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UNTAPPED
MARKET
AMONGST THE SMBs
The CRM market can have increased
appeal among SMBs in India,
if vendors develop appropriate
messaging and position its products
to suit the segment. /28
01
cover.indd 1 20/02/12 10:39 PM

2. COVER STORY CRM MARKET
UNTAPPED
MARKET AMONGST THE SMBs
The CRM market can have increased appeal among SMBs
in India, if vendors develop appropriate messaging and
position their products to suit the segment.
BY SANJAY MOHAPATRA
sanjay@smechannels.com
C
ustomer relationship manage- limited awareness and understanding. Most SMEs tegic roll out of a CRM deployment can have on
ment or commonly known as think of CRM as a software that manages users, its business.
CRM is an overused concept. The leads, pipelines, conversion and post sales com- This is because SMBs are short of resources and
concept has become mainstream munication but only a few know that it is much preoccupied with the short-term goals such as
in terms of usage, but curiously more than that. They are not technically advanced managing operations, delivery issues, attracting
enough it has lagged behind in terms of deploy- enough to understand fully and make the most of manpower and retaining customers. Research
ment, implementation and manifestation. There CRM,” says Asheesh Pandia, Brand Management has found that CRM adoption in India is mostly
is no standardization in CRM approaches. Con- and Corporate Communications Consultant. restricted to larger enterprises with adoption rates
sequently, even the most basic initiative such as Adoption rate is not very high as well. SMEs slipping as the size of the enterprise becomes
organizing customers’ database is dubbed as a generally have limited budget and their IT infra- smaller.
CRM deployment. Ideally, CRM should enable structure is very basic and as a result, CRM is usu- However, CRM can have a significant impact
the organization to have a comprehensive view ally placed on very low priority. Adoption is more on the business models of SMBs if they are able to
of the customer during all its interactions, so that likely as they grow, although they still prefer cost- align CRM strategically with business goals. For
the organization can understand the customer’s effective options. The lack of awareness and low example, if the CRM deployment links the SMBs
requirements and pain points and pre-empt solu- adoption rate can be curbed with more aggressive customer database with service delivery and has
tions. Organizations that have evolved their CRM training and education initiatives. visibility across all team members serving cus-
strategy call this customer experience manage- For this segment, CRM is still a concept that tomers, it will provide data and insights into the
ment. Therefore, CRM is not a deployment but is not considered to be particularly relevant in customer’s problem, how the customer is being
a strategy, which is ongoing and pervasive across achieving short-term business goals. Sometimes served, how the problem was resolved and pre-
the organization. SMBs deploy CRM to aid small tasks such as empt offerings and solutions that will not only
While there is a certain level of understanding organizing customer database, help boost sales increase customer satisfaction but also provide
and maturity among large organizations but small effort, reach out to customers for cold calls or opportunities to up sell and cross sell.
enterprises are still a very underpenetrated seg- email campaigns. In sum, small enterprise users The challenging economic environment has
ment as far as CRM is concerned. “There is only have still not fully realized the benefits that a stra- however made SMBs more open and sensitive
28 SME CHANNELS
FEBRUARY 2012
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3. CRM MARKET COVER STORY
THE INDIA CRM
SOLUTIONS MARKET
IS FORECASTED TO BE
US$ 321.1 MILLION IN
CY2012 TO US$ 531.2
MILLION IN CY 2015.
SOURCE: IDC
SME CHANNELS 29
FEBRUARY 2012
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4. COVER STORY CRM MARKET
“MOST SMES THINK OF
CRM AS A SOFTWARE THAT
MANAGES USERS, LEADS,
PIPELINES, CONVERSION
AND POST SALES COMMU-
NICATION BUT ONL A FEW
Y
KNOW THAT IT IS MUCH
MORE THAN THAT.”
ASHEESH PANDIA, BRAND MANAGE-
MENT AND CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
CONSULTANT
“WHAT IS INTER-
about the benefits of CRM. SMBs have realized demanding and businesses have become hard
the importance of thinking strategically about pressed to streamline their operations in order to ESTING IS THE WAY
customer acquisition and retention. The business make the customer experience more fulfilling. MANY SMBS ARE
impact of having happy customers is not lost on Gartner says that the Indian CRM market size ENGAGED IN PREPAR-
SMBs, as the segment has learnt the value of viral is the second largest market in Asia Pacific region
marketing. SMBs also understand the long term after Australia, comprising about 15 percent of ING A COMPREHEN-
impacts of building an enduring brand. Keep- the overall APAC market. SIVE TECHNOLOGY
ing all customers happy at all times is a hugely According to a recent Gartner report, the CRM ROADMAP FOR THE
challenging task, and can be achieved only with market in India is forecasted to experience a
the aid of appropriate technology tools. SMBs growth rate of 17.4 percent between 2011-14. The FUTURE COMPLETE
understand the challenges associated with build- market which stood at US$ 111 million in 2011 WITH ‘MUST HAVE’
ing an efficient customer service system as well as is expected to become US$ 179 million by 2014. TECHNOLOGIES,
adopting CRM tools that will help build visibility Gartner also forecasts that 8 percent of all CRM
and enhance its brand. spending in 2011 was in social CRM reflecting the PLATFORMS AND IT
The SMB segment in India is a significant maturity in CRM adoption trends. The on demand INFRASTRUCTURE.”
contributor to the Indian economy. According CRM market is also expected to maintain healthy
RAJ MRUTHYUNJAYAPPA, SENIOR
to government estimates there are about 13 mil- growth rates. Gartner estimates that on demand
VICE PRESIDENT & MANAGING
lion SMBs in India. Yet, technology vendors tend CRM which comprised 24 percent of the market
DIRECTOR, APAC & EUROPE, TALISMA
to ignore this segment and do not develop solu- in 2009 is likely to touch 32 percent by 2015.
CORPORATION
tions that are appropriate for this segment. More According to IDC Asia Pacific Semi Annual
importantly, the positioning and messaging of Software Tracker Report, the India CRM solu-
technology solutions for SMBs, specifically in tions market is forecasted to be US$ 321.1 million ‘must have’ technologies, platforms and IT infra-
the case of CRM, need to be very different from in CY2012 to US$ 531.2 million in CY 2015. structure,” says Raj Mruthyunjayappa, Senior Vice
larger enterprises. Vendors need to focus the Between 2008 and 2013, CRM in India is President & Managing Director, APAC & Europe,
messaging on what problems a CRM solution is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12 percent. Talisma Corporation.
likely to solve for the SMB, instead of positioning According to Frost & Sullivan the CRM market is The major areas of investment for CRM include
it as helping to build customer relationships. For expected to experience a CAGR of 16–19 percent online channels, SaaS-based deployments and
instance, a CRM deployment will likely to help between 2008 and 2014. technologies that enable customer loyalty man-
an SMB manage its resources better while serving “Organizations today consider their custom- agement as well as focused levels of customer ser-
customers as improved internal processes will sig- ers to be assets, and this has become a major vices. Also, expenditures related to social software
nificantly enhance employee productivity. focus area amongst companies. Organizations to support sales, marketing and customer service
are investing heavily in enhancing customer processes are expected to exceed $1 billion world-
The Market satisfaction and building relationships with cus- wide by 2013, according to Gartner.
The momentum in the CRM market is evident tomers. This is true among SMBs as well, which is The demand for CRM will come from both the
in the upbeat sentiments of market forecasts by definitely a growth driver in the Indian economy. large enterprises and SMEs. Adoption has mostly
analysts and vendors, which is based on customer The segment that was hitherto restrained by lack been amongst organizations in tier one cities but
responses and adoption rates. Large companies of access to technology, exposure to geographies the next phase of growth is likely to witness adop-
already have a CRM strategy and have deployed is looking at technology as an enabler like never tion in tier two cities as well. Most CRM compa-
systems and aligned internal processes to maxi- before. What is interesting is the way many SMBs nies are deploying traditional and new media to
mize those deployments. With increasing glo- are engaged in preparing a comprehensive tech- reach out to the market. Vendors are also deploy-
balization, customers have become savvy and nology roadmap for the future complete with ing new marketing channels such as online semi-
30 SME CHANNELS
FEBRUARY 2012
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