Building a customer relation management tool

Customer relationship management and support systems are the core of any business. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a multi-million dollar one or a small business, there must be some means for communicating with both parties. There are heaps of software and tools available for addressing the needs of any business. Its huge industries and investors are still betting on the different ways to crack the market.

As an indie developer, it is always harder to choose the right tool for your project(s). I believe, small business developers, including me, have more than one project (product) to take care of. Some projects may start with a decent revenue flow from the launch, others may not have a cent at least for quite an amount of time. I am interested in projects that would take a bumpy start and could take a few months-to-years time to get going. These projects generally die due to the lack of proper tools and the initial cost of running them.

Managing multiple Projects / Products

After trying numerous tools for customer relationships and support systems, I ended up with tools that provide free plans. Though I wouldn’t mind paying for the right tools, finding one single tool for handling all my enquiries and social interactions is really a pain. Moreover, the tools that promise all these functionalities end up with clunky user interfaces and slow.

I always wonder why it’s harder to have a distinction in one account to manage multiple products. Think about a tool for handling all customer-related support queries, including emails and social accounts, for all your products with a clear border. Software that I have tried always lacks a clear division. As you are the only developer/manager/customer relations for quite some time, it would be really harder for having multiple accounts for different products.

Welcome ‘Hellokea’

Hellokea is the project that I am currently focusing on to address the above issues. This product is still in its genesis and the requirements might change dramatically. The overall objective is to build a sleek, thin tool that can help small businesses and indie-developers to manage their front office. It’s still blurry to find the market position for Hellokea. I always believe, there is a market for everything if it’s done right and fulfils someone’s need.