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As marketing evolves so do ways of reaching out to consumers. As a result over a period of time companies too have evolved in the game of customer acquisition and retention. In a conversation with BrandWagon Online Shivakumar Ganesan, co-founder and CEO, Exotel talks about the company’s journey as it claims 70 million engagements every day for over 6,000 companies in India, SEA, the Middle East, and Africa.
Exotel posted a 1.6x rise in its revenue to Rs 318.27 crore in FY22 from Rs 119.03 crore in FY21, according to regulatory filings accessed by market intelligence platform, Tofler. The company posted a net loss of Rs 22.66 crore in FY22 from a net profit of Rs 14.68 crore in FY21. (Edited Excerpts)
What is the kind of revenue targets you have set? By when will you be profitable?
We will cross over $100 million in revenue in about 12 to 18 months and will also become profitable, potentially by December 2023.
How has the company evolved over the years?
It has been 11 years since we started. Originally, Exotel started as a communication API suite, using which enterprises can incorporate SMS and phone calls into their apps and websites. The first phase of the company was aimed at building the future of communication in India. During the course, we acquired one of the largest contact software companies in Asia called Ameyo and a conversational AI platform called Cogno AI and we transformed into a full-stack customer engagement platform.
What about the next phase of evolution?
We also got the Mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) license. This is a new build-up application by writing on top of the telecoms networks themselves. So, this was the beginning of our second phase and we then became a full-stack national cable platform. We introduced more channels such as WhatsApp, Rich Communication Services (RCS), among others. Eventually, we transformed into an omnichannel platform which could be used for cross-channel communication.
We also launched ExoMind- a no-code tool enabling enterprises to create advanced chatbots. The cloud-based enterprise tool incorporates proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) models and generative AI capabilities to provide personalised customer interactions to brands. So, this is the final phase of the company’s transformation and we call it a connected customer conversational platform. This is what brand facelift is all about.
How has Exotel helped in the enhancement of the customer journey?
The unique aspect of Exotel is that we bring to the table all the building blocks of good customer engagement. We have all the API’s, and the contact centre software which are customisable. After we acquired Ameyo, we brought Ameyo on top of our cloud platform. So, apart from the feature richness of the product, we’ve also now brought in scalability, reliability, and availability. With Cogno AI, we also have artificial intelligence to add to our services and all of this is on a private cloud.
We also have a project services team. So, the extent to which companies want to customise and specialise for their customer usage is actually practically everything under the sun as possible. We have partnered with large enterprises which helps them customise for their target customers.
How will Generative AI change the picture of automation for brands? What are the potential challenges?
I feel that until generative AI came into the picture, people were using AI, where experiences are not very human life. But, with generative AI such as ChatGPT, people will now be able to work on a unique combination of bots, which brings in advantages such as 24/7 availability, and conversations that will be more human-like.
Talking about challenges, India has a unique problem of languages or dialects. People can speak in three different dialects or languages in the same conversation. So, it will be interesting to see how generative AI aids in better customer experience management.
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