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TrashBolt Revolutionizes Waste Industry with Comprehensive Suite of Apps, Streamlining Sales, Marketing, and Customer Communications
Haulers have been searching for this functionality for many years, many having tried multiple ways to get there, only to ultimately fail due to a lack of resources, both human and financial.
April 15, 2024
12 Min Read
Sponsored by TrashBolt
TrashBolt Announces a New Suite of Apps:
Online Signup System
Sales Entry System
Customer Notification System
Lead Management System
Customer Service Portal
Phone App
TrashBolt, makers of the waste industry’s leading online signup system, is releasing a series of new applications that promise to bring together many of a waste hauler’s sales, marketing, and customer notifications activities into one powerful, easy to use platform. With these new applications, TrashBolt now offers the industry’s most complete solution for generating new and follow up marketing campaigns, capturing online sales, facilitating call center sales, providing self-service customer service options, and sending text, email, and/or phone app notifications to leads and/or customers, all in one totally integrated suite of apps.
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/products-services/
The sales, marketing, and communication challenges haulers face:
Over the years, TrashBolt has spoken with hundreds of waste haulers, big and small, specifically with regard to their sales, marketing, and customer communications objectives. During those discussions, haulers have expressed these common needs and challenges. These are the needs and challenges TrashBolt is solving with their suite of apps.
Self-Service Sales: Haulers want to offer their new and/or existing customers the ability to sign up and pay for new or added service online, without human intervention (we call that a “self-service sale”). In so doing, customers must be able to view an accurate quote based on their service address location, select from all the options and products available at that location, and have access to the information necessary to make and pay for that self-service purchase.
Call Center Management: For those customers who don’t use the online sales system and call in, haulers have asked for a sales entry system that guides the CSR/call center staff to 1) accurately determine service eligibility by entering an address (is the customer in a service area?), 2) accurately price and sell available services, while 3) simultaneously creating a lead in a CRM or lead management software for follow up marketing.
Initial Marketing Campaigns: Haulers would like to launch new campaigns, for new and/or existing customers. They would like to choose whether a campaign is through direct communication (email, text, phone app), or via an ad (social media, mailers, door knocking campaigns/outside sales, etc).
Follow Up Campaigns: Haulers would like to create automated follow up campaigns for new leads, or for additional add-on sales opportunities within their existing customer base.
Campaign Efficacy Reporting: Haulers struggle to determine what methods of ads are cost effective. They often hire 3rd party marketing firms to design the metrics required for accurate reporting on marketing efficacy, individual campaign results, revenue, and profitability. Sometimes haulers find out, after having spent thousands of dollars, that reporting metrics aren’t easily or ever going to be possible with their current software, website, and/or processes.
Customer Notifications: Haulers want to reduce call center volume, while pleasing their customers with communications and notifications they’ve come to expect. The notification system must be capable of many notification types, such as service alerts, billing notifications, or even add-on sales opportunities. Notifications must be recurring, scheduled, or one-time with the ability to send to all or a defined subgroup of their customers. Syncing data with existing customer database(s) is required to make a notification system functional, which is a challenge haulers are often unable to solve on their own.
Self-Service Customer Service Portal: Haulers want to offer their existing customers the ability to manage their account. A customer service portal should be able to capture service requests and changes, with the ability to collect accurate payment when required (bulky pick up, or an additional cart, for example)
Systems Integration: Integration to back-end billing and routing systems where possible
All-in-One: Because integrations are difficult and very expensive, haulers want the above functionality in one software that’s affordable, effective, easy to deploy, and easy to use.
Why All-in-One is important?
That last bullet point, having the all-in-one solution to address these needs, is the key because it solves much of what’s below. Software that markets, sells online (shopping cart), and sends notifications to new leads and existing customers must all be tightly integrated to each other (or, as with TrashBolt, an all-in-one solution), otherwise the hauler must continuously maintain separate databases, usually with manual data entry as the only available option. Manual entry is slow, often not on time, brittle, failure prone, inaccurate, and sometimes impossible to maintain effectively (Ms Johnson usually enters that data, but she’s on vacation!).
Consider a typical hauler, marketing into their territory, with the needs outlined above. Marketing campaigns result in calls into the office, or online leads or sales (if the hauler has an online shopping cart). When the online shopping cart or calls into the office result in a sale, that new customer data needs to flow both to the hauler’s billing system (Soft-Pak, Trashflow, WAM, NavuSoft, et al), as well as a CRM system for follow up marketing, and for future service, billing, and/or other notifications. When leads are created, that data should flow to the CRM for future notifications and/or follow up as well. The right system will track the marketing source for each new lead and customer for efficacy analysis. Notifications should be by opt-in text, email, phone app, a customer service portal/dashboard, and maybe even a robo-calling platform. If these tasks are done with several different softwares (a CRM, an e-blast service, a text service, call center software, on and on), getting all these applications to talk to one another is nearly impossible.
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/products-services/
There are ERP systems that can be customized to accomplish some or all of these functions, but they’re very expensive, often 100’s of thousands, or even millions of dollars, and therefore out of reach for the vast majority of haulers. That leaves haulers looking for individual applications that may accomplish pieces and parts of their needs. While this, too, is possible, it requires a sophisticated knowledge of each separate system’s functionality and capabilities, as well as an integration strategy to make all the systems talk to each other. An effective integration strategy can cost 10’s, or even 100’s of thousands to get right.
Complex integration strategies are not one-time expenses, they’re ongoing, forever, as individual software systems change over time. A collection of separate but integrated software systems is often brittle and therefore failure prone. Working integrations can fail without notice, often without easy ways to debug. This requires expensive staff (or 3rd party integrators) to maintain over time, 24/7/365 if it’s system critical.
Hiring full-time, competent I.T. staff to oversee systems integration is out of reach for many haulers, as these types of employees command significant wages for their skills. 3rd party integrators are even more expensive, especially if on emergency call ($300/hr or more for emergency service). Total systems integration may not even be possible given the age of many of the current legacy software systems in the waste hauling space. So, how does a hauler even approach data movement into and out of these legacy systems? What expertise is required here? (Spoiler alert! TrashBolt already has integration and Data Sync options for most of those older systems).
(Image Source: Wicket Article )
According to Wicket, custom integrations are far costlier than native integrations, both in initial cost, and ongoing maintenance costs. But the integration itself isn’t the only expense. Cobbling together a solution with multiple softwares leads to a whole host of other issues, from initial product selection, to undergoing multiple implementations and go-lives, to what happens if one of the systems goes down, is buggy and fails, or even goes out of business, etc. The potential for headaches is endless.
In spite of the challenges associated with integrations, some haulers still pursue solutions based upon off-the-shelf CRM systems and their “app tray”, but they still struggle to identify the right CRM, the right add-on apps, and how to set up, implement, integrate, and/or maintain these CRM systems. The costs, frustrations, and failures mount very quickly here as well.
Given all of the above, many haulers, almost out of desperation, have even attempted to develop a home-grown solution to solve their sales, marketing, and customer communications needs. This, too, can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to do right. We’ve spoken to some haulers who've spent over $10 million on such projects, only to pull the plug because it failed. Even for professional software developers, designing, writing, implementing, and maintaining software isn’t easy.
The thing is, even with all of these challenges, most haulers know that they need software to market, sell, and communicate with their customers more effectively. Until now, this has been a daunting and expensive task. TrashBolt, makers of the biggest and best online sales system for the waste hauling space, has made it far easier.
“TrashBolt: The all-in-one marketing, sales, customer service, and notifications platform for waste haulers”
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/
Even though they operate as an integrated suite, let’s have a look at each of the TrashBolt apps separately.
Online Signup System (OSS) -captures online sales!
While these apps can be purchased separately, the core of the TrashBolt system is their successful Online Signup System (OSS). With OSS, new customers are able to sign up and pay for new service online, right from the hauler’s existing website. By entering their service address, OSS will first determine if a customer lives within a service area. If yes, then the customer will see the options and pricing associated with that address.
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/online-signup-system/
Some stats for TrashBolt’s OSS users:
Haulers increase their sales with OSS, ranging from 20% growth on the low side to well over 200%.
50% of new customers use the online system, saving 100’s or even 1000’s of CSR phone hours a year
33% of a hauler’s customers using OSS signup for service after hours, weekends, weeknights, and holidays. These are in-route sales the hauler may have lost to a competitor.
Many OSS haulers see their first sale within the first 2hrs of deployment. The record: 23 minutes after the system was deployed.
Some OSS haulers generate over $1m in revenue annually without a single phone conversation.
OSS doubles or more the efficacy of digital marketing campaigns because the call to action is a “buy now” button that leads the customer through the self-service purchase.
TrashBolt is by far the most widely used online signup system in waste hauling space
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/online-signup-system/
Sales Entry System -streamline your call center!
For those customers who do call into the office for a quote and/or to sign up for service, TrashBolt offers a Sales Entry System (SES). Just like the online sales system, SES is designed to help CSR’s establish whether or not the customer lives in a service area, present the service options associated with the service address, and deliver an accurate quote. SES also gives CSRs the ability to offer discounts to a customer that may not be available via the online system.
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/lead-management-system/
Lead Management System - Follow up with every lead!
Leads generated from both the online system and the sales entry system both flow into the Lead Management System (LMS) for continued marketing. With LMS, a hauler can:
Create follow up and/or initial campaigns (e-blast, text, phone app, more)
Automated marketing workflows maximize the sales potential of each new lead
Track campaign performance, including response rates, revenue generated, more.
Combine LMS with online signup “buy now” capabilities
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/lead-management-system/
Customer Notification System -push notifications to your customers
Just like the lead management system, customer accounts also flow into the Customer Notification System (CNS) for continued communication. Here’s how CNS works:
Called Data Sync, CNS imports data from your existing billing/operations system (Soft-Pak, TrashFlow, NavuSoft, Trucks, Tower, more)
CNS allows you to filter that data to identify the customer(s) you’re looking to notify
CNS makes it easy to generate a Notification Campaign via text, email, or phone app
Campaigns can be immediate, scheduled, or recurring
Filters and Campaigns are saved for future use
CNS has created a unique opt-in model to ensure FCC compliance.
Learn more here: https://trashbolt.com/customer-notification-system/
Based on the data available through Data Sync, CNS allows the hauler to define what types of notifications they like to send, the method by which each notification will be sent (email, text, phone app), and the frequency of each notification
Roll off drop-off and pick up notifications
Cart-out reminders for residential customers
Delayed service notification
Customer notifications can be sent to all, some, or one of your customers
Send via text, email or phone app
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/customer-notification-system/
Customer Service Portal - Customer Self-Service 24/7/365
The Customer Service Portal (CSP) leverages the same Online Signup technology that allows your customers to sign up for new service, but offers it to your existing customers as a way for them to manage their account, and even pay for service requests that are extra charge items.
With CSP, your existing customers can:
Set up their notification preferences
View account information, such as balance due, holiday schedule, welcome packet, more.
Access your existing bill-pay portal
Suspend/Restart/Cancel existing service
Add service items (extra cart, recycling, yard waste, walk up service, etc), and pay
Cart cleaning request, and pay
Cart replacement request, and pay (if applicable)
Bulky Pickup Request (with or without payment)
More!
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/customer-service-portal/
TrashBolt’s Customer Service Portal (CSP) can be totally customized, meaning it can likely handle all your customer service needs. CSP can dramatically reduce incoming call loads, and streamline work order type requests made by your customers.
Phone App - Customers expect it!
Give your customers the convenience of TrashBolt directly on their phone. TrashBolt’s downloadable phone app allows your customers to interact with your company in many ways:
Order and pay for new services
Select notification settings and receive push notifications
Access Customer Service Portal
View their balance and pay their bill*
View other service information, like holiday schedule, recycling schedule, service day of week, etc.
*Through your existing bill pay system
While extremely useful and functional in its standard form, TrashBolt’s phone app is also customizable to suit your specific needs. Our team will work with you to design the functionality you require.
Learn more: https://trashbolt.com/customer-notification-system/
All in one totally integrated solution
Haulers have been searching for this functionality for many years, many having tried multiple ways to get there, only to ultimately fail due to a lack of resources, both human and financial. After listening to our many clients, we believe the new TrashBolt suite to be the best solution for haulers seeking an all-in-one suite for online sales, marketing and customer notifications. We built a great product for online signup, which is why we’re by far the biggest in that space. Now, we’re doing it again, but with communications and lead follow up. Contact us -we’d love to show you our new suite.
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