Introduction
Trinity Finances is a Dublin based financial services firm which specialises in providing its customers with competitive, easy-to-understand finance options across car, agri and general asset classifications. To better support their growing customer base, Trinity Finances partnered with CeADAR, Ireland’s European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) for AI to explore how digitalisation could streamline internal processes while maintaining a human touch.
The Challenge
At the time of engagement, Trinity Finances were struggling with a number of their administrative workflows. They relied heavily on manual data handling processes, which distracted the team from more productive, client focused work.
The first measure CeADAR took was to evaluate Trinity Finance’s existing processes and systems through a Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) questionnaire. CeADAR’s DMA helps to inform organisation’s on their current level of Digital Maturity, examining where their existing digital frameworks are fit for purpose, and where they might look for improvement.
This process looks at a number of benchmarks to gauge how digitally mature businesses are, such as how they handle their data, what systems they rely on day in day out, and how and if they have already begun to implement AI.
In this case, Trinity Finances scored 22% in their introductory DMA, indicating a relatively low level of Digital Maturity and triggered a structured programme of advisory and scoping support from CeADAR EDIH for AI.
Process mapping workshops found that customer applications were not centralised, but instead filtered through email and WhatsApp, with customer information housed on local machines across a disparate network of folders and desktops. This admin-intensive approach was highly dependent on individual team members for progress tracking, posing scalability and continuity risks.
Solutions Implemented
After a series of process mapping workshops, CeADAR’s recommended , the implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.A well tailored CRM would largely reduce Trinity Finances’ administrative overheads. It would allow them to centralize all lead management, automate communications with prospective clients and provide them complete visibility across the loan lifecycle. This would amount to a significant reduction in time spent doing superfluous busywork, and a return to focusing on what’s ultimately important, connecting with their customer base and securing their loans.
CeADAR guided the process every step of the way, taking into account what had been learned about Trinity’s customer journey, and mapping that back to required CRM features and functionality that would make a meaningful difference in freeing up the team’s time.
To this end CeADAR prioritised custom workflows and simple automation wins, linking a customer webform to the CRM. This helped to automate and categorize lead assignments based on dealership names for individuals inquiring about financing. Automated communications to both customers and dealerships were configured based on lead status, streamlining the process of connecting customers with financiers best equipped to fulfill their loan parameters.
“CeADAR’s support has transformed how we work. We’ve gone from manual processes to a streamlined, cloud based CRM that’s tailored to our needs. The transition was smooth, the team felt supported throughout, and best of all, we’ve digitised without losing the personal service our customers value”, JP Rooney APA QFA, Managing Director, Trinity Finances
A supporting step in Trinity Finances’ digital transition was to consolidate all their file storage under a single, purposefully organized cloud based system. CeADAR supported this move through configuring a new, Microsoft OneDrive account for the team. Customer files & records could all live in one place, with links embedded in CRM recordsfor quick, consistent access.. This simple solution significantly reduced friction when it came to internal handovers, as well as all but eliminating the potential for future customer data loss.
Results & Benefits
Through CeADAR’s EDIH for AI Programme, Trinity were able to identify opportunities within their existing business processes that would significantly enhance the team’s way of working. Implementing a CRM helped to streamline the organisation’s lead management process across 40 dealerships.
It gave time back to JP and his team through automated communication channels. Manual and siloed operational processes made way for automated lead generation, workflows and communications in one digital CRM system, providing visibility and insights across the loan lifecycle.