CRM Consultants & Implementation Partners in Akron, OH

Concept Services, which goes by Concept, is a business-to-business growth company headquartered in Copley, Ohio, a short distance west of Akron. Founded in 2002, it offers outsourced sales development, CRM consulting and marketing as parts of one connected operation. The firm books meetings for client sales teams, builds the CRM that records the resulting opportunities, runs the marketing that supplies new leads, and studies the processes that link all of it.

CRM platforms and partner credentials

Concept's CRM group supports three platforms. It is a certified Salesforce consulting partner with over 15 certifications on staff, a HubSpot Solutions Partner (a Diamond badge appears on the homepage, while a services page cites Platinum tier), and an Attio consulting partner. The site also shows partner status with Claude, Google, Shopify, Lead Forensics and Clay.

Since its consultants are certified on both Salesforce and HubSpot, the team often works on linking the two, a frequent arrangement for companies that sell in Salesforce but market through HubSpot.

• Salesforce implementation covering discovery, org configuration, data migration and go-live
• Custom objects, fields and workflows, plus roles, profiles and permissions
• Onboarding and training tailored by role, delivered live or recorded
• Continuing administration, troubleshooting, reports and dashboards
• Pardot and Marketing Cloud configuration, lead scoring and attribution reporting
• Outbound enablement such as lead queues, cadences and activity dashboards
• HubSpot assessment, setup, customization and integration
• Attio work from first data migration through fully orchestrated AI agents
• AI agents and AI-powered workflows built within HubSpot, Salesforce and Attio

Industries and specialties

Concept focuses on sellers whose sales cycles are long and complicated. Its listed sectors include heavy machinery and equipment makers, industrial manufacturers, warehouse and logistics-related suppliers, software vendors, and supply chain firms. For construction and industrial teams, it connects market intelligence services such as ConstructConnect and RigDig to Salesforce. That work includes custom data mapping, automated capture of projects and leads, and list segmentation, so representatives can see project information in the CRM itself.

Customer comments on the site come from equipment dealers, a logistics business, an energy company, a bicycle retailer and several technology firms. They mention integrations, custom objects, dashboards, email templates and data automation.

How Concept works with clients

Projects usually begin with a discovery conversation about goals and the ideal customer profile. In CRM engagements the team stresses user adoption and trustworthy data, and it provides administrative help after launch instead of stopping at go-live. Clients may add other services, including outsourced sales development representatives who work inside the client's CRM and follow its qualification criteria, digital marketing judged against pipeline, website development, eCommerce marketing, and structured business process analysis.

Concept's distinguishing feature, compared with firms that only implement CRMs, is its mix of day-to-day prospecting experience and platform expertise. Running appointment setting programs shows its staff how salespeople really use a CRM.

The company cites recognition from the Inc. 5000, Smart50, the Weatherhead 100 and Top Workplaces, and it introduces sales development leaders by name, among them a director of sales development operations and two sales development managers. Organizations wanting one partner for Salesforce, HubSpot or Attio work together with lead generation may find this combined approach worth evaluating.

Overview

Summit IT Solutions, Inc. is an Akron-based technology firm that pairs outsourced IT management with in-house software engineering. The company has operated for more than 25 years and mainly serves smaller and midsize organizations in Akron, Canton, Cleveland and the surrounding Northeast Ohio region.

Buyers comparing CRM partners should know that Summit IT presents itself mainly as a managed service provider rather than a dedicated CRM reseller. Its CRM-related work centers on connecting customer relationship platforms to the rest of a client's technology stack and on building custom data tools.

CRM-Related Capabilities

Summit IT's virtual CIO consulting gives clients strategic planning and a technology roadmap. That service is meant to make core line-of-business systems work together, including CRM, ERP, QuickBooks, Sage and ADP. The firm's Microsoft 365 practice also goes past email and file storage into the Power Platform. The company uses these tools to link Microsoft applications with CRMs, ERPs and accounting software. Capabilities relevant to a CRM project include:

• Power Automate workflows that cut repetitive manual steps and move data between applications
• Power Apps development for tailored business tools
• Power BI reports and dashboards that give teams current insight into their data
• Custom database architecture, web portals and desktop programs built by its own engineers
• Contact center and business texting systems that combine voice, email, messaging and social channels

The software side of the business has long-standing clients. A home improvement company quoted on the site says it has used Summit IT's bespoke applications for more than ten years.

How They Work With Clients

Most engagements are ongoing managed relationships rather than one-off projects. Summit IT provides round-the-clock monitoring through a local security operations center and a local help desk. The firm reports a median of 11 minutes to first response, a median resolution time of about two and a half hours, and 71 percent of tickets closed within one business day. Its stated commitments are to:

• Hear out a client's past frustrations and future goals
• Respond with urgency
• Recommend solutions sized to the organization's purpose and budget
• Keep staff skills current
• Follow through ethically

Support is offered both remotely and in person. Microsoft 365 projects cover planning, licensing, risk-assessed data migration, device setup and staff training.

Background, Credentials and Industries

The team includes Microsoft Certified Professionals, and the firm describes itself as a Microsoft 365 partner for Summit County and beyond. It also works with Fortinet, Barracuda, KnowBe4, Datto, Lenovo, Dell and Cisco across its security, backup and hardware services. Client testimonials on its site come from several sectors:

• Insurance agencies
• Physician and optometry practices
• Electrical contracting
• Hospitality
• Industrial manufacturing
• Home improvement

For buyers, Summit IT may suit an organization that wants one local partner to handle its overall IT environment and also connect or extend its CRM through Microsoft tools or custom development. Organizations seeking certified implementation of a specific named CRM platform may want to ask the firm directly about its experience with that product.