DevRev for CIOs and CXOs

DevRev

15 Aug 202203:24

Summary

TLDRDhiraj Pandey, co-founder and CEO of DevRev, discusses the need for a CRM overhaul to be developer, product, and user-centric. He highlights the inefficiencies of current customer support and product planning tools, advocating for a unified 'Dev CRM' platform that integrates with various systems like GitHub, Slack, and billing for a holistic view of customer interactions. Pandey envisions this approach to modernize customer support, enhance user engagement, and improve net promoter scores by providing a 360-degree view of customer needs.

Takeaways

🚀 Dhiraj Pandey is the co-founder and CEO of DevRev, with a background as the founder CEO of Nutanix for nearly 12 years.
🎓 He is a continuous learner in consumer design and is involved in the board at Adobe.
🛠️ The current landscape has various tools for different departments like customer support, product management, user analytics, and marketing, each requiring separate licensing.
🔗 There is a need for integration by managers and analysts to connect these disparate systems, often using Slack channels or dashboards.
🛑 The speaker argues for a fundamental overhaul of CRM to be more developer, product, and user-centric, to reduce the cost of accessing product and user data.
🌐 The traditional CRM tools are outdated, built during an era dominated by companies like IBM and Oracle, and do not cater to today's self-researching and self-signing users.
🌟 A product-led growth approach requires a new operating system, referred to as 'Dev CRM', which is the first app on a new platform aimed at modernizing customer support and in-app business messaging.
🔍 Modern support systems need powerful engines for search, machine learning, and automations to go beyond customer tickets and connect with various development and user issues.
🤝 A modern support system should integrate code, cloud, and customers with a product graph for visibility into build, growth, and ops events within the engineering ecosystem.
🔄 It should be connected with various systems like GitHub, Slack, Datadog, sales CRM, and billing and metering for a comprehensive view.
💡 The goal of DevRev is to help build the world's most customer-centric companies by improving customer support and engagement through a connected and modern approach.

Q & A

Who is Dhiraj Pandey and what is his current role?
-Dhiraj Pandey is the co-founder and CEO of DevRev. Prior to this, he served as the founder and CEO of Nutanix for almost 12 years.
What is Dhiraj Pandey's ongoing learning focus?
-Dhiraj Pandey is a constant student of design, learning every day about consumer design.
Why is there a need to overhaul the current CRM systems according to Dhiraj Pandey?
-The current CRM systems were built in an era when traditional selling was supreme. They are not developer, product, and user-centric and do not provide easy access to product and user data, which is crucial for improving retention, discovery, and engagement.
What is the role of the internet and the app in today's customer relationship?
-In today's omnichannel world, the internet and the app play a central role in establishing trust between end users and product makers.
What does Dhiraj Pandey refer to as 'Dev' CRM?
-'Dev' CRM is a new operating system that Dhiraj Pandey refers to as a fundamental overhaul of CRM to be more developer, product, and user-centric.
What is the first app on the 'Dev' CRM platform supposed to do?
-The first app on the 'Dev' CRM platform is intended to modernize customer support and in-app business messaging.
What are the key features a modern support system should have according to Dhiraj Pandey?
-A modern support system should go beyond customer tickets, connect with developer issues, user conversations, cloud incidents, and deployment pipelines. It should have powerful engines for search, machine learning, and automations, and be connected with various systems like GitHub, Slack, Datadog, sales CRM, and billing and metering for a 360-degree view.
What is the significance of a product graph in a modern support system?
-A product graph is essential as it provides continuous visibility into build, growth, and ops events in the engineering ecosystem, helping to stitch code, cloud, and customers together.
Why is the traditional three-tier customer support model outdated?
-The traditional model is outdated because it relies on following the sun for support, which is inefficient. Modern support should be fully connected with everything and everyone beyond just Slack.
What is the ultimate goal of DevRev according to Dhiraj Pandey?
-The ultimate goal of DevRev is to help build the world's most customer-centric companies by improving customer support and engagement through a modernized CRM system.

Outlines

00:00

👋 Introduction to Dhiraj Pandey and DevRev

Dhiraj Pandey introduces himself as the co-founder and CEO of DevRev, having previously served as the founder and CEO of Nutanix for 12 years. He emphasizes his ongoing commitment to learning about consumer design and his role on Adobe's board. Pandey outlines the current state of customer support tools, which are fragmented and department-specific, and the need for a unified approach to CRM that is developer, product, and user-centric. He highlights the inefficiencies of the current system, where managers and analysts are required to integrate these disparate tools, and the need for a fundamental overhaul to improve customer retention, discovery, and engagement.

🛠️ The Need for a New CRM Operating System

Pandey discusses the evolution of customer relationship management (CRM) tools, which were designed in an era dominated by IBM and Oracle's sales models. He contrasts this with today's user-driven market, where customers research, sign up, and discover features independently. Pandey argues that the internet and apps play a central role in establishing trust between users and product makers, necessitating a product-led approach. He introduces the concept of 'Dev CRM' as a new operating system that will modernize customer support and in-app business messaging, emphasizing the need for a system that integrates with developer issues, user conversations, cloud incidents, and deployment pipelines.

🔍 Features of a Modern Support System

The speaker outlines the requirements for a modern support system, which should go beyond traditional customer tickets and continuously engage with various stakeholders. Such a system needs powerful search, machine learning, and automation capabilities to function effectively. It should also integrate code, cloud, and customer data through a product graph that provides real-time visibility into the engineering ecosystem's build, growth, and operations events. Furthermore, the modern support system must connect with external platforms like GitHub, Slack, Datadog, sales CRM, and billing systems to offer a comprehensive 360-degree view of the customer's journey and interactions.

🌐 The End of Traditional Customer Support Models

Pandey declares the obsolescence of the traditional three-tier customer support model, which relied on time-zone shifts and PM updates to buy time. He suggests that the only way to improve the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is by ensuring that support engineers are fully connected with all relevant systems and stakeholders. This holistic approach is aimed at building the world's most customer-centric companies, and Pandey invites others to join DevRev in this mission, emphasizing the importance of design in achieving this vision.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡CRM

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, which is a technology system that helps businesses manage their interactions with current and potential customers. In the video, the speaker criticizes traditional CRM tools for being department-specific and suggests a need for a more integrated approach to customer management that is developer, product, and user-centric.

💡DevRev

DevRev is the company co-founded and led by Dhiraj Pandey, the speaker in the video. It represents a new approach to CRM that aims to be more aligned with modern, product-led growth strategies. The company's mission is to help build customer-centric companies by overhauling the traditional CRM model.

💡Nutanix

Nutanix is a company where Dhiraj Pandey served as the founder and CEO for almost 12 years before starting DevRev. It is mentioned to establish his credentials and experience in the tech industry, which is relevant to the discussion about the evolution of CRM tools.

💡Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, retention, and expansion. In the context of the video, it is the modern approach to customer engagement that the speaker argues requires a new type of CRM system to support its unique needs.

💡Developer-Centric

Developer-Centric refers to an approach that prioritizes the needs and workflows of developers within a business process. In the video, the speaker suggests that a new CRM system should be developer-centric to better integrate with modern development practices and tools.

💡User-Centric

User-Centric is a design philosophy that focuses on the needs, preferences, and experiences of the end-users. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a user-centric approach in CRM to improve customer retention, discovery, and engagement.

💡Omni-Channel

Omni-Channel refers to the ability to provide a seamless and integrated experience to customers across multiple channels, both online and offline. The speaker mentions that field sales is just one channel in an omni-channel world, highlighting the need for CRM tools to adapt to this multi-channel approach.

💡Support System

A Support System in the context of the video refers to the mechanisms and tools used by a company to provide assistance to its customers. The speaker argues for a modern support system that goes beyond traditional customer tickets and integrates with various aspects of the business, such as developer issues and user conversations.

💡Product Graph

A Product Graph is a conceptual model that represents the relationships and interactions within a product ecosystem. The speaker mentions the need for a modern support system to have a product graph to provide visibility into various events in the engineering ecosystem.

💡Integration

Integration in this context refers to the ability of a system to connect and work seamlessly with other systems and tools. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a modern CRM system being integrated with tools like GitHub, Slack, Datadog, and others to have a comprehensive view of the customer and product interactions.

💡NPS

NPS stands for Net Promoter Score, a metric used to measure customer experience and predict business growth. The speaker suggests that traditional customer support models are outdated and that a fully connected support system can improve NPS by providing better customer experiences.

Highlights

Introduction of Dhiraj Pandey as co-founder and CEO of DevRev.

Pandey's previous role as founder CEO of Nutanix for 12 years.

Pandey's ongoing commitment to learning about consumer design.

His involvement in Adobe's board and focus on customer-centric design.

The current fragmented landscape of customer support tools.

The inefficiency of bolt-on tools for different departments.

The need for a CRM overhaul to be developer, product, and user-centric.

The high cost of access to product and user data as a barrier.

The emergence of customer success and growth engineering departments.

The ineffectiveness of traditional field sales in an omni-channel world.

The central role of the internet and apps in establishing trust with users.

The concept of a product-led growth requiring a new operating system.

The introduction of 'Dev' CRM as the new platform for customer support.

The necessity for modern support systems to integrate with developer issues, user conversations, and cloud incidents.

The importance of search, machine learning, and automations in modern support systems.

The need for a product graph to provide visibility into engineering ecosystem events.

The integration of modern support systems with various platforms for a comprehensive view.

The outdated model of tiered customer support and the need for real-time updates.

The goal of DevRev to build the world's most customer-centric companies.

A call to action for support in DevRev's design efforts.