{"id":65890,"date":"2024-11-15T12:15:04","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T01:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=65890"},"modified":"2024-11-15T12:15:05","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T01:15:05","slug":"consumer-goods-sales-and-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/au\/blog\/consumer-goods-sales-and-service\/","title":{"rendered":"What High-Performing Brands Know About Sales and Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We hear a lot these days about the need for close alignment between sales and marketing<\/a> teams. But for consumer goods (CG) brands, which are increasingly challenged to beat margins and achieve profitable growth, aligning sales and service<\/a> can reap huge benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes sense: Consumer goods sales and service teams both interact with customers, but often they do so separately. For example, when a large retailer\u2019s order is cut, both departments should<\/em> be notified. But in the traditional model, sales often plans orders in offline spreadsheets and fullfills them in a disparate platform. The result? Service doesn\u2019t have visibility into the change until the customer calls them about the order.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, from the customer\u2019s perspective, the line between sales and service increasingly blurs. Many customers will go to their account manager first if they have a service need. And now, customer service reps are expected to be both proactive and<\/em> reactive sellers in their service interactions. So, it’s important that both teams reach beyond their traditional scope and are prepared to work together as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data shows that reps at high-performing service organisations have much more visibility into customers\u2019 sales, marketing, and service data, with 86% saying they have a complete and accessible view of customers\u2019 sales and ecommerce interactions. More than one in four reps<\/a> still lack that insight.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, brands that successfully integrate their sales and service teams create a unified customer experience maximising customer retention, revenue, and satisfaction. So it\u2019s surprising that only 4% of CG executives<\/a> say their organisations have a fully realised omni-channel sales and service strategy. If you haven\u2019t yet aligned your sales and service strategies, where should you start?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\tConsumer Goods Sales & Service\t<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Consumer Goods Growth & Profitability Playbook<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Consumer Goods Industry Insights Report<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Turn Customer Service Into a Profit Center<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Illustration<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Launch Service AI in Under 90 Days<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Optimise consumer goods sales and service collaboration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aligning sales and services begins with putting the right tools and processes in place. These include an integrated CRM system<\/a>, trusted data, and artificial intelligence (AI). More and more, AI plays a pivotal role in enhancing collaboration between sales and service teams by streamlining processes, providing actionable insights, and automating routine tasks. In fact, 79% of service organisations<\/a> are investing in AI, with 83% of decision-makers planning to increase their investment in AI in the coming year. That\u2019s good news, since our research shows that during an average week, service agents spend just 39% of their time<\/a> working with customers. Automating their busywork with AI platforms and AI agents<\/a> can help free them up for more high-value, proactive, consultative work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using customer data and AI, here are ways to help your sales and service teams work better together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work from a unified data platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Get started by using a centralised CRM system so both sales and service teams can access and update customer information. Our research shows 82% of high-performing<\/a> service organisations share a CRM platform with the sales and marketing teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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82% of high-performing service organisations share a CRM platform with sales and marketing teams.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n