Ex-Salesforce techie explores the cloud to store client feedback

Limo Sadalla returned to Kenya in 2013 to launch a business that lost Sh2 million in its first year.

“Our loss was not out of mismanagement, but lack of awareness among our local companies on the need to use technology to monitor business processes that enhances their relationship with their customers,” Mr Sadalla says.

Mr Sadalla, 32, who heads Blue Consulting Limited, had just returned from America where he worked as a tech consultant for cloud computing services provider Salesforce.com.

Armed with four laptops, Mr Sadalla recruited his first four employees who he trained at a restaurant.

“We would criss-cross Nairobi and meet at the restaurant to review the day’s operation.”

Mr Sadalla conducted door-to-door marketing while offering staff training for companies that adopted the service. He also helped customise individual company Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.

He signed as deal as Salesforce’s sole partner for its CRM products in Kenya and across East Africa.

READ: Why Kenya is yet to fully embrace cloud computing

Blue Consulting sent feedback to company CEOs keen on what customers said about their products and helped firms to respond to customer comments.

“Every company needs an online diary about themselves where their employees log in to report progress of sales while clients can directly engage companies,” he said.

Increased adoption of CRM software saw more companies drop use of sticky notes as well as diaries in favour of a centralised paperless system. “Companies no longer lose sales or customers when an employee quits employment since all information is held on cloud,” he said.

Mr Sadalla, a Computer Science and Economics graduate from Brandeis University in the US, says companies track their sales online without bothering about chaotic Nairobi traffic.

Using CRM software, governments can monitor service delivery since data is available to officers and heads of departments in the cloud.

With a turnover of Sh15 million, Blue Consulting says organisations ought to embrace the ‘customer is right’ philosophy.