing the project/client prospects of our company. The experience and learning we gained from this study can be used as a reference for start-up companies who aim to utilize and manage their client database to increase sales lead generation and improve client relationships.