#1 Construction CRM in USA.
4.4/5 (43 Bewertungen)Vorteile
Cosential has streamlined many of our processes, and has the potential to help us automate our proposal process even more. The potential is amazing.
Nachteile
Glitches! We seem to be always taking three steps forward, two steps back. Cosential isn't easy to set up or implement. There is a ton of up front work and training to be done. After overcoming all of that to be faced with modules that stop working and aren't fixed timely we are left hanging.
Two years in, as we are ready to deep-dive into more of the Cosential functionality we are being besieged by glitches that are impeding our use of the system, which is extremely frustrating.
The big weakness is in fixing bugs in the system. The customer service team passes glitches on to the developers and nobody can, or will, tell you when to expect the problem to be resolved. We have been waiting for 3+ months now on one issue, which is unacceptable.
We are so far in at this point that it doesn't make sense to change systems now, but the thought has crossed our minds.
Carmen, thank you so much for your feedback, and we have no doubt we'll earn your revision shortly. We absolutely share your frustration that your issue took longer than expected. We take your feedback constructively and strive to improve the experience for all our clients. With our recent growth we are well underway to doubling the size of our Development team which will drastically improve the resolve time. We value your business and look forward to partnering with you for a long and rich relationship, and will only see that effort as working when clients like you acknowledge it as such.
Vorteile
We now have one central data depository for all of our offices contacts, project info, personnel, resumes etc. The ability to create custom reports, update project data and track prospects across many users has improved our communication and reporting tremendously. The ability to update personnel, project, contact information in one spot and have it populate throughout any report or resume is a big plus. The Widgets are great for a graphical representation to management that accurately represents current pursuits, hit rates, wins by market, etc. The ability to turn on and off modules for user groups is huge! It keeps people from being overwhelmed when they first start to use the CRM, especially if they never have used one in the past or are skeptical. Integrations with other programs continue to be developed and improved by Cosential - this is a huge plus! Business Development/Marketing people are mobile - the iPad is a tool, just like a laptop. Being able to enter client info in Cosential and add it to an individuals Outlook contacts with just a few clicks makes it easy to have centralized client data. We will be implementing an integrations with Vista later this year. I am excited for the potential that will bring live project and personnel data to our CRM!
Nachteile
It's still a little 'techy' and driven by IT/Developers from the end-user perspective. But it's getting better every month we use it! When a bug is identified, or an issue occurs, for the most part Cosential Support is responsive. Sometimes, however it seems like it takes months to fix an issue. This is especially frustrating when a function (say a mailing list) was working correctly and then stops working. Because Cosential manages literally mountains of company, contact, personnel and project data, it can feel overwhelming to new users. Customizing the training and 'easing new users into' the program based on their needs is the only way to get good buy-in from apprehensive or skeptical users. The mobile app has it's limitations on the iPad and as all of our Business Developers use iPads, they would like to see the app developed further. Right now, it's better than nothing when they are on the road!
I was first introduced to Cosential in 2010 and began to research and push for the software at my previous company. After a long inside sales process, the company decided not to move forward with my recommendation which was a major factor in my leaving that organization. One of the main goals of my coming onboard to my current company was to implement Cosential as our marketing database software, and see what other tools are available that we can utilize in other parts of the company. We are full-service real estate company that provided construction (at the time), development, financing, tax credit syndication, facilities maintenance, and property, asset, and investment management services. We ended up implementing across all marketing groups in the business in the construction, development, investment, asset and property management, and in our justice division. Different groups adopted it more quickly than others, and some we ended up just removing entirely as they were not utilizing the system. Currently our marketing groups across the business still utilize Cosential for business development tracking, current project and property data collection and maintenance, and personnel resume maintenance.
Vorteile
Because Cosential was designed by marketers in our industry, they know what information is important to collect, track, and analyze. The organization of the information and ease of use of the system is unparalleled to other CRMs/databases. Cosential is constantly updating and enhancing the system, so there are new, and improved, features being released to its users constantly, and I always hear what's going on - I know it's the top of the line database for information junkies like me. The reporting and template publishing tools are also incredibly helpful. Tracking our proposals and showing our win/loss ratios to senior leadership has been crucial. Also, the ability to store less-than-popular data for possible future use is highly beneficial.
Nachteile
I wish the reporting module was a little more user friendly - it can be daunting to new and novice users causing it to go unused and frequently used incorrectly causing frustrations. I am now in the Commercial Real Estate industry (more so than what would be termed AEC), I would love LOVE to have more information/modules relating to development of projects, property and asset management - understanding the high-level of property and information turnover for these types of services.
Thank you for this feedback and your advocacy! We love to hear the validation of our purpose: providing the best database tool that truly knows the AEC space and consistently driving for innovation. When it comes to reporting, implementation we hear you, part of housing so much data for inquiry is also a large number of ways to summon it. We're always working on the UI for ways to improve, as well ensure we remain extremely approachable for assistance should you need it.
On project management, we work hard to have API implementation with softwares that focus on development of projects so that you can combine those views and measure turnover - please get with us to ensure you are taking advantage of existing integrations that may exist you may not be aware of. If we're missing one, or ways we can have modules accomplish something our customers can benefit from we'd love to evaluate that for future feature enhancements, as you mentioned we're very passionate about!
My company had implemented Cosential about 3 years before I joined, and they did a good job of inputting the bulk of project, personnel, and contact info into the data base. By the time I came on board the staff that had implemented had left, so I received minimal training on administration of the system, and how all the pieces fit together. That being said, it has not been difficult to learn the basics, and I am currently in the process of "re-implementation" to establish standard work flows and systems to manage the data input, user training, report management, etc. The biggest challenge is carving out the time for data input and cleanup, not to mention bringing new modules (surveys, marketing, etc.) on line without having a full time data base manager.
Vorteile
I like that Cosential has implemented upgrades in speed and search functions. It is tailored to the A/E/C industry, and we have the ability to customize fields. We use Adobe InDesign for proposals, so the ability to generate resumes and project profiles directly into InDesign templates is a big plus (it can also be done in MS Word). The dashboard widgets are really helpful for our business development team. There is a phone app available. I am getting good service regarding support for re-implementation.
Nachteile
The report module is always a challenge, the interface is cumbersome and it usually takes multiple attempts to generate the data I am looking for. It is not forgiving for variances in naming conventions. Customer support relies on just pointing you to a video. I have put in tickets for fixing issues and never hear back.
Thank you Nora for taking the time reviewing Cosential! We work hard for your business, and delivering value to A/E/C teams as you spoke. Honored to hear how our fields and proposal automation works well for you.
On the report module, fair feedback and our developers are making changes very soon so stay tuned. We've hired new support director and team, you should be feeling great improvement in support now! The new team has improved response times, follow up times and edited/updated knowledge articles.
KCI has been with Cosential since 2007 and have watched the system expand to meet the needs of industry. While we do not use every function the system offers, we rely heavily on it for proposal tracking, proposal generation, customer information (hit rates, history, contacts) and firm qualifications (projects and personnel). The Cosential team has never lost sight of what it is that makes them successful which is involving industry in their roadmap for enhancements and functionality. These folks listen to what we need and respond.
Vorteile
Cosential gives us quick access to all our past proposal information. Our marketing team is quickly and easily able to access past proposals for guidance, develop intel about our history with clients and understand our experience in a region or with a certain service. As a firm with over 25 offices across the country, this information is vital to our team.
Nachteile
While Publisher has come leaps and bounds from where it was originally, we would like the ability to create several resumes at the same time. For example, I'd like to select several employees, choose a template and have the system walk me through each employee to choose his or her projects.
Thank you Deborah for taking the time and giving us this fantastic review! Means the world to us from a client who has seen us grow and evolve. Great suggestion on allowing for several resumes at the same time, I'll own checking on that suggestion and get back to you on it!
Vorteile
1 year after purchase: This has easily been one of the wisest investments our firm has made. The ability to track customer information (CRM), their experience, past performance data, and leads/opportunities all from one simple application and dashboard makes my 1-man marketing team feel like 3. The capability to routinely pull data from our accounting software reduces duplication in both content and time. I no longer spend hours "looking for *stuff*" (put politely) during proposal preparation due to the full featured project and ‘knowledge’ database paired up with the advanced reporting functionality. I still have only scrapped the tip of the metaphorical iceberg of features that are included with the package including the ability to automatically survey clients, a built in email marketing tool, card scanner, countless plug-ins, a customizable RESTful API, Outlook and Exchange server plugins, and soon a full blown Zapier integration. Additionally, the support both during install and throughout my journey have been absolutely wonderful. They have made the ins and outs of using the software a simple, and surprisingly enjoyable, experience!
Nachteile
There are some issues with the knowledge base section that I would improve on. I have a lot of issues it the mobile application on my Android device.
Labor hours saved is huge. Access to information from one portal extremely helpful.
Vorteile
My favorite feature is the resume generation tool. The ability to produce multiple resumes tailored for specific pursuit types automatically updated each time they are created is beyond wonderful. Coupled with their availability to all team members 24/7 at the push of a button from any internet enabled device makes the resume generation tool peerless. Another great feature is the opportunity tracking, once again keeping all the pieces of a pursuit in one handy place and available 24/7 is brilliant!!!!
Nachteile
Although a minor issue I do wish that users other than administrators could upload templates for use in the publisher module as administrators may be busy/unavailable for periods of time making updating the templates a longer process then it should be.
I love how easy it is to access and analyze our information. Cosential has a home for every data point you can imagine -- and the flexibility add new ones as needed -- so you can store and recall information about all of your pursuits and projects.
Our biggest problem prior to using Cosential was that knowledge about our projects, clients, past pursuits, etc. lived primarily in the heads of our people. That's fine as long as no one leaves and no one forgets...but that clearly isn't reality. Cosential is a robust, interconnected database that allows us to have literally everything in one place, and we can view that information from multiple perspectives.
Vorteile
A place for everything.
Nachteile
Load time has been a factor, but it has improved significantly over the past 6 months and I know their developers are actively pursuing even greater speed.
This software provides a snapshot of our company, our projects, our employees past and present and of course our work, and teams we have worked with.
Vorteile
easy access. online. quick. It is a thirll when i am looking for information about a project, or a person's title and the info is there. Linkedin is good, as a back-up, but my database is better for me.
Nachteile
the reports creation can be tricky. sometimes i pull in inactive or unknown and sometimes people seem to disappear and need to be pput back. sometime hard to find where to add a company.
Thank you Lynn for these great marks! We're very happy to be the reliable database that makes things easier for your day to day!
We would love to help you with any features you need help with like reports and adding companies, email us at support@cosential.com and let us schedule a 1:1 to see what is going on, how we can help!
I use Cosential literally every single day...and that's not just because I'm the OFA but because it's so easy to upload information and documents. I use the personnel, projects and opportunities modules almost daily. Being able to reference so much information for a project we may be mentioning in a proposal is very helpful and makes my job a lot easier.
Vorteile
It's incredibly user friendly and is getting more and more user friendly with each and every update
Nachteile
It has a tendency to run really slow at times
Thank you for the kind words, and your being a fan of the solution. It fuels us to hear how we save you time in the proposal process, making your job easier is our job !
On the tendency to run slow, That is absolutely fair feedback and we're on it! We've purchased more servers in addition to optimizing the application. We're already seeing great improvement and very near upcoming updates are focused on delivering much faster speeds.
Vorteile
Completely transparency of our customer opportunities and interactions between all our divisions for all customers. We have robust reporting where we can understand our pipeline, hit rate, and more data than we ever had in the past. The process is simple and we have the power as the admins to make changes/updates without having to wait for the resources at Cosential. We feel very empowered!
Nachteile
The time between request (issue or bug with system/enhancement suggestion) to the sprint where the improvement may occur. At times you are waiting for the developers or the request sits in the queue between submitting the suggestion and update for quite some time. We have learned the process of a bug or enhancement but at times we wish we could influence more of the speed to updates.
Vorteile
The fact that Cosential is specifically designed for the A/E/C industry is vital. Cosential is a rare find because it was built by A/E/C marketing professionals with a profound understanding of the industry, its pain points, and its business processes. That knowledge is reflected in key features, implementation, and support, as it is a system tailored to industry best practices. Users of Cosential view the system as very customizable and are able to adapt it to fit their specific needs.
Nachteile
Cosential has come a long way in the eight years that I have been using the system. They have grown quickly and have rolled out great new features. With that said, sometimes I think the new features are focused on a little too much, and the current bugs or enhancement requests are left behind. Dan, the CEO, listened to his users, took this to heart, and announced at the last conference that he has brought on developers to clean house and improve what is there already. I feel that is happening, especially as I read the monthly updates.
Vorteile
After researching many CRM platforms, and test-driving three, we decided on Cosential. First, it is developed by someone in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC), so we would not have to tweak anything to jump in and use it every day. It is our new repository for all kinds of data on projects, and employees (their projects, sortable in many ways), which will help so much with not having to look through old records of all types in various places in our network and on paper. We do a lot of public works projects, and in responding to RFQ's/RFP's, the information asked for increases all the time. We run lean and mean here, so any way we can save time is invaluable. Cosential is very intuitive and easy to use, which was the second reason for our purchasing decision. The training and tech support is user-friendly for busy people. Thanks Cosential. I would rate everything a "10" but I'm still pretty new at it, so I'm giving mostly "9". I can quickly schedule my training online by looking at my trainer's calendar, so if I have an hour free I can make good use of my time, and with one click it's in my outlook. If, due to deadlines, I need to cancel and reschedule, I can do that too.
Nachteile
The only thing I don't like is nothing to do with Cosential, we are learning how to input data and put all our records into the system.
A good system for integration- user interface/user experience could be more solid. A more intuitive interface can help users navigate, update, and understand the CRM with ease!
Vorteile
A strong CRM with lots of capability
Nachteile
Not intuitive - improved UX/UI could improve this; The help section is not very detailed.
Thank you for taking the time reviewing Cosential! We're proud to have earned your business.
On intuitiveness, we're always listening to our clients and making updates weekly so please let us know where you see room for improvement. We've hired new support director and team, you should be feeling great improvement in support now! The new team has improved response times, follow up times and we're editing/updating knowledge articles every day.
Thank you for your feedback and business!
Vorteile
Web-based, seamless integration from legacy system. We spent about three months transitioning from ACT! to Cosential. The customer support was fantastic and after the on-boarding, I was given another excellent customer service rep (a real live person!) who returns my calls! The dashboards give me immediate data to share with CEO and CFO. I can also get custom reports written for my data.
Nachteile
Mobile App and e-mail marketing could be better. The e-mail blast program is a little clunky. The mobile app has limitations and this is going to need to be addressed. But overall the program is fantastic.
Vorteile
Cosential helps us standardize the information we track, being able to output reports in a consistent format.
Nachteile
We use InDesign for our publications. The Publisher module currently forces us to export resumes and projects one by one, vs. being able to select projects we want to use and exporting all into a single file.
Cosential is a great CRM solution. Their implementation team made data import from multiple different sources an easy to understand and execute process. Any questions I have had along the way we're responded to very quickly.
Vorteile
Data organization is great. Unlike other CRM solutions you do not need an outside programmer to customize. In fact the software is so robust in pre-loaded features implementation is more of subtraction process to hide modules your firm may not need or use. Field customization to match our firms processes and terminology was pretty straight forward.
Nachteile
Some newer modules (marketing e-blasts) are in their infancy, and work like their in their infancy. Generating reports and automatically generated reports (workflow) are not as intuitive to create as I would have liked and can be difficult at first. Mind you my implementation specialist Amy was always there to help me get the reports to do what I needed. It just takes some time to learn Cosential' s interface for this.
Vorteile
Very customizable system for verbiage to adapt to your company's terminology. Extensive reporting capabilities allow you to refine what data results are returned with full control.
Nachteile
The system can be intimidating to new users, specifically those with minimal computer experience, but is fairly intuitive once you are familiar with the program.
We used to have to pull and drag project information out of our Project Managers after their projects were completed, while they were already working on a few others.... Now with the workflow and Financial Data Connector, we are able to sync our financial projects directly into Cosential project records and pull relevant data real-time.
Vorteile
Built by and for the AEC industry. The workflows are a huge time-saver and allow us to capture the data we need to make our systems function.
Nachteile
Nothing major - I love their reports, but they can take some getting used to.
Vorteile
It geared toward the Architect/Engineer/Construction field only. Customer service is wonderful!!
Nachteile
A little dated and a fully functioning app (right now it is just limited).
Amazing and organized CRM system with Trackable data. Integration with Procore to reduce double entry in new job setups. A great marketing publisher that if used correctly will update resumes, brochures, and all marketing material
Vorteile
Houses all our CRM information, ties in with outlook, easy to update, marketing tool to keep resumes and brochures updated is great
Nachteile
Very tedious set up process - but staff very helpful setting it up and keeping it organized and weeding through all lists and data and dulications
I look forward to learning the software completely and being able to take advantage of all the great features that Cosential CRM has.
Vorteile
I like how it can captures and links so much information between clients, contacts and opportunities.
Nachteile
Some features are still not working correctly and/or they are replacing with different features but I'm finding there are lots of issues still they haven't worked out which can be frustrating when learning a new system.
Vorteile
The dashboard and workflow system are excellent tools. As a very visual person, the ease and impact of the dashboard widgets are a great. Seeing your information in charts and graphs really help to monitor our marketing progress. The automated alerts and notifications from the workflow system are excellent as well. Easy and efficient way of letting the team know when there are new prequals, awards, proposals, etc.
Nachteile
There are a couple of areas that would be better suited for our needs if the customization was available. But all in all, the program works great for us and is getting our tracking on track!!
Capability to start stream lining the resume and project sheet process.
Vorteile
The ability to produce resumes and cutsheets from cosential in indesign format. The process to store project information and customer relations is quick and easy. Ability to customize your dashboard.
Nachteile
That it will not round the Dollar to millions when producing a resume or cutsheet. You must go into the indesign file and edit the Dollar value.
Cosential provides us with a comprehensive database, allowing us to quickly access projects and data used for generating proposals, track our hit rates, follow up with opportunities, and run reports. The system has no problem managing our average workload of 75 proposals a month, 850 employees and over 6000 projects. Furthermore, Cosential makes it easy for us to efficiently store, search and retrieve the information we need.
We used a different CRM system prior to beginning with Cosential, and the implementation team made our transition the easiest experience I've ever had. The team helped me successfully meet our implementation deadline, with very little complications along the way.
Customer service at Cosential is personal, attentive and understanding of the A/E industry. They treat their clients like members of the development team, rather than as mere customers.
Cosential has streamlined our processes and has the potential to help us streamline even more. The company needs to evolve it's development staff to be able to address bugs in a timely manner.