Small businesses can greatly benefit from implementing versatile software solutions that streamline their operations. Steve Festa, owner of Blues Brothers Construction, shared his experience with Zoho in an episode of Small Biz in 15. In this article, we delve into the insights that Festa shared about using software to make a roofing company more competitive.
The Blues Brothers Construction Story
Blues Brothers Construction is a roofing contractor company based out of South Florida, Boca Raton. They specialize in residential roofing and repairs. Steve Festa started his business in 2005 following Hurricane Charlie’s rampage through Central Florida.
“What got me into this,” Steve shared, “was the realization that most roofing companies were failing in their service delivery. So, I decided to start my own company based on a different set of morals and values, focusing on customer experience.”
The Need for Software Solutions
To stay organized, keep tabs on project timelines, and manage estimates, Blues Brothers Construction sought out software solutions. Steve explained, “We needed an accounting software and a system that could synchronize our database of information.” This need led them to Zoho.
Steve was drawn to Zoho’s multifunctionality and its capacity to connect various aspects of the business under one umbrella. He noted, “Having everything tied together within one entity and not having to connect different products using other tools was very useful.”
Implementing Zoho in Blues Brothers Construction
Steve highlighted that his initial draw to Zoho was due to the CRM and the projects application. He stated, “I need to sell the product and manage the sales cycle, but I also need to produce the work and have a project management style organization past the sales point.”
Zoho’s CRM enabled Blues Brothers Construction to improve their marketing and sales process. Steve emphasized the importance of the blueprint process and the workflow process in Zoho’s CRM, saying, “I can guide my users through a process that I’ve curated to make sure we’re following that same experience for our customers.”
The company also utilizes Zoho’s Creator for on-the-fly estimating and contract creation. They also appreciate Zoho’s analytics tool that allows Steve to gain a quick overview of the business’s status.
Advice for Other Small Businesses
Steve advises other small businesses to begin their search for software solutions by honing in on their customer experience and defining their ideal customer. He commented, “Zoho has different tiers, which is one of the main reasons I went with it. It allowed me to transcend the process and keep building as creatively as I wanted.”
He also stressed the need to try out different software options to find what suits your business best. “We navigated through tons of software before we stumbled across Zoho,” he noted, “It gave me the vision where I could come up with different scenarios for the business.”
Final Thoughts
Using Zoho, Steve has been able to design and engineer his business process, keep tabs on what’s happening, and never be out of the loop as an owner. His journey illustrates the transformative power of technology in streamlining business processes, enhancing customer experiences, and ultimately, driving business growth.
As Steve Festa said in his interview, “At the end of the day, I can always hang my hat on my morals and my values and make sure that I’m giving that customer experience. I did what I said I would do. That’s important to me.”
