Brands are becoming more and more aware of the critical connection between customer satisfaction and staff wellbeing. The ability of businesses to provide better customer satisfaction is undoubtedly correlated with happier staff. Karthik Rajaram, VP and Country Head for India Business at Freshworks, is doing a similar thing – helping businesses to realize their vision for delighting their customers and employees.
Mr Rajaram, in an email interview, talks about the evolving customer needs, new challenges in the changing macro environment, and the various tools using which Freshworks is able to deliver what the businesses want.
In a changing macro environment, are consumers’ needs and expectations evolving? How is Freshworks gearing up to meet the emerging demands from the customers?
Consumers are more demanding than ever while businesses of all sizes are definitely feeling the changes in the macro environment. However, brands are still aware that now, more than ever, it is important to better serve your customers and keep your employees happy. This is where a company like Freshworks is well-poised to win.
Also, this is a phase of tech consolidation. A full-fledged customer engagement suite like Freshdesk Omnichannel makes it easier for brands to retain and delight their customers.
Customization and personalization are two key ingredients for a brand’s long-term success. How is Freshworks able to deliver these to their 50,000 plus companies?
We have a very strong platform play with Freshworks Neo. Our customers can choose to integrate a channel of their choice with our products and also stitch together their own solutions using our products. The 58,000+ customers of Freshworks have access to over 1,100 technology applications in the Freshworks Marketplace. We are continuing to expand on this vision.
How difficult is it for direct-to-consumer brands to connect with consumers?
The pandemic had a huge role in pushing a lot of brands onto the digital brandwagon when they were not truly ready. With global brands setting a high benchmark for customer experience, the smaller D2C brands have an uphill battle emulating a similar experience for their customers. Companies like Freshworks provide D2C brands with the right set of tools to help create delightful experiences for their consumers.
What role does Freshworks have in making it easier for D2C firms to not only increase awareness about their brands but also in increasing revenues?
For D2C businesses, increasing revenue is all about increasing stickiness. As long as you have loyal customers, your revenue will keep increasing. Freshworks’ Omnichannel helpdesk helps even smaller D2C businesses deliver support in the channel of the consumer’s choice and more importantly helps provide brands with context about customer interactions. This helps customer-facing teams elevate the experience they deliver and in turn increase brand loyalty.
Are customers merely interested in ‘value for money,’ or are they willing to pay more for a more enjoyable shopping experience?
Consumers are no longer chasing behind value-based shopping but rather look for good standards of experience. Programs like Amazon’s Prime or Flipkart’s First are validation of the same where customers are willing to pay the premium to get a better experience.
Business software customers these days are well aware of what they get for their money. Not just Freshworks, but more SaaS companies have transparent pricing and it is up to the business to pick and choose what is right for their business needs.
What role do technology and the Internet play, and what are some of the digital channels used to promote direct-to-consumer brands?
In a country like India, with the proliferation of mobile internet and smartphones, D2C brands have a lot of channels to promote and market their products and brands. Attracting customers is never a challenge as long as you have the marketing budget – the bigger challenge is retaining the customers and making sure you have a large customer base that is loyal to you and yields constant revenue. This is where delivering a great consumer experience becomes key!
Which businesses are more suited to use Freshworks as a beacon for marketing their products and services?
Freshworks does provide products that help businesses across various touch points in the customer journey. From marketing to sales to success – we have a product line that can help businesses understand their customers better and serve them with all the content they have thanks to a Unified Customer Record (UCR). If you are using the Freshworks CRM, the UCR is a great way to get a complete 360-degree view of your customers and serve them in the right context.
How motivated are the smaller D2C brands in keeping their customers happy?
Brands, these days, go a long way to ensure they deliver a great customer experience. Consumers have the power to choose and have the power to keep these businesses going.
So, as a consumer, if you like a brand and the service they provide, make sure you do a shoutout to them online. Most times, only the negative sentiments get reported while a number of happy customers do not leave their feedback. It goes a long way in motivating the smaller D2C brands keen on keeping the customer happy!
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