B2B
CRM
Web app
SAAS
Pivoting auto CRM tool for overwhelmed
Marketers & Developers
In-house/Client
Team Sparta/+50 Businesses
Tools.
Figma
Year.
2023-2024
Role.
Founding Product Designer
Previous state
When you hear SMS marketing,
what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Probably spammy bulk messages—generic, impersonal, and often ignored.
What if SMS marketing wasn’t just spam?
You know the kind — generic, impersonal messages you ignore.
But what if it could actually drive revenue—by sending the right message at the right time?
That's where Effic comes in.
Effic didn't start out as a polished product. In fact, it began as a small internal fix.
Previous state
How a simple in-house fix became
a game-changer in CRM automation in 2023
In mid-2023, I took on the challenge of steering our
Auto CRM solution in a new direction.
Initially launched with a focus on SMS A/B testing,
Effic was created to transform friction into flow,
empowering teams to move faster and make smarter decisions.
What started as an internal fix in early 2023..
At Team Sparta, CRM was crucial for customer retention and repeat purchases—
especially as an education-focused company. (Sending 1 million CRM messages monthly.)
Other industries with similar needs began to take interest….
Businesses in education, e-commerce, and subscription services saw the value in automating CRM without relying on developers.
We thought we had something special, But our first launch told a different story….
Previous state
However, Effic’s first launch fell flat,
met with a lukewarm response.
The actual user needs turned out to be different from our initial assumptions.
The numbers were clear, and so were the user interviews:
We had to go back to the drawing board.
High interest, but low conversion—product features were too weak.
Many people showed interest, but it did not lead to a high service sign-up conversion rate.
The A/B testing feature was insufficient to attract users.
The product itself lacked strong features.
Also, The main Persona's needs were different form our initial assumptions.
They needed a more robust, comprehensive CRM management tool than what we currently offered.
Startup marketers
“We need richer CRM functionality!,
It's nice to have, but it's not critical
if it's not there!”
E-commerce
Business owners
“ CRM? A/B testing?
We don’t really know how to make the most of it.”
Previous state
So, we decided to pivot.
And that’s where the success story began—
by recognizing a familiar frustration.
It all started with a simple realization :
Marketer and developers were drowning in former CRM workflows.
Scenario 1 : CRM Marketing Team
Scenario 2 : HR Team
To understand what was broken,
we took a closer look at how CRM messaging was actually happening in real teams.
Previous state
Shall we take a peek into
2 workplaces in action for a moment?
In one office, the CRM marketing team finds themselves stuck in an endless cycle of,
“Hey, can you set up this CRM automation?” — as developers brace for yet another request.
Messages go out late, and CRM automation turns into repetitive manual work
→ Operational risk + wasted resources
Meanwhile, in HR, interview reminders are a full-time job—not because hiring is booming, but because there’s no easy way to automate the process.
Manual, error-prone, and exhausting → “Reminder fatigue” is real.
Previous state
Two different teams, one shared frustration,
CRM shouldn't feel like a
never-ending game of "Pass the task"
In both scenarios, users struggle with repetitive tasks—
whether it’s sending interview reminders or personalized
marketing follow-ups. The problem isn’t just inefficiency;
it’s dependency. Every small automation requires developer intervention,
creating bottlenecks, delays, and frustration across teams.
In other words, the current CRM automation leads to
unnecessary delegation of work.
As you can see from this scenario, CRM automation was a mess, especially for startups
that can't afford to spend much on maintaining their customer relationship management.
Cross-sector problem validation
And through this scenario, I was able to identify its issues
from the perspectives of professionals across various fields, including operators,
marketing heads, travel service experts, and CEOs of hair product companies. etc..
Everyone needed a CRM for different reasons, but small businesses and startups struggled since they couldn’t afford heavy investment in automation.
Previous state
In the 0-1 stage, we misunderstood
the product’s target—Thanks to this,
we were able to redefine it more accurately
Previous wrong target
The previous mistake in targeting was underestimating how much users want to rely on developers and overlooking how important the frequency of CRM automation is.
Re-framed target
But our real overlooked target was businesses that need frequent CRM automation,
see CRM as part of their product value, want to set it up without relying on developers,
and have a limited budget for CRM.
At this point, I started asking myself
a few 'What if' questions...
What if setting up CRM automation was as simple as scheduling an alarm?
What if marketers could set it up in minutes—without touching a single line of code?
What if developers never had to deal with CRM requests again?
But still, our tool help them to maximize CRM efficiency
at a more affordable price than existing management tools,
allowing small businesses and startups to integrate it seamlessly into their operations.
Previous state
With the solution in place,
it’s time to bring it to life visually.
This stage involves defining the UI hierarchy and enhancing it
with visualizations while shaping the system’s framework,
including user flow, IA, and data flow.
Previous state
From whom to when :
the 4-step mental model for CRM messaging.
“PMs and marketers don’t just write messages they design them.”
After interviewing dozens of PMs and marketers,
I uncovered a shared mental model: they don’t just write messages —they design them.
This insight shaped a step-by-step flow that mirrors how they naturally think.
It’s designed based on the mental model of CRM marketers and PMs, who usually think in terms of ‘what stage am I at?’ before diving into settings.
Previous state
[ UI JOURNEY ]
Select Recipients :
Who should I send this to?
In this step, users choose who the message should go to—
using predefined customer or candidate groups.
Jesica
CRM marketer
Previous state
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