In 2011, InboundCycle blazed a trail as the first inbound marketing agency in Spain and Latin America. Since then, the company has grown to surpass a hundred employees, expanding beyond Spain to France, Chile, Mexico, and Brazil. With a 100% digital-native culture, the company boasts a portfolio of over three hundred external collaborators who join forces on various projects. Close collaboration between these collaborators and InboundCycle’s different departments is crucial for addressing each client’s unique needs.
Until about four years ago, all internal interactions relied on email, as Anna Campins, then Director of IT and now Process Manager, recalls: “We were completely dependent on it.” That changed when InboundCycle, under the leadership of CEO and co-founder Pau Valdés, embraced Slack technology.
Agile Knowledge Management
Internal communications were not only heavily reliant on email but also turned to Google Hangouts for urgent matters. However, Campins points out that “the implementation of Slack was not just about immediate communication but organizing all our internal communication.” According to the Director of Process Improvement, long email chains were not practical, resulting in the loss of valuable knowledge that could be beneficial for client projects.
The transition from email to Slack was smooth and seamless. “It happened overnight,” says Campins, adding that “it’s not a difficult tool to use; it’s very intuitive, and everyone quickly saw the benefits.”
“We needed a solution that allowed us to categorize effectively, with a powerful search function, and the ability to add and remove people from conversations.”
Project Management Improvement
One of the immediate benefits noticed by employees was better knowledge management. “For me, the key is organization," notes the Director of Process Improvement, “as you have different hierarchical workspaces, organizing various channels, threads, etc.” Slack’s versatility goes beyond communication; it becomes a platform for collaboration and process management. Andrea Castañar, Director of Sales, illustrates this advantage by explaining how “when a new client signs on, all the teams involved are automatically notified.” In this regard, Campins points out, “we have a specific channel for a proposal, and when it’s accepted and becomes a project, another group joins to execute it, and so on.”
The ease of use of the solution allows for the inclusion and exclusion of individuals from different channels, granting them various access privileges. Campins emphasizes the importance of this, saying, “because everything is preserved in the history, and with the search engine, projects are streamlined.”
Automation and Productivity Enhancement
Simultaneously, automation facilitated by the workflow builder has proven essential for optimizing time and increasing productivity in each project. Completely customizable, Campins states that “everyone uses workflows as needed, for both regular communications and triggered notifications for specific actions.” Due to the easy integration with other applications, these automation are frequently used with solutions like Trello, which InboundCycle uses as a ticketing system, so “when an urgent card with a specific label appears, an automatic message is sent to the entire team.”
“When we receive a lead on the website requesting information for a Marketing or Sales project, we automatically receive a notification in Slack.”
The same applies to the Sales department, thanks to Slack’s integration with the company’s CRM. From there, not only are processes triggered automatically, but each professional involved in the project can access essential documents more quickly, efficiently, and effectively. This smoother communication and the ability to work together asynchronously have “significantly reduced the number of meetings, as everything is centralized, leading to a tremendous time optimization,” says Castañar. Additionally, the information’s traceability is absolute, including commitments made and accepted with and by the client.
Greater Cohesion
While Slack’s usage for clients has only recently started, typically in cases where projects or client dynamics require it, its more intensive internal usage has strengthened team cohesion in day-to-day operations.
“We have channels for hobbies, such as sewing, reading, paddleboarding, food, CrossFit... and you mingle with people from other departments and even other countries.”
From the perspective of the Director of Sales, “Slack has helped us grow as a company and stay connected with all our branches,” something essential in projects involving numerous different departments (sales, development, design, etc.). “If your goal is continued growth, Slack is an essential tool in your daily routine for communication, management, and interaction,” emphasizes Castañar, underlining the productivity improvement.
Now, InboundCycle’s journey with Slack continues to be marked by increased efficiency, streamlined communication, and a more tightly-knit, globally connected team, all of which support their mission to drive inbound marketing innovation.
