Leeds-based digital marketing agency Ascensor has delivered an online application process for trade customers of Europe’s leading kitchen specialists Nobia. The new digital process, for Nobia brand Magnet Kitchens, significantly improves the in-store and remote sign up of new trade customer accounts.
Magnet Kitchens’ application process and the associated data management routines have been made completely digital, enabling a previously lengthy process to be completed swiftly.
Andrew Firth, (pictured) MD of Ascensor explains: “Nobia has more than 6,000 employees and 20 brands, including Magnet Kitchens. So, we were delighted when they asked us to develop an online business application form, to transform the way that Magnet sign up new trade clients in their 200 kitchen showrooms nationwide.”
He adds: “The existing process was paper-based and involved many separate data collection and data processing stages. The project required us to work closely with the team at Magnet to determine the required customer process. We devised a new digital approach to the capture and processing of the varying details of sole traders, limited companies and partnerships.”
The Ascensor team developed a customer-led journey that now makes it easy for Magnet Trade Business Developers to swiftly process new account applications.
The technical requirements, including the secure flow of customer data to credit rating agencies, meant that the project was complex. However, Ascensor’s strong experience in digital transformation enabled them to deliver the project outcome on time and budget.
As a project involving the handling of sensitive customer data, Ascensor’s working practices include adherence to the ISO 27001 information security framework, which assured Nobia that all data would be handled in a secure and compliant way.
Andrew says: “Magnet’s previous paper-based system took days to fully complete and led to a high attrition rate among potential trade clients. So, introducing the facility to approve a credit line on the spot is a real game-changer. By rolling out an online form that’s fully responsive to desktop and mobile devices, Magnet are able to get an instant credit decision, transforming the process.”
He adds: “We are already discussing further development work to expand the solution that is demonstrating its effectiveness in Magnet showrooms across the country.”
Commenting on the successful outcome, Stephen Fish, senior project manager at Nobia says: “Delivering this initial project with Ascensor has introduced yet another distinctive advantage to Magnet. We have freed ourselves from a manual and time-consuming customer engagement process and can now offer credit accounts during our business developers’ initial engagement. This is just the beginning and we look forward to working with Ascensor on our next value add initiatives.”
