A better CRM delivers leads for Sea Magik

In the fiercely competitive global cosmetics market, Sea Magik—a U.K.-based spa and skincare company—was losing valuable prospects. Leads generated from trade shows and events were slipping through the cracks due to a lack of a structured follow-up system. Without an effective way to capture and convert leads, Sea Magik was leaving prospects untapped and potential revenue on the table. 

While the company recognized the importance of using a CRM to automate and systematize its sales processes, Sea Magik’s previous CRM solutions—SAP and Zoho—fell short of expectations. SAP’s CRM proved cumbersome and unwieldy, while Zoho’s system was riddled with feature limitations. The company also used Mailchimp for email marketing, but it didn’t provide the precise targeting needed to effectively engage and convert leads.

Determined to overcome these challenges, Sea Magik turned to Freshsales CRM. This transition marked a turning point: The new CRM introduced automated lead follow-ups, precision-targeted email campaigns, and clear visibility into sales pipelines. With Freshsales, Sea Magik ushered in a new era of sales efficiency, achieving a 2x improvement in lead targeting, slashing the time spent on lead follow-ups, and tripling lead qualification efficiency.

The company

Founded in 1981, Sea Magik is a family-owned U.K. company specializing in eco-friendly spa and skincare products, distributing to both consumers and 5-star spas across the U.K.

The challenge

Sea Magik struggled to efficiently manage and convert leads. The company depended heavily on trade shows and events to generate new prospects, but without a systematic approach to lead nurturing and follow-up, many of these potential customers went cold or were lost altogether.

“Our sales process was very poor,” admits Robert Czik, chairman of Sea Magik. “When a prospect submitted an inquiry, we would send an email or make a phone call, and that was it. We lacked process and lost accounts to competitors.”

Needing a more efficient way to prioritize, nurture, and convert leads into paying customers, Sea Magik began its search for a CRM. Initially, Sea Magik turned to SAP's CRM because the company used SAP as its accounting system. However, Czik soon found SAP was too difficult to use for lead management. “Although SAP is the biggest software house for accounting, on the CRM front, it didn’t take long for me to realize that it wasn’t going to work,” he recalls.

The company then moved to Zoho CRM but encountered various feature limitations, such as the inability to manage duplicates in the system or easily search for past communications. “There were fundamental flaws in the system,” says Czik. “With Zoho, I had to manually search through emails to see who had communicated with whom, which was an absolute nightmare.”

Recognizing that these solutions were not meeting their needs, Sea Magik sought a more effective CRM solution.

The solution

On the advice of the company’s IT manager, Sea Magik’s sales team evaluated Freshworks’ CRM, Freshsales, and was immediately impressed with its capabilities and intuitive design. “It’s not easy to set up a CRM if you don’t understand how it works,” says Czik. “Freshsales is the best CRM I’ve seen.”

Implementing Freshsales to systematize lead management and sales processes, Sea Magik has automated lead qualification and follow-up, ensuring every prospect receives a timely, personalized response. An automated email introducing the company is sent to every new lead, while a workflow automation assigns the lead to the appropriate salesperson based on the prospect’s location.

Freshsales, built on Neo Platform and powered by AWS, supports multiple sales pipelines tailored to different product categories, such as a pipeline for beauty products and another for mass-market goods. Each deal progresses through stages where actions are clearly divided between the company and the customer. For example, a lead remains in the initial stage until the company sends samples and moves to a subsequent stage when awaiting feedback from the customer.

The CRM’s automation keeps Sea Magik’s sales reps organized and proactive, ensuring they act on leads without delays. “The salespeople are more accountable for their actions now,” says Czik. “When they see the pipeline and realize there’s a big account on which action is pending, they immediately set out to complete it.”

Freshsales has also improved Sea Magik’s lead-nurturing email campaigns. Unlike its previous tool, Mailchimp, which lacked precise targeting, Freshsales allows for targeted emails based on specific customer interests. “Now, when we create new products suitable for specific segments, we can use the CRM to approach these customers with our new offerings and try to close the deal,” says Czik.

Impact

Using Freshsales, Sea Magik has reduced lead follow-up time by 50%, tripled lead qualifying efficiency, and achieved a 2x improvement in lead targeting through sales campaigns. 

The CRM’s automated workflows streamline the management of incoming leads, allowing the sales team to focus on the most promising opportunities. This approach is especially valuable during trade shows and exhibitions, where quickly sifting through and following up on leads helps Sea Magik accelerate the sales cycle and close more deals.

The improved targeting and follow-up processes have led to faster lead conversions and better accountability among the sales team. “Freshsales CRM has been a game-changer for us,” says Czik. “It's not just a tool; it's our strategic partner in growth.”