“Help! We think we need a database!”
That was essentially what we heard from the folks at First Crush Tastings, who stage in-store demos for food and beverage companies. The company had no way of knowing who to hire for what positions because it didn’t have the data to evaluate contractors. So staffing decisions had to be made based on the quantity of people available, rather than the quality.
First Crush managed contractor information in Microsoft Excel. They knew they had outgrown it and assumed a more robust database was the answer. Working with us in the discovery process, a different perspective emerged. Together, we identified the real challenge as one of inefficient communication and insufficient data. And the custom web app we developed to address that challenge has transformed the business.
Project Goal
Power growth with automated job scheduling and data collection for a point of purchase marketing company
Technology
- Web App Development
- Custom Software Development
New data has enabled First Crush to differentiate their service from a growing number of competitors
The workflow management software we created not only solved First Crush Tastings’ administrative problems, it created a new source of value. The wealth of new data they could now access revealed unexpected ways to maximize the sales generated by in-store demos. Some of these were as simple as choosing the right day of the week to have a demo at a particular store. The data also validated the dramatic sales increases these small changes made.
National suppliers are now coming to First Crush to gather market insights to inform product branding. First Crush Tastings went from just another industry player to a proven game changer. The results were so dramatic that marketing the technology that makes it possible is now a major new focus of their business.
Breaking the administrative bottleneck with the right contractor management solutions
SECURE JOB POSTINGS
To find jobs, contractors get email notifications and browse the site to apply for the jobs that fit their schedule
DATA COLLECTION
After a demo, contractors enter the results online, including samples distributed, sales made, and many more data points
OPTIMIZED HIRING
Contractors compete for available jobs and First Crush can choose fewer, more qualified contractors to staff more jobs, based on data from previous demos
I came to Praxent with a concept of what we needed, but they helped me to envision a much bigger, more strategic opportunity.”