How Knowbal streamlined immigration services with Zoho Creator

About Knowbal

Knowbal Migration and Education, a Melbourne-based immigration consulting firm, provides comprehensive assistance for visa applications, skill assessments, permanent residency, and citizenship processes. Since its inception in 2020, Knowbal has grown from a small team of two to a thriving organization of 35 employees, serving clients across Australia. With the help of Zoho Creator, Knowbal streamlined its operations, reduced manual workloads, and scaled effectively to meet its growing demands.

The process

Knowbal’s business process begins when a prospective client discovers their services—often through referrals, Google searches, or social media. Upon initial contact, clients receive a digital form to fill in their details. What sets Knowbal apart is their unique USP of offering a free 30-minute consultation, a rarity in their industry, where similar sessions are typically paid. Collecting relevant client data up front enables their team to deliver highly personalized consultations tailored to each case.

The challenges

As Knowbal expanded, their traditional CRM system, Kondesk, proved insufficient. Previously, client inquiries were received via email and then manually entered into the CRM by the support team. Some of the challenges they faced included:

• Limited customization: Their off-the-shelf CRM couldn’t adapt to Knowbal’s unique business processes.
• Inefficient manual processes: Tasks like entering client data, tracking inquiries, and managing leads required significant manual effort, consuming up to 3 hours daily for each support staff member.
• Scaling issues: With 80% of leads coming from client referrals and the remaining 20% from education consulting, Knowbal needed a system that could handle increased operational complexity and volume efficiently.
• Compliance management: Tracking weekly reports and follow-ups for six case managers was a time-intensive manual process, prone to delays and errors.

The solution

In February 2024, Knowbal began its journey with Zoho Creator, leveraging this low-code platform to develop a tailored application addressing their pain points. The application’s key modules include:

Inquiry management

This module automatically captures client inquiries via online forms and routes them directly to the CRM. This eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and enables timely client follow-ups.

Lead management dashboard

This module provides a centralized view of all leads, categorized by services and client statuses. Enhanced filter options allow case managers and administrators to access relevant information quickly.

Follow-up automation

This module automates communication with clients post-consultation, sending reminders and follow-ups at scheduled intervals. This ensures timely updates without requiring manual intervention.

Compliance management

This module tracks and reports weekly follow-ups and lead statuses for all case managers. Automating this process ensures accountability and reduces oversight errors.

Benefits and ROI

Enhanced productivity

• Saved over 200 hours per month
• Reduced manual data entry and inquiry processing time by 40%

Improved customer experience

• Automated workflows ensure timely responses to client inquiries
• Enabled more accurate and efficient consultations via custom dashboards and modules

Scalability and process efficiency

• Centralized operations under a single platform, improving team collaboration
• Reduced dependency on manual processes, enabling the team to handle more clients effectively

Implementation experience

Looking forward

Knowbal plans to enhance its operational capabilities through a number of strategic developments. These include integrating VoIP systems, payment gateways, and other third-party tools to centralize workflows further. The team is also working on optimizing the mobile app experience, enabling seamless access for team members on the go.

As part of their Phase 2 development, Knowbal aims to introduce new modules for marketing campaign management and further internal automation. Additionally, with branch expansion on the horizon, efforts are underway to build a centralized platform that can support multiple locations efficiently.