Sydney Olympic Park Authority Plans Olympian Growth with Sage ACCPAC CRM Sydney, October, 2004 - Sydney Olympic Park Authority (SOPA) has installed Sage ACCPAC CRM ™ customer relationship management software to support the vision for the Park that includes a $470 million plan for residential and commercial development over the next five to seven years. The software will help SOPA to more tightly tailor its marketing campaigns for its existing 10,000 customer and stakeholder contacts, attract 1,500 new residents and 3,000 new employees, and generally increase visitation and investment, in order to improve the long-term viability of the businesses within the SOPA precinct.

Longer term, Sydney Olympic Park Authority also plans to use Sage ACCPAC CRM to establish a loyalty program.

Sage ACCPAC CRM is an integrated sales, marketing, customer support and call centre automation solution designed specifically for small and mid-sized businesses. The sale and installation were managed by Sage ACCPAC's first region-wide CRM partner, CRM Works.

An Intelligent Marketing Drive
Sydney Olympic Park faces a significant marketing and customer/stakeholder relationship challenge. As a 620 hectare ‘city within a city' - with operations spanning residential, education, retail, sport, entertainment, parkland, transportation and event management - the organisation counts people from every walk of life as its customers.

It has to balance the living experience of its residents with the short-term experience of the 6.8 million annual visitors. It has to promote itself as the premier venue for sports, entertainment and family recreation, plus as a world standard business venue. And it has to manage a wide range of interwoven relationships, including with: Government, investors, sporting bodies, independent businesses, developers and the media.

Lesley Aitken, Manager of Research & Brand at Sydney Olympic Park Authority, said, "We're the only Olympic site in the world that hasn't been divided up and sold off the Olympic facilities after the event. We're committed to developing a community that gives people the complete lifestyle they're looking for. But that requires us to make the precinct profitable. This means we need to attract short and long-term visitors - both business and consumer - and increase the visitation of those people. We also need to attract and retain investors, businesses and employees to the area."

To enable this, Sydney Olympic Park Authority has embarked on a strategy of ‘Intelligent Marketing'. This involves accurate modeling of its customers and target demographics, development of a dependency table and the ability to analyse marketing campaigns to maximise the returns.

Initially the organisation looked at entry-level contact management software to support this strategy. However, through discussions with CRM Works, SOPA recognised it needed a comprehensive CRM solution that could further penetrate its customer data, map customer needs and offer the flexibility to provide answers to any ‘what if' questions that would help shape an intelligent marketing strategy.

On the other hand, the software had to be simple to use - since up to half its staff will eventually use it – affordable for a budget-conscious organisation, and scalable.

CRM Works recommended Sage ACCPAC CRM. Sydney Olympic park Authority has installed it for 40 users, and over the next twelve months it will be rolled out across the entire organisation.

David Gill, Director of CRM Works, said, "I've been a fan of Sage ACCPAC's Advantage ERP system for years, but when I saw Sage ACCPAC CRM it blew me away. It's infinitely customisable, which enables our customers to extract the information they need to solve their specific business questions. But best of all, it's designed and priced specifically to meet the needs of a mid-sized but growing business like Sydney Olympic Park, and it delivers unbeatable value for money."

A not-insignificant bonus is Sage ACCPAC CRM's integration with Microsoft Office applications. This means that it can be driven from the commonly-used Outlook and readily operates with existing marketing and sales materials. Sage ACCPAC CRM also has a similar ‘look and feel' to Office, which helps users feel immediately familiar with the product and thus minimises startup pain.

Ms Aitken said, "Sage ACCPAC was the most flexible option we looked at, allowing us to manage each customer group in a way that suits them. Plus it was the only affordable solution that could support a loyalty program, which is critical for our growth. As a bonus, it's really intuitive to use, so staff don't have to learn new skills, and they're encouraged to experiment with it, which is boosting our creativity. It really is putting the intelligence into our intelligent marketing strategy."
She was also impressed with Sage ACCPAC's partner: "CRM Works have delivered everything they promised. They understood our business needs and customised the software to support them in a very tight timeframe."