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  • Corefactors – Helping Businesses to Boost Revenue With Teleduce

    Marketing and sales are the lifelines of any business. Managing and converting leads through appropriate campaigns and communications is equally important for a startup, an SME or an established large scale business.  Various sales and marketing automation tools are coming up for simplifying the process of lead management, lead conversion, customer management and various sales and marketing related tasks.  

    However, it is seen that a business has to use various software for managing all these tasks. Corefactors, a Bangalore based startup is making sales and marketing easier through Teleduce – which provides a seamless experience from Lead generation to lead conversion to customer retention to customer support.

    Startup Name Corefactors Software
    Headquarter Bangalore
    Founders Sharmila Sundaram & Vimal M
    Sector Sales and Marketing Software
    Founded 2013
    Parent Organization Adnaks Marketing Solution Pvt. Ltd.

    About Corefactors
    Sales and Marketing Software Industry
    Founders of Corefactors and Team
    How was Corefactors Started?
    What is Corefactors?
    Corefactors – Revenue Model
    Corefactors – User Acquisition
    Corefactors – Funding and Investors
    Corefactors – Startup Challenges
    Corefactors – Competitors
    Corefactors – Growth
    Corefactors – Awards
    Corefactors – Future Plans

    About Corefactors

    Corefactors is a leading campaign management, business communication and analytics company. It’s platform offers Mobile Marketing, Lead Management, Business Communication and Communication analytics features.

    Corefactors was founded in 2013, with the mission to design user-friendly and efficient marketing, sales and communication solutions that helps small and medium businesses to generate the best possible revenue faster.

    This Bangalore based startup envisions to become India’s no 1 ISM (Integrated Sales and Marketing software) by on-boarding 5000 businesses by 2022 and to become available across the world serving 50000 businesses by 2030.

    Sales and Marketing Software Industry

    As per Gartners and Datanyze report 2018, SaaS CRM market in India is valued at $462 million. While the global market for SaaS CRM is $42.1 billion. Again for marketing platforms, the market size is $500 million in India and $7.63 billion globally.

    Saas Market Indian and the World - Corefactors | Teleduce
    Saas Market Indian and the World

    Founders of Corefactors and Team

    Sharmila Sundaram and Vimal M are the founders of Corefactors.  

    Sharmila Sundaram is a computer science graduate. She does customer acquisition and handles large key accounts in Corefactors.

    Vimal M joined  Sharmila in 2013 through a mutual friend. He is an Engineering graduate and an MBA. In Corefactors Vimal is responsible for managing business development, customer support and finance functions.

    Karthikeyan, Jithin and Nagarjunan are key technical guys who built the product from scratch with the help of Senthil Basuva Raj and Siva Subramanian. Corefactors has a team of 25 members.

    Corefactors work culture is centered on ownership, decision making and responsibility. Team members are given opportunities to take responsibility and make decisions. Besides, there is no defined leave policies in the company, which gives a sense of freedom to the employees and help them achieve work-life balance.

    How was Corefactors Started?

    The idea of designing Teleduce came to the Corefactors team, while Corefactors was operating as a marketing software reselling company. They noticed that many businesses faced problem in using the marketing software, which inspired the Corefactors team to design something which could help the businesses to generate more revenue faster.

    Way back in 2013, we were reselling marketing software products. We were working with more around 50 customers in 8 months. During the journey, we found many businesses were struggling to use the product and were still not able to generate revenue. We got the spark in 2014 and started building the product Teleduce with the help of the customers whom we worked with. The name of the product- Teleduce was coined by one of our friend Mr Hari.

    Corefactors was working with educational institutions, real estate, spa and saloon and health care industries. Corefactors was working with Finance, Educational institutions, Real estate, spa and salon, Healthcare and more. Many customers supported Corefactors team in designing Teleduce by sharing their business problems, how they work and provided feedback on the product periodically.

    Corefactors Logo - Corefactors | Teleduce
    Corefactors Logo

    What is Corefactors?

    Corefactors offers Integrated marketing, sales and business communication services. The product offered by Corefactors is Teleduce- a cross-functional sales and marketing software with integrated communication and CRM automation capabilities.

    Teleduce integrates the functionality of a CRM with a lead, cloud telephony and campaign manager. It offers a unified digital dashboard for lead tracking, multi-channel communication, sales automation, marketing automation, and marketing analytics.

    Some features of Teleduce are–

    • List Manager – to sort and categorize contacts for efficient follow-up.
    • Content manager to Design email & landing pages using intuitive drag and drop designer. Store images, documents, audio, video, email templates, SMS text, etc and use across platform.
    • Multi-channel marketing allows marketers to market products through SMS, Voice Calls, Emails, Missed calls, Landing Pages and Social media.
    • Telecalling campaigns– helps in running and tracing telecalling campaigns.
    • Lead Box – to manage, score and convert leads
    • Inbuilt cloud phone for all  inbound and outbound communication
    • Unified Dashboard for Marketing Campaigns, Business communication and Lead Management
    • Analytics platform to monitor, track, and analyze sales data, ROI, etc.
    • Customer success Manager- It helps to increase the attrition and reduce the retention rate.
    Teleduce By Corefactors
    Teleduce – Integrated sales and marketing software.

    Teleduce works for any company offering all products and services. Send Emails, SMS messages, Voice Calls, Social Media Campaigns and more online. Get the most out of your resources and manage leads across multiple channels. Our USP is one platform, integrated, data-centric, flexible and eventually generate results.

    Corefactors – Revenue Model

    Corefactors’ product, Teleduce is priced per user per month. The company  has 3 different packages as per the business needs.

    • Seed Plan- Rs 700/user/month
    • Sapling Plan- Rs 1200/user/month
    • Tree Plan- Rs 2500/user/month

    Corefactors – User Acquisition

    Corefactors has not spent much on paid marketing. From 2013 to 2015, the only paid marketing channel that Corefactors used was Justdial. Thus the company acquired its first 100 customers only through referrals and JustDial.

    Corefactors – Funding and Investors

    Corefactors has raised 2 rounds of seed funding till date.

    Funding Date Funding Stage Funding Amount Investors
    2016 Seed Undisclosed FHS
    February 19,2018 Seed Undisclosed Ah!Ventures

    Corefactors – Startup Challenges

    As said by Sharmila, scalability of the product was a key challenge that Corefactors initially faced. In marketing space, mass reachability & personalization is a primary need and product should support that. Corefactors initially had glitches in handling large campaigns.

    We learned on the go, leveraged cloud solutions like AWS and Azure, built scalable solutions. Today we handle billion reach every day.

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    Corefactors – Competitors

    Some of the main competitors of Corefactors are Zoho, Leadsquared, Insightly, Sugar CRM, Pipedrive, Rsoft, Kayako, Archiz, HappyFox and Desk.

    One platform, integrated, data-centric, user experience and transparency are some of the USPs of Corefactors that differentiate it from the competitors.

    Corefactors team believes that benchmarking itself against its competitors and sometimes also with itself keeps them motivated to do better.

    We benchmark ourselves on different parameters with different competitors and also we benchmark ourselves over time. We took benchmarking seriously and become better every day.

    Corefactors – Growth

    Corefactors started earning profit since 2015, i.e 2 years from its inception. Currently the company is witnessing a steady growth. Some of the achievements of the company are-

    • Steady growth of 25% YoY.
    • Currently, Corefactors is serving 450+ customers and around 2000 users.
    • Product usability score of Corefactors’ Teleduce is 72.
    • The company is working with reputed FMCG stalwarts like Pidilite, IFB, Godrej, banking businesses which includes, Ujjivan bank, Fincare bank, finance businesses like Finzy, Loanyantra, RupeeCircle, Omlp2p, real estate companies like Godrej, Brigade Group and Health care companies like Vmedo, Pristine hospital, Manipal Hospital and more.

    Corefactors – Awards

    Corefactors efforts towards simplifying the process of sales and marketing have been recognized by various organizations. Corefactors has received the following awards-

    • CIO 20 Most Promising Marketing Technology Companies 2016
    • KPMG Hot 100 race to grace Award 2017
    • Software suggest awarded Teleduce as best marketing and communication product 2018

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    Corefactors – Future Plans

    In the year 2019-20, Corefactors has plans to expand in Tier I cities in India and serve international markets like USA and the Middle-east countries.

    Serving customers with empathy is our key strategy. We support them for their success. We strongly believe that, if our customers are successful, we will succeed.

    Corefactors – FAQs

    When was Corefactors founded?

    Corefactors was founded in 2013, with the mission to design user-friendly and efficient marketing, sales and communication solutions that helps small and medium businesses to generate the best possible revenue faster.

    What is Corefactors?

    Corefactors is a lading campaign management, business communication and analytics company. It’s platform offers Mobile Marketing, Lead Management, Business Communication and Communication analytics features.

    Who are the founders of Corefactors?

    Sharmila Sundaram and Vimal M are the founders of Corefactors.  

    What is Teleduce by Corefactors?

    Teleduce integrates the functionality of a CRM with a lead, cloud telephony and campaign manager. It offers a unified digital dashboard for lead tracking, multi-channel communication, sales automation, marketing automation, and marketing analytics.

    What are some features of Teleduce?

    Some features of Teleduce are-

    • List Manager
    • Content manager
    • Multi-channel marketing
    • Telecalling campaigns
    • Lead Box
    • Inbuilt cloud phone for all  inbound and outbound communication
    • Unified Dashboard for Marketing Campaigns, Business communication and Lead Management
    • Analytics platform to monitor, track, and analyze sales data, ROI, etc.
    • Customer success Manager

    What is DLT registration?

    Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) is a block-chain based registration system. According to TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), telemarketers have to be registered in the DLT platform. It is being issued in the public interest to control the SMS spam from various marketing firms.

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  • 6 Must Follow Tips to Work from Home During the Coronavirus Outbreak

    The COVID-19 pandemic has changed every aspect of work and life. Coronavirus spread during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic led many organizations to recommend their staff to work from home full-time; now also being known as WFH, for their safety. As more and more companies implement work-from-home policies due to the spread of COVID-19, employees are now asked for trying to be just as productive without the normal routines and resources that they get in the offices while working. While working from home sounds like a luxury, in theory, it’s certainly no vacation and being productive is not very easy.

    But to get the same productivity from work from home, some specific strategies & Goals need to be implemented. Every job is different and the amount of work one can achieve will vary between career types, employers and internal policies, but there are some key strategies to working from home when it comes to getting your tasks done efficiently. Working remotely or the practice of working for an extended period outside the formal office environment is growing steadily in popularity by using various digital tools from Web conferencing, e-mail to mobile collaboration applications and virtual event platforms to connect people and make sure the work-from-home is possible without any difficulty. “Some of the best strategies & Goals to make yourself productive without distractions are”.

    Create a dedicated Work Space
    Make sure you have Strong Internet access
    Stay Connected with colleagues
    Get used to Video Calls
    Make use of Google Docs and Sheets
    Prepare for Distractions

    Create a Dedicated Workspace

    As an employee, one needs to create a dedicated work area at home even if it is temporary during this Coronavirus outbreak situation. It can be a separate room or a space at home where you can’t get distracted. Although it’s convenient to stay in bed or on your sofa but to get in that work mode, it is always better to create a dedicated workspace. A separate workspace is healthy as well as keeping to your regular work routine, even though you are not in the office. If you don’t have a desk, one can use the dining room table which can make you feel like you’re at the office. This helps you focus on your work, avoid distractions, and maintain a work-life balance at home.

    Creating a Dedicated Workspace

    Make sure you have Strong Internet access

    Internet access is the most important thing for getting your tasks done at home. When you work at home, having a strong internet connection will be most advised as most of the work or tasks assigned to you will be over the internet. Wifi/Data Card/Hot Spot is used for better network connectivity. Having a robust internet connection is required for video conferencing and chatting will make you an active participant and also helps in finishing your tasks without difficulty.

    Strong Internet access

    Stay Connected with colleagues

    Staying connected with colleagues is very important for a professional. It helps you evaluate your work, perform well in your tasks and also social skills. If you work on a team, it is essential to keep in touch with the other team members. For this purpose, there are many platforms like WhatsApp, Slack so that people get updates for the quick task. One can also stay connected with team members with the help of email communications. Any queries, inputs must be discussed with the other teammates. Messaging programs like Slack is a good idea to set up regular check-ins via phone or video conferencing like Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom.

    Get used to Video Calls

    Working from home means a lot more video calls. On the tech front, video calls can make a remote workday feel more connected. Video calls are crucial as teams like to see each other when they collaborate for a better understanding of each other’s perspectives. For this, you need a good webcam and headset to have a comfortable and quality experience. Using your built-in webcam and basic headphones should work well enough but if you want to upgrade the experience, investing in a webcam or headset is a good idea if the worker’s base computing device does not have one. In some organizations, 720P is the minimum acceptable resolution for quality results, for which one may need to get a webcam. A high-quality headset or headphones with a mic are a must for phone or web conferencing. Apart from this, using appropriate software for web or video conferencing is important. There are many software available for connecting people on video conferencing like Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, Microsoft Teams Webex, Zoho & so on. Accounts are free for the basic plan in Zoom if your company does not already have a corporate one. Zoom is packed with features and is fast with clear audio and video.  Now, these companies are making many features free and lifting the limitations to cope with coronavirus outbreaks.

    Make use of Google Docs and Sheets

    Google docs and Sheets are used to interact & update the status or progress of the assigned task. It is advisable to use Google Docs and Sheets to keep the records and store the data. Google Docs and Sheets let teams collaborate making monitoring tasks easier and evaluating the progress without any confusion. There is one more tool named Zapier which is a web service having many features like voice typing which increases productivity and also makes the work easy.

    Prepare for Distractions

    Needless to say, working at home comes with the high possibility of distractions. Working from home is never as same as working in offices. You must realise that at home we can’t always be as productive as we are in the office with the family being at home.

    Conclusion

    The Covid-19 pandemic has changed our perspective towards many things. Work-from-home is one of them. Work-from-home can be possible and very effective if you make an effort to make yourself productive by creating your own goals and strategies. Following a strict routine and improving your skills every day can make you a better professional.

  • Companies are Asking their Employees to Work from Home due to CoronaVirus

    Since Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread in many countries all over the world. As the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus i.e. COVID-19 rise drastically, many governments, schools, and companies around the world are taking more drastic measures to restrain the virus’s spread. At this time, coronavirus has more than 118,000 cases and 4,290 deaths worldwide.

    As the number of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus are still increasing day by day, people are advised to avoid public presence, social gatherings, etc. At present, India has over 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus with employees in IT companies affected and 9.41 Lakh people have been screened at airports. Similarly, there are at least 1,267 cases of the coronavirus with more than 29 deaths in the United States.

    Many major companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple & so on are also making sure that their employees do not get affected and stay safe during this outbreak. Google has advised all its employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to work from home starting March 12th, expanding a recommendation sent on March 10 to North America-based employees to work from home until at least April 10th.

    On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook encouraged employees at several of its global offices to work remotely “if your job allows” from March 9th to 13th. And by the end of last week, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other tech companies asked their employees in the Bay Area and Seattle to work from home. Moreover, Google also confirmed that it would give its hourly workers their regular pay if they had to miss work due to coronavirus. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to ask their schools and workplaces about contingency plans, like working from home, in case they have to shut down over coronavirus. Companies from Wuhan to Silicon Valley have changed how and where they do business as the virus spreads on.

    Due to drastic spread of coronavirus lately, many Indian corporations & startups are asking their employees to work from home. This includes Flipkart, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Paytm, Uber & Wipro and so on. Nithin Kamath, founder of stock broking startup Zerodha, stated that the entire team of 1,200 has been asked to work from home. Similarly, other Bengaluru-based startups like fintech startup Instamojo, edtech platform Unacademy, Byju’s, Bounce and  Meesho have asked their employees to strictly work from home to avoid any risk. E-commerce companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm & also Swiggy are encouraging their employees to work from home by using technologies like videoconferencing to interact with their clients and colleagues. Also ride-hailing companies like Ola & Uber are asking their employees to work remotely especially if one is feeling unwell. Moreover, IT industries like Wipro & Tech Mahindra are taking necessary precautions by keeping employees,who travel overseas for their projects, in quarantine. Telecom major Reliance Jio Infocomm & Coal India have given their employees choice to work from home without any biometric attendance.

    Companies adopting work from home due to corona
    Companies adopting work from home due to Corona

    Many companies are looking for solutions to enable their employees work from home without compromising the efficiency of work. For this, they are adopting various technologies & software.
    The Chennai-based office suite provider Zoho also made the announcement that it also implemented a work from home policy for its own employees. The company states that over 8000 employees across more than 10 countries will be working from safety of their homes until the virus is brought under control. Zoho uses Remotely toolkit to run their remote operations. Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu has been running the company from a remote farm near Tenkasi, a town in southern Tamil Nadu with the help of Remotely — the company’s virtual collaboration and productivity platform. Now, Zoho is also offering the same tools to its business partners and clients for free temporarily. Zoho Remotely includes a selection of apps in advanced software suite which will enable communication and collaboration between colleagues and customers.

    Similarly, the networking giant Cisco is offering its remote collaboration tool Webex for free under 90-day licences to businesses who are not its customers. Cisco’s SVP and GM, Sri Srinivasan said that they would also be helping existing customers meet their rapidly changing needs as they enable a much larger number of remote workers by expanding their usage at no additional cost. He further revealed that that after the Covid-19 virus, traffic on the Webex backbone connecting China-based Webex users to their global workplaces has increased as much as 22 times.

    At the same time, other companies are relying upon video conferencing and chat software. During this outbreak, the demand for Microsoft, Google, and Zoom’s Video Conferencing Software has increased significantly all over the world. This demand is expected to increase even more as the number of cases rises. As the number of school closures and quarantines increases, video conferencing will become ever more & more important. According to reports, Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform has seen a 500% increase in usage in China since end of January. This usage is increasing in the U.S. as well, with more employees working from home. While, Zoom CFO, Kelly Steckelberg has said publicly that its usage is up significantly from its 100 billion minutes run rate at the end of January. During the same time period, the company also saw four-five times as many users in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

    Considering the risk and intensity of COVID-19, these companies are offering many services free of cost. All that demand has made the tech companies to make it easier and in some cases free to use their software. Microsoft announced that Teams is now free to anyone with an email address. Google said last week it’s offering access to its Hangouts Meet video conferencing service and all its G-Suite as well as to G Suite for Education collaboration platforms for free of cost. Even, Zoom has also lifted the 40-minute limit on meetings for its users in China. Now, it is being extended to schools and universities in the U.S. upon request. Slack, a messaging platform, already offers a free tier but the company is offering live Q&A and webinars free.

    In the middle of worldwide health and safety worries, the company and its team once again shows its agility and tenacity by offering free services. This is really good gesture in tech market.