Accelerate small business growth: How Docusign can help

The survival and success of small businesses has never been more important and for that reason, Docusign is a proud ally in equipping small businesses with bespoke electronic signature solutions to protect themselves, their assets and to streamline operations. Through digital transformation, Docusign strives to supply small businesses with lean and sustainable tools that are accessible, efficient, and secure.

In this blog, we will look at the inspiring digital transformation stories of three small businesses that leverage advanced eSignature features to accelerate growth.

SHB Real Estate

About the business:

SHB Real Estate is a market-leading commercial property agent delivering on a range of advisory and transaction services for real estate occupiers and landlords. Unlike many of its competitors, SHB prioritises the use of data and analytics to power customer experiences.

Why they use Docusign:

SHB identified a need to redefine its out-dated work practices, improve employee efficiencies, and deliver smarter workflows for its clients. Using Docusign products, including Docusign CLM and Docusign eSignature for Salesforce, it has streamlined the contract lifecycle from preparation through to signature. At the same time it has centralised all documentation for greater business visibility.

"We have a lot of internal development work that is looking to improve the client experience, such as a portal area for managing the upload of contracts, which I know Docusign will easily accommodate." John Pattison, Head of Technology SHB Real Estate

Impact of implementing Docusign

• 16% Increase in number of contracts signed year-on-year

• 5% increase in 'Closed Win Rate'

• Considerably faster closing time of deals

Capital Space

About the business:

Founded in 1997, Capital Space is a leading provider of high quality workspace in the Southeast of England. With over 700 customers across nine business centres, it offers a mixture of traditional office spaces, workshops, and studios to suit the changing needs of growing businesses. Regardless of rental space size, customers receive a simple, monthly licence, making budgeting easier, cost-effective, and straightforward.

Why they use Docusign:

Before implementing Docusign eSignature, Capital Space relied on printing and posting licence agreements to clients to sign. Once documents were posted, the business no longer had control, or visibility, of the signing process, and was reliant upon the prospective client to sign and return them in a timely fashion. Capital Space found this an increasingly inefficient, costly, and time-consuming way to operate.

Further compounding inefficiencies, Capital Space also required proof of identity from the director of the organisation looking to rent a unit. This necessitated the client to physically present themselves in the Capital Space office with original identification documents for verification. This procedure only took a matter of moments to complete, but for clients was not only time consuming, but also inconvenient. This was due to many not residing in the same area as the centre they were looking to operate their business from.

To overcome these barriers, Capital Space has deployed Docusign eSignature to quickly process licence agreements and ensure that the correct documents are sent to the right client. Additionally, Docusign Identify has been introduced to quickly verify client authenticity regardless of their location, seamlessly enhancing the customer experience and improving business turnaround times.

Impact of implementing Docusign

• 50% of licence agreements are now completed within 48 hours

• +1200 agreements sent for signing using eSignature

• Customer experience has drastically improved

The Modern Milkman

About the business:

When David Attenborough called for action to combat plastic waste in our oceans there was a 53% reduction in single-use plastics in the following 12 months.

Recognising the public desire for change and wanting to offer an environmentally-friendly alternative to the existing grocery market, the Modern Milkman is a grocery delivery service with a mission to reduce plastic waste across the UK and beyond.

Why they use Docusign:

Before implementing Docusign eSignature, The Modern Milkman was using 'wet' signatures and free e-signature solution packages. One of Lambro Anastasiou's first projects when he joined as CFO of the organisation was to implement more structure to workflow processes within the organisation.

Immediately he recognised that there was no logical structure when it came to document signing, storage and contract management. Agreements were saved in different places, in different formats, using a variety of tools and solutions

Another challenge The Modern Milkman faced was its need to sign a variety of agreements including deeds such as employment contracts, option grants and share certificates, which require more stringent formalities than other contracts. Where deeds need to be executed, there is typically a legal requirement for the witness to be physically present with the signer that they're witnessing for.

DocuSign eWitness, a feature of eSignature, was instrumental in leading The Modern Milkman to choose Docusign eSignature over other signing solutions because it enables the organisation to complete deeds electronically—saving on time and cost.

"Our contract management was chaos—it's symptomatic of a fast growth early stage business."

Lambro knew that instead of continuing to use free trials, a permanent electronic signature solution was needed. He chose Docusign because of its brand recognition and reputation. "Everybody uses Docusign, from the government to venture capitalists. All of those people can't be wrong. "

Impact of implementing Docusign

• Increased speed in collecting investor signatures

• Allowing the business to scale as it continues to grow