Challenges With Data? You’re Not Alone

According to Deloitte, “Organizations with the strongest cultural orientation to data-driven insights and decision-making were twice as likely to have significantly exceeded business goals.” However, 67% of executives surveyed were “not comfortable accessing or using data from their existing tools and resources.

Does this data predicament sound familiar? During our  Product Roadmap Tour this past January, over 100 global customers let us know it resonated with them. After traveling to six cities and four countries in less than two weeks, we heard a lot about data. Leaders across Sales Operations, Service, Marketing, and IT felt a sense of camaraderie — and comfort — in knowing they shared many of the same pain points. We want every customer to hear what we discussed in the room, and to learn how we are doubling down on data to help you in 2020. Here’s a recap of our takeaways from this customer listening event.

Unifying data and driving connected experiences is paramount

What cuts across every line of business? Creating connected customer experiences. There’s often no single “owner” of the customer experience, so it’s a team sport, and everyone plays a part in its success. To achieve impactful customer experience, you must connect the dots of customer data across business units, current technology stacks, and legacy infrastructure. Unifying customer data continues to be a prominent priority and challenge for everybody. The foundation of connected customer experiences is having both a true 360 view of the customer and a single source of truth for data.

AI-powered solutions and data accuracy are top-of-mind

If customer data is the lock, then insights are the key. AI-powered analytics scaled and unified across your business can unlock the ability to deliver connected experiences and one-to-one personalization. Without accurate data and a single source of truth, how can you make the right decisions for your business? If people don’t trust the data, will you be able to motivate them to adopt new solutions and leverage valuable insights? Data management helps to fuel confidence in data output, insights, and analytics. Trust in data accuracy and technology adoption have synergy — a dip in one will impact the other. AI can help to drive technology adoption, provided there are tools to ensure accuracy and processes to govern data input.

The pace of change is taking a toll

In the age of fierce competition, legacy ways of working, and a myriad of new technology solutions, everyone’s hustling to stay ahead of competitors. No one wants technical debt in the new decade. Change isn’t easy, and the transition is even harder, especially when you’re running at a sprint. A business model can’t adapt with a “set it and forget it” mentality — your organization should revisit it annually.

Data and your business in 2020

We take customer feedback seriously. This is the year of data: we hear you, and we’re committed to help you tackle this challenge. We’re making significant investments in our portfolio so you can better connect your data and drive more value out of it. Plus, with the recent addition of Tableau to the Salesforce family, there are more ways than ever to democratize and share insights across your organization. There’s more to come from us in 2020 based on your feedback. In the meantime, establish a data-driven culture at your organization with a beginner’s mindset. Here are two tips you can apply now to make the most of your current data strategies:

1. Take inventory of your data. Pull together a holistic view of your data sources and processes to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. Questions to ask: What data sources do we have? Where does our data live? Who has access to the data? What data is missing? How can integrating our data benefit us?
2. Establish transparent data governance. Identify who will be responsible for policies focused on improving the quality and integrity of your data. By committing to a plan, you build reliability and credibility around your data strategy.

Would you like to participate in Salesforce’s global listening events and customer feedback programs, like the Product Roadmap Tour? Let us know, and we’ll be in touch. Learn what it takes to become an insights-driven organization with a look at how Salesforce embeds customer listening at all levels of our business.