Customer case: Kiekens

Kiekens becomes a data-driven organisation thanks to Tribe

We take around 20,000 breaths a day, many of them at work. That’s why clean air in the workplace is essential. Kiekens, a specialist in industrial dust extraction, ensures safer, dust-free environments around the world. And while they clear the air on-site, Tribe is helping them breathe new life into their sales and marketing.

Kiekens improves air quality in companies where dust is released. “Our systems can extract any dust”,says Björn Hoekstra,Marketing & Sales Team Leader at Kiekens. “While drilling holes in the wings at Airbus, for example, it’s the drilling dust released during the production of aircraft wings, and at Bolletje, it’s the dust and sesame seeds released during the cutting of crackers.”

Towards a data-driven organisation

The fact that selling an industrial dust extraction system is not always obvious goes without saying. Björn: “What type of dust is to be extracted, how fast should it be done, how big is the room, how many extraction points are needed, … There is a lot involved. The lead time of the sales process therefore varies a lot. Some sales we complete in a day, other projects sometimes take up to two years."

It was up to Björn to make the sales process more streamlined and smooth. “We wanted to work in a more data-driven manner, making choices based on figures and data, no longer on gut feeling. There was already some kind of CRM, but no one was using it. Everything was done in Excel. What we did well, where we missed opportunities, how likely a deal was, … We didn't know any of that. That's why we started using Tribe.”

Start small, win big

Tribe offers a lot of possibilities, but Kiekens deliberately chose a step-by-step approach. “If you try everything at once, you'll quickly lose track”, Björn says. “So we started with the basics: relationship data, suppliers and sales opportunities.

Once that was in place, we continued to expand Tribe step by step, with dashboards for our salespeople, new widgets and other additions. efficy provided us with excellent guidance in this. We now build our own dashboards and Tribe runs completely the way we want it to.

“We started with importing relationship data, suppliers and sales opportunities. First get the basics up and running and then, step by step, add dashboards and widgets.”

Björn Hoekstra • Marketing & Sales Team Leader at Kiekens

Everyone on board

Yet not everyone was immediately convinced. “A CRM is often seen as a control tool: what have you done this week, this month, this year? Some said, ‘I’ve been doing it like this for 20 years, and it works. Why would I change that?’ Or: ‘What do you mean, I have to suddenly put everything into a system?’ Or also: ‘Why do all offers suddenly have to look so official?’”

“It took some getting used to at first, but now everyone sees the added value of Tribe.”

Adding dust types as an option in sales opportunities allows us to search even faster and more targeted. This not only makes the quotation process more efficient but also ensures that colleagues have easy access to relevant information.”

“For example, if we need to find a solution for an application involving cocoa, all we have to do is look in Tribe. We can immediately see what sales opportunities came before, what the solution looked like then, what offers we made … Moreover, we can now present our story in a uniform way: all offers have the same structure and appearance.”

Clearer view of sales

Also when it comes to sales, Kiekens is now able to provide much more focused direction. Björn: “The dashboards provide us with real-time insight into performance. Was Q1 strong, but is Q2 lagging behind? Then we immediately know where adjustment is needed. If it turns out that an account manager might not reach their target, we can now act on it concretely: either the pipeline needs to be expanded or the success rate per sales opportunity needs to be increased. It is no longer guesswork – the numbers speak for themselves. Our sales meetings are a lot more efficient as a result. Each account manager opens Tribe and explains their sales opportunities. What isn't in Tribe is not included.”

“Our sales meetings are a lot more efficient. Each account manager opens Tribe and explains their sales opportunities. What isn't in Tribe is not included.”

Excellent basis for marketing

“The data in Tribe also forms the backbone of our marketing strategy”, Björn continues. “Because we now also record the industry for each sales opportunity, we can very specifically analyse in which industries we are most successful. By combining the number of sales opportunities per industry with our success rates, we gain keen insight into where our growth opportunities are.”

“The data from Tribe is the starting point of all our marketing activities.”

At Kiekens, these insights are translated directly into the marketing approach. “We optimise our website in terms of content and SEO, specifically for the industries where we see the most potential. We also align our content calendar for LinkedIn and other channels accordingly – targeted, substantiated and with focus. Instead of shooting blindly, we now know exactly where to aim.” Björn lists defence, food, metal and recycling, among others, as industries with promising opportunities.

Cooperation that makes a difference

The cooperation between Kiekens and efficy was pleasant and purposeful from day one. “We worked together very pleasantly throughout the process. Daniek, our contact at efficy, understood perfectly what we needed. I only had to say 'I would like to see this' and 'I want to add that' and she would immediately propose a solution." Björn recalls that Kiekens implemented an ERP system alongside Tribe at the same time. “And that the team working on the ERP system was always jealous of the Tribe team because everything ran so smoothly here,” he laughingly adds.

That smooth cooperation is a major reason why Tribe was so quickly embraced within the organisation, according to Björn. “efficy understood our business, thought along and delivered quickly. That makes all the difference.”

Streamline your sales process with Tribe

With Tribe's sales module, you create detailed sales opportunities that contain all the info to
guide you efficiently through the sales process.

From capturing contact moments to effortlessly generating professional quotes, streamlining tasks
allows you to focus on closing deals, not paperwork.

Increase your sales with Tribe