The rise of the digital age means it’s easier than ever now for organizations to find, engage, and stay connected with prospects and customers. Across a myriad of channels and on a vast variety of devices, companies are now allowed an inside look into the shopping preferences, online activities, buying patterns, and social interactions of their client base. Today’s post focuses on the importance of using Business Intelligence/Business Analytics (BI/BIA) tools to capture and analyze quality data from such interactions, leading to actionable insights and useful process changes that drive business outcomes aligned with organizational goals.
Technology can be used to capture customer preference, or the voice of the customer (VoC) in two ways: direct business-to-buyer contact or through indirect sharing on social media sites, where a buyer gives thoughts and feedback about your business to his network and your organization tracks such interactions. Both methods help decipher the digital touch points (i.e. computer, tablet, smartphone) your audiences prefer, as well as exactly how they typically communicate, so you can optimize your messages and deliver exactly the information they want, on the channels they frequent.
While this digital transformation has the power to proactively change workplace operations, the technology is only as effective as the data it draws, and the degree to which organizations will benefit from it is directly related to the quality of the BI/BA tools they deploy. Think about it: a solution that triggers account managers when a client is at risk of leaving an online website is certainly useful, but only if it also provides detail on the actions leading up to the click-away, an in-depth look into that user’s previous online activity, and tools for instant engagement to retain prospects and encourage purchase. It’s not enough anymore to simply know what your clients are doing online—the goal now is to capture a bigger, more rounded picture of your audience and use this data to create tailored customer relations that build brand loyalty, with all actions stemming from a centralized CRM analytics system that stores and manages the information for easy access and retrieval.
So how do you ensure the data you capture is the kind of quality that leads to better, smarter business decisions? The key lies in the power of a top-notch BI/BA strategy, a realization that organizations are preparing themselves for as they develop current and future campaigns. In fact, according to a recent industry leading survey, 88 percent of sales teams currently use of BI/BA tools, and 71 percent of companies plan to increase their investments in analytics in 2015, with 20 percent expecting a substantial increase. While the most obvious department with a stake in the game may be marketing, allocated by a substantial 76 percent of use, other teams can benefit from the richer insights that quality data can provide, including operations, services, finance and even IT.
In essence, analytics is here to stay, and how well an organization harnesses its power can make a difference across entire enterprises. In identifying the top technology trends for 2015, Gartner VP and Gartner Fellow David Cearley cited the importance of quality analytics, stating, “Organizations need to manage how best to…deliver exactly the right information to the right person, at the right time. Analytics will become deeply, but invisibly embedded everywhere.”
Tune in next week to learn how your organization can build a strong data strategy into your existing CRM system to drive stronger, more informed engagements. In the meantime, to learn more about how our seasoned CRM consultants can deliver this functionality to your business, please contact any member of our consulting team at [email protected]. We also encourage you to contact Tokara’s VP of Business Development, Mark Fillingim, directly at +1 972-719-0213.
Sources:
Bluewolf, “State of Salesforce 2015 Report,” http://www.bluewolf.com/landingpage/sosf_report/
Gartner, “Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2015,”October 8, 2014, http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2867917 .
Aberdeen Group, “Mobile Analytics: Precision Marketing Across Mobile Touch-Points,” August 4, 2014, http://www.aberdeen.com/research/9364/RR-mobile-analytics.aspx/content.aspx.
NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
