B2C Communication Software Launched

A local startup, Retain, has begun offering services to local online businesses, including live chat, customer management, and online customer support.

In an interview with Financial Tribune, entrepreneur and CEO of the company, Ramin Rezazadeh said, “The target market of services offered by Retain is startups and small businesses.”

Other companies like Aryanic, NetRise and Dade Varzan are active in the field, however, they prefer to work with major businesses like banks and industrial firms.

He says startups cannot afford services offered by these companies.

Currently, most startups use applications and online services provided by foreign firms like Intercom, Salesforce.com, Microsoft, SAP and Oracle.

Retain chief hopes to attract customers to his  firm.

In order to gain a foothold in the market, his company is offering several incentives.

Rezazade said “In collaboration with startup accelerators like Dmond, Avatech and Axell, Retain is providing free training courses to startups.”

Moreover, businesses can use Retain services free of charge for a one-month trial period.

“After the trial and depending on the number of conversations conducted through the system the businesses will be charged 100 rials (less than one US cent) for each conversation,” Rezazade said.

According to the founder, the business was created with private investment and later was boosted by local startup accelerator Avatech.

One of the genuine services offered by Retain is data analytics and business insight services.

 Future Plans

Rezazade said his company is set to move into big data services. Big data is extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions.

Moreover, Retain is aiming to expand the range of its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) services offered to local businesses.

CRM refers to practices, strategies and technology that companies use to manage and analyze customer interaction and data throughout the customer lifecycle.

The systems are designed to compile information on customers across different channels — or points of contact between the customer and the company — which could include the company’s website, telephone, live chat, direct mail, marketing materials and social media.

It has the ability to provide customer-facing employees information on customers’ personal information, purchase history, buying preferences and concerns.