Learn how we set up a custom object to track equipment, servicing requirements and upsell opportunities for a client.
Our client already had a service management system for their equipment but they had a blind spot when it came to service opportunities and upsells, and no way to tailor marketing based on which equipment the customer had.
We introduced two custom objects to help, by following these steps:
1. Define the custom objects
We identified that actually, this project needed two custom objects to fulfil the clients data structure needs - one for primary equipment, and one for the ancillaries that were associated to a primary. This way, they could see which Pumps were being used with which Furnace, for example.
It was really important to take the time to dig into the required associations to make sure we had these objects right. We also made sure we named the objects appropriately (Primaries and Ancillaries).
2. Define the required properties
Once we knew the purpose of each object, we could define the properties for each, including primary and secondary properties such as:
- Name (Primary property with a naming convention of Type-Serial Number)
- Model (Secondary property)
- Serial number (Secondary property)
- Contract type
- Last service
- Last upgrade
3. Collate and import historical data
While they had a service management system, a lot of extra information (mainly about the company and contacts) was also contained in spreadsheets so we created a data import sheet and the client spent time collating the data and cleaning it. This meant the data was useful from the moment it was imported and gave them insight they had never had before, connecting equipment information with company data.
4. Using the data
Once all the data was in, they were able to start creating automation based on the information contained in the custom objects - being more proactive with renewals and servicing requirements. They were also able to create dashboards to pull together the data and form actionable insights.
