Therein lies the challenge: How can brands integrate and activate all that data? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, sales teams currently rely on an average of 10 tools to close a deal. That puts them in a tough situation. They\u2019re not just overwhelmed by data, but by the tools they use to handle it<\/a>. It\u2019s no wonder then that 94% of organisations are planning to consolidate their tech stack in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best place to start? A customer relationship management (CRM) platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A CRM<\/a> is a powerful tool for surfacing information cohesively and in real time. For sales teams, that means that reps have a 360-degree view of the customer available whenever they need it and customers don\u2019t have to repeat themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With AI and automation, CRM can use predictive capabilities to forecast more accurately<\/a>, convert leads more successfully, and automate time-consuming tasks, allowing sales reps to spend time on the more valuable work of building relationships and closing deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CRM is not just for your sales team. It integrates seamlessly with marketing, IT and service to ensure everyone is on the same page, all the time. For example, if a customer raises a complaint with the service team, the marketing team is alerted to press pause on campaigns emailed to that customer until the issue is resolved. And because CRM allows a 360-degree view of the customer across departments, the customer never has to repeat themselves when speaking to different parts of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering the future when it comes to tech investment decisions.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t So now that we know how CRM will benefit your business, let\u2019s dig into how to pitch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our recent State of Sales report<\/a> explains how sales reps are expected to act as trusted advisors to their customers. They need tools to deliver relevant insights \u2014 not just at the point of sale \u2014 but in the lead-up to the sale and after purchasing. Equipping reps with a 360-degree view of a customer builds trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pair trust with great customer experience, and you\u2019re practically guaranteed repeat buyers \u2014 94% of customers<\/a> say good customer experience makes them more likely to purchase again, improving customer lifetime value and ultimately boosting ROI<\/a>. A CRM helps reps understand the history, needs and preferences of their existing customers which allows them to make the most of upsell, cross-sell and renewal opportunities, offsetting the costs associated with new customer acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customers want seamless, connected experiences. And yet 60% of consumers feel like they are communicating<\/a> with separate departments instead of one company. There is a competitive opportunity here for sales teams who can seamlessly integrate customer data across departments and be prepared to meet their customers whenever and on whatever channel they prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Salesforce research<\/a> shows that the widening digital skills gap<\/a> presents a serious challenge to business leaders. In Australia, only 26% of employees feel equipped with workplace digital skills. In five years, that number is expected to drop to 20%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For IT departments, the imperative is to invest and implement digital tools that can train and educate employees using on-demand, online learning tools that are engaging and easy to access. Trailhead, Salesforce\u2019s free online learning platform<\/a> is a great example of this kind of tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s via introducing gamification<\/a>, virtual training programs<\/a> or launching a larger scale program like PwC\u2019s Digital Accelerators<\/a>, more organisations are embracing innovative technologies to deliver technical learnings in bite-size segments employees can fit into their days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The double whammy of improving the bottom line and helping bridge the skills gap in IT is a compelling one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Using digital technologies to help upskill and reskill employees is a powerful way for organisations to harness the increasing power of AI and capitalise on existing employee talent \u2014 and it can be more cost-effective than hiring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2022 HR Industry Benchmark Report<\/a> shows that on average it costs Australian businesses $23,860 to fill a vacant position and takes around 40 days, whereas 24 days of formal training costs only $9,990. And the cost of an unsuccessful hire<\/a>? Between 15 and 21% more than the employee’s salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And don\u2019t forget to highlight how your employer brand can benefit from upskilling initiatives many Australian workers put a high value on training and skills, and RMIT Online\u2019s recent research<\/a> found that more than 20% of respondents said they\u2019d rather have $1,000 to spend on training every year than $50 more pay each week. Half (52%) said a \u201clearning culture\u201d was more important to them than a \u201cfun culture\u201d at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenge for marketers is figuring out which technologies can create the seamless, dynamic, personalised experiences customers demand. And they do demand them. The recent State of the Connected Customer<\/a> report shows that 56% of customers expect offers that are always personalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI will help marketers bring personalisation to every step on every platform. Think tracking real-time customer experiences, creating personalised landing pages<\/a>, suppressing marketing to individuals who have open support cases, making personalised recommendations, or tailoring push notifications and chat messaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An impressive 69% of customers<\/a> are open to AI being used to improve their experience, so now is the time to make AI-powered tools like CRM, part of your tech stack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want to pitch tech that can make every experience feel one-on-one and do it at scale? CRM-powered personalisation can improve ROI by increasing open rates, reducing abandoned carts and deleted apps, improving traffic and driving loyalty. Here are a few successes our customers have seen: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The normalisation of hybrid work has seen the number of cloud-based service centres multiply as businesses<\/a> look for more efficient and effective ways to scale and adapt fast in a volatile environment. Freed up from physical assets in a single location, service teams can engage with customers from anywhere and, by integrating with CRM, provide tailored solutions to customer challenges. Moreover, cloud-based<\/a> service solutions enable service teams to engage dynamically with customers across the channels of their choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Planning on pitching a move to the cloud to your boss? Start strong by demonstrating that moving service centres to the cloud<\/a> isn\u2019t just a nice idea, it\u2019s critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest State of the Connected Customer<\/a> report shows 53% of customers prefer to purchase online versus in-store \u2014 and for Millennials that number is 63%. The demand for fast, efficient and personalised service has never been greater. Service teams that have embraced the always-on capabilities of the cloud<\/a> and have paired them with a 360-degree view of the customer, have been well-positioned to respond to that demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, cloud means companies can scale at speed, adapting fast to customer needs, even as that customer base expands. Cloud-based CRM can seamlessly integrate with field service to ensure customer experience continuity. It allows service agents to proactively address any issues that come up. That is essential to building customer loyalty, with 80% of customers more likely to<\/a> forgive a mistake if the company normally provides excellent service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get templates for a boardroom-ready pitch.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This piece was originally published on <\/em>29 July 2021 <\/em>and has been updated.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With economic headwinds putting the pinch on budgets, sales, marketing, IT and service leaders need to be across the technology trends that will help them deliver more with less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sf_justforyou_enable_alt":true,"optimizely_content_id":"25f27c54f0d9432993410ed8ed10f680","post_meta_title":"","ai_synopsis":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"sf_topic":[2458,2469,2484,2468,2455,2456,2457],"sf_content_type":[],"coauthors":[2454],"class_list":["post-49315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","sf_topic-service-cloud","sf_topic-sales-cloud","sf_topic-digital-transformation","sf_topic-sales","sf_topic-marketing","sf_topic-marketing-cloud","sf_topic-service"],"yoast_head":"\nSo, what is a CRM?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to spend on tech in a downturn<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nCRM for Sales: the pitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Empower your sales team with CRM<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Get the competitive edge<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\t\t\tGet articles selected just for you, in your inbox\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tSign up now\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Using digital tools to educate and upskill in IT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Digital for Tech: the pitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why personalisation is the key to marketing success<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Personalisation for Marketing: the pitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Taking service to the cloud gives more than silver linings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Cloud for Service: the pitch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nail your next technology pitch and claim those innovation dollars<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\nRead more<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
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