CRM is not just for corporate use anymore. There's another group of professionals using their CRM tools to serve the greater good. Over the past several years, state and local governments have realized that CRM software, particularly service and support automation technology, is ideally suited to serve as the backbone of their citizen response and 311 initiatives.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) was established in 1967 to protect and regulate Minnesotas environment. With a staff of approximately 750 members working in eight offices throughout Minnesota, the MPCAs goal is to provide products, services and information to local citizens and businesses.

With only four agents trained in multimedia, the staff of the MPCA receive about 9,000 calls per year, about 800 to 900 calls per month. Previously, the MPCA was operating on a self-created database to collect call inquiries and prior to that, it was decided that the MPCA needed to keep a log of calls that were received. The self-created database was very limited, making monthly reports inconsistent and difficult to run. Nearly two years ago, the MPCA looked to FootPrints, a management tool from UniPress Software that helps organizations control support for all requests and problems submitted via multiple communication channels phone, e-mail, the Web, chat and wireless devices.

Since FootPrints was first introduced, UniPress has continued to enhance its features to meet customer requirements and expand the FootPrints product line with additional versions of this technology for different applications and with multiple integrated, add-on modules. All FootPrints products are flexible, scalable and fully customizable.

As a pollution control specialist for the MPCA, Melissa Wenzel and her team use FootPrints from UniPress Software to support an initiative to better serve businesses and individuals across the state.

According to Ms. Wenzel, We had a demonstration of the program from our computer help desk and saw how this program could work for us. We realized how valuable a tool like this could be. It was very easy to learn and also effortless to adapt for different situations versus the old system, where you had one choice and that was it.

FootPrints has helped the MPCA manage inbound pollution requests from business owners and citizens related to air, tank and water quality, hazardous materials management, as well as regulatory compliance and permit issues.

The most common person to call us is the regulated community, someone who has a permit or needs a permit. There is a lot of development going on in the state of Minnesota right now, and our number one question is how to obtain construction for a water permit, while our third top question is how to get a hazardous waste ID number. The drop-down boxes have been customized with these categories, so we know who is calling and what they are calling about, continued Wenzel.

UniPress was the first to introduce integrated, Web-based access to Microsoft Exchange address books while the FootPrints products organize, manage and automate tasks and communications throughout the customer problem management life cycle.

For Melissa and her team, the most valuable feature of the FootPrints solution is the reporting tool. We can pull reports on where the call is coming from and what its about. If we spend a lot of time per call, it might be an indication that training is needed. It helps us decipher where our needs are. We can run customized reports to reflect that.

Concluded Wenzel, It has been beneficial. There is more than can be used. We were so limited before and its been refreshing to use FootPrints.

To learn more about UniPress and the FootPrints line of products, visit www.unipress.com 

To learn more about the MPCA, visit www.pca.state.mn.us