A growing real estate agency had quickly outgrown their current method of ordering business cards and flyers.
The Challenge
The Real Estate company’s process for business card procurement involved a single point of contact in the marketing department. Each order request involved multiple emails between the card requestor, the marketing department, and the print shop. As payment processing and invoicing was not automated, the procurement process created a lot of extra work for the accounting department as well.
The Strategy
1. Simplify on-boarding of new and existing employees
Agents from newly acquired offices were given a single link to create their own account on the ordering portal. Concise company-specific help pages allowed new agents to place their own orders immediately. Existing agents names and contact information were added to the portal via a .CSV file provided by the marketing department, this further facilitated the on-boarding of existing employees.
2. Streamline the ordering and approval process.
Agents choose from a range of templates specific to them (by office, industry, etc.). Instant digital proofs eliminated the need for back-and-forth emails. Smart templates ensured proper formatting and consistency, while allowing flexibility in which contact fields were available. Initially all orders were funneled through designated approval managers, with the option to allow agents to re-order cards without having to go through the approval process.
3. Automate payment, tracking numbers and invoicing.
Independent agents now paid for their orders via credit card. Office employees’ purchases would be automatically included in the appropriate cost center on a monthly invoice provided to the accounting department. Agents can check the status of their orders on their personalized page, and receive their package’s tracking number as soon as their order ships which reduces email communications within the company.
The Results
On-boarding new employees became as simple as forwarding a link to a page on the company’s intranet. Automated payment and invoicing by cost center saved the accounting department hours each month. Because the Portal’s instant proofs, automated tracking emails, and easy re-ordering process, our client chose to remove the need for managerial approval after a few months, further reducing demands on the marketing department.