Flexibility and Mobility key to uplift competitive advantage of startups – IPC

We have entered the era of startups. Due to the rapid spread of digital tools, it has become easier to turn an idea into a tangible project. However, the challenge of competing with the big players remains. IPC (IP Converge Data Services, Inc.), a local cloud services and data center pioneer, believes that by enhancing flexibility and mobility through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system a startup can overcome this hurdle.

According to a January 2015 report by Socialbakers, a global social media analytics company, 66% percent of user generated tweets mentioning brands are now executed through mobile devices. In a June 2016 study made by the social media site, half of their 12,000 respondents took action immediately after seeing a brand tweet. This included visiting the brand’s site or Twitter page. Also, the study revealed that almost 1 in 5 Twitter users will eagerly retweet a tweet that mentions a brand and is contemplating to make a purchase after being exposed to a brand-related tweet, proof that brand-based social engagement does drive consumer behavior.

“Because digital tools such as social media and cloud are more cost-efficient compared to the traditional ways of managing and promoting one’s business, it is usually the route taken by budding businesses. As such, we can consider most startups digital natives. With digital now considered the norm, startups are at an advantage,” said Dave de Leon, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Solutions Group of IPC.

However, de Leon notes that the true challenge lies in effectively generating, winning, and keeping business leads. “Here’s where an effective customer relationship management (CRM) tool comes in. It affords a startup's sales team access to crucial real-time information, thereby empowering them to make better business decisions,” said de Leon.

Challenged with a limited budget and a leaner workforce, startups can utilize CRM tools that can help them understand who has bought what, how much they spent, and help predict demand for future product offerings or market expansion.

A Forrester Research study says companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost. Furthermore, a report by Bain and Company shows that just a 5% increase in customer retention boosts lifetime customer profits by 50% on average across multiple industries, as well as a boost of up to 90% within specific industries such as insurance.

Salesforce, one of the largest cloud computing companies in the world that provide CRM solutions, also adds that a good CRM can increase sales up 29%, sales productivity up to 35%, and forecast accuracy by 42%. Primarily known as a company that aids large enterprises with its software and development platform, Salesforce also helps startups with its “Salesforce for startups” initiative where new businesses are provided access to the technology, tools, and expertise needed to become a customer and community-focused company. Currently, IPC holds the distinction of being Salesforce’s only partner in the Philippines.

“Whoever can understand the customer better, wins the competition. So that’s why you have to have CRM to manage and analyze customer information which helps businesses to understand them even before they look for a product,” said Brian Dizon, Director for Sales – Business Solutions Group of IPC. “When you empower your sales reps with the right tools, they can focus more on hitting their quotas instead of working on reports that can otherwise be automated or simplified.”

On November 22, 2016, IPC will be hosting a morning workshop that focuses on the importance of equipping sales teams with the latest CRM solutions and methods that can help maximize overall efficiency. Titled “Salesforce: Find, Win & Keep,” the workshop, which will be handled by Salesforce certified administrators, will talk about redefining the role of CRM in a company. Registration is free of charge and done online at www.ipc.ph/findwinkeep.

“Sales teams need a highly accessible tool that will help them gather up-to-date insights about their clients in order to make swift decisions that could potentially close a sale,” said de Leon. “Without a clear CRM strategy, sales opportunity tracking becomes cumbersome and a sales pipeline takes longer to build. A cloud-based CRM application allows sales reps to get more done, while providing real time feedback to management.”

With its clear benefits, it’s no surprise that businesses of all kinds are utilizing CRM. “It is a vendor-agnostic solution. Any company that sells will definitely gain from using CRM as it provides them critical insight into the behavior of their consumers, thereby building and help maintain relationships which is critical for startups.”

Dizon also notes that a Cloud-based CRM solution is an ideal platform for startups since most solutions are offered with a promo, thereby costing less. “Many cloud service companies provide extremely flexible and adaptive solutions that are usually on a pay-per-use model.”

IPC provides consulting and implementation services for Salesforce, bringing together solutions across sales, service, marketing, communities, analytics, apps and the Internet of Things. By continuing to innovate and embrace technologies like mobile, relationship intelligence, and collaboration, IPC is helping sales reps to become more productive while at the same time making the entire process easier and quicker for the customer. To know more about how to get started with Salesforce CRM from IPC, visit http://ipc.ph/salesforce/.