“We have to get organized!”
Less than a year after starting his own digital marketing and lead generation consultancy, president and founder of Lucid Digital, Mark Gadala- Maria, realized there was a major deficiency. At this point in time, it hadn’t yet become a major hurdle, however Gadala-Maria knew that if business continued to grow at the rate it had in just a few months since the company’s inception, it would soon be a problem.
“One of our specialties is lead generation for both ourselves and our clients, and at the rate we were acquiring leads, I knew I had to get organized FAST otherwise I would have a disaster on my hands.”
So Gadala-Maria did what any savvy business owner would do – he asked Google for the answer…
The Business
Lucid Digital is a web development, digital marketing and lead generation consultancy based in Miami, Florida. The company was founded in 2011 by Mark Gadala-Maria who, only one year after completing his undergraduate degree at Florida International University, decided to venture out on his own.
Lucid Digital focuses on creating an online digital presence for any business.
As Gadala-Maria puts it, “Since this company’s inception I have been obsessed with web development and internet marketing of all forms. While many would say my specialty lies more with Search Engine Marketing because of the years I spent working for one of the biggest SEO companies on the planet, in reality my skill set and underlying focus has been on all forms of Digital Marketing & Application Development, web and otherwise.”
The Challenge: Managing a rapid inflow of leads via mobile
As with any new company, the inflow of business and leads was modest soon after Lucid Digital went live. When the company was receiving just a handful of new leads per day, using email and spreadsheets was a serviceable way to manage these.
However, just a couple of months into business, the volume of leads rapidly increased and Gadala-Maria needed an easy way to organize these leads and make sure they were being accurately tracked. Additionally, several of Gadala-Maria’s new clients needed the ability to manage leads on-the-go which was virtually impossible without a native mobile application.
Selection Criteria
Mobile Optimized – “Having a mobile app and being mobile optimized was huge for us and probably the biggest consideration. We have employees in the field that need quick and easy access to CRM on-the-go without having to log on to a computer. Additionally, we have several clients that we send leads to while they’re in the field so this offers major value to our clients as well.”
Cost – “We were a new company with not a lot of money so cost was a major consideration for us.”
Invoicing Integration – “I was really looking to integrate invoicing into my CRM solution so I was looking for something that was capable of integrating invoicing and accounting.“
Competitive Analysis of CRM Solutions
Prior to starting Lucid Digital, Gadala-Maria had used Infusionsoft CRM at his previous company. Despite his familiarity with Infusionsoft, Gadal-Maria thought it best to go in another direction.
“Although there were a lot of things I liked about Infusionsoft, there were also a lot of things I didn’t, and when it came time for me to pick a CRM, I realized it was too expensive and lacked the capabilities especially those involving mobile that I needed. Additionally, I wasn’t a big fan of Infusionsoft’s user interface.”
Discovering and Implementing Zoho CRM
“We actually found Zoho CRM with a simple Google search for CRM software!”
Once Gadala-Maria settled on Zoho, he was pleasantly surprised with the ease of implementation into Lucid Digital.
“To be honest, Z-CRM was perfectly easy for me to integrate within the company. It fit right in and was exactly what we needed. It was pretty much ‘plug-and-play’ for us.”
Now having used Z-CRM for several months, Gadala-Maria has even more enthusiasm for the software.
“Zoho CRM was not only the most affordable but by far the most efficient for what we do at Lucid Digital. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that I don’t think there’s any other software out there that can do what you’re doing for us, and certainly not at the same price.”
“I also recently signed up for Zoho Invoice to integrate with CRM and take care of all of our accounting. We have been using Quickbooks however it’s not the best and the fact that we can integrate the leads directly with the invoices is perfect. I’m also thinking about adding Zoho Projects and Zoho Campaigns just because it will be so nice to have everything managed in one place.”
Life After Implementation
“For us Zoho CRM has been amazing! I use it not only for my customers but for my business as well. In addition to satisfying all of my ‘must-have’ criteria, Z-CRM’s user interface is great. Very simple and easy to navigate which makes it a pleasure to use on a day-to-day basis.
When asked about his favorite Z-CRM features, Gadal-Maria did hesitate:
“The mobile app is a monster favorite of mine! I also love the notes options for leads, and the customizability of the interface.”
What Would You Like to Say to Other Customers about CRM Solutions?
“Right off the bat I would tell anyone looking for a CRM that it has to be Zoho. The reason I’m such a big fan is because I really haven’t seen anything that is THIS good and businesses need EXACTLY what Zoho offers. I’m still in the process of integrating other Zoho tools and I’m excited about doing it because I can see how much my business will benefit.
I’m a big tech guy and I’m really into the technical industry, and in my book, Zoho is doing everything right. I haven’t seen anyone else doing things the way Zoho is doing it and I can’t wait to integrate more Zoho tools.”
To learn more about Lucid Digital, CLICK HERE
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