Recency, frequency and monetary value data from Zintoro becomes a powerful tool for Bergquist sales team

Many business software programs provide data, but programs that make that data easy to use are the ones that deliver results. According to Don Montroy, Vice President of Bergquist, a leading propane equipment distributor, working with Zintoro provides easy access to data on the recency and frequency of purchases as well as the monetary value of customers. “We had other business intelligence tools tied to our ERP system that we were using, but none laid out the data to really look at those key metrics.”

How it works

Zintoro’s AI-powered software analyzes a company’s invoices to identify key insights and make predictions about future sales. When Bergquist began working with Zintoro about five years ago, they were trying to control the churn of customers by engaging with customers who made a purchase 9 to 12 weeks ago. An analysis of their data showed that if customers hadn’t made a purchase within this timeframe, they were highly likely to stop purchasing from them.

“Zintoro made it easy to provide that data to salespeople, who could then prioritize their conversations and visits with customers based on a convenient spreadsheet,” says Montroy. “It’s all about identifying and then engaging those customers, whether it’s through email, outside sales paths or direct mail.”

Zintoro software enabled Bergquist to visualize customers as belonging to one of three groups based on their RFM score (Recency, Frequency and Monetary Value): stable customers, Risk 1 customers and Risk 2 customers. “It was a good way to segment our customer base to determine which ones we need to make a priority,” notes Montroy. The company chose to focus on stable customers and those that are in the Risk 1 (moderate risk) category.

Information on new customers was also key to the distributor. “It was easy to identify customers that were new to Bergquist,” says Montroy. “We could then help onboard them to our company.” The follow-up action might be a call or email to check on the service or to ask if there is anything else they might need. All of Bergquist’s 16 outside sales reps and 12 inside sales reps have access to data through an online portal that helps them track the actions of approximately 3,800 active customers.

Through Zintoro, the company has also identified another segment of their business they call “non-propane.” These are not their core customers that are propane retailers, but are other types, such as HVAC companies, whom they could potentially focus on to grow.

Results

According to Montroy, Bergquist is now seeing the results of their efforts. In the past 18 months, the number of active accounts has grown 1% to 1 1/2% after years of being flat. “It doesn’t sound like much but in this industry it’s big deal to grow active accounts by a percent per year.”
Montroy also has confidence in the forecasting numbers that come from Zintoro. “It usually tracks pretty closely, within a percent or so,” says Montroy. “This makes it easier to set sales goals for the company.”

In addition to providing analytics. Montroy finds value in quarterly calls with Zintoro’s owner, Steve Clegg, who is also managing director of Winsby, a company that provides marketing services to b2b companies. “Steve has experience working with manufacturers and distributors across multiple industries, and he can offer insights we might not have thought of,” says Montroy. “It’s extremely valuable.”

Montroy says the software is so reasonably priced, compared to other business intelligence tools, that they don’t even look at the return on investment. “We know we’re getting a return on it,” says Montroy.

However, Montroy adds that companies need to be committed to acting on the data to realize the value fully. “You need to look at the data, analyze it and put a plan in place,” he says.

Zintoro makes it easy.