We had an international client who wanted to launch his revolutionary technology in India, starting from Bangalore. The product was great, had a wonderful scope in India, their research was top-class, the demand in Bangalore for this product was huge. All in all, the idea itself looked like success before it was even launched. The client should have been laughing his way to the bank! However, that never happened.
How it all started...
This client (can’t name him due to the NDA) selected Wisdom Works as the digital marketing agency for his brand in India, with the sole aim of getting leads. His only ask was to get as many leads in the shortest time possible. He had an army of product distributors in Bangalore who were just waiting to get going.
We delivered. We started giving them quality leads from the third day of the campaign launch itself. Each lead was personally qualified by our team over the phone, a meeting with the lead was scheduled and a distributor duly assigned. We also ensured that a mail was sent to both the client and the distributor, followed by an automated reminder.
But things went horribly wrong. What happened?
This client of ours forgot one very important aspect of doing business: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. Leads kept pouring in… 40… 50… even 90 a day, with each distributor being assigned almost 7-10 leads a day, but there was nobody or nothing to track any of this. This client wanted all communication and data input on an excel sheet.
By the end of the first month, he had about 25 excel sheets and didn’t know what to do with the hundreds of leads that had poured in. It was chaos. Still, they failed to identify the need for the most important tool: the CRM.
After 6 months of an extremely successful digital marketing campaign that brought him thousands of leads, most of which were enthusiastic Bangaloreans waiting to take his product, this client asked us to shut down all marketing activities, because he couldn’t cope up with the leads. 2 months post that, COVID-19 hit India, and the client eventually decided to move out. His product was such that it could have gained him 5 times the profit during the pandemic. But the lack of a CRM failed him.
What is a CRM?
A CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, is a tool that can organise almost every activity within an organisation. From dealing with your clients, or acquiring new ones, sending out mails, or managing your social media platforms, payroll for your employees, or twice-a-month GST filing with the government, you name your need, and you will have a solution to manage it better.
But the best part of a CRM is what its name says it does… managing your customers; and bringing you the benefit of having a wonderful relationship with potential or existing clients.
Who should get a CRM?
You don’t have to be an organisation with 100+ employees to have the need for a CRM. Even small businesses, or startups with just 3-4 employees can greatly benefit from it. It will save you a lot of time (which directly equals to money), avoid unwanted miscommunication within teams or even between two people working on a project. It will organise all areas of your work, and help you make more informed decisions with real-time data, thus resulting in better growth for the business.
Which CRM is the best and how much does it cost?
From SalesForce to HubSpot, Zoho to Monday, there are many free and many pretty expensive options when it comes to a CRM. If you ask Google, you will get so many options that you will certainly be left more confused than ever!
The answer is: all CRMs are good. But which one is good for you depends on two factors:
- Your need(s)
- How well you implement a CRM
Even if people get the first point right, it’s the second point where they usually get stuck. Many business owners or organisations believe that by watching a few videos on YouTube, they will be able to use a CRM. That’s far from the truth. And I speak out of experience.
I have personally tried many CRMs over the past years, and then just ended up paying a bomb for them… without any results! The reason? I couldn’t implement the CRM according to the needs of my company.
In the next post, I will speak more about the different kinds of CRMs for different industries. Subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss out a post!
