CRM for India – what’s so different?
This is a favourite theme of mine – that CRM solutions for Indian companies need to be quite different from the ones that we see in the West. I’ve been asked why I think so – is it because of the lack of connectivity (no), a lack of computer savvy (no), even a lack of discipline (that’s universal!). These are mostly organizational or personal issues and I don’t believe they matter in the bigger context. Even in the most sophisticated customer situations that I’ve seen in the US, there are always people with low computer savvy, salespeople with no interest in updating lead info, etc. I think what makes India’s CRM needs unique is largely about social and economic structures.
Let me explain that comment with a simple (simplistic?!) example. Take a look at our signup page (here). We have a field there for phone number. Over the last four months, over 400 people have signed up from various companies and, in more than 90% of the cases, they’ve submitted their mobile # in that field. In the West, particularly in the US, this is just unheard of. Privacy considerations and a general opinion that the “cell-phone” is a very personal device make it very difficult to get people to give you their mobile numbers. In India, that’s the default! My point is not that we are any less worried about privacy – that’s not true at all. In fact, Indians are as aware of the mobile being a “personal” device as anyone else; it is just that our idea of “intrusion” is limited to people trying to sell us credit cards and insurance! My point is, people have completely different opinions here about what data they will cede and what not to their vendors. And that’s what CRM is all about – to leverage the data that we can get about our prospects in the most effective, least intrusive manner. And if your CRM solution doesn’t know to ask for the mobile # but asks for everything else instead, you’ve just lost a major opportunity to connect with a prospect, make a new sale, help a customer with a problem, whatever.
IMHO, there are much more complex issues at play here in India. The way people work, the way companies operate, the way the economy is growing – pretty much every one of those large issues play into the way your CRM needs to behave. Over the next few weeks, I’ll talk thru some of these issues in my blog here – would love to hear your comments!
