Talisma: Moving beyond CRM Date:   Thursday , November 29, 2012 "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change," stated Charles Darwin. In the era of cut throat competition, one has to be flexible in adopting changes and the current changes are driven by the customers. Organizations of all sizes are accentuating on customer loyalty to burgeon as winners in the industry and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is playing a crucial role in strengthening this ecosystem. Incorporated during the internet bubble of 2000, Talisma has grown by leaps and bounds not just in terms of its products, services and consulting portfolio but also in customer numbers and geographies. The company has also become a pioneer in the field of customer experience management thanks to a unique combination of products, services and consulting offerings that are aligned to help Talisma’s customers deliver exceptional customer service. "Unlike traditional software products, we have a product which is boxed or requires heavy upfront implementation, we have developed products that are vertical specific and also incorporates global best practices on the CRM side and we also do consulting on customer experience. Our value proposition is unmatched in the industry," says Raj Mruthyunjayappa, Managing Director, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Talisma Corporation. Talisma believes loyalty cannot be a blueprint and has to be built by delivering enriching and fulfilling experiences to the customer. Today, the company is entering what is widely hailed as the era of the experiential economy. The customer is at the center of this transition and is more powerful today than ever before. Traditional customer engagement practices that revolved around transactions are passé and businesses have realized that to have long term profitable relationships with customers, they have to engage them at an emotional level. Tailored to the industry’s culture, constituents and best practices, Talisma understands the organizational processes and workflows and delivers products developed keeping the unique needs of their customers viz., students, clients, citizens or global companies in mind. With the help of Talisma’s software, businesses can deliver experiences that appeal to customers at an emotional level. Be it brand building, implementing innovative marketing practices, relationship-based engagement, insight driven transactions or simply engaging the customer through social media, Talisma covers every base for its customers. In a demanding and highly competitive environment of digital media marketing, social media has emerged as the new engagement frontier. Not only do social media channels provide a treasure trove of knowledge on customer behavior, but they also enable direct contact and participation in conversations involving customers, prospects, influencers and other relevant stakeholders. “We help companies deepen social media engagement and analyze the behavior of your target audience on social media. Let me put it this way among other things, if there is a conversation on your brand or product occurring on social media, we make sure you are part of it. Through the sentiment analysis feature, you will be able to gauge the prevailing sentiment of conversations and intervene appropriately in a timely manner,” adds Raj. Times are changing: Just over a decade ago, it was relatively easy for businesses to mold customer perception. Today, with the internet and social media penetration rising dramatically, thanks to the ubiquitous presence of smartphones and tablets, maintaining a beneficial relationship with the customer is becoming difficult. Organizations are changing their engagement strategies more frequently to stay ahead of the game. Today, brand value and image as perceived by a customer is a function of multiple parameters and not just a fast and fulfilling transaction. Emotional connect with the customer and brand engagement which were restricted to market leaders in the past is today a commercial necessity for all business and companies that do not engage customers emotionally risk losing market share and brand equity in the short and long term. Here is where Talisma stands picturesque with all the solution it offers to the customers in strengthening their relationships. The company believes in helping its customers deploy innovative engagement strategies to stay competitively relevant irrespective of the business environment. “We provide automation tools and collaborative platforms that help keep the customers engaged through better experience and greater mindshare,” explains Raj. Patter big opportunities: Education is a $50 billion industry. For higher educational institutions, Talisma offers campus management solutions. These enterprise applications cover the full gamut of administrative, enrolment, student information system, finance, HR, analytics, and academic software products and services for campuses. Talisma’s global experience helps it to bring in best practices that customers can adopt with ease. Apart from education, Talisma also counts big names in the banking and financial services vertical as its customers. Other sectors of interest for the company are telecommunications and retail. "We help institutions build strong relationships with their customers. We have invested extensively in developing a comprehensive portfolio of solutions that help our customers do more with technology. Talisma is one of the few companies that invest a major chunk of their revenue in Research and Development. Our focus on R&D helps translate innovative strategies and ideas into features faster," elucidates Raj. Talisma also offers a one of a kind Citizen Relationship Management solution for government bodies. In times when citizens are asking for greater transparency and faster resolution of grievances, Talisma’s e-governance solutions are designed to help government organizations meet such expectations with ease. The way ahead: Innovation is part of Talisma’s DNA. With an unmatched portfolio of offerings, the company is striving to do more to breach frontiers of technology and innovation. The company continues to invest in innovative technology, best practices and collaborative platforms to help its customers rise to new levels of customer centricity.