The company deployed a CRM solution that, among other things, ensures multiple channels and contact points are available for customers.

Experion Developers is a 100 percent FDI-funded real estate developer. It is backed by Experion Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore, the real estate investing arm of the $2.5 billion AT Holdings group of companies.

With substantial development rights across various locations in India, Experion is developing townships, group-housing projects, commercial landmarks, organized retail destinations, hotels and resorts across Delhi NCR, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra.

Differentiating from the Clutter The real estate sector in India is both competitive and cluttered. To differentiate itself from competition, Experion was quick to realize that it needed to leverage technology. There were other reasons too that warranted the company to turn to IT.

We wanted a solution wherein a customer’s history, from lead generation to post purchase activities, is captured on a single page (email trail, phone calls). There was also a need to make multiple channels and contact point available for customer. For instance, NRI clients don't want us to bother them through telephony,” says Hemant Tikoo, Chairman, Experion Developers.

For a developer, it is important to drive customer satisfaction. One off the ways of achieving this is by getting valuable customer feedback, and incorporating it in its strategy. This could also be achieved through a technology platform. “Besides, marrying business analytics with customer data would help us respond to market challenges,” avers Tikoo.

Against this backdrop, Experion decided to implement a CRM solution.

The Right Solution With the decision to deploy the solution coming from the top management, Experion started scouting for a solution that met its needs. “Typically in a CRM solution, the backend is available in most large platforms but is still very skeleton. There are standalone modules. We wanted something that was working well for real estate and had a robust front end,” Namita Mehta, Senior VP, CRM, Experion Developers. Mehta also ensured the solution was open ended wherein it could be customized and parameterized as per the logic and algorithms demanded by business. “We wanted a fair bit of parameterization in the master setup so that when we define the policy, processes, work flows, the technology actually enables that. And it could be different across projects (residential, commercial). So the readiness of the vendor to customize was definitely a criterion that we looked at but more importantly, the parameterization levels that were possible. We didn't have to deploy huge IT teams or deploy staff members of the provider,” she says.

All evaluating several products, Experion decided to go in for Farvision as it met all the needs of the company. Taking Customer Satisfaction to New Levels Post the deployment of Farvision, Experion has been extensively using it for all its transactions. “Nothing is money (from bookings to generation of allotment letters to handling post sale queries). The entire process of collection is 100 percent automated.

This is a little different from other real estate developers who have been gradually moving backend operations towards technology, whereas we have had it since day one,” Mehta. “We also have a customer portal linked to our ERP so customers can login with their credentials and access their information (access, transact or leave a query). We also have a mobile app. Every notification that we wish to give to the customer is pushed through the app. This works well with our NRI clients,” she avers.  Also emails of construction updates are sent to customers.

"Reports are generated for everything, from booking to turnaround times to escalation to payments to presentations and lead conversions. We have also standardized them. For example if there’s a new though we have to integrate, it’s available. It’s pretty much a plug and play system and the BI allows it,” says Tikoo.

The system allows for feedback from customers, which the company has acknowledged and acted upon. “We have made minor modifications when some concrete suggestions were given on a layout. For example, the installation of geysers above the false ceilings from an aesthetic perspective was done. We have personally responded to all suggestions and thanked each customer.

If a feedback is not solved we give them a valid reason. Every feedback we get is captured and stored electronically in our system,” says Tikoo.

The Way Ahead Going forward, there is huge upgrade in the pipeline for the mobile app. “It (the update) will impart a lot of specific information to the customers, like allow him to not just get alerts/triggers but also get detailed information about the notification. So it will be a three step process. He (the customer) knows that there’s an alert, he knows the nature of the alert and there is brief information available to him,” says Mehta. In terms of value additions, Experion is planning up to tie up with certain vendors for complimentary products like furniture, lighting. “It’s not really a rewards or loyalty program as it will be available for every customer. We would tie up with them, get discounts and make it available through our customer portals and the mobile app,” says Tikoo.

“Another thing which we will do is to bring about changes in the mode of payment. We will tie up with a payment gateway, and leverage internet banking to be able to make payments. It doesn’t make sense to make payments from debit cards or credit cards due to the extremely high transaction cost. But some of the other payment gateways like RTGS are available. There is a little bit of reconciliation required. The new payment mode will be very efficient and cost effective.” He adds.