Success Stories

Central Ohio Transit Authority

Central Ohio Transit Authority Salesforce Marketing Cloud Implementation

Meet The Client

About Central Ohio Transit Authority

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is a public transit agency serving the Columbus metropolitan area. It operates fixed-route buses, bus rapid transit, microtransit, and paratransit services. COTA serves an area with more than 1.2 million residents and help people take more than 19 million trips every single year.

Nov 9, 2021 by Daniel Gray

The Challenge

COTA was in need of a single marketing tool, as they were using two to three different tools which caused confusion among staff. Over 90% of the customer base was unknown due to inadequate data capture and existing data was unorganized.

The Solution

To bridge the gap between the current system and its desired functionality, COTA trusted Summit to develop the best solution for their needs using Marketing Cloud. The implementation included the following:

  • Email Studio for email marketing campaigns

  • Mobile Studio for mobile marketing communications

  • Social Studio for social media marketing and engagement

  • Journey Builder for creating and automating customer journeys

  • Set up Marketing Cloud Salesforce Connector and Data Extensions to manage CRM contacts

  • Journey Builder for creating and automating customer journeys

  • Define specific criteria to determine which records are synced from Salesforce to Marketing Cloud

  • Provide monthly support and user training

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Results for Our Client

Summit successfully implemented Marketing Cloud and tools as COTA’s primary marketing system. The existing customer data is organized, making it easier to capture and utilize new customer information. COTA staff now has increased knowledge of their customer base, reducing the percentage of unknown customers and increasing staff confidence and proficiency. With the implementation of mobile boarding passes, the customer experience is enhanced and supports strategic fare initiatives. Staff now has Email Studio, Mobile Studio, Social Studio, and Journey Builder for targeted and automated marketing communications. Summit Team provides ongoing support and training to the COTA staff, ensuring they have the skills and knowledge to confidently use the new marketing tools.

In our Client's Words...

“The entire Summit team is knowledgeable, friendly and effective! We’ve enjoyed their partnership and look forward to working on more implementations together.”

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"Easy to Work With"
Angie W.

Northwoods worked with Summit to help migrate our Microsoft Dynamics CRM system to Salesforce.  Summit was extremely knowledgeable, thorough, and easy to work with.  They were able to help us configure the system to handle complex business processes while making the system easy for end users.  They were also able to migrate all our legacy Dynamics data to the new Salesforce system.  Summit helped train our technical team on Salesforce administration while keeping the project on time and under budget.  I highly recommend Summit for any Salesforce-related project.

"Mind Blowing!"
Rachael H.

As a leader of a small non-profit aimed to scale rapidly and efficiently, I knew it was critical to transition from antiquated spreadsheets to a sophisticated CRM. We dabbled in Salesforce on our own the year prior. To put it mildly, I was terrified to go there again. Summit met my apprehension with confidence and reassurance. They were timely, efficient and positioned us to utilize Salesforce in ways we hadn’t imagined. Every day I’m in awe of what Salesforce can do; to the team’s credit for imparting their wisdom. Summit has positioned us for unprecedented opportunities at Walk with a Doc. Thank you!

"BEST Salesforce Consultant Available"
Catherine Z.

We went through 3 consultants before finding Summit. The difference was night and day, and the cost was very reasonable. They helped us get our Communities up and running in less than a week (after 2 other teams essentially dragged their feet for 9 months - yes, 9 months!). We are ecstatic! We also have Managed Services with them, for a few hundred bucks a month they are our go-to for anything Salesforce. The team is INSTANTLY responsive - like within 2 minutes. I have experienced other consultants and can tell you, there is no comparison. Hire Summit!

"Did a Wonderful Job"
Paige B.

We have primarily been using Salesforce for our sales team. Recently we decided to bring our support team on and Summit did an awesome job helping us get everything set up the way we needed.

"Great Learning and Implementation"
Annette H.

Great experience with Summit. They are very knowledgeable about Salesforce and their turn around is outstanding. I am looking forward to working Part 2 of our plan with them.

"Transformation Data w/ Excellent Service"
Kay W.

The skill set and knowledge that Summit has brought to this project far surpasses our initial expectation- especially since our initial contact with Salesforce corp. was challenged in regards to utilizing training videos to suit our scope and need. Summit and team has been helpful in supporting our team with a custom solution in order for us to be able to serve our community better. They are timely and professional, and eager to learn about the why before telling us the what.

"Made our Dream CRM a Reality!"
Matt S.

Summit made our Salesforce dream a reality. As a small non-profit on a limited budget with very specific CRM needs we were challenged to find a suitable Salesforce partner. Fortunately we were introduced to Summit, and from day one they made the formidable task of implementing Salesforce doable (and even enjoyable!). The Summit team are pros, from their accessibility and communication to industry knowledge and attitude, they never said 'no' to a request. When we encountered hiccups along the way they took the time to trouble shoot and make fixes, even when it was outside the original scope of the project. We didn't deviate from the project timeline or budget, which says a lot considering our custom needs for data collection/reporting, donor communication, and third party plug-ins. If you are considering implementing Salesforce or have any Salesforce needs, I highly recommend Summit and their team.

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