Business referral network Redflag says it is showing strong growth since its launch six months ago.
The directory, which matches consumers with approved suppliers in Gauteng, now has 1 600 suppliers on its books and fields around 150 to 300 consumer calls a day.
Redflag CEO Bobby Forssman says he sees the rapid uptake of the service as an indication that consumers are "hungry" for suppliers that provide quality service. Redflag is intended to match consumers who need a particular service with suppliers that have been dynamically rated and ranked. Forssman describes it as a technologically-driven "old boys` network".
Redflag derives its revenue from the suppliers on its books. Each supplier must pay an annual membership fee and supply customer references to enable Redflag to rate their service. A consumer calling the Redflag call centre or visiting the Web page (www.redflag.co.za) will outline requirements and state how many suppliers should call with quotes. Redflag then contacts relevant suppliers in its database via SMS to alert them of the qualified lead. The suppliers follow up the lead directly with the consumer. The service broadens the exposure available to small and medium-sized enterprises, supplying them with a constant stream of pre-qualified leads.
Redflag says major factors attributing to its success are the smooth operation of its call centre and its sophisticated database with powerful searching and cross-referencing functionality that allows Redflag call centre agents to instantly match suppliers with customer queries.
The database was developed by local development and consulting firm Galdon Data. Alan Cawse, a director of Galdon Data, says the most challenging and interesting aspect of the development was the search engine, which in terms of the business model needed to come up with specific results based on a whole base of disparate criteria.
Redflag differentiates itself from other telephone directory services through the response levels that it and its accredited suppliers offer. The call centre, database, applications and service delivery processes are critical to meeting this objective.
The supplier`s service levels are benchmarked after customer engagements, using measurement tools from the Service Quality Institute of Southern Africa. Redflag uses an automated system to send SMSs out to suppliers that match the criteria set out by a consumer. A set of algorithms is used to push the highest-ranked suppliers to the front of the queue.
The company`s application suite was written in the Visual Basic programming language and runs on a Microsoft SQL Server database. The core functions, including the customer relationship management, financials, sales and agent applications, are all integrated to ensure consistency of information across the business and eliminate the need to capture data more than once.
"A big challenge was to limit the amount of manpower involved, so we based our application around this concept," says Cawse.
"The technology solution we developed incorporates every entity of Redflag, from the call centre to admin, sales, accounts and marketing right through to the tracking of outsourced services like couriers," explains Cawse.
"The major benefit is that the solution is completely trackable, with entire histories that can be easily accessed. This means that customer service is improved dramatically because any caller`s history or needs can be answered by the call centre agent taking the call."
Redflag is a free service to consumers on 0860 10 10 40.
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