CRM For start-ups. How Soon is Too Soon?
I ordered some items online through a recently launched mobile app. Unfortunately; the order was not delivered on time. I tried to raise a ticket or want to chat with an executive, but unable to find any way to do that via the app. Then I tried to look for their customer care numbers but found that too is non-functional. Then I went to their website, filled in their contact us form and received a call later that evening from their sales team. When I shared my problem with the caller, he said, it’s not his problem and I have to write to their support team to complain. Imagine the amount of pain I have been through just to lodge a complaint.
This is not a one-off case. With all due respect to our start-up fraternity, customer relations is something where majority start-up players are lagging big time. As the start-up culture is growing, the need for a good CRM system is also growing at an equal pace. The key question is “How badly a start-up needs a CRM? Can it survive without CRM?”
As a CRM enthusiast, I feel that it is very important to understand why a startup should invest some time and money to build their CRM practice. Let’s start with this obvious question that, might come to the mind of a start-up founder.
“But we have a full-fledged Sales/Marketing team. Why we need a team and tool for CRM”
The answer is simple. Old Marketing model, which we also called the Transactional
Marketing model is just not fit for today’s age because to me, transaction marketing is something that typically focuses on sales showcases the product or services offered. Which in a way does not generally produce great customer relationships?
Now that the economy is evolving and as technology progresses, no wonder our customer base is also changing. Day by day they are getting more up to date and tech-savvy. They want everything on their fingertips. They are aware of what is happening in and around them. And thanks to the internet, they are now checking the online review of the product and services before deciding the final vendor for a particular product. With various social media platforms available, customer reviews are posted everywhere. This evolving nature of customers is resulting in fierce competition among the business houses. Be it product-based companies or service-based companies, every single salesperson out there in the market is trying to overpower their rivals in some way or the other. As you realize that the crux of the market has shifted from sellers to buyers, it is evident why the marketing model also needs to be changed. And needless to say, this marketing evolution has strengthened the concept of Relationship Marketing (also called CRM). As someone rightly said, “CRM is the most evolved version of Marketing.” Unlike transactional marketing, CRM primarily focuses on customer retention.
To me here are some of the key reasons why a start-up should embrace CRM sooner than later.
· It helps to put the customer at the heart of your business strategy.
· It also allows you the time to concentrate on other areas of your business, as you know that the CRM software system is keeping you and your team up-to-date and fully aware of your customers’ needs.
· It is a centralized place for storing data and provides a full, accurate record of a rep’s entire interaction history with a prospect that’s accessible with one click.
· Furthermore, it has the ability to do analysis and help you predict future sales, etc and the historical data provides valuable insight into future client behavior.
To wrap it up, my advice to all hard-working entrepreneurs out there, while you are investing time and money for your sales, marketing and development, think of sparing some budget to set up a CRM operation. There are multiple CRM players out in the market. Pick anyone based on your budget and scale of operations and implement it before you launch your products or services and then see the magic of CRM unfurl.
