How FanGirl Measured the Success of their LRM (Hint: It Worked!)

"We needed to catalog the information as accurately as possible to help our clients strategize and improve the health of their IPs," says Anita Castellar, CEO, and founder, FanGirl Consulting & Brand Management. 

 When the FanGirl team implemented the Flowhaven system, they couldn't be more thrilled. Finally, they found a program built to serve their unique needs as a quickly growing licensing agency. 

 "We were terrified that analog methods would lead to crippling mishaps during the product development process," she added. "I love the saying, 'it's better to have a system in place before you have a problem,'" says Castellar. 

Flowhaven was that system. 

Why did Castellar think an LRM was the answer to her business challenges?

Well, when implemented correctly, LRM improves customer communication, enhances business relationships, streamlines daily operations, and ensures accounting accuracy. In a nutshell, it's the only technology on the market built by and for licensing professionals to optimize every part of the licensing lifecycle. 

A few years later, the team is well-equipped to spot problems long before they hit production and has emerged as an agency known for superior service to customers. Here's how they measured their success.

(Read the full customer case story here.)

Step 1 - Choosing the 'right' LRM

The FanGirl Team has always been quality-driven. 

When the business first launched, the team used spreadsheets, emails, and paper to manage customer data and contracts. Through their LRM, they hoped to modernize their filing systems. But, they didn't want to lose the quality of their connections those systems helped them make with their partners. 

After all, the system worked for a brief period. The inefficiencies grew when the client and contract volumes increased and overwhelmed the small team. 

The team also needed to know that the system could replace the manual analysis that led them to miscalculate figures, cause production roadblocks, and undermine their credibility. If the tool didn't mitigate risk, their company would be doomed. 

To choose the right LRM system, the FanGirl team mapped out their business goals and needs. They asked themselves what they wanted to accomplish with an LRM in place and what the team expected from a system. Here are just a few of the goals they outlined:

What they wanted in an LRM

- A way to organize their accounting system 

- Greater transparency between partners

- Intelligent tools to promote growth

- Custom deal parameters 

- Accurate reports

What they didn't want in a system:

- Clunky, rigid machinery

- Unreliable customer service

- Difficult onboarding

- Anchored at the office

They took the time to research their software options. In Flowhaven, they found a cost-effective, customizable, and user-friendly solution. It also addressed each one of their needs. 

Choosing a user-friendly LRM made for a smooth transition and quick employee adoption.

Step 2 - Making sure it "fits"

Anita's research took weeks. Some tools she decided against were better for everyday businesses and lacked any licensing-specific modules. 

Others only gave partial data insights and required add-ons to assess a program's health properly. Anita and her team wanted a flexible tool to handle the unique structure of their client's deals and one with views that helped them see important information at a glance. 

Since every company is different, few LRM systems will do everything you need out-of-the-box. There will almost always be the need to modify the solution to work the way you do. 

With the help of their dedicated Customer Success Manager, the FanGirl team made Flowhaven fit like a glove. 

Customer Success helped to calm the team's anxieties around accounting. The CS team introduced the group to Flowhaven's royalty validation tools, which helped to compare earning reports to agreement terms. The sales reporting tools helped them keep tabs on each program's financial health. 

To make sure everyone had their dashboards configured for their roles, the manager showed the team how to set their preferences and understand the many ways new information was presented to them. 

The manager worked over several weeks to fully understand the team's needs. Then, he remotely programmed the solution according to their requests. He also showed select team members how to make changes on their own. 

 Anita knew the solution was working when her crew stopped scheduling training sessions and came to conclusions independently. 

Step 3 - Evaluating Team Happiness 

Even the best system is useless if your team won't use it because it is too hard to learn.

Some might even go back to "the old way of doing things." User interface and experience are key to keeping teams interested in a new system.  

Flowhaven's CS team gave FanGirl white-glove treatment. From scheduled calls and tutorials to one-on-one sessions, implementation became as much about getting the team to enjoy the system as understanding the mechanics. 

 The FanGirl team could even engage with Flowhaven's CEO and approach him ideas for future updates.  

"The onboarding was effortless," cheers Castellar. "We told them what our needs were, who our partners were... We would leave each session with fun, little homework assignments, and then come back to work on our next step. We felt like we had a coach cheering us on. We needed that during the rough patches."

Learn how Flowhaven has helped other business scale here.

Step 4- A Renewed Focus on Partners  

Flowhaven helped FanGirl gather insights and data that improved the way they provide service to their customers. With data organized and presented formally, the team got a better understanding of their partners. 

 Those insights helped them fine-tune their messaging and outreach. With Flowhaven, Flowhaven automated a lot of it to allow for faster response times. 

 To measure their success with partners, the team looked at the number of partners they brought on before and after adopting the LRM system. While we can't share the stats, we can say they were very happy. 

Why we think you’ll like­­ Flowhaven too

With Flowhaven, you have access to a range of features that will help you soar past your licensing teams' goals. Complete any task in the licensing lifecycle from start to finish. Enjoy our incredible customer success team (yes, they really are that great), who are available 24/7 to help you get to know our solution. 

Here's a look at just some of what our platform can do: 

• Agreement templates to help you make deals quickly instantly

• Share files, images, updates, and feedback in real-time

• Data-led dashboards that put key information first

• The ability to create and share reports with your team members and partners 

• Ability to automate boring tasks and useless emails 

Let us help you see for yourself: try our platform now. All we need is 15 minutes!

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Keep Learning.

The LRM Buyer's Guide

Learn what it takes to change mindsets, connect business silos, and recenter around your customer. 

Make LRM the Core of Your Partner-Obsessed Strategy

 
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