Paul Petersen interviews Justin J. Smal. CEO of Monread CRM who was named CRM Thought Leader by the All Ireland Business Foundation in 2018.  They discuss why the foundational purpose of CRM has not changed as the cornerstone of B2B businesses.  Whether a business has five employees or hundreds, Smal says they need a CRM.  Justin continues:

“The core philosophy is still there, having data all in one place, seeing all your communications in one place, all the interactions that you might have with leads or prospects of the customer and actually be able to call up a record to see their thoughts and interest really hasn’t changed. “

It is an interesting program for those who follow CRM applications and those who are still hunting for a CRM system that works for their needs.

"I’m joined by Director Eileen Keane and CEO Justin J. Smal, from Monread CRM. We trace their stories from how they started Monread CRM, their discovery of Zoho as an all-encompassing solution and their growth to become the leading Zoho consultants in the UK and Ireland."

- Aniruddh.mv, Marketer at Zoho Corp

Ani: So let’s start at the beginning - tell us about your lives before Monread CRM.

Eileen: I am an Electronic Engineer graduated from the University of Limerick and began my career by designing electronics at Philips in the Netherlands, and then migrated to product marketing of one of the first Internet based hand-held devices, the precursor to what we have today. In my new role, I immediately needed contact management and, at the time, there was no solution that was right -  and that’s when I met Justin.

Justin: I have been an entrepreneur for a long time and I was running operations and finance, but found CRM more interesting after implementing a CRM solution in 1995 for over 50 seats for my then organization. Eileen & co-founder Leo Moore just founded Monread CRM and I had a vision as to how CRM would evolve, although this evolution took time. In 2001, I officially joined Monread CRM and have ever since consulted for all types of companies, including blue chips and SMEs.

 Eileen: We started Monread CRM, 20 years ago in Ireland and the UK; delivering on-premise CRM, help-desk and payroll solutions as well as custom solution developments and integrations and building a market leading payroll solution & accounts integrations.

 Ani: Was that when you encountered Zoho?

Eileen: By 2009, we could see that the market ahead was surely going to be in the cloud - we were actively pursuing alternatives to on-premise solutions and took time to evaluate every CRM before we zeroed in on Zoho. Monread CRM too had grown with a considerable roster of contacts, and to be honest, there was no all-encompassing solution for their specific needs - till we found Zoho.

Justin: Indeed! By early 2012, we were delivering Zoho solutions in a very big way, and the results we were seeing, as well as our own experience, convinced us that Zoho was the perfect solution for companies migrating to the cloud, while delivering on their business requirements. Off course, this has now been confirmed by PC Mag's Business Choice Awards 2019.

Ani: Interesting! Tell us a little more about Monread CRM as a firm

Eileen: We are a complete Zoho shop, we use Zoho products extensively so while meeting and advising customers it puts us at a better position than many other consulting firms because a) we truly believe in the product in as much that we use it daily ourselves and b) because we use it daily we have real life experience on the products that we offer as solution. Right now, we have expert Zoho consultants working out of the UK, Ireland and the United States and a dedicated local help-desk for our Zoho clients.

Ani: How were you convinced of the dynamic nature of Zoho as a solution?

Justin: Like I mentioned earlier, I had a vision as to how a CRM should be. In any organization, I believe, everyone should be ideally selling. It’s not just the salespeople; everyone must be speaking the same language and to enable that, there needs to be a highly customizable system which can seamlessly exchange data. I could see that Zoho was that.

Ani: Great! You have a lot of consulting experience with blue-chip companies and SMEs, do you focus on any particular industry? 

Justin: Ideally, we cater to every industry, because every industry needs sales and marketing in some way. We serve industries like aerospace, technology, manufacturing, education and services. A fair bit of consulting also goes into firms which have existing ERP systems, and our expertise goes into designing integrations for their legacy systems.

Ani: How do customers appreciate the importance of a CRM consultant? 

Justin: Sometimes people don’t realize the importance of a consulting partner when figuring out how to differentiate their options. It usually starts with customers trying to do the implementation of a CRM themselves, and this takes a lot more time than they initially envision—and then they turn to us for expertise.

We advise, we suggest and then bolt the solution together quickly and efficiently, sometimes with the assistance of Zoho, enabling the customer to focus on what matters: running the business and generating revenue. What’s in favor of Zoho and our consultancy practice is the ever-growing arsenal of integrated apps, the functionality of these apps & the ultra-competitive pricing. In simple terms, with Zoho you get an an awesome bang for your buck!

Ani: Since you mentioned the right solution, what’s your approach to providing the best choice for your customers?

Eileen: We always take the extra effort to learn the customer’s business thoroughly and better understand their goals and aspirations during the discovery phase of the engagement. Most of the time, if they don’t have the processes in places, we create them from scratch.

Justin: Yes, we also draw upon over 20 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations and we then present to them a customized Zoho solution which will help them. Our process can be broken down into a four word mantra: discover-build-launch-support.

Ani: Could you also let us in on your plans for this year?

Eileen: Our 2019 calendar has got two segments on our radar - the SME and Enterprise markets.

For our Enterprise clients, we are bringing Zoho CRM Plus to their focus. Many Zoho CRM Plus pilot projects are already in the running, where we’re working closely with clients to customize and optimize the product to their needs. For our SME clients, we're focusing on Zoho One, a fully integrated operating system for your business with over 45 integrated cloud apps. Efficient solutions at economic pricing are a no-brainer in the SME market, making Zoho One a natural fit. 

Ani: That’s a lot to look forward to in 2019, and I’m sure there’s a lot of training that you guys undertake - tell us about that, too! 

Eileen: We recently became a Zoho Certified Training Centre, and we are running a full schedule of training on Zoho CRM, Zoho Finance Suite, Zoho Desk, Zoho Campaigns, and Zoho One in Ireland (Dublin & Belfast) & the UK (London).

Ani: Any final thoughts as we draw this session to a close? 

Justin: Real CRM should be that any contact, through any channel, should be managed effectively and an organization has to ensure that the customer experience is as enjoyable as possible – easy, informational, solution focused, and with the least amount of hassle. By delivering the right customer experience via a well-defined CRM Strategy, underpinned by an all encompassing CRM solution, a lead becomes a customer-a customer becomes a supporter and a supporter becomes a champion.

Zoho One delivers true CRM for any organization, big or small, at affordable prices without compromising functionality. Monread CRM deliver the services to ensure ROI for any organization.

We are excited to support this event in conjunction with Zoho. It promises to be a fun packed day of learning and making connections. 1000 + delegates, 100's of exhibitors, the Business All Stars final and an incredible line up of speakers including Gerry Hussey  and Dr. Sinead Kane and John O'Regan pictured below with our CEO Justin J. Smal and Sales Director Eileen Keane .