This document summarizes how NYSERDA uses a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to support its Economic Development Growth Extension (EDGE) program. The EDGE program uses regional outreach contractors to promote NYSERDA energy efficiency and renewable energy incentives to businesses. The CRM system allows contractors to track partnerships, outreach activities, and referred projects. It also provides reporting capabilities to evaluate program performance and contractor activities. Using the mobile-accessible CRM system allows information sharing between contractors and helps NYSERDA manage the program. The presentation concludes by discussing how other economic development organizations could potentially use a CRM system to enhance partnerships, track projects, and integrate multiple programs.

1. Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) for Economic Development
NYSERDA Case Study
Presented at:
NYSEDC Conference
January 22, 2014
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2. Outline
1.NYSERDA’s Economic Development
Growth Extension (EDGE) Program
2.How CRM Helps the EDGE Program
3.How CRM Might Benefit Other EDOs
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3. EDGE Program:
A Quick Overview
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4. What is EDGE?
NYSERDA’s statewide
community outreach program:
• Focus on
commercial, industrial, institutional
energy users
– Except very large key accounts
– Utilize EDO Partners
– Target regionally significant projects
• Improve community understanding
of NYSERDA incentives
• Encourage energy efficiency /
renewable energy investment
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5. EDGE Organization
•
•
•
•
10 Regions
27 Regional Outreach Contractor staff (ROCs)
Most regions have 1-2 ROCs; NYC has 6
Promoting all NYSERDA funding opportunities (20+)
– Some Continuous
– Others Temporary
• Managed by 5 NYSERDA
staff, Program Support Services (Camoin)
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6. Results to Date
Indicator
New Partners
Projects Referred from Partners
Public Outreach Events
New Projects (Customer Actively
Interested in NYSERDA Programs)
Projects Referred to a NYSERDA Program
Applications Generated to NYSERDA
Cumulative Through
12/31/13
510
948
334
1,495
1,199
333
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7. How does CRM help
the EDGE Program?
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8. EDGE User Categories
ROCs: data collection, contact management, project tracking
– Highly mobile, traveling throughout regions
– One license per individual
Camoin: administration, reporting
– One administrator (desktop)
NYSERDA: assessing value of program
– Four managers overseeing contractors
– Access is for convenience, used ad hoc
IT Consultant: design, maintenance, coding
– One license
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9. Why Salesforce for EDGE?
• Report accomplishments, activities to demonstrate
program is worth investment
• Help ROCs work more effectively
– Database of account/contact/project info
– Track customer engagement
– Share information with each other
• Help program management understand what outreach
strategies work
• Integrate communications, workflow
• Accessible from mobile devices
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10. User Interface - Home
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11. User Interface – Data Entry
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12. User Interface - Reporting
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13. User Interface – Reporting
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14. User Interface – Dashboards
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15. User Interface – Chatter
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16. Reporting – Program Performance
• Contractor performance
– Partner Utilization (Referrals, Meetings/Events)
– Closed Sales (Applications to NYSERDA)
– Progress on Goals
•
•
•
•
Most popular programs
Most useful partners
Most effective lead sources
Where more resources may be needed
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17. Reporting – Program Management
•
•
•
•
Helps PMs understand activity in their territory
Important Projects, Partners
Planned Meetings, Events
Data tells us how the contractors are
working, whether approach is effective
– Focus on right customers, partners
– Avoid overlap with other outreach contractors’ key
accounts, activities.
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18. Reporting – ROC Self Monitoring
• Monthly “maintenance” reports to review and
correct data
• Review accounts, contacts, projects in the
pipeline
• Use dashboards for quick view of most
important info
• Organize outreach into Campaigns to help
track and evaluate efforts
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19. Information Sharing
• ROC Collaboration
– ROCs can view account / contact / project info
entered by colleagues
– Assign tasks / events to colleagues
– Ask questions, post announcements in Chatter
• Program management
– Post announcements, assignments, other info
– Keep communications separate from email
– Share files, links, polls
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20. How might you use CRM
systems to enhance your
organization?
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21. Cost
• Setup: consultant and staff, also survey users
• Ongoing: licenses on a per user basis
– 501(c)(3) organizations have 10 free licenses, plus
a huge discount on additional licenses beyond 10
– Some setups do not require a full license for all
types of interaction (i.e. chatter-only, customer
portal, etc.)
• Staff Time: use, monitoring and reporting
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22. Lessons Learned
 Measurement of ED outcomes requires
integration with other units of NYSERDA – ROCs
don’t have access to award information or data on
final project impacts
 Learning curve is short but steep
– Partly due to level of complexity and customization. For
some organizations, training will be easier.
– Need 30 days of continuous use for it to feel totally
natural. Part-time staff take longer to understand
proper use.
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23. Lessons Learned
Need someone at organization to oversee the
users and ensure uniform entry of
information, fix any confusion. Also, someone
who will use the reported information in a
systematic way.
Need to understand how mobile/external
apps interact, ensure they don’t skip required
fields, etc.
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24. Other Uses for EDOs
Local Level
• Business retention and expansion campaigns
• Entrepreneurship and start-up development
(larger urban)
• Fundraising campaigns
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25. Other Uses for EDOs
Regional Level
• REDC use for CFA applicant prospecting, data
collection and prioritization
• Large EDO use to integrate outreach across multiple
assistance programs
– e.g. small business technical assistance & low-interest
loan program & NYSERDA incentives & CFA round &
Start-Up NY
• Business attraction efforts where
Regional EDO owns the system,
local IDAs tie into the regional
system.
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26. Other Uses for EDOs
State Level
• ESDC has a couple of CRM initiatives
underway. Could regional/local groups be
participants and users?
• How about specific campaigns such as
NYLovesBio?
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27. Thank You
Michael N’dolo, CEcD
Vice President, Camoin Associates
michael@camoinassociates.com
518-899-2608 x103
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