VSEs and SMEs are a more dynamic market segment than ever. This is one of the effects of the health crisis of 2020. Without completely catching up in terms of digitalization, small businesses have nevertheless made progress in their acculturation to digital.
They are therefore increasingly a target of choice for suppliers, in particular SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), already specialized in the SME and mid-market market. In the areas of CRM and web marketing, this is the case, for example, of SugarCRM, HubSpot or the Indian Zoho.
100% low code for getting started
A SaaS player from India (but established in California) is also developing in these markets: Freshworks. The company, founded in 2010, has been listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange since last year.
Its expansion in France is more recent. Its model is based on a platform on which various business applications such as ITSM, HR, but above all cloud marketing and CRM are integrated. The credo of their supplier: ease of use and installation, thanks in particular to low code.
It is thanks to its subscription solutions that Freshworks intends to accelerate its growth with French VSEs and SMEs. But not only. The publisher relies on the dynamics of e-commerce and key players in the sector such as Shopify and Magento.
The e-commerce boom
These e-business platforms experienced a real boom in 2020. Over the period, Shopify recorded an 86% increase in turnover. Many online stores have been created, but these companies remain little or not equipped with marketing tools, customer service or CRM.
With its new offer, Freshworks CRM for e-commerce, the publisher is building on the adoption of Shopify – then in a second phase of Magento, the sector leader. How ? Through “a bundle”, or a pre-integration of three existing applications.
This customer experience-oriented trio consists of “Freshsales for CRM, Freshdesk for customer service and finally Freshmarketer on cloud marketing. And these applications are pre-integrated with Shopify,” explains Matthieu de Montvallon, Senior Director Solution Engineering at Freshworks.
Three apps in one
This integration allows for rapid deployment. A major criterion for VSEs/SMEs. According to the framework of the editor, three days are enough to have an operational application.
And companies can even test the solution for free (on part of the functional perimeter) before subscribing to one of the three paid subscriptions, invoiced to the user.
To convince them to equip and subscribe, Freshworks therefore promises companies easy access to advanced customer journey tracking and marketing automation features. This integration of three applications monitors the customer’s life cycle through a 360° view of their data and interactions with the e-merchant.
Democratize certain features
This approach is a way for the Californian publisher to democratize features that this clientele did not use until then, for reasons of means, skills or implementation deadlines, explains Matthieu de Montvallon.
In this market of VSEs/SMEs using Shopify, Freshworks has set itself the target of an adoption rate for its offer of 35% by the end of 2022. For the company expert, this ambition will undoubtedly be exceeded. To this end, the publisher has approached Shopify agencies.
Freshworks should do the same with Magento agencies. Users of the e-commerce platform are the publisher’s next target. The latter is already developing a pre-integrated application for Magento, a carbon copy of the one available today on Shopify.